UNC Greensboro 3, College of Charleston 2
GREENSBORO, NC ? Trailing 2-1 in the match, UNC Greensboro came back to win the final two sets and defeat College of Charleston, 3-2, Sunday at Fleming Gymnasium. Set scores were 20-25, 25-19, 25-27, 31-29, 16-14.
UNCG improves its record to 13-7 on the season and 5-2 in Southern Conference play. College of Charleston, who won its last seven matches, fell to 12-6 overall and 5-1 in the SoCon.
The win also marks UNCG’s first victory over the Cougars since topping them, 3-1, on Nov. 11, 2006 at Fleming Gymnasium.
Junior Branagan Fuller and sophomore Kayren Finney each had a team-high 13 kills, while senior Kaitlyn Nortz chipped in with 12. Fuller also had 19 digs for her 10th double-double of the season. Sophomore Billi Baker hit a team-best .259, making a career-high 10 kills off 27 total attacks and committing three errors. Sophomore Kimiko Naito and junior Lisa Fawell recorded 26 and 24 assists, respectively. Defensively, junior Catherine Hanners totaled a team-high 22 digs. Nortz had a season-best nine total blocks, including one solo and eight block assist.
Three Cougars posted double-doubles. Ginny Phillips had a match-high 19 kills and 16 digs, while Emily Sawin had a 16-kill, 13-dig double-double. Meanwhile, Cole Dawley recorded a 57-assist, 13-dig double-double. Elyse Chubb hit a match-best .333, making 15 kills of 30 total attacks with five errors. Emily Shelton had a match-high 24 digs.
In the first set, UNCG maintained the lead until a pair of College of Charleston runs allowed the Cougars to take the lead. With UNCG up 8-4, the Cougars used three UNCG attack errors and a kill from Sawin to even the match at 8-all. After a College of Charleston attack error gave UNCG the one-point edge, a kill from Phillips started a five-point run to put the Cougars up 13-9. Although the Spartans pulled to within two on three occasions, College of Charleston used a pair of three-point runs to increase its lead. The first three-point run came as Chubb had a kill and UNCG committed straight attacking errors to make it 18-13. The Cougars later used their second three-point run to push their lead to seven and hold a 24-17 advantage. Back-to-back Spartan kills from Finney and Baker as well as a service ace by junior Kayleigh Knerr pulled UNCG to within four. However, Phillips notched the set-winning kill to give College of Charleston a 1-0 lead in the match.
UNCG used an early four-point run in the second set to go up 7-4. However, after exchanging points, the Cougars put together their own four-point run in order to go up 10-9. A kill by Naito on the next play tied the set. UNCG got the go-ahead point as Finney and Fuller blocked a Cougar attack, allowing the Spartans to hold an 11-10 edge. From that point, the Spartans did not give up the lead for the remainder of the set. Although the Cougars came to within one on two occasions, UNCG used several pairs of points to gradually increase its cushion. The Spartans ultimately held a six-point, 24-18 advantage as College of Charleston made an error. After a Cougar kill, UNCG got the final point it needed off a College of Charleston miscue in order to take the set and tie the match at 1-1.
In the third set, the Spartans rallied back from a five-point deficit. With the set tied 8-8, a kill by Sarah Havel sparked a five-point run for the Cougars, who went up 13-8. However, UNCG fought back and got two-straight timely kills from Finney to deadlock the set at 19-all. The teams traded points until two College of Charleston errors gave UNCG a 24-23 edge, which was the first lead of the set for the Spartans. UNCG and College of Charleston flip-flopped points again until the Cougars scored the final two of the set and go up 2-1 in the match.
UNCG led by as many as five on four different occasions in the fourth set, but needed to fend off a tough Cougar rally. After a Baker kills gave UNCG the 21-16 advantage, College of Charleston scored six of the next seven points to tie the set at 22-all. A Nortz kill gave UNCG the one-point edge, but the Cougars evened the set with a kill by Sawin. The teams continued to trade points until a kill by Chubb and a block by Havel and Sawin put the Cougars up 28-27. Freshman Luciana Shafer had a kill that tied the set again, but College of Charleston regained its one-point lead will a Sawin kill. However, another Shafer kill evened the set and the Cougars committed straight attacking errors as the Spartans won the set, tied the match up 2-2 and force a deciding fifth set.
College of Charleston opened the fifth set with a three-point run, but the Spartans answered with three-straight points of their own. The teams traded points until a kill by Baker and a Cougar attacking error gave UNCG the 7-6 advantage. However, the Cougars eventually came back as a kill by Phillips sparked a four-point run and gave College of Charleston an 11-8 lead. UNCG fought back and went on to tie the set 12-12 with a Hanners service ace. After the teams exchanged service errors, Baker and Finney stopped a Cougar attack that allowed UNCG to take a 14-13 edge. College of Charleston took advantage of a UNCG error in order to tie the set, but the Cougars committed two straight attacking errors that provided the Spartans with the final two points they needed. On match-point, Baker and Finney came up with another block that allowed the UNCG to win the set and match.
The Spartans play their first of four straight road matches on Friday when UNCG is at Davidson. Match time is set for 5:30 p.m. from Belk Arena.
AGATE
UNC Greensboro def. College of Charleston 20-25,25-19,25-27,31-29,16-14
CofC (12-6, 5-1 SoCon) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Ginny Phillips 19-0-6; Emily Sawin 16-2-4; Elyse Chubb 15-0-1; Sarah Havel 7-0-9; Katie Robinson 3-0-1; Whitney Russell 2-0-0; Cole Dawley 1-0-0; Emily Shelton 0-1-0; Totals 63-3-12.0. (Assists) - Cole Dawley 57. (Dig leaders) - Emily Shelton 24; Ginny Phillips 16; Hayley Harrell 13; Emily Sawin 13; Cole Dawley 13; Paige Johnson 8
UNCG (13-7, 5-2 SoCon) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Branagan Fuller 13-0-5; Kayren Finney 13-0-5; Kaitlyn Nortz 12-0-9; Billi Baker 10-0-5; Alissa Beaudway 7-0-4; Luciana Shafer 3-1-1; Clara Tse 1-1-0; Kimiko Naito 1-2-0; Kayleigh Knerr 0-1-0; Lisa Fawell 0-1-0; Catherine Hanners 0-3-0; Totals 60-9-15.5. (Assists) - Kimiko Naito 26; Lisa Fawell 24. (Dig leaders) - Catherine Hanners 22; Branagan Fuller 19; Clara Tse 12; Luciana Shafer 8
Georgia Southern 3, Appalachian State 0
BOONE, N.C. - Becca Norris pounded 10 kills and Caroline Sedon added four blocks against Georgia Southern on Sunday afternoon but were unable to overcome the Eagles in a three-set loss, 25-22, 29-27 and 25-22.
The Mountaineers (4-16, 0-6 SoCon) took a few early leads of two points but were unable to extend it to any more than three points before the GSU rallied to tie and take a lead at 19-18 and used six kills from Bethany Parker to take the 25-22 opening set win.
Appalachian trailed by as many as six points in the second match before putting together several runs to pull even at 19-19 and earn a set point at 24-23. The Eagles (10-11, 4-3) wouldn't quit and forced four more ties after that point and used a pair of quick kills to break the 27-27 tie and come away with the win and two-set advantage.
After the intermission the Apps got down by four points early on before rallying to tie and take a lead at 11-9. Four service errors and 11 hitting miscues cost the Mountaineers down the stretch as GSU took a 25-22 victory to secure the sweep.
Maja Jechorek and Carla Durham each totaled nine kills and a pair of blocks and Jechorek added seven digs.
Charissa Clearman had 22 assists to lead ASU while Heather Kale saved a team-high 15 digs. Lauren Swecker also found double-figure digs with 13 to go along with her four kills and two aces.
The Mountaineers head to Western Carolina on Wednesday, October 15 for a 7 p.m. match in the beginning of a three-match road trip.
Elon 3, The Citadel 0
ELON, N.C. ? The Phoenix volleyball team held The Citadel to a -.038 attack percentage, while hitting .295 themselves, to take the match 3-0 (25-25, 25-14, 25-14). With the win, Elon improves to 15-7 overall and 4-2 in conference play. The team has won five of its last seven matches and is just two wins away from equaling its overall win total. The Citadel drops to 6-13 on the year and 0-7 in the Southern Conference.
The Citadel grabbed the opening point of set one before Elon tied it at two off a Traci Stewart kill. The teams tied again at three before Elon gained the lead for the rest of the match by taking advantage of a Citadel miscue. The Citadel edged within one at the 6-5 mark before a kill by Mandy Wilson extended the Phoenix lead to 7-5. Behind the service of Lauren Copenhagen, who tallied one ace during her service, Elon put the set out of reach with nine straight points to build a 23-10 lead. The Citadel scored two more times before a kill be Caroline Lemke sealed set one 25-12.
A service ace by The Citadel’s Emily Hill gave the Bulldogs the first point of set two. Elon tied the set at two with a Lemke kill. Elon scored five of the next six points, which included kills by Stewart, Copenhagen and Lemke to take a 7-3 lead. The Citadel cut Elon’s lead to three at the 9-6 mark before an attack error sparked a three-point run that five the Phoenix a six point lead at 12-6 and forced the Bulldogs to take a timeout. The Citadel scored the next two points after the break to bring the set within four. With Emily Regan serving, the Phoenix extended its lead to 10 at 19-9. The Citadel fought back, but could not find an answer to Elon’s offensive attack as the Phoenix took set two 25-4.
With momentum on its side, Elon opened the third set with a 7-0 run before a Regan service error gave the Bulldogs their first point. Following the Bulldog point, the Phoenix strung togther six straight points that gave it a 13-2 lead. Trailing 15-3, The Citadel used a timeout. The Bulldogs slowly fought back, but would not come within less than nine for the remainder of the final set. Elon scored the final two points of the set off of kills by Lemke and Schermerhorn to take set three 25-14 and the match 3-0.
Leading the Phoenix was Lemke who finished with 11 kills in 21 attempts for an attack percentage of .381. Her 11 kills extended her streak of consecutive matches with double-digit kills to seven. In all, she has earned double-digit kills in 15 of the teams 22 matches. Copenhagen, Stewart, and Wilson each had five kills in the win. Regan earned a match-high 23 assists. As a team, Elon finished with four service aces, including three by Regan, and committed just seven attack errors.
Defensively, the team combined for a total of 10.5 blocks. Leading the way was Lemke, Regan, and Stewart with five assisted blocks each. Schermerhorn finished the day with four assisted blocks. Copenhagen and Blakewood each had 13 digs.
The team will close out its homestand tomorrow afternoon when defending SoCon champion College of Charleston comes to Alumni Gym. The match is slated for 5 p.m. Full coverage, including live stats and video streaming, will be available at www.elonphoenix.com.
Chattanooga 3, Furman 1
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. ? The Chattanooga volleyball team is making Maclellan Gymnasium a difficult place to play for opponents in 2008 as the Lady Mocs (10-11/5-2) took down Furman (11-9/4-3) 3-1 on Sunday.
The win completes the weekend sweep for UTC after a 3-2 win over Wofford on Saturday, and wraps up a five-game homestand where the team went 4-1. This was the first time since the 2003 season that the Lady Mocs had defeated Furman as it took the match 25-16, 25-21, 20-25, and 25-18. With the win, the Lady Mocs are now 6-2 at home.
“It was an amazing day,” Head Coach Lisa Rhodes said. “This really helps us as we try to qualify and get a good seed in the conference tournament. I’m just really proud. Everyone did their job today, Bailee (Chastain) did a good job off the bench and Michaela (Huff) played well for us yesterday and really continued that trend today.”
Courtney Barnes finished the match with 16 kills, which were tops in the match as the Lady Mocs offense hit .191, the highest it has hit in a conference game all season. The sophomore tied a career-high in the category, one she set on Saturday against Wofford.
Ashley Yeager had the second-most kills in the match with 13, and Jessica Scott and Michaela Huff had seven kills apiece. Huff’s seven kills set a new career-high for the setter from Dallas, as the senior hit .462 on the afternoon. Huff also led the match with 42 assists and Lara Newberry led all players with 27 digs.
Katharine Hall and Alison West paced the Furman offense with 11 kills apiece while Kelsey Salava led the team with 38 assists. Libero Brooke Ellison led the team defensively with 21 digs.
Chattanooga was able to keep its momentum rolling from Saturday’s thrilling five-set match with Furman by taking the first two sets of the contest. In the first frame, UTC never trailed as the Lady Mocs won 25-16. Chattanooga hit .343 while holding the Paladin offense to only a .054 hitting percentage. In the following set, the Lady Mocs’ defense was able to keep the Paladin offense at bay as Furman hit only -.022 and never led in the set.
The Paladins were able to keep the match alive with a 25-20 win in the third set as Furman never allowed the Lady Mocs took take a lead in the frame. Chattanooga would be able put the Paladins away in the fourth set however, as the Lady Mocs cruised to a 25-18 victory.
Chattanooga will now return to road as the team will travel to Charleston, S.C. for weekend tilts with The Citadel and the College of Charleston. First up will be The Citadel on Saturday, Oct. 18 at 3 p.m.
Davidson 3, Western Carolina 0
CULLOWHEE, N.C. ? Western Carolina junior libero Liz Rondone broke the career digs record, pacing the record books with 1692 and counting, as the Catamounts fell to Davidson 3-0 (21-25, 18-25, 21-25) Sunday in the Ramsey Center. Western Carolina falls to 3-17 overall and 1-6 in the Southern Conference while the Wildcats improve to 9-11 and 4-2 in the SoCon.
Freshman Carrie Minoge paced the Catamounts with 11 kills on 20 attacks and just two errors for a .450 attack percentage. Junior setter Katie Hennessey added 20 assists.
Rondone ended her career-setting day with 12 digs. She broke the school record for digs in a career in the first game of the match. Needing just three to break the record, the digs ticked down to one, and Rondone eclipsed the mark when she received an attack for a dig and Hennessey got the kill.
Overall Western Carolina hit .102 in the match with just 29 team kills and 20 errors. Davidson hit .213 in the contest and had 42 kills and committed just 19 errors.
Western Carolina will host rival Appalachian State on Wednesday in the Ramsey Center. Match time is set for 7 p.m.
Samford 3, Wofford 0
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford University volleyball team swept Wofford Sunday afternoon in the Pete Hanna Center to grab its 12th consecutive win and remain undefeated in Southern Conference play. The Bulldogs have not lost a match at home so far this season and have now swept four of their last five opponents. It was the first meeting of between the Bulldogs and Terriers.
Samford (18-2, 7-0 SoCon) earned a sweep (25-21, 25-14, 25-18) for the 13th time this season. Earlier this week, Samford picked up sweeps over Chattanooga and Furman.
Sheriden Stangohr started things off for Samford in set one, scoring a quick kill to get the Bulldogs on the board first. A Wofford error and a block by Rachel Gadberry and Ashley Adams gave Samford a three-point advantage before the Terriers finally got on the block. Two kills by Wofford cut Samford's lead to one but Adams made it a two-point game before the Terriers scored again.
Back-to-back kills by Kirstein Sosnowski and Sears, followed by an ace by Gay put Samford up by four points. Samford pushed the lead out to seven before capturing the first set, 25-21.
The Bulldogs jumped out to two-point lead to start the second set on a kill by Stangohr and a Wofford error. A kill got the Terriers on the board but Samford would score five straight points on kills by Stangohr, Adams, Gadberry and Hillary Fountain and an ace by Stanoghr to take a 7-1 lead.
Wofford fought back to get within four but Samford dominated the rest of the match and went ahead by as much as 11. On a service error by Wofford, the Bulldogs took set two, 25-14.
A Samford error gave the Terriers the first lead of the third set, but Samford quickly jumped on top with kills by Fountain and Adams. Wofford tied the score a couple of times but Samford fought back and took a three-point lead before Wofford took a timeout. The Terriers came up with a block out of the timeout but Samford's Adams answered with a kill. A couple of Wofford errors and a block by Adams and Gadberry gave the Bulldogs a five-point advantage. The Bulldogs went on to win the final set, 25-18, on a kill by Gadberry.
Courtney Gay led the defensive effort digging eight balls and serving up one aces. Sarah Gardner and Ashley Adams added six digs each while Bland posted three digs. Gardner also had two kills and two assists while Bland added one assist.
Adams and Rachel Gadberry led the Bulldog offense on Sunday, posting 10 kills each. Along with her 10 kills and six digs, Adams had two set assists and two block assists. Gadberry led the team in hitting, notching a .533 percentage while also having two block solos and three block assists. Her 10 kills is also a new career high.
Hillary Fountain dished out 36 assists while also recording four kills, two digs, one ace and one block assist. Sheriden Stangohr posted eight kills, hitting .438, while also adding one ace, three digs and four block assists. Kirstein Sosnowski and Sara Sears posted five kills each and both hit .500. Sears also had two digs while both had two block assists. Katie Luckman had one dig.