Wofford 3, Georgia Southern 0
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Wofford volleyball team picked up a key Southern Conference win on Saturday afternoon sweeping the Eagles of Georgia Southern 3-0. The Terriers dropped the Eagles on scores of 25-14, 25-17 and 25-22.
Wofford (13-12, 3-7 SoCon) jumped on the Eagles right out of the gate scoring the opening six points. Georgia Southern was unable to respond as the Terriers extended the lead out to 15-5. Following two Georgia Southern Kills (12-13, 6-5 SoCon), Wofford responded with three of their own to put the set out of reach.
The opening of set two was similar to that of set one with the Terriers streaking out to a lead of 7-2. Georgia Southern would cut the Wofford lead to four at 10-6; however that would be as close as they got as two extended Terrier runs put the set out of reach.
Set three would be close throughout with neither team able to create an early edge. Leading 11-9, Wofford strung together three multi-point runs to give them a 19-15 advantage. Georgia Southern would fight back and get within one at 23-22, but the Terriers picked up the next two points to take the match.
Joanna Suddath led the Terrier offense hitting .667 with five kills on six attacks committing only one error, while adding 29 assists. Stacy Byrd added 12 kills for the Terriers while Shanna Hughes had a match high 12.
Brittany Thompson anchored the Terrier back line with 12 digs along with Sarah Palmer and Carolyn Rivers who added nine apiece.
Bethany Sanford led the Eagle offense with 12 kills, while Hannah Nelson and Cristin Haines added 12 and 11 digs, respectively.
Wofford returns to action Sunday against Davidson at 2 p.m.
Davidson 3, Furman 1
GREENVILLE, S.C. ? The Davidson volleyball team earned a 3-1 upset over Furman in Southern Conference action on Saturday afternoon.
Despite two close sets to start the match, Furman couldn’t pick up a win until the third set, but was unable to overcome the 2-1 deficit and allowed Davidson to take the match, 3-1.
In the first set, Davidson took an early 2-0 lead and never looked back, never allowing the Paladins to take the lead. Although the Paladins threatened, tying the score at 10 and 11 and making a 4-1 run late in the game to bring the score to 23-24, the Wildcats finished the set off a kill by Sarabeth Peele to take the set 25-23.
The second set was much of the same, with Davidson taking an 11-6 lead before allowing the Paladins back in the game to tie the score at 12. The Paladins were able to keep the score close through the middle of the set, but again allowed the set to slip away, 25-23.
After the break, Furman turned up the intensity, leading throughout the third set and taking a decisive 25-17 win. The Wildcats answered in the fourth set, coming out hot and leading by as many as eight points at 15-7.
Davidson looked to have the match in the bag, but Furman scored eight unanswered points to tie the score. The Paladins couldn’t finish, however, and Davidson took the fourth set 25-21.
Sophomore Sarabeth Peele led the Wildcats with 15 kills, with Kittery Neale adding 11 and Jorden Benedict contributing 10. Libero Jennifer Chamblee recorded 20 defensive saves, and the Wildcats outblocked the Paladins 10 to six as a team.
The Paladins were led by freshman Kelly Kirby’s 17 kills. Senior Nicole Palazzo added 16 kills and three total blocks and led the Paladins with a
.412 hitting percentage. Junior setter Kelsey Salava notched 40 assists for Furman and senior Alison West led the defense with 15 digs while also adding five service aces. Libero Brooke Ellison added 14 digs for the Paladins.
With the loss, Furman falls to 13-10 on the season and 6-4 in the Southern Conference, while Davidson improves to 11-13 overall and 6-5 in league play. The Paladins will face Georgia Southern on Sunday in a 2:00 p.m.
match.
Chattanooga 3, UNC Greensboro 1
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. ? In a contest between two evenly matched teams, the Chattanooga volleyball team (12-12, 7-3 Southern) came away with a 3-1 victory over UNC Greensboro (15-8, 7-3 Southern) Saturday at Maclellan Gym.
The Lady Mocs took the match 27-25, 24-26, 25-23, and 25-23 as UTC now sits in second place in the Southern Conference’s North Division.
“This is a huge win,” Head Coach Lisa Rhodes said. “We had some goals we wanted to accomplish this week and winning this game was one of them because we knew second place in the division was on the line. Now if we can come out and beat Elon tomorrow, then that will only strengthen our position in the division.”
Ashley Yeager and Aurore Kullak both led the Lady Mocs with 13 kills apiece on the afternoon, while Michaela Huff had a team-high 25 assists. Laura Nethery had a strong afternoon as well, as the senior put down 12 kills and posted a .458 hitting percentage, which tied for the team’s season-high with Courtney Barnes accomplished the feat on Oct. 3 against Appalachian State.
On defense, libero Lara Newberry continued her season-long strong play with a match-high 34 digs, while the Lady Mocs out-blocked the Spartans 10 ?-9 ?. Chattanooga had four players with at least 3 blocking assists as Courtney Barnes (7), Jessica Scott (5), Huff (4), and Laura Nethery (3) held the Spartans to a .139 hitting percentage.
UNC Greensboro’s Branagan Fuller posted a match-high 18 kills in the loss for the Spartans, while Kayren Finney hit .333 and added on 15 kills. Kimiko Naito led all players with 34 assists, and Catherine Hanners had 21 digs for UNCG.
In the opening set, the Lady Mocs were able to escape with the 27-25 victory after UNC Greensboro led for the majority of the set. The Spartans would actually lead 24-22 before a Kullak kill and a Spartan error tied the match at 24. After trading points, the Lady Mocs would finally put UNCG away by another kill from Kullak.
The Spartans would take the second set of the match 26-24 as both teams went to the locker rooms with a 1-1 tie. The Lady Mocs came out in the third set and jumped out to a quick 7-1 lead to give itself the early advantage. Much like the first two sets however, UNCG would fight right back to tie the match up at 13.
Both teams would go back-and-forth in the pivotal set all the way to a 23-all tie. From that point, back-to-back errors would doom the Spartans as the Lady Mocs took the set 25-23 and the 2-1 lead in the match.
In the fourth set, the Lady Mocs and Spartans would once again find itself in a battle as both teams battled back-and-forth to a 13-12 UTC advantage. From that point, the Lady Mocs were able to extend a lead significant in the match as the team went on a 6-0 run. That run would prove costly for the Spartans as UNCG would fight back, but came up short in the final set, 25-23.
The Lady Mocs will wrap up its weekend on Sunday against Elon. First serve is scheduled for 4 p.m. from Maclellan Gymnasium.
Western Carolina 3, The Citadel 2
CULLOWHEE, N.C. ? Katie Hennessey and Kara Lynzee Brooks each recorded season-highs to help lead Western Carolina volleyball (5-19, 3-8 SoCon) to a 3-2 (25-29, 14-25, 25-23, 21-25, 15-7) victory over The Citadel (7-17, 1-10 SoCon) Saturday in the Ramsey Center.
Brooks followed up her season-high performance in kills against Georgia Southern by besting it with 14 kills against The Citadel. She was one of four Catamount players to record double-figure kills: Rebecca Stoltz had 13, Amanda Kerr had 12 and Brittany Lysik notched 10.
“Kara Lynzee Brooks had a great week,” said Head Coach Stephanie Dragan. “Rebecca also had a great match tonight working pin to pin.”
Setter Hennessey had her best assist output of the season with 50 against the Bulldogs. The junior also had 17 digs and a service ace.
The match was also Western Carolina’s “Dig for a Cure” match in support of breast cancer awareness. The Catamounts raised $1,844.20 for the worthy cause.
On the court, Western Carolina dispatched The Citadel quickly in the first game. The club had its second best offensive output of the match hitting .343 with 14 kills and just two errors.
“I think the first game wasn’t as challenging as we expected,” Dragan said. “So in game two I think we got a bit complacent.”
Game two saw a reversal of fortunes with The Citadel hitting a scorching .345 while Western Carolina was just .059. The Catamounts had just eight kills in the second game and committed six errors.
“I challenged the team at halftime,” Dragan said. “I told them to go out and play tough volleyball and we would win.”
Western Carolina responded by winning game three but The Citadel battled back to take game four, forcing a game five. In game five, with the game tied at three, Western Carolina took the lead for good off a kill by Carrie Minogue. It was a Minogue kill that not only gave the Catamounts the lead for good but also closed out the game and the match.
The Catamounts will play their final non-conference match of the season on Tuesday when they travel to Johnson City, Tennessee to take on East Tennessee. Match time is set for 7 p.m.
Samford 3, Elon 1
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford University volleyball team sparked a second set comeback to overtake Elon, 3-1 (17-25, 25-23, 25-16, 25-14), in Saturday nights match. After losing the first set, the Bulldogs rallied back to win three straight to grab their 20th win of the season.
Samford (20-3, 9-1 SoCon) went from hitting .000 in the first set to .593 as a team in the fourth set, holding their opponents to under .200 the whole match. The Bulldogs posted a sideout efficiency of 75 percent in the third set and 80 percent in the fourth set. Elon now moves to 15-11 overall and 4-6 in conference play.
“After our first Southern Conference loss last weekend, we talked a lot about responding to adversity,” Samford head coach Derek Schroeder said. “Elon came in and gave us a beating in game one. I am so proud of our response and the level we brought in the rest of the match.”
Sheriden Stanoghr led the Bulldogs in kills with 14, hitting .444, adding one ace, one dig and three block assists. Rachel Gadberry posted 13 kills and two block assists while leading her team in hitting with .500. Sara Sears had 10 kills and five digs with one block solo and one block assist.
“I challenged Sara Sears and Rachel Gadberry this week and they played fabulous tonight,” Schroeder said. “We are all excited for tomorrow.”
Ashley Adams knocked down nine kills and added five digs, one assist, one block solo and two block assists. Kirstein Sosnowski posted seven kills and two digs while also grabbing one block solo and three block assists. Hillary Fountain dished out 47 assists while having three kills, one ace and one block assist. Courtney Gay had 22 digs and one assists while Samantha Bland grabbed 10 digs. Sarah Gardner had eight digs with two aces one assist.
Elon jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead a service error by Samford, two aces and a kill. Samford finally got on the board due to a Phoenix service error and then a block by Gadberry and Sosnowski cut the lead in have. Elon went ahead again by four but Samford cut it to two again with a kills by Sosnowski and Stangohr. The Phoenix soared out to an eight-point lead, mostly due to Samford errors. The Bulldogs tried to recover, getting within six on a kill by Adams and a block solo by Sosnowski but the Phoenix would go on to push the lead back out to eight and win set one, 25-17.
Samford struck the first blow in set two with a kill by Sosnowski but two consecutive Bulldog errors and a Phoenix kill lifted Elon to a two-point advantage. With a kill by Sears, Samford got within one point but Elon quickly pulled ahead by five on three kills and a block. Soon, Elon ahead by six points and Samford called a timeout. Two Elon errors sparked a 5-2 run to get the Bulldogs within two, but a couple of Samford errors and a Phoenix block put Elon back ahead by five. Another quick run cut the lead to two again and forced the Phoenix to take a timeout.
The break seemed to help Samford more than Elon as the Bulldogs went on an 8-3 run to take the set. Sosnowski sparked the run with a kill, followed by Sears with the same and an Elon error put Samford within one point. Two Phoenix kills put Elon back ahead by three but not for long as a kill by Stangohr, a Phoenix error and a service ace by Gardner tie the score at 23. Another Elon error put Samford ahead by one and Adams wrapped things up with a kill, giving Samford the 25-23 win.
A block by Elon put the Phoenix on the board first but Stangohr quickly answered back with a kills. An error by Elon’s setter gave Samford the 2-1 lead but a Samford error just tied the score back up. After six more tied scores, Samford finally took the lead for good on back-to-back kills by Adams and kill by Fountain. A block by Stangohr and Sosnowski gave the Bulldogs a three-point advantage and forced Elon to take a timeout.
Out of the break, Stangohr knocked down a kill to put the Bulldogs ahead by four but the Phoenix answered back with a kill and a block to cut the lead to two. However, with the help of a few errors by Elong and a kill by Sears, the Bulldogs went ahead by five and forced another Elon timeout. After the break, Samford went on a 9-5 run to take set three, 25-16, as Sears closed out the set with a kill.
Samford grabbed a quick 2-0 lead to start the four and final set on consecutive kills by Stangohr and Sosnowski. An Elon error added a third point to Samford’s score and then a Bulldog service error put the Phoenix in the game. A 4-2 run included kills by Sears and Gadberry and after another error by the Phoenix, Elon called for a timeout. Samford surged ahead by eight on kills by Sears, Adams and Sosnowski, a couple of Phoenix errors, a block by Gadberry and Adams and capped off by an ace by Fountain. After another Elon timeout, Samford went on a 7-5 run to win the fourth set. A kill by Stangohr, a block by Fountain and Stangohr, an ace by Gardner and another kill by Stangohr rounded out the 25-14 win.
Samford will be back in action Sunday as it hosts UNC Greensboro at 2 p.m. in the Pete Hanna Center. The Spartans trail the Bulldogs in the Southern Conference standings as they sit in second place in the North division, just behind Samford.
College of Charleston 3, Appalachian State 2
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University volleyball forgot about Friday night's loss and got down to business quickly on Saturday, taking the first two sets from College of Charleston. The Cougars battled back to win the match in five sets, however, 20-25, 21-25, 25-20, 25-15 and 16-14.
Lauren Swecker and Maggie Seeds each accounted for 15 kills on the night as ASU out-hit the Cougars (17-6, 10-1 SoCon) .221-to-.218 for the night. Carla Durham added seven killls and five blocks.
The opening set was back-and-forth for the first half and the teams played even to a 20-20 tie. Swecker then went back to serve for Appalachian and helped the Apps to a 5-0 run to close out the match and take the 25-20 win. ASU hit .243 with 14 kills and just five errors while limiting CofC to just two more kills than errors. Swecker and Maja Jechorek each pounded four kills in the set for Appalachian.
Swecker reached double-figure kills with 11 on the night to go along with three blocks and a pair of digs.
Set two had quite a similar feel as the teams were even through the first 20 points before Heather Kale's serving led the Mountaineers to a 5-0 run and 15-10 run. The teams traded points the rest of the way before the Cougars pulled within 22-20. Three of the final four points belonged to the home team as the Apps took a commanding 2-0 lead into the locker room.
After the intermission, Charleston fought back from an early deficit to take the lead for good at 11-10. CofC led by as many as five points before ASU made a late run to close within two at 21-19. The Cougars stayed alive with four more points to win their first set of the night. Jechorek led the Mountaineers with four kills in the set.
Cassie Engelgau picked up five digs in the third set and three more in the fourth to lead Appalachian but College of Charleston found 17 kills with just three errors in the set for a .467 hitting percentage en route to the 25-15 win. ASU connected on just eight kills in the set with four digs.
Engelgau finished the night with a team-high 13 digs. Kale added 11 digs and all four Appalachian aces.
The fifth set was as intense as any this season, as neither squad led by more than two points throughout. Nine of ASU's 14 points came via kill, including five for Seeds in just six swings. ASU's latest lead came at 10-9 before the preseason favorite powered back with a three-point run and held on to the lead to complete the comeback.
Caroline Sedon had two blocks in the fifth set and seven of ASU's 12 in the match. The sophomore also added four kills and four digs.
The Mountaineers hit the road next weekend to face Elon on Friday at 7 p.m. and UNC Greensboro on Saturday at 5 p.m.