College of Charleston 3, Illinois- Chicago 0
College of Charleston 3, Towson 0
College of Charleston 3, Charlotte 0
Charleston, S.C.-- In the third match of the Holiday Inn Classic, the College of Charleston defeated Chicago-Illinois 3-0 (30-13, 30-19, 30-23) in their 2007 home opener. The win marked the first career win for head coach Jason Kepner and improved the Cougar’s record to 1-1.
“Tonight was a great team effort. Every player played well,” Kepner said. “We were very aggressive and applied a lot of pressure to Illinois-Chicago. It feels good to get start our home tournament with a win and we look forward to our two matches tomorrow.”
The Cougar attack was sparked by a dominating performance by senior Lindsey Kane who had 40 assists, 11 kills, a service ace, and was in on three blocks. Supporting Kane was Emily Sawin who tallied 12 kills and Cole Dawley who hit .500 completing nine out of 18 kill attempts. Service aces by Emily Sawin, Annie Uthe, Megan Parkerson, and Cole Dawley also sparked the offense of the Cougars
For the defense, Dawley led Charleston with 13digs. Whitney Russell, Sarah Luers, Sawin, Uthe, and Kane combined for 10 blocked shots.
Illinois-Chicago’s Casie Sullivan led the team in kills with 10. Emily Schaffer, Keri Hee and Sullivan each had one service ace. Katerina Hanackova and Lana Lobdell added 14 kills in the effort. Defensively for the Flames, Dana Van Syckle had17 digs while also leading the team in assists with 17. Four UIC players combined for six blocked shots
Charleston, S.C.-The College of Charleston (2-1) defeated the Towson Tigers (1-5) 3-0 (30-20, 30-25, 30-22) in match six of the Holiday Inn Classic. This was the second shut out of the tournament for Charleston.
"It was a great team win," said Head Coach Jason Kepner. "We had good performances from each position this afternoon. We are looking forward to our third match of the tournament against Charlotte."
With each member of the team seeing playing time, the Cougars used a balanced attack to upset the Tigers. Four players had over five kills with six more combining for 16 additional kills. Senior Annie Uthe led the team with nine kills. Three members of the team, Emma Racila (.625), Ginny Phillips (.667), and Deanna Patrick (.500) had attack percentages above .500. Five players had at least one service ace.
Defensively for Charleston, Megan Parkerson led the team with 13 digs. Six players were credited with blocks.
For Towson, Maddie Haseltine had a match high 15 kills. Valerie Chromy went four for seven for an attack percentage of .571. Katee Luecke had 31 assists and added seven digs in the effort. The Tigers saw four members of their team credited with service aces. Missy Rohrbaugh led the match with 16 digs.
Charleston, S.C.-- Charleston defeated Charlotte 3-0 (30-21, 30-24, 30-21) in the final match of the Holiday Inn Classic which was held over the weekend at the John Kresse Arena. With the win, Charleston improves to 3-1 on the season. The Cougars recorded victories over Illinois-Chicago, Towson, and Charlotte.
"It was great to be home for three matches," Coach Jason Kepner said. "We had a very good combination of senior leadership and young player makeing plays for us. To go 3-0 against good competition is definitely a move in the right direction. Now we have to take this momentum on the road as we face three tough teams at the tournament in Notre Dame."
The Cougars were led by another dominating performance by senior setter and tournament MVP Lindsey Kane who was five for seven for kills (.714), had 47 assists, five digs, and was in on two blocks. Six Cougars had attack percentages over .300. Freshman Whitney Russell led the team with 12 kills out of an attempted 23. The 2006 SoCon Freshman of the Year and all-tournament team member Emily Sawin recorded 10 kills, one service ace, and assisted with two blocks. As a team, the Cougars had a .371 attacking percentage.
For Charlotte, all-tournament team member Alma Arroyo, who recorded her 1,000th kill earlier in the tournament, tallied 13 kills for the night. She was also second on the team with seven digs. All-tournament team member Cori Dayton and Kathleen Hicks had ten kills each. Defensively for the 49ers, Carly Romberg led the team with a match high 22 digs.
Furman 3, Florida Atlantic 1
Furman 3, Drake 2
Furman 3 UW- Green Bay 2
GREENVILLE, S.C. ? The Furman Lady Paladins overcame a first-game loss to down the Lady Owls 3-1 in volleyball action at the Hampton Inn Invitational in Des Moines, Iowa.
The Paladins started off slowly, and the Lady Owls took game one 30-15 after a 12-5 run midway through the game. Game 2 was much closer, with 15 ties and 5 lead changes. With the Paladins down 27-29 at the end of the game, junior Chibuzo Aguocha served up an ace, followed by two kills to give the Paladins the 31-29 win.
After a similar beginning to the third game, which featured two ties and two lead changes before the Paladins tied the score at 5-5, Furman pulled away and kept the lead for the rest of the game, winning with a decisive score of 30-17.
The fourth game started as a close one, but with the score tied at 19-19, the Lady Paladins went on a 11-5 run to win the game 30-24 and clinch the match.
Junior Alison West recorded her second double-double of the season, notching 15 kills and 13 digs. Senior Chibuzo Aguocha also contributed 17 kills, recording a .324 hitting percentage for the match. The Lady Paladins compiled 18 blocks as a team.
GREENVILLE, S.C. ? The Furman Lady Paladins battled host team Drake this afternoon in a close match that resulted in a 3-2 win.
Furman started the match strong, winning the first game with a score of 30-20, bolstered by junior Alison West’s 6 kills.
The Lady Bulldogs rallied to win the second game, with a close score of 30-28, to tie the match at 1-1 going into the break. Drake went on to win the third game with a score of 30-20, forcing the Paladins to win the last two games in order to take the match.
Furman stepped up to the challenge, winning the fourth game with a score of 30-27, after 11 ties and four lead changes. The Paladins continued to fight, winning the fifth game 15-13.
The Lady Paladins were led defensively by junior libero Pamela Gehrke, who tallied 24 digs. Senior outside hitter Chibuzo Aguocha led the offense with 24 kills, and also contributed 12 digs to the Paladins’ winning effort.
Junior outside hitter Alison West recorded her third double-double of the season, notching 17 kills and 10 digs, while junior middle blocker Nicole Palazzo contributed 11 kills and 5 block assists. Paladin setter Courtney Stewardson led a successful offense, contributing 53 assists and 10 digs to lead the team in its successful performance.
GREENVILLE, S.C. ? In their second close match of the day, the Furman Lady Paladins defeated the Phoenix of Green Bay 3-2 to claim the tournament championship in Des Moines, Iowa.
The Paladins took game one decisively by a score of 30-18. The team faltered in games two and three, losing both with scores of 30-26 and 30-23, respectively. Furman regained control in the fourth game, allowing only one hitting error and tallying a team hitting percentage of .529. A
15-8 run in the second half of the game allowed the team to win by a score of 30-19.
The fifth game was another nail-biter for the Lady Paladins, featuring 9 ties and 4 lead changes, but Furman managed another 15-13 win.
Green Bay was paced by outside hitter Leisl Tesch, who notched 19 kills for the Phoenix. Nikki Hintze added 17 kills.
For the Paladins, junior outside hitter Alison West contributed 21 kills, while committing only one error in the match. Middle blocker Emily Harby contributed 13 kills and a .435 hitting percentage. Junior Nicole Palazzo added 11 kills and 3 of Furman’s 8 service aces, while freshman Katherine Hall tallied 9 kills for the Paladins. The Paladins hit .295 as a team, a mark bolstered by senior Kerry Wooten’s .429 clip.
Furman’s defense was led by junior Pamela Gehrke, who totaled 18 defensive saves, while freshman Brooke Ellison and junior Alison West each contributed 13.
Davidson 3, James Madison 2
Davidson 0, Connecticut 3
Davidson 1, High Point 3
DAVIDSON, N.C. - Reigning Southern Conference Player of the Week Sarabeth Peele posted a match-high 23 kills to lead the Davidson Wildcats to a dramatic come-from-behind win (28-30, 30-22, 30-22, 25-30, 11-15) over the James Madison Dukes in game two of the Mizuno Wildcat Classic on Friday night at Belk Arena.
Davidson remains a perfect 3-0 on the young season, while James Madison falls to 1-2.
Senior Katie Pierucci and freshman setter Hayley Lawson turned in double-double performances for the Wildcats. Pierucci posted 14 kills and 10 digs, while Lawson had 12 digs and 45 assists. Juniors Kittery Neale and Alison Dwyer each contributed seven blocks.
Four hitters reached double figures for the Dukes, who were led by Allyson Halls. Halls tallied 19 kills and six blocks, while hitting .318.
The Wildcats took early control of game one, but a 3-0 run from JMU and a Wildcat service error knotted the score at 10. From that point, things went back-and-forth with neither team gaining more than a two-point advantage.
The score was even on 14 different occassions and as late as 28-28, but a timely kill from Neale gave the 'Cats the advantage, and senior Courtney Cron aced the final point of the game for the 30-28 win.
Behind the serving of Halls and Lauren Miles, James Madison pulled out to an early 10-6 lead in game two and never looked back.The Dukes pulled ahead by a margin of 23-16, and Halls served four straight points to push JMU's lead to 29-21 late in the game. Lawson added the 'Cats final point on a pass from Cron, but Lindsey Callahan gave the Dukes a 30-22 win.
After the break, game three started much the same as the first, with neither team able to mount a lead. But with the score tied at 10, the Dukes put together a 6-2 run to take a 15-12 lead. Peele kept Davidson in the game, but Halls and James Madison pulled away for another 30-22 win.
With the match on the line, Davidson jumped to an early 3-0 lead in the fourth game behind the strong serving of Pierucci. The Dukes used another
6-2 run to pull ahead, but the 'Cats reeled off three straight points to reclaim the lead for good. With back-to-back kills from Lawson, Davidson opened a seven-point lead, 27-20, but the Dukes won the next four points. At 28-25, Peele put away a pass from Lawson, and a block from Neale and junior Lindsay Paroczai forced the decisive game five.
With the match on the line, the score went back-and-forth to start the fifth game. With things knotted at three, Neale and Peele stuffed an attack, and the 'Cats won the next three points to take an important 6-3 lead. In control of the game, and thus, the match, Davidson extended its lead to 11-5. Back-to-back kills from Peele gave the 'Cats the only match-point opportunity they would need, as a JMU error delivered a 15-11 win for the match.
DAVIDSON, N.C. - The Davidson Wildcats suffered a pair of losses on the final day of the 2007 Mizuno Wildcat Classic, falling 3-1 (17-30, 30-28, 30-22, 30-22) to High Point in the morning session and Connecticut 3-0 (32-30, 30-25, 30-18) in the nightcap at Belk Arena.
After the day's matches, Davidson's record stands at 3-2. Freshman outside hitter Sarabeth Peele represented the Wildcats on the all-tournament team.
Peele posted 41 kills in three matches, including a match-high 23 in last night's game with James Madison.
In the morning match, Davidson used eight straight points behind the strong serving of senior libero Lindsey Woeste to claim a commanding 10-5 lead in game one. Senior Katie Pierucci put together another long run to push the 'Cats lead to 26-16, and Peele punched home the final kill of the game for a
30-17 win.
Game two was tight the entire way, but Davidson pulled ahead 19-16 on kills from Peele and freshman Jorden Benedict and forced the Panthers into a timeout. But High Point knotted score on a Wildcat error, 21-21, and went ahead on a kill from Audie Gonzalez. The two teams battled to the end, but a service ace from Kristina Taylor gave the Panthers a game-point opportunity, and Gonzalez put away the 30-28 win. The story was nearly the same in games three and four, as the Panthers used an early lead to claim 30-20 and 30-22 wins, respectively.
In the nightcap, the 'Cats gave the undefeated Huskies (5-0) and tournament champions a run for their money. Down 13-10, back-to-back kills from junior Alison Dwyer gave Davidson the momentum before a putaway from Peele knotted the score at 15. From that point the game was up for grabs. Up 28-27, a service error by Connecticut's Devon Farrell put the 'Cats back in the game, but a Wildcat error forced Davidson into a game point situation. Benedict saved the game, driving home a pass from freshman setter Hayley Lawson, and a Connecticut error knotted the score at 29. Connecticut won the next point, but Pierucci helped the 'Cats survive a second match point, until the Huskies took the next two for the 32-30 victory.
Davidson showed fight again in game two, matching the Huskies point for point as late as 18-18, but Connecticut used a 10-4 run to open a 28-23 lead. A couple kills from Sade Chambers delivered a 30-25 win and 2-0 advantage in the match, and Connecticut controlled the final game of the match from the beginning, eventually winning 30-18.
Appalachian State 2, Jacksonville State 3
Appalachian State 0, Tennessee 3
Appalachian State 1, Belmont 3
August 31, 2007 - Knoxville, Tenn. ? Appalachian State University Volleyball dropped a pair of games on the opening day of the Comcast Lady Vol Classic, losing to Jacksonville State, 3-2, in the first game and Tennessee, 3-0, in the nightcap. The Apps will close out the tourney against another tough foe in Belmont at 5 p.m. on Saturday.
The Mountaineers dropped the first game in the opener, 30-19, but rallied to win games two and three by scores of 30-28 and 30-20. JSU took the fourth game, 30-14, and staved off an ASU rally to take the decisive fifth game, 15-12. Dianna Thomas and Brittany Zahn led ASU with 14 and 13 kills, respectively.
Jacksonville State had four players with double figures in kills with Abbey Breit’s match-high 15 leading the way. The Apps held an advantage at the net with 11 blocks to JSU’s five. Thomas and freshman Lauren Swecker each had six total blocks.
ASU took an early 5-1 lead in the first game before the Gamecocks went on an 19-6 run that was fueled by three-consecutive kills from Breit and nine Mountaineer errors to win game one, 30-19. In game two, the Apps never trailed and only committed five attack errors to win, 30- 28, on back-to-back kills from Zahn and Thomas. Zahn also had a team- high 16 digs for a double-double.
Game three saw ASU down, 9-7, at one point before a 9-0 run behind the serving of Cassie Engelgau gave the Apps a lead they would not relinquish to take a 2-1 lead in the match. Unfortunately for ASU, Jacksonville State responded with an impressive 30-14 win in the fourth game to force a fifth game.
In the decisive game, ASU fell behind early, 6-3, and scrambled to tie the game at 12-12 on two kills from Zahn. However, those were the Mountaineers’ final points as JSU scored three unanswered points to win the game with a 15-12 victory in the fifth game.
ASU’s evening match provider a much tougher task against an opponent that is currently receiving votes in the latest AVCA polls. The Lady Vols hit a stout .329 as a team to win 30-17, 30-18 and 30-14.
Thomas again led the Mountaineers with seven kills in the match while Zahn had six. Swecker continued her solid day with five kills.
Tennessee was paced by Milan Clarke’s 11 kills and a front line that outblocked ASU, 15-6. ASU also had no answer for Kylie Marshall’s nine service aces. The Apps’ defensive efforts were led by Dianne Hefner’s seven digs.
The Citadel 0, Jacksonville 3
The Citadel 0, Providence 3
The Citadel 2, Presbyterian 3
Charleston, S.C.- Freshman Jessica Maas led the Bulldogs in scoring with 7 kills followed by freshmen Tatum Jestila and Caitlin Vyborny with 4 kills of their own. However, the Bulldogs’ .042 hitting percentage was not enough to keep up with a really good Jacksonville offensive attack who hit for .355 percent. Emily Hill set up 17 assists and recorded 7 digs in the Bulldog effort. The Citadel lost 3-0 with game scores of 30-15, 30-21 and 30-17.
Jacksonville’s (1-1) attackers were too much for the Bulldogs as they were led by freshman Aiden Yeager who led the Dolphins with 12 kills followed by Brittany Lehman and Sara Bendorf who had 11 kills each as well. Freshman Hannah Munneke had 42 assists and 8 digs.
In game one, JU jumped out to an early 4-0 lead but The Citadel used a 5-1 to cut the deficit to 5-4. The Dolphins used a 10-3 run to take a 15-7 advantage after a service ace by freshman Abby Gruenbacher. JU added another 5-0 to put the game out of reach and finish with a .400 hitting percentage (16-3-32).
In the second game, neither team led by more than two points until a kill by Yeager gave the Dolphins an 11-8 advantage. The Bulldogs answered with a 4-0 run to take a 12-11 lead but the Dolphins answered with an 8-2 run to open up a 19-14 advantage. The Bulldogs would get no closer than three points (20-17) until the Dolphins finished the game on a 10-4 run.
In the final game, the Dolphins jumped out to a 5-0 lead and quickly increased the margin to 10-3 after a service ace by junior Nicki Kent. A steady pace of 3-0 runs pushed the advantage to 21-10 after a kill by senior outside hitter Katie Hendrian. Both team played evenly for the remainder of the game as JU finished with a match-high .450 hitting percentage (17-1-35).
Charleston, S.C.- The Citadel was upset Saturday afternoon as Presbyterian came from behind to beat the Bulldogs 3-2. The Citadel jumped out to a commanding lead by taking the first two games. However, Presbyterian would not go down as they won the next two games, sending the game into a deciding fifth game where the Blue Hose squeaked out the victory 15-13 and the match.
The Citadel (1-3) performed extremely well as four Bulldogs had double-doubles. Junior Rachel Sanders, who made all-tournament team, led the Bulldogs with 23 kills and 19 digs followed by Tatum Jestila who collected 15 kills and 13 digs, Amanda Beal who had 13 kills and 10 digs and Jessica Maas who added 10 kills and 20 digs. Emily Hill aided the Bulldog offense by dishing out a season high 52 assists.
In game one, The Citadel came out to hit for an impressive .444 percent while Presbyterian hit for only .306. The Bulldogs would start slow but soon catch up with the Blue Hose as the match showed 11 lead changes towards the end of the match. With the match locked at 21, the Bulldogs would put the Blue Hose away with a run of 9-2 to win the match 30-23.
The second game, was back and forth for the first 28 points consisting of nine lead changes before the Bulldogs answered with a 6-2 run to take a 20-16 lead. The Blue Hose would close in by one point at 22-21, but a 8-4 Bulldog run would seal the victory in their favor 30-25.
The third game, started out even as there were six lead changes before Presbyterian went on a 6-0 run to pull away from the Bulldogs. The Citadel would trail by five or more points in the middle of the match before going on a 5-2 run to close within 1 point to put the score at 25-26. However, the Blue Hose regained the momentum and put the Bulldogs away with a 4-1 run to win 30-26 to send the match into a fourth game.
Presbyterian jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the fourth game, but the Bulldogs responded with a 10-1 run of their own to take the lead. The teams would then score one point each before the Blue Hose 10-2 run going ahead of the Bulldogs 19-13. Presbyterian would then outscore the Bulldogs 9-5 as the Blue Hose kept the Bulldogs at bay 28-18. The Blue Hose soon added the final two points to beat the Bulldogs 30-21 sending the match into a deciding game.
The Citadel looked good in the final game starting with a 5-1 lead and would continue to play well with Presbyterian keeping the score within four points throughout the game. With the score at 13-9 the Bulldogs would only need two more points to win the match, but a scoring drought for the Dogs would allow Presbyterian to rally for a 6-0 run to beat The Citadel 15-13.
Elon 3, Radford 1
Elon 1, East Tennessee State 3
Elon 0, Morehead State 3
Behind strong defense and outstanding offensive performances from seniors Emily Lucci and Britany Westphal, the Phoenix rebounded from yesterday's loss to defeat Radford 3-1.
In game one, Elon held the Highlanders to a .163 hitting percentage, allowing only 13 kills. The Phoenix recorded 19 kills, led by Westphal's six. Libero Kelley Blakewood's 13 digs and Lucci's three blocks led the Elon defense as the Phoenix took the first frame 31-29.
Westphal led the Phoenix offensively again in game two, tallying 10 kills as Elon cruised to a 30-20 win. Blakewood added 14 digs and Lucci added five blocks to her growing total. The Highlanders hit judst .061 in game two, behind Alixis Miller's five kills. Jess Barrow and Lucci each posted nine kills for the Phoenix in frame two.
The Phoenix had three players in double-digit kills in the third game - Westphal (14), Lucci (12) and Barrow (10). Lucci posted eight blocks, but Elon's defensive performance wasn't enough as Radford cut the Phoenix lead in half with a 30-28 win.
For the Phoenix, Westphal finished the match with 20 kills. Lucci recorded a double-double, tallying 13 kills and 11 digs, and adding three solo blocks and six block assists. Elon had 14 total team blocks in the four-game set, with Blakewood adding 30 digs.
Lindsey Poole led the Highlanders with 15 kills, while Lindsay Rupert had 12 digs.Radford falls to 2-5, while Elon improves to 4-1.
The ETSU Bucs held Elon’s top three hitters to just 23 kills and the squad to a .157 hitting percentage as they rolled to a 3-1 win in the opening match of the Phoenix Classic.
Senior Emily Lucci led the Phoenix in the first game, tallying five kills and posting two service aces. Elon posted a match high .216 hitting percentage. Callie Kiselich and Michelle Mislan each logged four kills for ETSU as they took game one 30-24.
Game two went to the Bucs 30-16. Poor hitting percentage by the Phoenix and explosive offense from East Tennessee State gave the Bucs a 2-0 advantage after two frames.
In game three, the Phoenix defense held the Bucs to a -.024 hitting percentage and tallied three team blocks to cruise to a 30-22 victory. Lucci again led the squad with four kills. Freshmen Lauren Copenhagen and Sarah Schermerhorn each posted two block assists as Elon cut the ETSU lead in half, 2-1.
Desiree Dyck posted a game-high six kills in the second frame as East Tennessee State closed out the match with a 30-23 win. Senior Britany Westphal logged three kills and hit .500 for the Phoenix.
Lucci finished the match with a team-high 13 kills and Schermerhorn tallied eight. Setters Natalie Moore and Emily Regan each had 17 assists, while Copenhagen led the squad with 11. The Phoenix posted six team blocks and eight service aces.
Neither squad hit well in the first game (Morehead State .152 and Elon .159), but defense was the name of the game as the Eagles recorded 25 digs and Elon tallied four blocks.
Caitlin Craven posted a team-leading four kills for the Eagles, adding a service ace and a block in Morehead State’s 30-14 win in the second frame.
In game three, Elon was held to a .033 hitting percentage and just six kills, falling 17-30.
Elon’s leading hitters combined for just 13 of the Phoenix’s 23 kills in the three-game match. Britany Westphal led the way with six, followed by Emily Lucci (3) and Mandy Wilson (3).
As a squad the Phoenix posted 10 total blocks, but that wasn’t enough to stop the Eagles. Tournament MVP Erin Peak tallied 11 kills (.562) and eight digs as Morehead State clinched the 2007 Phoenix Classic Championship.
Georgia Southern 0, Florida 3
Georgia Southern 0, Santa Clara 3
Georgia Southern 3, North Carolina State 1
GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- The 19th-ranked Santa Clara volleyball team served up 12 aces to easily sweep Georgia Southern 3-0 (30-14, 30-14, 30-13) in day one of the 2007 Campus USA Credit Union Invitational.
GSU drops its second match of the day and falls to 2-4. SCU improves to 5-0. “Tonight was tough,” said GSU head coach Nicole McCray. “With us having such a young team, I think we used all of our energy to get excited for Florida. We just didn’t have anything left. Santa Clara is a good team ? they dug everything we hit over and I think our team got frustrated with that and didn’t play as well as we could have. It’s a learning experience and as long as we’re better tomorrow it’ll be a good learning experience.”
The Broncos hit .398 as a team and had three players in double-figure kills. Crystal Matich had 47 assists and a team-best five aces. “They’re a great serving team,” added McCray. “They served tough and when you don’t pass it’s tough to run an offense and we got very readable.”
The Eagles posted a .087 hitting percentage while Santa Clara had six blocks.
Senior Gorana Bacic (Richmond, Va.) and junior Bianca Julio (Curitiba, Brazil) led the GSU offense with seven kills each. Junior Mae Chabra (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) had 19 assists and freshman Marissa Odom (Gainesville, Fla.) recorded eight digs.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- The No. 7 Florida volleyball team compiled a .370 hitting percentage in defeating Georgia Southern 3-0 (30-16, 30-25, 30-19) Friday afternoon at the 2007 Campus USA Credit Union Invitational.
“Florida’s a great team,” said GSU head coach Nicole McCray, “but I thought we came in and played our best game. We passed well against a great serving team and we actually had some blocks against their best hitters. To start off playing as well as we did, on the road, even though we lost, was good for us.”
The loss drops GSU to 2-3 on the season while the Gators improve to 3-0. The Eagles wrap up the evening with a match against No. 19 Santa Clara at 5:30 p.m.
McCray returned to Gainesville where she was the 2000 Southeastern Conference Player of the Year. Among the players on the opposition today was her sister, senior outside hitter Amber McCray. “I think they rose to the challenge,” said McCray about her young team. “I thought that they competed hard and played well. I did not think that we were intimidated or timid. I thought we came out and gave it all we had against a great team.”
Eight of the 14 players who took the court for GSU were true freshmen.
Game one was all Florida but game two was decidedly closer. Tied 8-8, the Gators took the lead for good, but was unable to shake the Eagles as a 23-17 advantage shrunk down to 23-21. A UF kill and an ace on the next two points proved to be too much. “We got a different match-up that we wanted. I think it was all about the girls getting used to the gym and the flow of the game. Once they did that and settled down, it was a much different game.”
Whatever momentum GSU might have gained was lost as the Gators took the first seven points of game three en route to a decisive victory. “In the third game we started off really slow,” added McCray. “When you’re down 9-1, it’s very hard to come back.”
Junior Bianca Julio (Curitiba, Brazil) led Georgia Southern with 10 kills and a team-high-tying 10 digs. Senior Flavia Pereira (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) also had 10 digs.
Nine different players contributed to Florida’s 52 kills. Callie Rivers was the only one in double-figures with 10. The Gators had 7.5 blocks and seven aces. “I think this builds character,” said McCray. “This lets them know that there are better players out there, but at the same time, if we stay together as a team, anything can happen. As long as we learn from this match, and learn that we have to pick up the dump, pick up the tips and anything easy teams give us, then I think we’ll be fine.”
GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- Georgia Southern junior Bianca Julio (Curitiba, Brazil) recorded 18 kills to lead the Eagles to a 3-1 (30-24, 25-30, 30-25, 30-19) win over North Carolina State Saturday evening at the Campus USA Credit Union Invitational.
GSU improves to 3-4 while N.C. State drops to 3-4.
“We came out really, really focused,” said GSU head coach Nicole McCray. “We had a different routine today and that really helped the girls and got them mentally prepared. N.C. State is in a great conference and is a great team but I think we had the more focused team tonight.”
The Eagles bounced back after being swept by No. 7 Florida and No. 19 Santa Clara on Friday. “It was a total team effort,” added McCray. “Our girls came in here and gave it all they had. There aren’t too many times that a team can play two top-25 teams in the same day. For us to come in here and get a huge win against N.C. State will help us down the road.” Junior Mae Chabra (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) dished out a season-high 50 assists and senior Flavia Pereira (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) posted 18 digs. Julio, who was named to the All-Tournament Team, also notched a double-double with 16 digs.
The teams traded games one and two, but game three was all Georgia Southern. The Eagles never trailed and hit .356 as a team with only three attacking errors.
Game four saw the Wolfpack record a -.079 attack percentage and a strong service run from Chabra gave GSU a commanding lead early.
“This win is huge, especially after having a tough day yesterday,” said McCray. “To get a road win in a great tournament really helps our confidence.”
Western Carolina 3, UNC-Ashville 0
Western Carolina 3, USC Upstate 0
Western Carolina 3, Kennesaw State 1
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Meredith Harmon led a balanced Western Carolina attack as the Catamounts recorded their first win of the season with a 3-0 victory over UNC Asheville in the first round of the UNC Asheville Volleyball Classic Friday night. The Catamounts won the match, 30-22, 30-21, 30-27 in the Parkway Series.
Harmon registered 11 kills, while Liz Rondone returned to action and sparked the WCU (1-3) defense with 21 digs.
The Bulldogs (0-4) were led by freshman Kelsey Benorden with 12 kills and seven digs. Ashley Wrightenberry and Alysha Greer finished with five kills each. Raquel Miotto had nine digs.
WCU took charge of the match in the middle of the first game as it went on a 6-2 run to lead to lead 20-16. The Bulldogs closed to 22-20 but the Lady Cats sprinted away to take the first game, 30-21.
In the second game, WCU hit .242 (14-6) and led from start to finish to take a 2-0 lead at 30-21.
The Catamounts led most of the third game and went up 24-17 before the Bulldogs roared back and tied the game at 26-26 on a kill from Benorden. However, WCU picked up the next three points as it got a kill from Harmon and took advantage of two Asheville errors to lead 29-26. A kill from Ali Rook gave WCU the victory.
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Western Carolina volleyball (3-3) picked up two victories on Saturday en route to capturing the UNC Asheville Volleyball Classic.
The Catamounts knocked off USC Upstate 3-0 and Kennesaw State, 3-1 to be the only team unbeaten in the tourney. Western Carolina was led by tournament MVP Jelena Jakovlijevic. The freshman outside hitter posted 15 kills against USC Upstate and then added 11 kills, five service aces and six digs in the win over KSU. WCU placed three players on the all-tournament team in Meredith Harmon, Katie Hennessey and Jakovlijevic. "I am very proud of this team," said Head Coach Stephanie Dragan. "This was a great weekend for the team. We played tough and had a lot of solid performances."
WCU won its match with USC Upstate, 30-26, 30-26, 31-29. They went four games with KSU (2-6) as the Lady Cats won, 30-22, 30-14, 22-30, 30-23.