Appalachian State 3, Wofford 2
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - In their sixth five set match of the year, the Wofford volleyball team fell to Appalachian State 3-2 on Sunday afternoon in Spartanburg, S.C. The Mountaineers took the win on scores of 25-23, 23-25, 27-29, 25-18 and 15-7. Wofford is now 2-4 in five set matches this season.
Set one started out with neither team able to grab an advantage. Scoring went back and forth throughout until the late stages of the set. Tied at 19, the Mountaineer’s won four of the next five points to create separation from the Terriers and take a one set lead.
Wofford (12-11, 2-6) started off slow in set two but were able to battle back and tie the score at 18 on a kill by Shanna Hughes. Appalachian State (5-18, 1-8 SoCon) evened the score at 20 and extended the lead to 21-20. However, the Terriers would not be denied and won the next three points en route to tying the match at one set each.
The Terriers jumped out to an 11-6 lead to start the third set. Appalachian State would fight back to tie the score at 19. Both teams continued to exchange side-outs until Wofford was able to prevail 29-27 for a two set to one lead.
Appalachian State responded in the fourth set edging out to a 10-3 lead. Wofford would get within four at 19-14, but the Mountaineers closed out the set pushing the match to a fifth and deciding set.
The Mountaineer’s once again created an early advantage at 6-3 to start set five. Wofford was unable to get back in the set and Appalachian State finished off the match.
Liz Sheets led the Terrier offensive attack hitting .467 with eight kills committing just one error on 15 attacks. Lindsey Richardson led the Terriers in kills with 14 while Joanna Suddath added 49 assist.
Four Terriers reached double digits in digs on the defensive side led by Brittany Thompson with 27. Suddath added 11 digs to give her a double-double on the day while Hughes chipped in 16 and Sarah Palmer added 12. Anna Gustafson added three blocks for the Terriers.
Caroline Sedon hit a match high .609 collecting 15 kills and only one error on 23 attacks to lead the Mountaineer offense. Heather Kale led the Mountaineer defense with 18 digs while Cassie Engelgau chipped in 16.
Wofford will return to action Wednesday night at 6 p.m. against SoCon Rival Furman in Spartanburg.
Samford 3, The Citadel 0
Charleston, S.C. ? The Bulldogs (6-15, 0-9 Southern) dropped a 3-0 (18-25, 17-25, 14-25) decision to Samford (19-3, 8-1 Southern) Sunday afternoon. The Bulldogs recorded five service aces and only three service errors, marking their first positive serve differential since their victory over South Carolina State. Rachel Sanders led the Bulldogs on offense with eight kills, while Ashley Winter led the defense with 11 digs. Alyssa Holum contributed 10 assists.
“It was obvious that Samford is one of the top teams in the conference, if not in the Southeast,” said Head Coach Carolyn Geiger. “Their block was powerful and well disciplined. However, I was proud of our girls. We are young but we didn’t play scared. We gave them a fight, and although the scoreboard doesn’t tell the story, I was proud of their effort.”
Samford jumped out on top in the first set recording the first two points before Jessica Maas put the Bulldogs on the scoreboard. The Samford Bulldogs stayed in control until an attack error by Samantha Bland would tie the set at 7-7. The Citadel jumped ahead with a service ace from Sanders allowing the Bulldogs to stay in control. An attack error by Shannon Frain would tie the set at 9-9, giving Samford a chance to jump back in front. Samford went ahead with a kill by Sheriden Stangohr, keeping them ahead for the rest of the set. The Citadel fell, 25-18.
The Samford Bulldogs would jump out in front once again in the second set before a kill by Maas would tie the set at one apiece. A kill by Samford’s Rachel Gadberry would put the Bulldogs back on top and giving them the momentum to stay ahead. The Citadel Bulldogs were unable to tie the set back up, getting within one or two points before a 4-0 run would keep the Bulldogs out of reach. Samford overpowered The Citadel, taking set two, 25-17.
The third set would be a reflection of the first two. Samford jumped out in front with the first three points of the game. With Samford leading 3-0, back-to-back attack errors by Gadberry would put the Bulldogs on the scoreboard and giving them a two-point deficit, down, 3-2. Down 4-3, a service ace by Maas would tie the set. A 4-4 tie would be the last tie of the set. Samford took control of the set, not allowing the Bulldogs to take the lead. The Citadel’s defense was not enough for Samford, who overpowered the Bulldogs on offense. Samford claimed the set, 25-14.
Samford finished the match with a .375 hitting percentage with four service aces and nine blocks. The Citadel recorded 24 kills on 86 total attacks with five service aces, 34 digs and two block assists. Sanders finished with eight kills on 21 total attacks and seven digs. Tatum Jestila contributed seven kills on 26 total attacks and six digs.
“I hope we take this confidence from playing such a tough team and transition it into a big three-game road swing this weekend,” said Geiger.
The Bulldogs will travel to Spartanburg, S.C. on Tuesday, Oct. 21 to take on the Spartans of USC Upstate at 6 p.m. before they head to the mountains of North Carolina to take on Appalachian State and Western Carolina. The Bulldogs will face the Mountaineers on Friday, Oct. 24 at 7 p.m. followed by the Catamounts on Saturday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m.
For more information on Bulldog Volleyball, visit the official website of The Citadel Athletics at www.CitadelSports.com.
College of Charleston 3, Chattanooga 0
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Sophomore setter Cole Dawley (Charleston, S.C.) notched a match-high 30 assists and added a pair of solo blocks and sophomore outside hitter Whitney Russell (Decatur, Ga.) drilled a match-high 11 kills as the College of Charleston (15-6, 8-1) downed Chattanooga (11-12, 6-3) 3-0 Sunday afternoon in a Southern Conference match in Charleston, S.C. The Cougars took the match by scores of 25-15, 25-11 and 25-19.
After weathering a 3-1 run by the Lady Mocs to begin Game 1, Charleston evened the score at 5-5 before using a 7-3 stretch to take a 12-8 advantage. Chattanooga quickly regrouped as they put together a 5-2 run and pulled to within a point at 14-13. That would be as close as they would get as the Cougars rattled off the next five points to extend their lead to 18-13. With the score at 19-15, Charleston put the set away with a 6-0 run fueled by five kills, including the final two by freshman middle blocker Sarah Havel (Carmel, Ind.), to close out the set with a 25-15 victory and go up 1-0 in the match.
Game 2 opened much the same as the first with UTC taking a 3-1 lead before Charleston tied the score again at 5-5 with a 4-2 run. This time, the Cougars rallied to take the next six points to go ahead 11-5 before Chattanooga responded with four straight points to pull to within 11-9.
Following an exchange of points to make the score 12-10, Charleston took total and complete control of the set with a 12 straight points as part of a larger 14-1 run that closed out the set at 25-11. During that stretch Whitney Russell recorded four kills, including the final two, while sophomore right side hitter Ginny Phillips (Raleigh, N.C.) totaled three and ignited the run with back-to-back kills.
Down 2-0 in the match, Chattanooga opened the third set with back-to-back points before a 4-0 Cougar run gave them a 4-2 advantage. UTC rallied to within 9-7 before CofC pushed the lead to 15-10 behind a 6-3 run. Charleston would then maintain at least a three-point lead as they extended their advantage to 22-15 before wrapping the set, and the match, at 25-19.
Junior outside hitter Ashley Yeager notched a team-high 10 kills and added seven digs to lead Chattanooga while senior setter Michaela Huff dished out 12 assists and finished with five digs. Junior setter Cassie Conner led the team with 13 assists while senior libero Lara Newberry totaled a match-high tying 21 digs. Sophomore middle blocker Courtney Barnes chipped in with seven kills.
Cole Dawley led the way for Charleston with a match-high 30 assists and added five kills, a .444 hitting percentage, five digs and two solo blocks while Russell pounded a match-high 11 kills to lead the offense. Junior outside hitter Emily Sawin (New Lenox, Ill.) added seven kills and eight digs and junior middle blocker Jennifer Darty (Orlando, Fla.) contributed seven kills and match-highs of five blocks and a .583 hitting percentage. Freshman libero Emily Shelton (Cincinnati, Ohio) led the defense with a match-high tying 21 digs while sophomore defensive specialist Paige Johnson (Sleepy Hollow, Ill.) added nine digs.
The Cougars return to action on Friday, October 24 when they travel to Western Carolina for a 7:00 p.m. match before wrapping up the weekend with a 7:30 p.m. contest at Appalachian State.
NOTES
The Cougars last six wins have all been by 3-0 scores.
Georgia Southern 3, Elon 0
STATESBORO, Ga. --- Georgia Southern hit .356 as a team, including .500 in the first set alone in a 3-0 (25-16, 25-22, 25-13) sweep of Elon Sunday afternoon at Hanner Fieldhouse.
The win is GSU’s fifth in a row, the longest by the school since Nov. 2004. The Eagles improve to 12-11 overall and 6-3 in the Southern Conference. The Phoenix fall to 15-10 and 4-5.
“It was a good effort,” said Georgia Southern head coach Chad Callihan. “Our offense seems to be getting a little bit stronger each match and that’s what carried us today. We were executing well in our serve receive and getting some solid sideouts. Our serving could have been a
little stronger at times as far as minimizing errors but we also did a good job of getting them out of system with our serve.”
The Eagles are hitting .360 as a team over their last two matches, posting their highest two totals of the season. Four players hit .400 or better, led by sophomore Michelle Uzoh (San Antonio, Texas) who had six kills in seven attempts (.857).
“The hitters are all working really hard,” said Callihan. “They’re listening and getting a little bit better each day in practice. We try to pick things out each day to work on and I think they’re buying into that. Our setters have really done a good job and it helps that we’ve settled in to a rotation. That group is getting some cohesion out on the court and developing some good positive chemistry and I think that’s paying dividends as well.”
The third set was all GSU. They jumped out to a 5-1 lead and after Elon closed to 6-4, ran off a 6-1 rally to eventually lead by 11 points. The Phoenix recorded a -.118 attack percentage in the set thanks to 10 errors.
“That goes back to setting the tone,” said Callihan. “During intermission we weren’t real happy with the way we started the match, just a lack of focus to begin. It wasn’t that we were playing poorly, we just weren’t taking care of our responsibilities as best we could. We tried to make that a priority as we came out to start the third game and I was proud to see them come out and respond.”
Freshman Bethany Sanford (Avondale, Ariz.) led all players with 11 kills. Freshman Lauren Claybaugh (Danville, Calif.) had 10 kills and a .500 hitting percentage and Parker Small (Charlotte, N.C.) added seven on 14 swings. Senior Mae Chabra (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) and junior Cristin Haines (Palos Heights, Ill.) tallied match-high totals of 34 assists and 14 digs, respectively.
The Eagles host UNC Greensboro Monday night as part of “Dig for the Cure”, a cancer-awareness promotion taking place nationwide.