UNC Greensboro 3, Western Carolina 0
GREENSBORO, NC ? Kaitlyn Nortz became the school’s all-time leader in blocks and had a match-high 14 kills as UNC Greensboro rolled to a three-set sweep over Western Carolina, 25-10, 25-13 and 25-13.
Nortz hit .571 for the match as the Spartans clinched a spot in the Southern Conference Volleyball Tournament that will be played at Fleming Gym later this month. The Spartans had just seven attack errors and hit .400 as a team. UNCG set a team-record with eighteen aces, including an individual record of 10 by Catherine Hanners. Hanners’ mark was not just a three-set record, but was the most in any match ever by a Spartan. She also added a match-high 14 digs in the win.
The Catamounts (6-21, 3-10) were held to just 16 kills for the match and committed 15 attack errors.
The Spartans (17-9, 9-4) jumped out 5-0 to open the first set, two of those points coming on aces by Hanners. The lead hit double-figures at 15-5 with a Kayren Finney kill, one of 10 she had on the afternoon. UNCG continued to pull away from there for a 15-point first-set win.
UNCG jumped out quickly in the second set, as well. The Spartans scored seven of the first nine points before the Catamounts pulled back to within 9-6. The Spartans ran off six straight points, however, three of them coming on Finney kills, to pull away.
Coming out of the intermission, Western Carolina hung tough to open the third set. Carrie Minogue’s kill kept the Catamounts within a point at 6-5. But with the score 9-7, UNCG scored seven of the next 10, capped off by a Nortz kill, to open up a six-point lead and win the third set going away.
Nortz finished the day with three blocks to give her 525 for her career, eclipsing the mark of Melanie Trexler (522, 1990-93). She now has 1397 kills, which ranks third in school history.
UNCG, winners of five straight at home, will host Elon on Wednedsay at 7 pm.
AGATE
UNCG def. Western Carolina 25-10, 25-13, 25-13
Western Carolina (6-21, 3-10) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Carrie Minogue 5-0-2; Rebecca Stoltz 3-0-0; Brittany Lysik 3-0-0; Katie Hennessey 3-1-1; Kara Lynzee Brooks 2-0-1; Totals 16-1-2.0. (Assists) - . (Dig leaders) - Katie Hennessey 9; Carrie Minogue 7
UNCG (17-9, 9-4) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Kaitlyn Nortz 14-1-3; Kayren Finney 10-0-3; Caley Redden 7-0-0; Billi Baker 4-0-3; Branagan Fuller 4-0-1; Alissa Beaudway 2-0-4; Emily Lindborg 0-0-1; Kayleigh Knerr 0-1-0; Lisa Fawell 0-4-0; Kimiko Naito 0-2-0; Catherine Hanners 0-10-0; Totals 41-18-7.5. (Assists) - Kimiko Naito 19; Lisa Fawell 13. (Dig leaders) - Catherine Hanners 14; Branagan Fuller 9.
Chattanooga 3, Georgia Southern 0
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. ? In the final volleyball match of the year inside Maclellan Gymnasium, the Lady Mocs closed out the home portion of its schedule in style, with a 3-0 sweep over Georgia Southern on Sunday.
Aurore Kullak continued her strong play this weekend with her second straight double-double. The sophomore posted a match-high 12 kills and 11 digs as the Lady Mocs took the match 25-20, 31-29, and 25-16. Kullak also posted a match-high .304 hitting percentage for Chattanooga.
Courtney Barnes was second on the team in kills with nine on the afternoon, while libero Lara Newberry got two rare kills and had three aces, which ties career-highs for the senior in both categories. Newberry wasn’t the only senior to tie a career-high on the day however, as setter Michaela Huff tied a personal best with four of the Lady Mocs’ eight aces.
Not only did Huff lead the Lady Mocs in aces, she also posted a team-high 28 assists, while Lara Newberry tied for the match lead in digs with 20. Laura Nethery also performed well in the last home game of her career as the senior posted a .286 hitting percentage, while getting five kills and recording two block assists. Nethery, just like her other two senior counterparts, recorded a career-best of her own with four digs in the contest.
For Georgia Southern, the Eagles were led by Bethany Sanford, who had 10 kills in the match. Mae Chabra posted a match-high 34 assists, while Cristin Haines had a match-tying 20 digs.
The Lady Mocs were able to take a quick 1-0 lead in the match thanks to a 25-20 win in the game’s opening set. Chattanooga broke a 2-2 tie thanks to a Southern service error and never trailed again in the set.
In the second set, the Lady Mocs and Eagles combined for the highest scoring set of the season for UTC as Chattanooga took the commanding 2-0 lead with the 31-29 victory. Kullak was the driving force for the Lady Mocs’ offense as the sophomore had a set-high six kills in the frame. With both teams tied at 29-apiece, Kullak recorded her sixth and final kill of the set to give the Lady Mocs’ set point. The Eagles would then commit one of its 21 errors to end the frame.
In the third, and what would be the final, set the Lady Mocs were able to put the Eagles away quicker than the previous two sets as UTC took the set and the match, 25-16.
The Lady Mocs will now travel to the state of North Carolina for the final two weeks of the season before heading to the Southern Conference Tournament which is also being held in the Tar Heel State. Next Saturday the Lady Mocs will return to the court to take on Appalachian State with first serve scheduled for 7 p.m. Chattanooga will wrap up the weekend the following Sunday against Western Carolina at 2 p.m.
Match Note: With the Lady Mocs’ 3-1 win over Davidson Saturday, the team has now qualified for the Southern Conference Tournament which will be held from Nov. 21-23 in Greensboro, N.C.
Samford 3, Davidson 0
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford University volleyball team closed out home play Sunday with a 3-0 sweep of Davidson. The Bulldogs wrapped up its first-ever undefeated win streak at home and now lead the series with the Wildcats, 2-0.
Samford (24-3, 13-1 SoCon) held Davidson (11-16, 6-8 SoCon) to a .071 hitting percentage in the first set and never let the Wildcats hit about .150 while hitting .435 and .429 in the first and third sets. The first two sets were back-and-forth battles and the Bulldogs had to fight their way to win each set, 25-23. Samford came alive in set three and dominated, 25-15 to close out a five-match homestand with a win.
Samford’s five seniors ? Courtney Gay, Kirstein Sosnowski, Jackie Jaszcz, Sara Sears and Ashley Adams ? were also honored prior to first serve on Sunday.
Adams led the Bulldogs with 14 kills, hitting .387 and grabbing four digs and one block assist. Sosnowski and Sheriden Stangohr both knocked down eight kills. Sosnowksi hitting .375 and had one block assist while Stangohr committed only one error on 14 attempts and hit. 500. She also had one ace, one dig and three block assists.
Hillary Fountain dished out 38 assists while also grabbing three kills, three block assists and one ace. Gay led the Bulldogs in digs with 15 and had one ace and two assists. Rachel Gadberry posted score on five of seven attempts with no errors to hit .714 and had three block assists while Samantha Bland had two kills, three digs, one assist and one ace. Sara Sears had four kills, one dig and on e block assist while Katie Luckman grabbed one dig.
It was a see-saw game at the beginning of set one with each team exchanging points, fighting through ties at the first four points. With the score tied at four, Davidson gained a two point lead on two Samford errors, but with a kill by Sears, the lead was cut back to two. Davidson soon forced Samford to call a timeout after a 4-1 run gave the Wildcats a four-point lead.
After the timeout, Samford got within three points on a Davidson error, but soon the Wildcats were ahead by six points. Three Davidson errors and a block by Fountain and Stangohr closed the gap to two but Davidson was soon back ahead by four due to another Bulldog error and a Wildcat ace. Trailing 18-14, the Bulldogs went on a 5-1 run to tie the score at 19, complemented by kills by Sears and Adams, an ace by Fountain and a block by Gadberry and Sosnowski.
Davidson took a timeout and out of the break, Fountain committed a service error to put the Wildcats ahead by one. A kill by Adams evened the score again but Davidson kept its lead with a kill. A kill b Sosnowski tied the score at 21, an error gave the Bulldogs the lead again and a service ace by Gay put Samford ahead by two and forced Davidson to take another timeout. Back-to-back kills out of the break from the Wildcats tied the score, but after a timeout by Samford, the Bulldogs took over again on a kill by Stangohr and a Wildcat error gave the Bulldogs the 25-23 win.
Two kills by Stangohr put the Bulldogs ahead 2-0 in the second set but two Samford errors brought Davidson even with them. Kills by Adams and Gadberry put Samford back on top by two, and after a Bulldog service error, back-to-back Wildcat errors put Samford ahead by three points. The Wildcats went on a four-point run to take a one-point lead but a service error by Davidson evened the score at seven. After a kill gained Davidson the lead again, the Bulldogs went on a 6-2 run to take a three-point lead, which was topped off with kills by Sosnowski and Stangohr and an ace by Bland.
The 6-2 run caused Davidson to ask for a timeout and three consecutive kills out of the break brought Davidson back to tie the score at 13. An attack error by Davidson put the Bulldogs back on top but a service error by Samford evened the score at 14. The game was tied once again at 15 and then again at 19 before the Bulldogs jumped back ahead by two. A 5-2 run after another Davidson timeout evened the score at 22 but after Samford took a timeout, the Bulldogs tacked on three points to Davidson’s one to win set two, 25-23.
A kill by Adams and an ace by Stangohr put the Bulldogs ahead by two early in the third set, but Davidson answered back with two points of their own to tie the score. It was a close game for a while but soon Samford pulled ahead by three on kill by Bland and Fountain and a block by Fountain and Stangohr which gave the Bulldogs a 10-7 lead. After a Davidson timeout, the Bulldogs went on a 7-1 run to go ahead by nine. The run was sparked by a block by Fountain and Stanoghr and after four consecutive Bulldog kills, was ended by a Wildcat kill. However, Samford continued to dominated and walked away with a 25-15 third set win to take the match.
The Bulldogs will play the rest of the season on the road as they head to Western Carolina and Appalachian State next weekend before closing out the season at Elon and UNC Greensboro Nov. 13 and 15.
College of Charleston 3, Furman 2
CHARLESTON, S.C. ? Junior outside hitter Emily Sawin (New Lenox, Ill.) delivered a career-high 24 kills and sophomore setter Cole Dawley (Charleston, S.C.) finished with a match-high 44 assists, 15 digs and added five blocks as the College of Charleston (19-6, 12-1) outlasted Furman (14-12, 7-6) 3-2 Sunday afternoon in a Southern Conference match in Charleston, S.C. The Cougars claimed their seventh straight victory with scores of 22-25, 25-20, 15-25, 25-21 and 15-6.
After racing out to an early 4-1 advantage, Charleston faced a withering attack as the Paladins mounted an 11-2 run fueled by X kills to take the lead at 12-6. Following a timeout, the Cougars responded with three straight points, including back-to-back kills by sophomore setter Cole Dawley (Charleston, S.C.) and Emily Sawin, to narrow the gap to 12-9. Furman came right back with a 6-2 run to extend their lead to 18-11 before a second Charleston timeout resulted in a 7-1 run coming out of the break that made the score 19-17 and forced a timeout by the Paladins.
A kill by Furman following that timeout gave them back the serve at 20-17 but they would not have it long as freshman middle blocker Elyse Chubb (Peachtree City, Ga.) and Emily Sawin combined on three straight kills to tie the set at 20-20. A pair of Cougar errors and Paladin kills then fueled a 5-2 run as the Paladins closed out the set with a 25-22 victory.
Having mounted a strong rally at the end of the first set, the Cougars opened Game 2 with another 4-1 run and quickly extended that lead to 12-3 as Chubb and Sawin combined to deliver three straight kills for the Cougars. They would extend their lead to 16-6 and 18-7 with a pair of kills and a block from Russell before the Paladins mounted a fierce 10-4 rally to close to within 22-17. Furman would continue its charge, getting to within 23-20, before a kill by sophomore right side hitter Ginny Phillips (Raleigh, N.C.) and a Furman error wrapped up the set at 25-20 and tied the match at 1-1.
Game 3 proved to be a back-and-forth affair early as the teams traded the first six points to reach 3-3 before Furman notched back-to-back scores to go up 5-3. It would continue to be a close affair with the two teams being separated by no more than three points at 11-8. Consecutive points by the Cougars then narrowed the margin to 11-10 before Furman exploded for a 14-5 run to close out the set with a 25-15 victory.
The two teams again remained close at the start of the fourth set, knotting at 6-6, before Charleston used a 4-0 run that featured three kills to go up 10-6. The Paladins then used a 6-2 run of their own to tie the score at 12-12 before an exchange of points made it 13-13. At that point, CofC hammered three straight kills, two back-to-back by Russell, and notched a service ace to retake the lead at 18-13.
Furman responded with a 4-0 run to narrow the gap to 18-17 before tying the game at 19-19 on a pair of kills and taking the lead at 20-19. A Chubb kill got the Cougars back even and an attack error put them ahead, 21-20. A Paladin attack error combined with another kill by Chubb gave Charleston the lead 22-21. An interference call, attack error and a block by freshman middle blocker Sarah Havel (Carmel, Ind.) then gave the Cougars a 25-21 victory and forced a decisive fifth and final game.
In that game, the College of Charleston dominated the Paladins as they jumped out to an overpowering 8-1 lead behind three kills from Whitney Russell. Furman closed to within 10-4 but would get no closer as the Cougars used a 5-2 stretch, punctuated by back-to-back kills from Phillips and Chubb, to take the set 15-6 and come away with a 3-2 match victory.
Senior outside hitter led the way for the Paladins with team-highs of 14 kills, 21 digs and five blocks, all solo, while sophomore outside hitter Katherine Hall and senior middle blocker Nicole Palazzo each finished with 11 kills. Junior setter Kelsey Salava setup the offense with 42 assists and added seven digs.
Freshman right side hitter Kelly Kirby turned in a solid all-around performance with seven kills, six digs and a match-high three service aces while freshman defensive specialist Carolyn Nicoletti and junior libero Stephanie Smith chipped in with 13 and nine digs, respectively.
Emily Sawin paced the Cougars with her career- and match-high 24 kills and hit a match-best .317 while Cole Dawley dished out a match-high 44 assists and added 15 digs for her team-leading tenth double-double of the year. She also tallied five blocks on the afternoon. Whitney Russell added to the offensive attack with 14 kills and chipped in on the defensive side with seven digs and two blocks while Elyse Chubb tallied 13 kills and five blocks.
Defensively, freshman libero Emily Shelton (Cincinnati, Ohio) tallied a match-high 28 digs, her highest total since notching 28 on September 27 against the Paladins, and sophomore defensive specialist Paige Johnson (Sleepy Hollow, Ill.) finished with 13 digs to tie her season-high and come within one of equaling her career-high. Freshman defensive specialist Hayley Harrell (Charleston, S.C.) added 10 digs while junior middle blocker Jennifer Darty (Orlando, Fla.) totaled four blocks.
Sawin’s performance over the weekend moved her into seventh place all-time on the Cougars career kills list with 1,036 for her career while Dawley became the eighth player in College of Charleston history to surpass the 1,000 assist mark with a total of 68 over the two matches. She currently has 1,029 career assists and is in eighth place all-time. For Sawin, her 24 kills also ties her for the 10th best single match performance in program history. She is the sixth Cougar to achieve the mark.
The Cougars return to action on Wednesday, November 5 when they host cross town rival The Citadel in a 7 p.m. match. The contest will mark the final official athletic event in the history of John Kresse Arena, which opened in 1982. The College of Charleston will hold two home matches in the community at local high schools before moving into the brand new state-of-the-art, 5,100 seat Carolina First Arena in 2009.
Wofford 3, The Citadel 0
Charleston, S.C. ? The Citadel Bulldogs (8-19, 1-12 Southern) fell to Wofford (15-13, 5-8 Southern, 3-0, Sunday afternoon in McAlister Field House. The Terriers defeated the Bulldogs 25-19, 25-19 and 25-14. Rachel Sanders and Jessica Maas led the Bulldog offense while Tatum Jestila, Maas and Sanders anchored the defense.
Sanders recorded nine kills and two errors with 10 digs. Maas recorded seven kills with one error and contributed four blocks on defense with one solo block. Jestila led the defense with 15 digs. The Bulldogs tallied eight blocks on the match. Emily Hill contributed 18 assists. Blaine McAllister contributed to the Bulldog defense with two block assists.
“I’m obviously disappointed with the result of this match,” said Head Coach Carolyn Geiger. “It hurts to come out and play a match like this against a team we’ve already beaten this year, but I have to remember that this is a young team. I’m not using it as an excuse, but I understand every loss is a learning experience and we certainly will take something from this and use it in our huge cross town rivalry game on Wednesday.”
The Terriers took control of the match from the first set when they scored the first point of the set with an attack error by McAllister. The Citadel quickly tied the set with a kill by Amanda Beal, but the Terriers jumped back in front. The Bulldogs were able to tie the set two more times, but never managed to take the lead. A 3-3 tie would be the last tie of the set. Wofford jumped ahead 4-3 and never looked back, defeating the Bulldogs by six, 25-19.
In the second set, the Terriers jumped on top, scoring three straight points before the Bulldogs earned a spot on the scoreboard with a service error by Carolyn Rivers. Wofford went on another 3-0 run before the Bulldogs managed to score again with a kill by Maas. The Terriers continued to increase the lead with the Bulldogs trailing as many as six. The Bulldogs fought back and came from behind to tie the set, 16-16, but that would be as close as they came to a lead. A kill by Stacy Byrd put the Terriers back on top. With only one tie in the set, the Bulldogs trailed the entire set, unable to take control, falling, 25-19.
Wofford, determined to take away a victory, jumped on the Bulldogs once again in the third set, scoring four straight points. Their 4-0 run was interrupted with a service error by Shanna Hughes, putting the Bulldogs on the board. The Terriers struck back with a 3-0 run to put them up, 7-1.
Once Wofford was in control, the Bulldogs were unable to jump ahead. The Terriers led the whole set and the Bulldogs were never able to tie the score. The Bulldogs got within one point at the start of the set, but couldn’t quite find a rhythm, falling to the Terriers, 25-14.
Hughes led the Terriers on offense with 11 kills and a .229 hitting percentage. Lindsey Richardson followed with nine kills and hammered a .467. Joanna Suddath contributed 38 assists and 10 digs. The Terrier defense was led by Brittany Thompson and Sarah Palmer. Thompson recorded 17 digs and Palmer tallied 13. The Terriers had 10 blocks on the match, with Anna Gustafson recording three.
The Bulldogs are back in action on Wednesday, Nov. 5 when they travel up the road to face the College of Charleston at 7 p.m.