UNC Greensboro 3, Wofford 0
GREENSBORO, NC ? UNC Greensboro picked up its third Southern Conference victory of the season on Saturday afternoon as the Spartans defeated Wofford 3-0 at Fleming Gymnasium. Set scores were 25-16, 25-17, 25-22.
A trio of Spartans hit over .300 in the match. Redshirt sophomore Caley Redden hit .500, making eight kills off 12 total attacks with two errors. Meanwhile, sophomore Kayren Finney hit .476 (12 kills, 21 total attacks, two errors) and senior Kaitlyn Nortz recorded a .375 hitting percentage (nine kills, 16 total attacks, three errors). Finney also totaled five blocks. Junior Branagan Fuller tallied a match-high 13 kills. Sophomore Kimiko Naito and junior Lisa Fawell put up 19 and 18 assists, respectively. Freshman Clara Tse led the Spartans with 12 digs and added four blocks.
Stacy Byrd led the Terriers with seven kills. Joanna Suddath had 19 assists, while Brittany Thompson totaled 13 digs.
UNCG had a solid hitting performance in the first set. The Spartans made 16 kills off 29 total attacks with just three errors en route to hitting .448. The Spartans also led throughout the entire set. However, it was not until late in the set until UNCG was able to establish a strong lead. Holding a 16-13 advantage, a kill from Nortz started a four-point run that pushed the Spartans’ lead to seven. UNCG eventually took a nine-point advantage, using a three-point run to make it a 23-14 set. During the run, Finney and Redden each recorded a kill and Naito served an ace. The teams exchanged points until the Terriers served an error that proved to be the set-winning point the Spartans needed.
In the second set, UNCG and Wofford battled early for control of the set. With the score tied 10-10, a Redden kill began a six-point run that allowed the Spartans to pull away from the Terriers. UNCG eventually pushed its advantage to seven on several different occasions. Wofford was able to trimmed UNCG’s lead down to four, using three UNCG miscues to make it a 20-16 set. After trading points, UNCG closed out the set with a four-point run.
The third set proved to be another battle as neither team was able to build more than a two-point lead through the first half of the set. However, the Spartan were eventually able to get a three-point cushion midway through the set. With the set tied 12-12, three-straight kills from Finney, Fuller and Redden allowed UNCG to go up 15-12. Wofford eventually pulled to within one off a block by Liz Sheets and Stacy Byrd to make it 16-15 in favor of UNCG, but a kill by Fuller began a five-point UNCG run and gave the Spartans a six-point cushion. However, UNCG had to fend off several late rallies by the Terriers. Wofford answered UNCG’s run by scoring three-straight points. After the teams exchanged points, Wofford scored four of the next five points, including one off a kill from Catelyn Amenda and another off a Sarah Palmer service ace, to pull to within one and make it a 23-22 set. UNCG ultimately recorded straight kills from Tse and Finney in order to win the set and the match.
UNCG returns to action on Wednesday for a mid-week match at Elon. Match time is set for 7 p.m., at Alumni Gym.
AGATE
UNC Greensboro def. Wofford 25-16,25-17,25-22
Wofford (11-7, 1-2 SoCon) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Stacy Byrd 7-0-2; Shanna Hughes 6-0-0; Liz Sheets 3-0-2; Lindsey Richardson 2-0-0; Catelyn Amende 2-0-1; Joanna Suddath 1-1-2; Anna Gustafson 1-0-2; Sarah Palmer 0-1-0; Brittany Thompson 0-1-0; Totals 22-3-5.0. (Assists) - Joanna Suddath 19. (Dig leaders) - Brittany Thompson 13; Carolyn Rivers 6
UNCG (11-6, 3-1 SoCon) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Branagan Fuller 13-0-1; Kayren Finney 12-0-5; Kaitlyn Nortz 9-0-3; Caley Redden 8-0-1; Clara Tse 3-0-4; Kimiko Naito 2-1-0; Luciana Shafer 2-0-2; Lisa Fawell 1-0-0; Catherine Hanners 0-1-0; Totals 50-2-8.0. (Assists) ? Kimiko Naito 19; Lisa Fawell 18. (Dig leaders) - Clara Tse 12; Catherine Hanners 11
College of Charleston 3, Davidson 0
CHARLESTON, S.C. ? Junior outside hitter Emily Sawin (New Lenox, Ill.) posted her fourth straight double-figure kill performance with a match-high 11 kills and sophomore setter Cole Dawley (Charleston, S.C.) notched a match-high 32 assists as the College of Charleston (11-5, 4-0) remained unbeaten in Southern Conference play with a 3-0 victory over Davidson (5-11, 1-3) Saturday afternoon in a Southern Conference match in Charleston, S.C. The Cougars claimed the match by scores of 26-24, 25-17 and 25-21.
A back-and-forth affair right from the beginning, the two teams fought through six ties and were separated by only several points until Emily Sawin drilled back-to-back kills and freshman middle blocker Sarah Havel (Carmel, Ind.) delivered a third to give the Cougars a 14-11 advantage. Charleston would eventually stretch that lead to 17-13 before the Wildcats rallied to within 19-17 on a 6-2 run.
It would remain a tightly contested affair as the Wildcats refused to back down and managed to pull even at 24-24 on a kill by sophomore middle blocker Jorden Benedict. Sawin then pounded her fourth kill of the set and delivered a game-ending service ace as the Cougars took the set by the score of 26-24 and went ahead 1-0 in the match.
After another early exchange of points led to a 4-4 tie at the start of Game 2, Charleston vaulted out to an 11-6 lead behind a 7-2 run fueled by three kills and a block. CofC would maintain that advantage at 15-10 before the Wildcats closed to within 15-12. From there, the two teams exchanged a pair of points to make the score 17-14 before back-to-back kills by Sawin ignited a 4-0 run and sparked the Cougars to a 21-14 lead. Three kills over the next four CofC points then put the set away at 25-17 and gave Charleston a 2-0 match lead.
The Cougars charged out of the gate in Game 3 as they scored the set's first four points and quickly extended that lead to 8-4 on a pair of kills from freshman middle blocker Elyse Chubb (Peachtree City, Ga.). The Wildcats would not go quietly, however, as they battled back to take a 10-9 lead. The teams would then alternate scores over the next five points to tie the score at 12-12 before sophomore right side hitter Ginny Phillips (Raleigh, N.C.) connected on a kill and delivered a service ace to give the Cougars a 14-12 advantage.
After another exchange of points, Davidson rallied to tie the set at 15-15 as they capitalized on consecutive attack errors before another Sawin kill made it 16-15, Charleston. A 3-0 run by the Wildcats then gave them their largest lead of the match at 18-16. It would not last long as the Cougars responded with a 3-0 run of their own to retake the lead at 19-18.
The teams then once again traded points over the next five plays and battle through three ties before settling at 21-21. At that point, a 4-0 run keyed by three straight kills from Ginny Phillips, Cole Dawley and Elyse Chubb put the set away at 25-21 and sealed the match at 3-0.
Sophomore outside hitter Sarabeth Peele led the way for the Wildcats with a team-high 11 kills and team-high tying seven digs while senior middle blocker Kittery Neale finished with nine kills, a .571 hitting percentage and seven digs. Sophomore setter Hayley Lawson delivered a team-high 25 assists and freshman middle blocker Madison Benedict finished with four blocks.
Emily Sawin paced the Cougars offense with a match-high 11 kills and added six digs while Elyse Chubb and Ginny Phillips each added eight kills. Chubb also produced a .312 hitting percentage, five digs and a match-high tying four blocks while Phillips added four assists and a pair of blocks. Sarah Havel and freshman outside hitter Katie Robinson (Gainesville, Fla.) each finished with seven kills and hit over .300 on the afternoon.
Cole Dawley setup the offense with a match-high 32 assists and contributed seven digs and two service aces while freshman libero Emily Shelton (Cincinnati, Ohio) posted a match-best 11 digs.
The Cougars return to action on Wednesday, October 8 when they travel to cross-town rival The Citadel for a 7:00 p.m. contest.
NOTES
Sarah Havel hit 1.000 in Game 1 as all five of her attempts resulted in kills ... with her 32 assists, Dawley has now posted 30 or more assists in each of her last four matches ... Katie Robinson posted a career-high seven kills against the Wildcats.
Samford 3, Appalachian State 1
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford University volleyball team defeated Appalachian State, 3-1 (25-15, 22-25, 25-18, 27-25), in a hard-fought match at the Pete Hanna Center on the Samford University campus Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs have now won their seventh straight game and are still undefeated in Southern Conference play.
Samford (14-2, 3-0 SoCon) held Appalachian State (4-13, 0-3 SoCon) to a .000 hitting percentage during the first set and posted 63 digs in the entire match, the most for the Bulldogs in a four-set match in 2008. Appalachian State out-blocked Samford, 8-5, but the Bulldogs hit .306 to the Mountaineers’ .233.
Samford came out of the gate in set one and completely dominated the gameplan. The Bulldogs charged out to an 11-point lead quickly, sparked by a kill from Stangohr and capped of with a kill from Adams. The Bulldogs held the Mountaineers to a .000 hitting percentage as they grabbed only six kills in the set. Unfortunately, Appalachian State’s first eight points were results of Samford errors, but Samford only allowed their opponents to score on them six times. After the Bulldogs pushed their lead out to 13, the Mountaineers fought to get within nine, but a kill by Sears ended the first set as Samford won, 25-15.
Gardner came out in set two and immediately put the Bulldogs on the board with an ace, but the Appalachian State answered right back with a kill. The Mountaineers soon took a three point advantage, but Samford quickly tied the score on kills by Sosnowski and Sears. With the score at 13-10, Appalachian State caught up to tie the score at 13. The two teams would fight through three more ties before the Mountaineers took the lead back. Appalachian State pulled out ahead by two points before Samford tied the score twice more, but the Mountaineers would eventually put the game away, 25-22.
Sears scored the first point for Samford in the third set, before Appalachian State grabbed two straight points. Samford answered back and tied the score, but it was a back-and-forth game for a while. Each team traded two-point leads before the score was tied again. Samford finally took the lead for good on back-to-back Mountaineer errors and kill by Fountain. With the score a 22-15, the Bulldogs allowed the Mountaineers only three more points, as Samford went on to win set three, 25-18, posting 73 percent in side-out efficiency.
The fourth and final set was a hard-fought battle. Samford jumped out to an early two-point lead on a kill by Adams and an ace by Fountain. That lead was soon pushed out to four before Appalachian State charged back to tie the score at 11. From that point on, it was a back-and-forth battle, neither team leading by more than two. There were twelve tie scores in this set alone. With the score tied a 15, the Mountaineers quickly took the advantage and went ahead by two. The Bulldogs would tie the score again several times while their opponents would just take the two-point lead back. Finally, Samford tied the score at 23 and took a one-point lead on a kill by Stangohr before the Appalachian State tied it again. This happened one more before a Mountaineer service error gave Samford the lead again and Adams finished it off, giving the Bulldogs the 27-25 win.
“We knew Appalachian State was going to touch a lot of balls on the block,” Samford head coach Derek Schroeder said. “They are a very good blocking team, and we knew that would turn this match a little bit scrappy. I’m not very happy that we held them to a .000 hitting percentage in game one and then allowed them to hit .333 in game two. We really relaxed in game two, and because of that, we let them hang around and then they made some plays at the end of the game and took game two.”
Courtney Gay turned in a great defensive effort with a season-high 24 digs while also grabbing four assists. Ashley Adams posted her sixth double-double on the season, knocking down 16 kills and 11 digs along with two block assists. Kirstein Sosnowski led the Bulldogs in hitting with 17 kills and only committing one error for a .533 percentage. Sosnowski also added two block assists. Sheriden Stangohr had 10 kills on 19 attempts with one error for a hitting percentage of .474 while also grabbing one assist, one dig and three block assists.
“I think that’s the best match on the defensive side of the ball Courtney Gay has had all year,” Schroeder said. “We blasted balls at them all week at practice defensively, so we were really looking for a good defensive effort. We got a lot of digs; now, we have to make the quality of digs a little better so our transition can allow us to put balls away really quickly and maybe win some matches that aren’t quite this close.”
Sara Sears grabbed eight kills, one dig and one block assist while Hillary Fountain grabbed her second double-double of the weekend by dishing out 53 assists and posting 10 digs while and matching a career-high seven kills, hitting. 500. She also served up two aces. Rachel Gadberry added five kills, two block assists and one assist while Samantha Bland had seven digs, one assists and one ace. Sarah Gardner posted eight digs, three assists, four aces and two kills while Katie Luckman added one dig.
The Bulldogs will wrap up weekend play on Sunday with a 2 p.m. match against Western Carolina in the Pete Hanna Center.
Furman 3, Elon 0
ELON, N.C. ? The Elon volleyball team fell to the Furman Paladins 3-0 (25-20. 25-19, 33-31) Saturday night at Alumni Gym. The loss drops Elon’s record to 21-7 on the year and 1-2 in league play. Furman improves to 9-7, including a 2-1 mark in the Southern Conference.
The Paladins scored the match’s opening eight points before a kill by Sarah Schermerhorn put Elon on the board. The Phoenix battled within three at the 7-10 mark after a four-point run that was sparked by a Furman miscue. Elon narrowed the Furman lead to five at the 15-20 mark, but it would be as close as the Phoenix would come as Furman took set one 20-25.
Elon took an early 2-1 lead in set two after Caroline Lemke and Kelley Blakewood each recorded a kill. The Paladins answered with a kill of its own and went on to score the next three points to take a 4-2 lead. Furman extended its lead by five at the 10-5 mark before a kill by Traci Stewart ended the Paladin run and allowed the Phoenix to score seven of the next eight points to bring the set within one at 11-12. A kill by Furman’s Alison West allowed the Paladins to take a 16-12 lead and force an Elon timeout. Following the timeout out, Lauren Copenhagen scored the next point to make it a 13-16 set. Elon would not come within less than three for the remainder of the set, allowing Furman to take set two 25-19.
A Lemke kill opened set three in which the Phoenix scored seven of the first 10 points. Furman battled back and knotted the score at 10. The teams would tie twice more before the straight Phoenix points made it a 13-10 set and caused the Paladins to call a timeout. Furman scored four of the next five points to tie the set at 16, forcing an Elon timeout. The team’s kept the set close, until back-to-back Furman points sealed the set 32-30 and the match 3-0 in favor of the Paladins.
Emily Regan paced the Elon offense, which was held to a .181 attack percentage with 30 assists. Lemke was the sole Elon player to record double-digit kills with 11. Mandy Wilson was second on the team with eight.
Blakewood led the team in digs with 30. Stewart and Regan each had two assisted blocks in the effort, while Shelley MacBean and Schermerhorn each had one block.
Furman’s Nicole Palazzo and West each tallied double-digit kills with 11 and 14, respectively, to lead the Furman offensive attack. As a team, the Paladins hit a .280. Alexis Sheffer was eight-for-13 with two errors for an attack percentage of .462. Kelsey Salava led the match with 39 assists.
Brooke Ellison finished the match with 20 digs to keep Furman’s defense on pace. Palazzo notched two solo blocks and three assisted blocks to lead the match. Kelly Kirby and Sheffer picked up two blocks each.
Elon will take on Wofford tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. in Alumni Gym for the final match of the week. Full coverage, including live stats and video streaming, will be available at www.elonphoenix.com
Chattanooga 3, Western Carolina 0
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. ? The Chattanooga volleyball team improved to 8-10 on the season and 3-1 in Southern Conference play with a 3-0 victory over Western Carolina on Saturday. The Lady Mocs took the match 25-19, 25-20, and 25-16.
Ashley Yeager led all players with 15 kills as the Lady Mocs hit .173 on the afternoon. Cassie Conner aided the offense with a match-high 38 assists, and Lara Newberry continued her quest for the NCAA’s all-time dig record with 29 digs. The senior now sits only 15 digs away from breaking the mark of 2,791.
Aurore Kullak helped the offense with nine kills, while Courtney Barnes continued her strong play with eight kills of her own. Also involved in the offense were Jessica Scott and Laura Nethery, who recorded five kills apiece.
Amanda Kerr was the leader on offense for Western Carolina with ten kills as the Catamounts hit .066 on the afternoon. Katie Hennessey was the leading setter with 27 assists, and Liz Rondone led the WCU defense with 20 digs.
“I’m very happy,” Head Coach Lisa Rhodes said. “I’m really glad just to be back home, and very pleased to see us taking care of these games this weekend. Right now, I think we started to see some chemistry among the players. It was also really good to see Ashley (Yeager) playing well. She seems to really be coming along.”
The Lady Mocs were able to take the opening set thanks to a big run by the UTC offense in the middle of the frame. With Chattanooga leading 10-6, the Lady Mocs were able to rattle off seven straight points to extend the lead to 17-6 and eventually take the set, 25-19.
After winning the second set 25-20, the Lady Mocs would use another big run to give itself a substantial lead. While leading 13-11, UTC would storm ahead with five straight points to extend the lead to seven. The Catamounts would answer with two immediate points, but the Lady Mocs would use another 5-0 run put the lead at 22-13. Chattanooga would eventually put the match away thanks to a WCU error as the Lady Mocs won the set 25-16 to take the match.
They Lady Mocs will continue its five-game home stand on Wednesday with a 7 p.m. tilt against Samford. This will be the third game of stand with the final two coming next weekend against Wofford and Furman.
Georgia Southern 3, The Citadel 1
Charleston, S.C. ? Senior outside hitter Rachel Sanders recorded a double-double and the Bulldogs tallied 17 blocks in their 3-1 loss to Georgia Southern Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs matched up well with the Eagles, hitting over .300 percent in two sets.
Three Bulldogs recorded double-digit kills, while three others had double-digit digs, including Sanders who recorded 13 kills and 12 digs for her fifth double-double of the season. Jessica Maas led the team in kills, hitting percentage and blocks, recording 15 kills, hitting .433 and earning five block assists.
“What a great effort today!” said Head Coach Carolyn Geiger. “I thought this was a well played match. When you have a two point difference in a match, I believe it could’ve easily gone either way. We were close, that’s for sure! I thought we blocked well and our hitters were effective against their big block. It was a close game all in all.”
The Eagles jumped out ahead in the first set with a 3-0 run before the Bulldogs earned a spot on the scoreboard. When the Bulldogs took the lead at 13-12, they stayed in control for the majority of the set. The Eagles tied the match at 22-22 with a kill by Lauren Claybaugh. The Eagles would take the lead at 23-22 after an attack error by Blaine McAllister. A kill from McAllister tied the set back up. McAllister’s kill would be the beginning of a back and forth battle with five lead changes until the Eagles closed the set with an attack error by Sanders, giving the Eagles a 29-27 victory over the Bulldogs.
In the second set, the Bulldogs dominated on the offensive end, hitting .375 percent with 16 kills on 32 total attacks with only four errors. The Bulldogs took control from the beginning, claiming the lead up until a kill by Parker Small would tie the set at 17-17. Once the Eagles took the lead at 18-17, the momentum shifted in their direction. A Citadel timeout at 20-22 would force two lead changes. The Bulldogs took over at 24-23 with an assisted block by McAllister and Amanda Beal. An Eagle kill by Claybaugh would tie the game back up and the Eagles never looked back, taking the set 27-25.
The third set belonged to the Bulldogs who dominated on both offense and defense. The Bulldogs recorded a hitting percentage of .351 with 18 kills on 37 total attacks. The Citadel tallied 21 digs and four blocks compared to Georgia Southern’s 12 digs and 2 blocks. The Eagles only hit .167 percent with 10 kills on 36 total attacks. The Citadel only allowed the Eagles to jump ahead on two occasions and it was only for a point. A kill by Tatum Jestila tied the score at 8-8 and the Bulldogs never looked back. The Citadel dominated the Eagles, claiming a 25-17 victory.
In the fourth set, the Eagles looked for redemption and were determined to take the match in four sets. From the time the scoreboard read 1-2 in favor of the Eagles, Georgia Southern took control. The Bulldogs wouldn’t see another lead since they lead 1-0. The Eagles recorded a .282 hitting percentage and their defense held the Bulldogs to a .114 hitting percentage. In a close battle, Georgia Southern took the set, 25-21.
Jestila was a major factor on the defensive end, leading the team with 15 digs. Beal contributed on defense with 12 digs and three block assists in the match. McAllister contributed with four block assists and 12 kills. Emily Hill had 47 assists and two block assists. With 58 assists, the 2008 Bulldog team earned an eighth place spot in the record books for the most assists in a match.
The Citadel finished with 61 kills on 148 total attacks, 19 errors, 58 assists, 66 digs and 17 blocks. The Bulldogs are back in action Sunday, Oct. 5 at 2:00 p.m. when they take on Davidson at McAlister Field House.