Furman 3, Chattanooga 2
PHOTO GALLERY
GREENSBORO, N.C. ? Furman defeated Chattanooga 3-2 (26-24; 23-25; 16-25; 25-17; 15-10) in the opening match of the 2008 Southern Conference Volleyball Tournament, to advance to the semifinals. The Lady Paladins overcame a 2-1 deficit to take the match. Furman is now 19-13, while Chattanooga ends its season with a 17-16 record.
In a back and forth first set, Furman closed late to take the opening frame, 26-24. Chattanooga jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead before the Lady Paladins rallied to tie it at 10. The score was tied at 15 and 20 before the Lady Mocs took what appeared to be a commanding 24-21 lead. However, a series of three unforced errors by Chattanooga helped Furman rally to take the first set, 26-24. Furman outside hitter Alison West recorded 10 digs and five kills in the first set to lead the Lady Paladins.
In the second set, Chattanooga opened up an early 10-6 lead and held off a Furman rally at the end to win, 25-23. The Lady Paladins pulled to within one several times throughout the set including 16-15 and 20-19, before pulling ahead 22-21. The Lady Mocs however, took four of the next five points to secure the 25-23 second set victory. Southern Conference Libero of the Year Lara Newberry led the Lady Mocs with 8 digs in the second set, while right side hitter Laura Nethery tallied four kills.
The third set belonged to the Lady Mocs as they won 25-16. Chattanooga again took an early lead, 4-1, and did not have less than a three-point advantage throughout the set, stretching the lead to eight at 23-15, before closing it out, 25-16. The Lady Mocs hit an impressive .680 in the third set and were led by outside hitter Ashley Yeager, who recorded five kills.
Furman came out strong to begin the fourth set taking an early lead for the first time in the match. A 9-2 scoring run midway through the set helped propel the Lady Paladins to a 25-17 victory. West again led the Lady Paladins with six kills in the set, while they limiting Chattanooga to a .059 hitting percentage.
In the fifth and deciding set, Furman scored early and closed out Chattanooga, 15-10.
Nicole Palazzo recorded three kills for the Lady Paladins in the final set.
Furman was led by a couple of key players as second-team All-Southern Conference member West recorded 24 digs and 18 kills, while fellow second team member Palazzo had 14 kills and four blocks. In a losing effort, Chattanooga’s Newberry had 39 digs.
With the win, Furman moves on to face off against the winner of the Samford-Davidson match tomorrow in the first semifinal at 2 p.m. eastern. Fans can watch all of today’s action live on SoCon TV and can follow the action on soconsports.com.
Samford 3, Davidson 0
PHOTO GALLERY
GREENSBORO, N.C. ? The North Division’s No. 1 seed Samford Bulldogs swept the South Division’s No. 4 seed Davidson Wildcats, 3-0 (25-14; 25-22; 25-22) in the second quarterfinal match of the 2008 Southern Conference Volleyball Tournament.
Samford came out strong in the first set, winning 25-14. After Davidson tied the set at six, the Bulldogs took control and finished the match, winning by 11. During the set, Samford had 10 service aces, with defensive specialist Sarah Gardner recording five. Setter Hillary Fountain led the Bulldogs with nine assists, while SoCon Player of the Year Ashley Adams and middle blocker’s Rachel Gadberry, Sheridan Stangohr and Kirstein Sosnowski, each had two kills.
In the second set, the Wildcats played even with the Bulldogs and took an early 8-5 lead However, Samford tied it up at 17 and again at 21, before winning four of the final five points to take the second set, 25-22. Sosnowski and Adams again led the Bulldogs as they tallied six and four kills respectively. As a team, Samford had a.417 hitting percentage, while holding Davidson to .045.
Samford withstood a late Davidson rally, to close out the set, 25-22, and win the match, 3-0. The Bulldogs were led in the third set by Adams, who had four kills and Sosnowski, who had three.
Overall, Sosnowski tallied 11 kills and Adams 10. As a team the Bulldogs had a .349 hitting percentage and had 14 service aces. In a losing effort, middle blocker Madison Benedict turned in a strong performance with eight kills, two blocks and two digs.
The Bulldogs will move on to face Furman Saturday at 2 p.m. in the first semifinal match of the day. Fans can watch all the tournament action live on SoCon TV and can follow the results on soconsports.com.
College of Charleston 3, Elon 1
SLIDESHOW
GREENSBORO, N.C. ? The College of Charleston Cougars withstood several runs by the Elon Phoenix to take the third match of the day at the 2008 Southern Conference Volleyball Tournament, 3-1 (30-28; 20-25; 25-19; 25-23).
In a back-and-forth first set, College of Charleston built a big lead early and then rallied late to top Elon, 30-28, in a set that featured six lead change and 10 ties. The two teams were tied at 4, but CofC took control after that, leading by as many as five. However, Elon made a comeback and had several chances to win the set as the teams traded points. The Cougars closed it out with a key block and kill. Outside hitter Emily Sawin led the Cougars with five kills in the first set, while setter Cole Dawley had 12 assists.
College of Charleston jumped out to an early 4-1 lead in the second set, but Elon came on strong soon after and pulled away from the South Division’s top seed, 25-20. After a series of early ties at 8 and 10, the Phoenix slowly pulled away to win by five, ending the set with a service ace by outside hitter Lauren Copenhagen. Copenhagen led the Phoenix in the second set with five kills, while middle blocker Sarah Schernerhorn recorded four. The Phoenix had a .382 hitting percentage.
College of Charleston came out of the break on fire, taking the third set, 25-19. The Cougars jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead before extending it to six at several points in the set, before closing it out on service error by the Phoenix. Libero Emily Shelton led the Cougars with 10 digs in the set, while Sawin had four kills. CofC held the Phoenix to a -.023 hitting percentage.
In set four, Elon withstood an early lead by CofC to storm back to take a 12-11 lead. After the score was tied at 13, the Phoenix went on a run to take a 22-16 lead in a match that appeared headed for a fifth set. However, the Cougars went on a run of their own behind seven straight service points from outside hitter Emily Sawin. The Phoenix broke serve at 24-23, but the Cougars put the set and match away on the next play, winning by the score of 25-23. In the final set, outside hitter Whitney Russell recorded four kills to lead the Cougars.
Leading the way for the Cougars was Sawin, who recorded 12 kills, nine digs and five service aces, while Dawley had 38 assists, 11 digs, seven kills and two blocks. In a losing effort, Elon right side hitter Traci Stewart tallied 12 kills and three blocks.
With the win, College of Charleston advances to the tournament semifinals, where they will face the UNC Greensboro-Georgia Southern winner in a 4 p.m. Eastern Time match Saturday. Fans can watch all of Friday’s live action on SoCon TV and can follow the action on soconsports.com.
UNC Greensboro 3, Georgia Southern 0
SLIDESHOW
GREENSBORO, N.C. ? The UNC Greensboro Spartans filled the final spot in the 2008 Southern Conference Volleyball Tournament semifinals with a 3-0 sweep over the Georgia Southern Eagles.
In the first set, UNC Greensboro rebounded from an early 7-6 deficit to win 25-21. The Spartans built a four-point lead at 17-13, only to see the Eagles tie the score at 21. However, UNCG ran off the final four points to take the set. Leading the way for the Spartans in set one was libero Catherine Hanners, who had seven digs, while middle blocker Kaitlyn Nortz tallied three kills. The Spartans held the Eagles to a .086 hitting percentage.
The Spartans started out quickly in set two, going ahead 5-0, and held on to knock off the Eagles, 25-23. Georgia Southern chipped away at the lead throughout the set, pulling within two at 18-16. The Eagles tied the match at 23, before UNCG tallied the final two points to take the set. The Spartans’ Nortz and outside hitter Branagan Fuller each registered five kills in the set.
UNCG closed out the match with a third-set victory, advancing to the semifinals by the score of 3-0. The Spartans jumped on the Eagles early in the set and never looked back, leading by as many as nine at 22-13, before winning, 25-16. UNCG had a .440 hitting percentage as a team in the final set as middle blocker and first-team All-SoCon selection Kayren Finney recorded four kills. Hanners recorded two service aces.
The Spartans held Georgia Southern to a .167 hitting percentage for the match and were led by Nortz’s 11 kills and three blocks. Fuller provided nine kills and four digs, while Hanners had 15 digs. Leading the Eagles in the losing effort was outside hitter Bethany Sanford, who had eight kills and six digs.
With the win, UNC Greensboro moves on to face the South Division No. 1 seed College of Charleston in the semifinals. That match will begin at 4 p.m. Eastern time or as soon as the 2 p.m. Samford-Furman match concludes. Check out all of Saturday’s semifinal action on SoCon TV or check for results on soconsports.com.