Samford 3, UNC Greensboro 2
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford University volleyball team took down UNC Greensboro Sunday afternoon in a match that turned to a scrappy dogfight from the very beginning. The Bulldogs (21-3, 10-1 SoCon) responded to adversity from a very intense Spartan squad and came out on top in the 3-2 (22-25, 29-27, 16-25, 25-18, 15-11) match. The win is Samford’s 21st on the season, and the Bulldogs hold onto their North division lead once again.
“This was a great weekend for Samford volleyball and a lot of fun to play intense matches that matter in the North division,” Samford head coach Derek Schroeder said.
UNC Greensboro (15-9, 7-4 SoCon) held Samford’s hitting to under .162 in the first three set but the Bulldogs bounced back tremendously in the final two, hitting .417 and .308, respectively, and holding the Spartans to percentages under -.071 in the fourth and .062 in the fifth. Samford out-blocked UNC Greensboro 15 to 12.5 as junior middle blocker Sheriden Stangohr amassed nine blocks alone.
UNC Greensboro took the first set, 25-22, as Samford’s intensity came up just short to start off the match with a win. However, the Bulldogs came back swinging in the second set and fought hard into extra play as they tied the match up with a 29-27 victory. Samford fought through 14 ties and three lead changes to win their first set of the afternoon. The Spartans seemed to almost dominate the third set as they came out with a 25-16 win, but the tables were turned in the fourth set when Samford took the 25-18 victory. Finally, Samford dominated the tiebreaker jumping out to a seven-point lead before the Spartans caught up. However, the Bulldogs took the match with a 15-11 win.
“I am very happy with Sarah Gardner and what an impact she had on both matches this weekend as a defensive specialist,” Schroeder said. “Hillary Fountain struggled early in today’s mach but kept very composed and set the ball great in sets four and five.”
Gardner just missed matching a season high as she had 10 digs in Saturday’s match. She also had two assists and grabbed a season high five aces, just missing her career high of six. Fountain dished out 45 assists, had six kills while hitting .333, and posted six digs and four block assists.
Ashley Adams knocked down 20 kills and had five digs while grabbing one assist and two block assists. Kirstein Sosnowski led the Bulldogs in hitting with a .565 hitting percentage while having 14 kills. She also added two assists and season-high five block assists. Rachel Gaberry had eight kills while hitting .333 and added on assist, one dig, one block solo and four block assists.
Sheriden Stangohr and Sara Sears grabbed seven kills each. Stangohr also had one dig, one block solo and eight block assists while Sears grabbed one dig and three block assists. Courtney Gay led her team in digs with 14 while also grabbing six assists and Samanth Bland added six digs.
UNC Greensboro grabbed the early 2-0 lead on a Samford service error and a Spartan ace, but the Bulldogs answered back with two straight kills by Stangohr and Adams. An attack error by UNCG gave Samford the one-point lead but a Bulldog attack error tie the score back up. Samford then took a three-point lead on a UNCG error and kills by Adams and Sosnowski but the score was tied again after a Spartan kill and two Samford errors.
After three more ties, UNCG gained the lead on two kills and a Samford error to go ahead by three. Samford took a time out and eventually came back to tie the score at 20 on kills by Sosnowski and Sears. Twice more UNCG went ahead by one and Samford tied the score again, but with the score tied a 22, the Spartans knocked down three consecutive kills to win the first set, 25-22.
The Spartans jumped out to a commanding four-point lead at the top of the second set but Samford finally got on the board after a kill by Adams. The Bulldogs then fought hard to tie the score a seven on a kill and then a block by Gadberry and couple of Spartan errors and then a block by Stanoghr and Sosnowski, and a kill by Sears. A block by Sears and Stangohr gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the set, but UNCG would tie the score again and take over by four after another tie.
With UNCG having a 17-14 lead, two kills by Gadberry and a few Spartan errors put Samford in a tie at 18. From that point on, it was a back-and-forth game, with each team tying the score and then taking over the lead. Finally Samford grabbed the set point at 24-23, but UNCG knocked down a kill to tie the score at 24. A kill by Gadberry gave the Bulldogs another set point, but Samford committed an error to tie the score again at 25. After two more failed set points by the Bulldogs, the score was tied at 27. Fountain snuck a kill past the Spartain to take the one-point lead and an ace by Gardner gave the Bulldogs the 29-27 second set win.
A Samford error gave the Spartans the first point of the third set but Adams rattled off a kill to even things out. A Spartan kill put UNCG up by one, but Adams evened the score again with another kill. Once more Adams knocked down a kill and gave Samford the one-point lead but UNCG answered back to make it 3-3. After three more tied scores, the Spartans took a seven-point advantage. After two timeouts, the Bulldogs just could not pull it together. They fought back with kills by Sosnowski, Adams and Stanoghr but the Spartans pushed their lead out to nine and took the third set, 25-16.
Samford took a three-point lead early in the fourth set on kills by Gadberry and Fountain and UNCG error. However, the Spartans knocked down three straight kills to tie the score at three, but after two more ties, Samford took a four-point advantage on a kill by Gadberry, two blocks by Stangohr, Sears and Sosnowski, and a kill by Sears. UNCG fought back to tie the score at 10 which forced Samford to take a timeout.
Out of the break, a kill by Fountain sparked a 5-0 run for the Bulldogs which included a Spartan error, a block by Fountain and Stangohr, another kill by Fountain and a kill by Stangohr. The Spartans then took a timeout which was followed by a 5-0 run by UNCG. Samford then called for another timeout after which the Bulldogs completely took over. Samford allowed the Spartans only three more points and the Bulldogs were soon ahead by five again. Back-to-back blocks by Gadberry and Sears and Adams and Sosnowski wrapped up set four as Samford took the 25-18 win.
A block by Fountain and Stangohr and a kill by Adams put the Bulldogs ahead by two at the start of the tiebreaker set. UNCG grabbed two straight points to tie the score at two but Samford soon led by four after kills by Adams and Gadberry and blocks by Sosnowski, Gadberry and Adams. UNCG took a timeout but Samford’s intensity was too much to handle. Fountain knocked down a kill to give Samford the 8-3 lead as the teams switched sides. Another kill by Sosnowski put the Bulldogs ahead by six and the Spartans were only able to get back within three. Samford went on to win the fifth and final set, 15-11.
The Bulldogs will be back in action this Wednesday, Oct. 29, as they host Chattanooga. Match play starts at 6 p.m. Be sure to get in the Halloween spirit and wear your costumes to the match. There will be a Halloween costume contest during the break between sets two and three.
Wofford 3, Davidson 1
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Picking up where they left off Saturday, the Wofford Volleyball team earned another Southern Conference victory over the visiting Davidson Wildcats, 3-1. The Terriers took the match by scores of 25-18, 25-19, 19-25 and 25-12.
Wofford (14-12, 4-7 SoCon) came out aggressive from the start and opened up a 9-4 advantage behind strong serving from Sarah Palmer. Davidson got within two at 14-12, but the Terriers responded with three straight points capped off by a Lindsey Richardson kill and a Joanna Suddath service ace. Leading by five, Wofford tacked on two more scoring spurts to take the first set.
Repeating their performance of set one, the Terriers ran out to an early advantage at 8-4 keyed once again by strong serving from Palmer. Wofford would continue to maintain a comfortable margin until the latter stages of the set. Davidson (11-14, 6-6 SoCon) went on a three point run when trailing 17-13 to cut the Terrier lead to one and would eventually knot the score at 18. Kills by Richardson and Shanna Hughes gave Wofford a 20-18 advantage which helped lead the Terriers to a second set victory.
The Wildcats did not lie down however, and responded well in set three. With the scored tied at 17, Davidson won the next five points to create an edge the Terriers could not overcome taking the third set.
Set four was far different as the previous three as the Terriers dominated the Wildcats. Leading 16-9, Wofford went on an extended run of 6 points sparked by three Hughes service aces to give the Terriers a 22-9 lead. Davidson would win the next three points, but Wofford finished off the next two taking the match.
Three Wofford hitters reached double digits in kills with Richardson leading the way hitting .296 with 11 kills on 27 attacks and just three errors. Stacy Byrd added ten kills while Hughes tied for the match high with 17. Suddath also had six kills from the setter position to go along with 40 assists.
Libero Brittany Thompson helped anchor the Terrier defense with 30 digs. Hughes capped off her double-double with 13 digs while Palmer added 15. The Terrier defense held the Davidson hitters to a .086 hitting percentage while holding them to a -.02 hitting percentage in the opening set.
Davidson was led by Kittery Neale who tied for the match high in kills with 17. Jennifer Chamblee led the Wildcats defense with 15 digs.
Wofford will return to action Saturday in Charleston, S.C. as they take on the College of Charleston at 7 p.m.
Georgia Southern 3, Furman 2
GREENVILLE, S.C. ? The Furman volleyball team suffered its second loss of the weekend with a 3-2 loss to Georgia Southern.
The Paladins were plagued by a struggling offense, which managed only a .145 team attack percentage. The team’s net defense also failed to measure up, with Georgia Southern outblocking the Paladins 14 to eight.
Furman opened the first set with a 4-1 lead over the Eagles, but Georgia Southern quickly evened the score and took a slight lead in the middle of the set. Neither team led by more than two points for the rest of the set, and the Paladins took the back-and-forth affair by a score of 25-23.
The second set belonged to Georgia Southern, with the Eagles storming out of the gate to take and early 10-2 lead on a serving run by setter Mae Chabra. The Paladins managed to bring the score within three points, but couldn’t stop the Eagles from taking the set, 25-19.
Georgia Southern again took the lead in the third set, leading by as many as five points, until the Paladins went on a 7-1 run behind strong serving from Alison West and Brooke Ellison to take a 14-13 lead. The second half of the set saw four more tied scores before Furman took the 25-22 decision.
The fourth set was a battle featuring 14 ties and six lead changes. Down 24-22, the Paladins fought off three game points to tie the score at 26, but were unable to finish, allowing the Eagles to win 28-26 and force a fifth and deciding set.
In the fifth set, Furman and Georgia Southern exchanged points until the side change, with the score tied at eight. The Eagles then began to pull away, taking advantage of some Paladin errors and earning some points of their own to take the fifth set 15-9.
Three Eagles tallied double-digit kills, with Lauren Claybaugh leading the way with 18 kills. Christy Dowd added 16 and Bethany Sanford contributed 10 kills to the winning effort, while also adding 12 digs. Libero Cristin Haines recorded 21 defensive saves, and middle blocker Parker Small led the net defense with six total blocks.
Furman’s Kelly Kirby and Alison West were the bright spots for the Paladins, with both recording double-doubles during the match. West led the team with 17 kills and added 14 digs, while Kirby tallied 14 kills and 11 digs for the team. Setter Kelsey Salava led the team with 50 assists and libero Brooke Ellison led all players with 24 digs.
With the loss, Furman falls to 13-11 on the season and 6-5 in the Southern Conference while Georgia Southern improves to 13-13 overall and 7-5 in league matches. The Paladins will travel to Charleston next weekend to take on The Citadel and College of Charleston on November 1 and 2, respectively.
Chattanooga 3, Elon 0
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. ? As the home portion of its schedule winds down, the Chattanooga volleyball team continues to excel at Maclellan Gymnasium as the Lady Mocs (13-12, 8-3 Southern) took down Elon (15-12, 4-7 Southern) 3-0 on Sunday.
The victory gives the Lady Mocs its second consecutive weekend sweep as the team has now won six of its last seven at home and is over .500 for the first time this season. Chattanooga took the match 26-24, 25-12, and 25-15.
“It’s a good win,” Head Coach Lisa Rhodes said. “We have talked about taking care of business at home all season, and I think we did that this weekend. Right now it seems that things are really coming together for us at the right time.”
Courtney Barnes and Ashley Yeager were the driving force of the UTC offense on Sunday as both tied for a match-high 14 kills apiece. Barnes continued her offensive surge over the last few weeks with a .636 hitting percentage, which is a career best and a team-high for 2008.
Michaela Huff had all but four of the Lady Mocs’ assists on the afternoon, with a match-high 36, while libero Lara Newberry led the team with 24 digs.
For the Phoenix, Caroline Lemke led the squad with 10 kills as Emily Regan paced the team with 17 assists. On defense for Elon, Kelley Blakewood led all players in the match with 28 digs.
The Lady Mocs were able to squeak by the Phoenix in the first set as UTC took the opening frame 26-24. Both teams remained close to one another throughout the entire set before the Lady Mocs were able to take the 1-0 lead thanks to a Jessica Scott kill, partnered with an Elon error.
In the next frame both teams battled back-and-forth to a 9-all tie, before the Lady Mocs were able to surge ahead with eight straight points. Chattanooga would then outscore the Phoenix 8-3 to take the set 25-12, and the 2-0 advantage.
The Lady Mocs would not let the Phoenix hang around long in the third set, as UTC was able to take the final frame 25-15 to capture the victory.
Up next for Chattanooga will be Samford on Wednesday in Birmingham, Ala. First serve for the mid-week showdown of the North Division’s first and second place teams is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.