Chattanooga 3, Georgia Southern 0
STATESBORO, Ga. ? Senior middle blocker Leslee Ball (Sycamore, Ill.) drilled a match-high 23 kills and senior setter Bethany Herndon (Richmond, Texas) recorded a match-high 38 assists to lead Chattanooga (9-6, 4-0) to a 3-1 victory over Georgia Southern (4-13, 1-4) Saturday afternoon at Hanner Fieldhouse in Statesboro, Ga. The Lady Mocs defeated the Eagles 30-19, 19-30, 30-25 and 30-18 to win their seventh consecutive match and remain tied with The College of Charleston atop the Southern Conference.
Chattanooga jumped out to an early 7-2 lead in Game 1, aided by back-to-back kills from Ball, before the Eagles rebounded with a 10-6 run to close the gap to 13-12. An 11-3 run, fueled by three consecutive kills from Ball, put the Lady Mocs up 24-15. After a brief rally by Georgia Southern made the score 26-19, Chattanooga wrapped up the game with four straight points for a 30-19 victory and 1-0 match lead. Ball nailed nine of her match-high 23 kills in the game.
In Game 2, it was a different story as the Eagles charged out of the gate to take an early 10-5 lead. At that point, the Lady Mocs offense went cold as Georgia Southern proceeded to go on a decisive 14-4 run to extend the lead to 24-9. A 10-3 run got Chattanooga back into the match, 27-19 but it would not be enough as GSU took the next three points to tie the match with a 30-19 victory. Prior to that loss, the Lady Mocs had won 17 straight games dating back to a Game 4 win against UC Riverside on September 15.
The two teams battled through five lead changes and four ties early in Game 3 to knot the score at 6-6. At that point, the Lady Mocs put together a 10-3 run behind a pair of kills each from junior right side hitter Laura Nethery (Hixson, Tenn.) and senior middle blocker Sarah Bass (Baton Rouge, La.) to pull ahead 16-9.
Georgia Southern came right back with a 9-1 run of their own to close to 17-16. UTC pulled out to a 20-17 advantage before the Eagles eventually tied the score, 21-21. From there, Chattanooga took control of the game, registering the next four points to claim a 25-21 lead, and went on to a 30-25 victory to up 2-1 in the match.
After taking a narrow 5-4 lead at the start of Game 4, the Lady Mocs wasted no time in taking care of business, pounding out another 10-3 run for a 15-7 advantage. After a 5-1 mini run by the Eagles closed the gap to 16-12, Chattanooga sealed the deal with an 8-1 run to extend their lead to 24-13. UTC then proceeded to close out the game, and the match, with a 30-18 victory.
Junior setter Mae Chabra led the way for the Eagles with a team-high 31 assists while junior outside hitter Bianca Julio paced the hitters with a team-high 11 kills along with seven digs. Junior outside hitter Christy Dowd added six kills to go along with her team-high 11 digs and freshman middle hitter Sara Gildersleeve contributed eight kills. Freshman libero Marissa Odom finished with nine digs.
For Chattanooga, Leslee Ball led all hitters with 23 kills and added nine digs and junior libero Lara Newberry (Chattanooga, Tenn.) led the way defensively with a match-high 24 digs. Bass finished with 10 kills while senior outside hitter Jamie Engel (Troy, Ill.) notched a career-high six service aces to along with eight digs and five kills. Freshman outside hitter Aurore Kullak (Beloeil, Belgium) added 10 digs and senior outside hitter Kelsey Amundson (Houston, Texas) finished with seven digs. In addition to her match-high 38 assists, Herndon also added five kills and eight digs.
The Lady Mocs have now won seven consecutive matches. That is Chattanooga’s longest winning streak since 1999 when that year’s squad won a program record-tying 10 straight matches. Three other teams have won 10 consecutive matches for the Lady Mocs including the 1986, 1997 and 1998 teams.
The Lady Mocs will be back in action on Wednesday, October 3 when they host East Tennessee State in a non-conference match. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
UNCG 3, Furman 2
GREENSBORO, NC ? The UNC Greensboro volleyball had three players with double-digit kills to lead the Spartans to a 3-2 victory over Furman in Southern Conference volleyball action at Fleming Gymnasium Saturday afternoon. The win gives UNCG its second consecutive win and is the sixth win in the last seven outings for the Spartans.
Branagan Fuller led UNCG (11-8, 4-1 SoCon) with a career-high 32 kills while teammate Katherine Hart added 21 kills in the win. The Spartans also had three players with double-digit digs paced by 39 digs from sophomore Catherine Hanners. Lisa Fawell dished out 71 assists while Emily Lindborg had three blocks.
Furman (10-4, 3-1 SoCon) also had two players with double digits kills. The Paladins were led by Chibuzo Aguocha who tallied 22 kills and 18 digs while Alison West added 20 kills and 16 digs in the loss.
In the decisive fifth game UNCG jumped out to an early 2-0 lead but similar to the rest of the match the Paladins fought back and scored the next three points to take a 3-2 lead but the Spartans rattled off the next three points to pull in front 6-3 and never looked back. Furman would get as close as 9-6 but UNCG kept their composure and closed out the match with an ace from Catherine Hanners to take the match 3-2.
The opening game saw Furman roar out to an early 10-5 lead behind kills from Courtney Stewardson and Chibuzo Aguocha but UNCG battled back and was able to take a 17-16 lead midway through the game. Furman kept the game close but three straight points with Kayleigh Knerr serving put UNCG up 26-21 en route to a 30-28 victory.
Game two was close throughout and featured 10 lead changes. With the game tied at 19-19 the Spartans took a 21-19 lead with a kill from Emily Lindborg and a Furman attack error. UNCG wouldn’t trail for the rest of the match; although Furman was able to cut the lead to 28-25 UNCG used two kills and a service ace to take the 30-36 win.
After the break, both teams traded points in the early goings with neither team holding a lead of more than two points. Down the stretch the Spartans had a 29-27 lead but Furman scored the next three points to take a 30-29 lead before taking the game 32-30.
The fourth game was much like the previous games with the teams trading points throughout. UNCG took a 21-24 lead but again Furman battled back to tie the score at 26-26 and then were able to take a 29-28 lead with a kill from Nicole Palazzo. The Spartans had a chance to take the match with the score at 31-30 but an error and a kill from West tied the match at two games each.
UNCG continues its five-game homestand with a midweek Southern Conference match-up with backyard rival, Elon. Action is set to start at 7 pm in Fleming Gymnasium.
College of Charleston 3, Appalachian 2
September 29, 2007 - BOONE, N.C. ? Brittany Zahn collected 24 kills and hit .306, but the Appalachian State volleyball team was unable to deal College of Charleston its first conference loss. The Mountaineers fell in five games, 27-30, 34-32, 25-30, 30-27, and 15-10. ASU drops to 2-2 in Southern Conference play, and 5-11 overall in 2007.
The Apps jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first game, and extended the advantage to as many as eight points, as late as 24-16. The Cougars rallied to within two points before Zahn and Carla Durham combined on a block for the three point win. Durham hit .478 in the match, with 13 kills and five blocks. ASU out-blocked C of C 13 to seven on the day. Becca Norris led the home team with a season-high eight blocks in the match.
The Mountaineers’ momentum carried into the second game, as the squad opened up a 4-1 lead. It would not hold, however, as the Cougars regained the lead at 12-11. Dianna Thomas converted two of her team-leading four aces in the game. The squad converted ten aces in the match. Thomas had the second highest kill total on the team, with 15, in addition to seven digs and three blocks. C of C was unable to convert on their first five game points, before the team won by the score of 34-32.
Even at one game apiece, Appalachian took the third set behind strong defense and accurate attacks on offense. The team hit .375 in the game, compared to a .250 mark for the visitors. ASU would finish the match with a .253 hitting percentage. Libero Cassie Engelgau led the team with 15 digs in the contest, while Heather Kale and Lorelle Rau chipped in ten each. Rau finished with six kills, 54 assists, two blocks, and an ace.
Game four saw the momentum swing back to the visiting Cougars, as the visitors led by as many as seven points en route to the 30-27 match-tying victory. The Apps were unable to rally in the fifth game, as the team found itself on the wrong end of an early three-point run and a late four-point swing. Appalachian State did, however, become the first Southern Conference team to win two games against undefeated C of C in 2007.
Some of the 255 fans in attendance at the Holmes Center may have experienced deja vu, as each of the last three meetings in Boone between these teams has seen a five-game College of Charleston victory.
SoCon play continues this week, as Appalachian State will welcome Wofford to the High Country. The teams will meet at the Holmes Center on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Davidson 3, The Citadel 1
DAVIDSON, N.C. Senior Katie Pierucci had 29 kills and 17 digs to lead the Davidson Wildcat volleyball team to a 3-1 (30-21, 30-23, 23-30, 30-26) win over the Citadel Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon at Belk Arena. Davidson ran its win streak against the Bulldogs to six straight and lead the series 17-1 all-time.
Snapping a nine-match losing streak, the Wildcats improved to 6-11, and 1-3 in the SoCon with their first league victory. The Citadel falls to 2-14 and remain winless in the SoCon at 0-5.
Pierucci's 29 kills on the day were a season-high, while her .258 hitting percentage was second-best this year. She has now picked up 10 or more kills in a match six of the past nine Wildcat matches.
The senior was not alone in double-digit kills as junior Kittery Neale finished with 17 on 37 swings for a hitting percentage of .270. Davidson as a team hit .214 on a season-high 67 kills in 168 attack attempts. Freshman Hayley Lawson did a solid job of setting up her teammates by picking up 42 assists on the day, marking the sixth match this year she has registered over 40 assists in a match.
Defensively, the Wildcats placed three players in double figures in digs, led by Pierucci and senior Lindsey Woeste's 17 apiece.
Pierucci jump started the Wildcat attack in the first game when she picked up three kills and back-to-back service aces to start the contest to give her team a 10-3 lead. Later, she picked up yet another kill as Davidson built a 23-8 advantage and held on after a late Bulldog rally for the 30-21 win.
The Citadel's Rachel Sanders kept the Bulldogs close in game two with her team-high seven kills, including a kill that gave them a slim 8-7 lead in the early going. Junior Alison Dwyer capped of a 9-3 run by the Wildcats with one of her four kills in game two and Davidson took a 16-11 lead.Sanders brought the Bulldogs right back, knotting things up at 20-all on a service ace, before Dwyer, Pierucci and Neale put the game away in the late stages on kills for a 30-27 win for the Wildcats and a 2-0 lead in the match.
Davidson came out a bit sluggish after intermission and the Bulldogs took advantage, jumping out to a 10-5 lead in game three after a Wildcat hitting error. The 'Cats closed to within one, 13-12, on kills from Neale and Pierucci, but the Citadel pushed it right back out to five, 21-16, on two kills by Caitlin Vyborny, who finished with 10 kills on the afternoon. From there, the Bulldogs scored nine of the next seven points for the 30-23 win.
Pierucci then took it into her own hands in helping the Wildcats snap their nine-match winless streak with seven of the team's 19 kills in game four.
She picked up three of them when Davidson opened the match with a 17-12 lead halfway through. Sanders though would not let the Bulldogs lay down, when she picked up a kill to bring the score to 20-18. The Citadel then took a brief 21-19 lead, before Neale and Lawson tied things up for Davidson on back-to-back kills. Pierucci then took over, hammering home four of Davidson's final eight kills on the afternoon to lead her team to the 30-26 game four win.
Emily Hill of the Citadel recorded 40 assists on 48 kills, while Sanders and Jessica Maas tallied 17 and 11 digs, respectively, to pace the Bulldogs.
Davidson wraps up its three-match homestand with a 7 p.m. affair against SoCon foe Furman, on Oct. 2 at Belk Arena.
Elon 3, Wofford 0
ELON, N.C. - Behind powerful offensive performances from three key players, the Elon volleyball squad captured a 3-0 (30-24, 30-20, 30-16) win over the Wofford Terriers. Elon improves to 8-10 (3-2 SoCon) while the Terriers fall to 6-9 (0-3).
Mandy Wilson tallied 14 kills (.444) for the Phoenix to lead the team, while Lauren Copenhagen and Emily Lucci each finished with 10. Copenhagen added two block assists, with Sarah Schermerhorn adding a block solo and an assist.
Elon's defense took control in game one, holding the Terriers to a .104 hitting percentage, with three Wofford players in negative numbers. Copenhagen led Elon, posting six of Elon's 17 kills and a .308 hitting percentage, as the Phoenix went on to take game on 30-24.
In the second game, Wilson tallied six assists (.385) for Elon, while Wofford was led by Brittany Thompson's five kills (.417). The teams were more evenly balanced in game two, with the Terriers and the Phoenix hitting .227 and .268, respectively, but Elon managed a 30-20 victory.
Elon overpowered Wofford in the final stanza, holding the Terriers to 11 kills, a .158 hitting percentage, 10 digs and nine assists. As a team, Elon posted 18 kills, hit .351 and tallied 20 digs and two blocks. Wilson had six kills again in game three as she hit .857.
Natalie Moore dished out 37 assists and 16 digs for Elon, while Kelly Blakewood led the squad with 18 digs.
Elon travels to UNC Greensboro on Tuesday for a mid-week conference match, before returning to Alumni Gym to host Appalachian State and Davidson on Oct. 5th and 6th.