Samford 3, Appalachian State 2
BOONE, N.C. - Trailing two set to none, Appalachian State University volleyball mounted an impressive comeback in the third and fourth sets. Visiting Samford pulled away in the fifth set, however, and took the five-set win 25-23, 25-21, 24-26, 24-26 and 15-11 in the ASU home finale.
Caroline Sedon and Maja Jechorek each pounded four kills in the first set to keep the score close, as neither team led by more than three points in the opener. A late error and Bulldog block were enough of a difference in the end as SU broke a 23-23 tie to take the win.
Jechorek ended the afternoon with eight kills, six digs and a pair of blocks.
The Mountaineers (6-24, 2-14 SoCon) jumped out to an early 5-2 lead in the second set before a series of runs helped the Bulldogs (26-3, 15-1) pull even and eventually pull ahead with a 16-13 advantage. Samford held onto the lead and overcame three blocks from Sedon to win the set 25-21.
Sedon crushed 10 kills in the match with an ace, seven blocks and four digs.
After the intermission, the third set was back and forth before Samford appeared to take control with a 24-19 match point. Six straight points with Heather Kale serving were enough to save the set and match with a 26-24 win.
Kale had one of her four aces in the set. She also led the team with 13 digs in the match. Kale accounted for four of Appalachian's seven aces in the match. Senior Carla Durham also performed well in the set, with four kill and no errors in six attempts. Durham led the team with 12 kills, a .476 hitting percentage and seven blocks.
The fourth set had a similar feel, as the team facing set point rallied back to tie. This time it was the visitors who were down 24-22 before forcing a 24-24 tie. Durham put the match to rest with a kill and block in the 26-24 triumph.
The Apps held a few two-point leads in the final set before the Bulldogs powered back to take a lead for good at 8-7. Becca Norris had the team's only block in the set as the Mountaineers swatted a season-high 16 in the match.
Samford would not surrender the lead and ended the comeback with a 15-11 win. Norris posted eight kills and six blocks in the match.
The Mountaineers finish out the season on the road next weekend at The Citadel on Saturday at 7 p.m. and against College of Charleston Sunday at 1 p.m.
UNC Greensboro 3, Wofford 0
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Wofford volleyball team was downed by the UNC Greensboro Spartans on Sunday afternoon inside the Benjamin Johnson arena. The Spartans took down the Terriers by scores of 25-19, 25-12 and 25-23.
With the scored tied at six in the opening set, UNC Greensboro went on two extended runs to take a 16-7 advantage. Wofford (15-16, 5-11 SoCon) would battle back and get within five at 19-14, but the Spartans would prevail and take the opening set.
UNC Greensboro (12-4, 20-9 SoCon) jumped out to a commanding lead in set two going up 9-3. Wofford was unable to rebound and the Spartans took the second set by a 25-12 score.
In set three, Wofford returned the favor jumping out to a 5-1 advantage. UNC Greensboro would come back in the middle of the set and tie it at 12 and eventually take an 18-14 lead. The Spartans would continue to pad their lead earning match points leading 24-17. However Wofford did not go away as they won six consecutive points to get within one. Following a UNC Greensboro timeout a kill by Luciana Shafer gave the Spartans the match.
Stacy Byrd led the Terrier offense with seven kills while Shanna Hughes and Lindsey Richardson added six to go along with 20 assists from Joanna Suddath.
For the Terrier defense Brittany Thompson led the way with a match high 24 digs.
Kayren Finney led the Spartan attack hitting .524 with 13 kills. Kaitlyn Nortz and Branagan Fuller also reached double digits in kills. Defensively Catherine Hanners added 17 digs and Fuller added 15.
Prior to the match, the Wofford volleyball team and athletic administration honored its four graduating seniors; Lindsey Richardson, Carolyn Rivers, Liz Sheets and Brittany Thompson.
Wofford returns to action on Friday at 5 pm as they take on Davidson in Davidson, N.C.
Chattanooga 3, Western Carolina 0
CULLOWHEE, N.C. ? Freshman middle blocker Carrie Minogue had 12 kills in Western Carolina volleyball’s (6-24, 3-13 SoCon) 3-0 loss to Chattanooga (17-13, 12-4 SoCon) in the Catamounts final home match of the season Sunday. The club also honored lone senior Liz McLauchlin before the contest.
Minogue committed just three errors in 24 attacks and ended the contest with a .375 attack percentage. Junior setter Kaite Hennessey had a double-double with 24 assists and 13 digs.
The Catamounts had a strong showing in the first game of the match. The contest was up for grabs late in the first game with the contest tied at 22. Chattanooga, however, reeled off three straight points to take the first game.
“We had moments of playing very well and holding our own,” said Head Coach Stephanie Dragan. “But we couldn’t seem to stop that one run that would give Chattanooga the edge.”
Western Carolina played a tough second game as well but in game three the Mocs pulled away to sweep the Catamounts. A bright spot was the return of junior Liz Rondone in the lineup as she has been battling an injury. However, Rondone’s action was limited and she was not at the libero position, with that being shared by McLauchlin and freshman Sara Gantt.
The Catamounts hit .104 in the contest and Chattanooga posted a .218. Chattanooga also got their momentum, in the match, from eight service aces.
Western Carolina closes out the 2008 season traveling to Charleston, South Carolina to take on College of Charleston Saturday and The Citadel Sunday.
Furman 3, Elon 0
GREENVILLE, S.C. ? The Paladin volleyball team recorded a 3-0 sweep of Elon on Senior Day in Alley Gymnasium in the team’s final home match of the season.
Following special recognition of the team’s four seniors, the Paladins battled through a close first set to take the 25-20 victory. There was no doubt that Furman would take the second set, as they opened with a 9-1 lead and cruised to a 25-8 victory. In the second set, the Paladins hit a combined .292 percentage, while holding the Phoenix to only five kills and forcing nine hitting errors.
The third set was another close one, featuring 13 tied scores, but the Paladins ultimately came out on top, 25-20, after going on a 6-2 run to close out the set. Furman notched a .279 team attack percentage in the third set, knocking down 15 kills and committing only three errors as a team.
The Phoenix were led by Caroline Lemke’s nine kills, while Traci Stewart contributed eight. In the backcourt, libero Lizzie West led the team with 11 digs. Setters Emily Regan and Megan McMahon tallied 15 and 13 assists, respectively.
For Furman, senior middle blocker Nicole Palazzo notched 14 kills and committed no errors on 22 attempts for a .636 attack percentage. Setter Kelsey Salava ran the offense with 31 assists, and outside hitter Alison West led the defense with 17 digs. The Paladins combined for a .301 team hitting percentage for the match.
With the win, Furman improves to 16-13 overall and 9-7 in the Southern Conference. Elon falls to 18-14 and 7-9 in league play. The Paladins will embark on their last regular season roadtrip next weekend, as they take on Georgia Southern on Friday at 7:00 p.m. and Davidson on Sunday at 2:00 p.m.
College of Charleston 3, Georgia Southern 0
STATESBORO, Ga. --- Georgia Southern led the College of Charleston in hitting percentage and blocks, but CofC came away with the win, a 3-0 (27-25, 25-23, 25-22) sweep Sunday afternoon at Hanner Fieldhouse.
Charleston, who has clinched the Southern Conference South Division title, improves to 22-6 and 15-1 in the league. GSU drops to 15-16 and 8-8.
“I thought we competed well I just don’t know that we executed the way we needed to, particularly in critical situations,” said GSU head coach Chad Callihan. “When the games got to about 20 we didn’t take care of the ball good enough to score in critical times. Charleston’s a great team and did a great job ? they’ve played in tight situations a lot the last few years now and I think we’re still learning how to handle those situations.”
Georgia Southern held a .274-.259 advantage in hitting percentage and outblocked the Cougars 11-3.
The Eagles led 21-19 in both set one and two but allowed the Cougars to a 3-0 and 4-0 run, respectively, and eventually lost each set.
“I thought we did some great things, really moved the ball around well and thought our hitters did a great job of adjusting to our sets but we couldn’t put enough shots together in critical moments,” said Callihan. “A mistake here or mistake there against a quality opponent will be the difference.”
Sophomore Michelle Uzoh (San Antonio, Texas) recorded seven blocks, including one solo, and had six kills with no errors. Freshman Parker Small (Charlotte, N.C.) tallied five kills with no errors and had two block assists. Freshman Lauren Claybaugh (Danville, Calif.) matched Uzoh with six assists and one solo.
“We did a good job against a pretty difficult setter to read ? she does a good job of taking the ball high which makes it difficult on middles to read and react but we did a nice job of closing, our pin players did a good job of setting the block in the right places so it was definitely a strong point for us today,” said Callihan.
Senior Christy Dowd (Indianapolis, Ind.) shared match-high honors with CofC’s Emily Sawin with 13 kills on 24 swings.
For Charleston, three players recorded double-figure kills, led by Sawin’s 13 and Elyse Chubb and Whitney Russell had 10 apiece.
The Eagles close out the regular season next weekend with home matches against Furman on Friday and Wofford on Saturday.