College of Charleston 3, Ball State 1
Charleston volleyball posted a 3-0 shutout victory over Ball State in the Hawkeye Holiday Inn Challenge hosted by Iowa University. The win marks the fourth shutout the Cougars have recorded this season.
“It was a solid win. We didn’t play well enough to win tonight but we will have to be more consistent tomorrow to come away with two more victories,” Coach Jason Kepner said. “The seniors from Iowa played well in their first match home. It was nice to feel like the home team on a road trip having about 75 fans here cheering for Charleston.”
Charleston saw three players reach double digit kills in Deanna Patrick (10), Annie Uthe (10), and Tiffany Blum (11). Senior Lindsey Kane recorded a match high 35 assists. Defensively the Cougars tallied 10 blocks and 63 digs. Four players earned double digit digs in Emily Sawin (10), Paige Johnson (12), Megan Parkerson (11), and Cole Dawley (13). Kane, Uthe, and Blum, all Iowa natives saw a productive day accounting for 35 of the 61 total points scored by Charleston.
Brittany May led Ball State offensively, earning a team high .296 attack percentage with 10 kills. Abby Lavigne added 11 kills in the effort, May and Lavigne tallied 22 points of the 45 that were scored. Alyssa Rio led the team with 19 digs.
Davidson 0, UC Irvine 3
TUSCON, ARIZ. ? The Davidson Wildcats volleyball team opened play at the Arizona Invitational, falling 3-0 (30-15, 30-17, 30-28) to the UC Irvine Anteaters on Friday afternoon at the University of Arizona's McKale Center.
Davidson evens its record to 5-5, while UC Irvine improves to 9-2.
The 'Cats were led by freshman outside hitter Sarabeth Peele, who had 10 kills, seven digs and a block. Freshman Hayley Lawson added 21 assists, and fellow classmate and setter Anna Bradbury saw her first collegiate action, chipping in eight assists and an ace.
The Anteaters were paced by Lauren Kellerman, who tallied 12 kills and hit .500 in the match.
The 'Cats won the first two points of game one and jumped out to an early
4-2 lead. UC Irvine put together a 4-2 run to knot the score at six, but the 'Cats would reclaim the lead on a block by juniors Kittery Neale and Alison Dwyer, 9-7. After an ace from Irvine's Chelsea Ellis knotted the score at nine, the Anteaters won the following five points to take a 14-9 lead and held the rest of the way for the 30-15 win.
Davidson again jumped out to an early 4-2 lead in game two and stayed on top until a couple of big runs from UC Irvine proved too much to overcome. With 'the Cats up 9-7, the Anteaters ran off seven straight points to pull ahead
14-9 and then used another 9-0 run to push their lead to 24-11. UC Irvine took a 2-0 lead in the match with the 30-17 win.
UC Irvine's Taryn Robertson won the first point of game three, but 1-0 is the only time the Anteaters would lead until much later. With the score knotted at 11, the 'Cats went on a five-point run to take a 16-11 lead and force the Anteaters into a timeout. Davidson led by as much as 27-22 before the Anteaters fired off seven straight points to force the 'Cats into a match point situation. A kill from junior outside hitter Katie Pierucci saved the match, but Kellerman's 12th kill lifted UC Irvine to the 30-28 win.
Western Carolina 0, UNC Wilmington3
Western Carolina 3, The Citadel 1
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Western Carolina volleyball (4-9, 1-0 SoCon) took an early lead in Southern Conference play defeating The Citadel (1-8, 0-1 SoCon) 3-1 (30-27, 26-30, 30-21, 30-21) Friday in the nightcap of the Catamount Clash IV in the Ramsey Center. Earlier in the day, the Catamounts fell to UNC Wilmington 3-0 (27-30, 24-30, 23-30).
It is the first time since 2004 the Catamounts have opened conference play with a win. The Catamounts defeated Chattanooga on September 24, 3-2.
Western Carolina enjoyed the senior leadership of Meredith Harmon who led the Catamounts with 19 kills and also led the team with a .341 attack percentage. Harmon also had a pair of block assists and a solo block.
Two Catamounts recorded double-doubles in the match. Freshman Ali Rook had 10 kills and 10 digs. Sophomore setter Katie Hennessey not only notched a season-high 49 assists she also recorded 15 digs. Sophomore Liz Rondone led the club with 21 digs.
Western Carolina had three players record double figure kills but couldn't escape the hot hitting of UNC-Wilmington, falling 3-0 in the Catamounts first match of the day. Rook led the Catamounts with 14 kills and Harmon followed with 13 kills and freshman Kara Lynzee Brooks rounded out the double-figure attack with 10 kills.
Western Carolina opened the match with a strong game one, hitting .333 in the game and committing just five errors. However, the Catamounts hit .163 in game two and .128 in game three. Western Carolina also committed 10 service errors in the match.
Hennessey recorded what would have been her second-best assist mark of the season with 34, until she snapped it in the last game against The Citadel. Rondone led the team in digs with 19.
Appalachian State 0, Georgia State 3
Appalachian State 0, Clemson 3
September 14, 2007 - Clemson, S.C. ? Appalachian State University volleyball dropped both matches on the opening day of the Clemson Classic, falling to Georgia State and Clemson in three games each at Jervey Gym.
The Mountaineers lost 30-20, 30-28, 30-20 to GSU to open play and then fell to the homestanding Tigers 30-26, 30-18, 30-19 in the nightcap. Brittany Zahn led ASU in both matches with a combined 27 kills. Cassie Engelgau led the defensive effort with 26 digs.
Against GSU, the Apps fell behind early but stayed within four points the entire time until the Panthers closed the first game with a 11-5 run to win, 30-20. In the second game, ASU trailed again early, but battled to tie the game at 28-28 before two untimely errors allowed GSU to preserve the 30-28 win. The final game went back-and-forth until a 6-0 run GSU gave the Panthers control of the game with back-to-back aces for the three-game sweep. Zahn and Dianna Thomas had 13 and 10 kills, respectively, for ASU in the match. The Panthers, who hit .355, were paced by Ana Paula Ferreira’s 12 kills.
The Apps’ fortunes didn’t turn in the evening game despite a close battle in the first game. ASU tied the first game eight times but couldn’t claim the lead as the Tigers hung on for a 30-26 win. Clemson responded to the challenge by jumping out to what proved to be an insurmountable, 11-0, lead in the second game to win 30-18. ASU started the third game much better, trailing by just a point halfway through the game. Unfortunately the Mountaineers couldn’t hold on as Clemson ended the game on a 14-4 run to cruise to the 30-19 win and a 3-0 sweep. Zahn led the Apps again with 14 kills while freshman Jordan Jesberg had 12. Clemson had three hitters in double figures with Lia Proctor’s 11 kills leading the way.
Elon 0, James Madison 3
Elon 0, Florida Gulf Coast 3
HARRISONBURG, Va. ? The Phoenix volleyball team dropped its first two matches of the JMU/Days Inn Invitational Friday, falling 3-0 (30-27, 30-17, 30-18) to Florida Gulf Coast and 3-0 (30-22, 30-25, 30-21) to host-James Madison.
Elon fell 3-0 (30-22, 30-25, 30-21) to James Madison Friday night in the JMU/Days Inn Invitational. The Phoenix falls to 4-7 on the season, while JMU improves to 6-4 with the win.
Britany Westphal tallied 12 kills to lead Elon in the match, and Lauren Copenhagen finished with 10 digs. Sarah Schermerhorn, Mandy Wilson and Westphal each posted two block assists in the three-game set, while Emily Regan had 27 assists.
The first game was neck-and-neck until, with the score tied 15-15, the Dukes pulled ahead never allowing Elon an opportunity to catch up. The Phoenix was led by Copenhagen as she hit .667, tallying five kills and five digs. Junior Jessica Barrow also had five kills the 30-22 loss.
The lead slipped away from the Phoenix in the second frame, as James Madison broke a 14-14 tie and eventually won 30-25. Westphal tallied five kills and two block assists to lead Elon, with Schermerhorn and Barrow each adding two kills.
Westphal added four kills in the final stanza, but the Phoenix could not overcome JMU’s offensive performance, falling 30-21.
Elon will wrap up preseason tournament play Saturday morning, facing Charleston Southern at 11 a.m.
The Phoenix volleyball team fell 3-0 (30-27, 30-17, 30-18) to Florida Gulf Coast Friday morning in the opening match of the JMU/Days Inn Invitational.
Elon was led by Britany Westphal’s nine kills and three blocks. Sarah Schermerhorn tallied seven kills, two block assists and two service aces for the Phoenix.
The Eagles’ defense stifled Elon’s hitting, holding the Phoenix to a .070 percentage for the three-game set. Cara Ziegler led FGCU with 11 kills and four block assists.
Westphal recorded four of her nine kills in the first frame, with Schermerhorn and Jessica Barrow posting three each. Elon hit .119 in the game, falling 30-27.
Florida Gulf Coast tallied 19 team kills to Elon’s six in the second game, led by Roberta Santos’ five, as the Phoenix dropped the stanza 30-17.
Elon was outhit .318 to .048 in the final frame as the Phoenix dropped the match with a 30-18 score.
Kelley Blakewood led the Phoenix defense with 12 digs, while setters Natalie Moore and Emily Regan each tallied 12 assists.
Chattanooga 1, Lamar 3
BEAUMONT, Texas ? Senior Molli Abel produced a team-high 18 kills and .278 hitting percentage to lead Lamar (6-7) to a 3-1 victory over Chattanooga (2-6) Friday evening at the PROS Home Healthcare Invitational in Beaumont, Texas. The Lady Cardinals won 30-23, 30-21, 28-30 and 30-26.
In Game 1, both teams got off to quick starts with Lamar battling out to a narrow 7-6 lead. The Lady Cardinals, fueled by four service aces from sophomore Kaci Brewer, then proceeded to go on a 15-1 run, fueled by four service aces from sophomore Kaci Brewer, to take a commanding 22-7 advantage. The Lady Mocs mounted a late 16-6 run to close to 28-23 before an error and a kill by Brewer gave Lamar a 30-23 opening game victory and a 1-0 match lead.
That game set the tone for the Lady Cardinals as they quickly jumped out to leads of 15-8 and 21-9 before Chattanooga closed to within 25-21 on a 12-4 run. Following an exchange of points to make the score 26-22, Lamar wrapped up the game with four straight points for a 30-22 game two victory.
The Lady Mocs bounced back in the third game, pulling out to leads of 15-11 and 28-21 before the Lady Cardinals put together a 7-0 run to tie the game at 28-28. Back-to-back attack errors by Lamar quelled any ideas of a comeback as Chattanooga got on the board with a 30-28 win.
In the fourth game, the two teams battled through eight ties and five lead changes before LU pulled out to a 27-24 advantage. Several points by the Lady Mocs were not enough as the Lady Cardinals finished off the game with a 30-26 win for a 3-1 match victory.
Leading the way for Lamar was sophomore setter Adrianne Meengs with a match-high 42 assists and Brewer with 12 kills and 13 digs. Junior Andrea Hamilton posted a team-high 24 digs while freshman Destiny Mason and Lauren Rush added 13 and 11 digs, respectively.
For Chattanooga, senior middle blocker Leslee Ball (Sycamore, Ill.) posted a team-high 13 kills while junior libero Lara Newberry (Chattanooga, Tenn.) recorded a match-high 31 digs. Senior setter Bethany Herndon (Richmond, Texas) registered 28 assists and 10 digs while junior setter Michaela Huff (Dallas, Texas) and senior outside hitter Kelsey Amundson (Houston, Texas) added 11 and 10 digs respectively.
The Citadel 0, Presbyterian 3
Cullowhee, N.C. ? Junior Rachel Sanders led the Bulldogs with 10 kills as The Citadel lost a 3-0 decision to Presbyterian Friday afternoon in the first game of the Catamount Clash. The Bulldogs failed to set up a good attack as they only averaged 8.3 set assists per game. This win for the Blue Hose extends their winning streak to eight matches. Presbyterian defeated The Citadel 30-21, 30-17 and 30-18.
In game one, The Citadel fought back and forth with Presbyterian but the Bulldogs couldn’t ever get an edge on the Blue Hose. The Bulldogs fought hard to even the score, and had the game in reach at 25-20. However, Presbyterian would put together a 5 point run to close out the game 30-20.
In the second game, The Citadel would really struggle as Presbyterian opened the match with a 9-0 run. The Bulldogs hung in the game, but could never gain any momentum as the Blue Hose took the game 30-17,
The Citadel seemed to have their concentration back as they traded points with Presbyterian in the beginning of the match. The Blue Hose would then muster two 4-0 runs jump out ahead of the Bulldogs 16-9. The Bulldogs would come back with a 3-0 run of their own, but a 9-3 exchange in favor of Presbyterian would seem to put the match away as the Blue Hose finished the game 30-18.
“Since we played Presbyterian before we knew what to expect from them,” said head coach Carolyn Geiger. However, we came out flat and never rebounded. We made too many mistakes, mostly mental, and never took control of the match. When you make 30 hitting errors in a match you make it very difficult to pull out the win.”
The Citadel (1-7) looks ahead to their conference opener tonight, Sept. 14 at 7 p.m. when they take on Western Carolina in their second game of the Catamount Clash.
“We’ll have to rebound for our first conference match tonight against Western and come out with more fight, more energy and ready to win,” Geiger added.