Chattanooga 3, Georgia State 1
CONWAY, S.C. ? Thanks to a career performance by Ashley Yeager, and another defensive clinic put on by Lara Newberry, the Lady Mocs volleyball team knocked off Georgia State 3-1 at the Courtyard by Marriot Chanticleer Invitational. Yeager led all players with 19 kills in the match, which is a career-high for the junior from Parker, Colo. Newberry continued her defensive excellence with 33 digs, the most for her in 2008. As a team, Chattanooga pieced together their most efficient offensive performance of the season as the Lady Mocs had a hitting percentage of .275. The Lady Mocs defeated the Panthers 22-25, 25-23, 25-14, 25-23 to improve to 3-5 on the season, and snap a three-game losing skid.
Coming off its 3-0 loss to Troy on Friday, Saturday’s match against GSU didn’t begin as planned for the Lady Mocs as UTC dropped the first set, 25-22.
In the next frame though, Chattanooga would answer the Panthers’ opening set win with a 25-23 victory of its own in the second. Yeager recorded a set-high six kills, while Newberry also led all players with 13 digs. The second set featured both teams remaining close, all the way to a 23-all tie. However, thanks to an error from Georgia State’s Michelle Trimble, the Lady Mocs found themselves at set point. On the next play, Michaela Huff dished out one of her 46 assists, which led all players, to Yeager for the kill and the set.
The third set was dominated by the Lady Mocs as UTC allowed back-to-back points only four times in the frame to give Chattanooga the 25-14 win, and a 2-1 lead in the match. Five players scored at least two points for the Lady Mocs in the set, with Aurore Kullak and Yeager leading the way with four apiece. Kullak finished the match with 11 kills, second-most on the team.
In the fourth set, down two sets to one, Georgia State stormed out of the gate to a 10-4 lead. After Head Coach Lisa Rhodes called a timeout, the Lady Mocs began to chip away at the lead. Thanks to GSU errors, and kills by Ellie Kuhn, Yeager, Huff, and Laura Nethery, the Lady Mocs soon found themselves down only two, 12-10. A Panther timeout would follow, and so would another extension of the lead by GSU. After the timeout, Georgia State rattled off four straight points to a 16-10 advantage. The lead would not last long however as UTC would splurge for six straight points of their own to tie the set at 16. After that point, both teams would remain close, with neither club allowing the other to get more than a two point advantage. With point teams tied at 20 though, Kuhn would register a kill that gave UTC a lead it wouldn’t give back up. Over the next few points, the Lady Mocs found itself at match-point at 24-23, when Yeager ended the set, and the match, with her 19th and final kill.
The Lady Mocs will return to the court later on Saturday, as it will play Coastal Carolina at 6 p.m. This match will close out the Courtyard by Marriot Chanticleer Invitational.
Coastal Carolina 3, Chattanooga 0
CONWAY, S.C. ? Coming into its second game of the day, the Chattanooga volleyball team was looking for its second runner-up finish in a tournament in as many weeks. It was not to be though, as the Lady Mocs fell to host-team Coastal Carolina, 3-0 on Saturday. The Chanticleers took the game in straight sets, 25-17, 25-12, and 25-16.
In the Lady Mocs’ first game of the day, the UTC offense enjoyed on of its best games of the season, by putting up a hitting percentage of .275. In the nightcap, Chattanooga struggled to find the same offensive production however, as the team could only muster a .059 hitting percentage.
Jessica Scott led the team offensively against the Chanticleers, as the freshman tallied five kills, while Laura Nethery, Ellie Kuhn, and Ashley Yeager, pitched in with three kills apiece. Junior Cassie Conner was the team leader in assists in the match, with 11, and Lara Newberry led the squad defensively, with seven digs. Sophomore Bailee Chastain also recorded a kill, her first of the season.
While UTC struggled on offense, that wasn’t the case for the Chanticleers. Coastal hit .346 during the match, and was led by Chelsy Kimes’s match-leading nine kills.
In the Lady Mocs’ first game of the day, Ashley Yeager put together a career perfermonace, and Lara Newberry continued her solid defensive play, as the Lady Mocs volleyball team knocked off Georgia State 3-1 at the Courtyard by Marriot Chanticleer Invitational. Yeager led all players with 19 kills in the match, which is a career-high for the junior from Parker, Colo. Newberry continued her defense excellence with 33 digs, the most for her in 2008. As a team, Chattanooga pieced together their most efficient offensive performance of the season as the Lady Mocs had a hitting percentage of .275. The Lady Mocs defeated the Panthers 22-25, 25-23, 25-14, 25-23 to improve to 3-5 on the season, and snap a three-game losing skid.
During the match against the Panthers, the Lady Mocs would lose the first set, only to find themselves up 2-1 after three sets of play.
In the fourth set, Georgia State would storm out of the gate to a 10-4 lead. After Head Coach Lisa Rhodes called a timeout, the Lady Mocs began to chip away at the lead. Thanks to GSU errors, and kills by Ellie Kuhn, Yeager, Huff, and Laura Nethery, the Lady Mocs soon found themselves down only two, 12-10. A Panther timeout would follow, and so would another extension of the lead by GSU. After the timeout, Georgia State rattled off four straight points to a 16-10 advantage. The lead would not last long however as UTC would splurge for six straight points of their own to tie the set at 16. After that point, both teams would remain close, with neither club allowing the other to get more than a two point advantage. With point teams tied at 20 though, Kuhn would register a kill that gave UTC a lead it wouldn’t give back up. Over the next few points, the Lady Mocs found itself at match-point at 24-23, when Yeager ended the set, and the match, with her 19th and final kill.
The Lady Mocs will return to the court on Wednesday, Sept. 17, as UTC travels to Nashville to play Belmont at 7:30 p.m.
Samford 3, South Florida 1
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. ---- The Samford University volleyball team wrapped up play in the Crimson Tide Invitational Saturday morning with a 3-1(25-22, 23-25, 25-22, 25-19) win over South Florida. The Bulldogs move to 8-2 on the season, continuing the best start for the squad in school history.
Ashley Adams just missed her fourth double-double of the season with a team-high 19 kills and nine digs. She also added one ace while hitting .351 Courtney Gay led the Bulldogs in digs with 14 while grabbing one kill and two aces. Hillary Fountain hit .500, scoring off of three of her six attempts. She led the team with 47 assists and added one ace two block assists and one block solo.
Kirstein Sosnowski and Sara Sears both knocked down nine kills, Sosnowski hitting .389 and Sears hitting a career-high .421. Sosnowski also added one dig and three block assists while Sears had three digs and five block assists. Sheriden Stangohr tied a career-high with nine block assists and added one ace and five kills while Sarah Gardner posted five digs and a team-high three aces.
Senior Bulldogs Adams and Gay landed spots on the Crimson Tide Invitational All-Tournament team.
The Bulldogs will return home next weekend to host part of the UAB/Samford Tournament. Samford will take on Memphis and Troy on Friday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively. Saturday, the Bulldogs will play Alabama A&M at 2:30 p.m.
Eastern Michigan 3, Georgia Southern 2
STATESBORO, Ga. --- Eastern Michigan rallied from a 2-1 deficit to win the Bash in the Boro volleyball tournament over Georgia Southern 3-2 (16-25, 25-21, 24-26, 25-23, 15-10) Saturday afternoon at Hanner Fieldhouse.
EMU swept all three matches in the tournament and evens their record at 5-5. GSU also stands at 5-5 on the season.
“I thought we played hard, it was a good effort,” said GSU head coach Chad Callihan. “We just couldn’t sustain intensity through the match and even probably more so we couldn’t sustain our ball control. I think that was the difference. It was a matchup of size versus speed. When we were in system our speed was doing some good things for us we just couldn’t stay in system enough to take advantage of that.”
Eastern Michigan’s Jill Wolosiansky led the Eagles with 11 kills and was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Kim Jarzynka had a match-high 28 digs.
Georgia Southern held Eastern Michigan to a negative hitting percentage
(-.003) through the first three sets but EMU hit .228 in the final two sets to complete their rally. Eastern Michigan came back from a 19-15 deficit in set four.
“Part of it I think we were just tired,” said Callihan. “We weren’t working to get to some balls that maybe we got in the first three games.
I thought they did a good job of hitting some good, deep perimeter shots. An arms-length away here and there is what made the difference.”
Georgia Southern freshmen Bethany Sanford (Avondale, Ariz.) and Lauren Claybaugh (Danville, Calif.) were tabbed to the all-tournament team.
Sanford continued her run of six straight double-doubles with 19 kills and 12 digs. Claybaugh tallied eight kills and five blocks assists.
“Bethany had a good weekend, Michelle (Uzoh) did some good things at times and Lauren played well for us, unfortunately we just couldn’t seem to connect as well today as we did in the first two matches with her but when things are clicking she’s doing a really nice job,” said Callihan.
Junior Cristin Haines (Palos Heights, Ill.) had 27 digs and senior Mae Chabra (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) added 22 digs. Uzoh (San Antonio, Texas) notched six blocks, one solo.
GSU competes in the USF Tournament next weekend in Tampa, Fla.
George Mason 3, Davidson 1; Davidson 3, Rutgers 0
DAVIDSON, N.C. -- On the final day of the Mizuno Wildcat Classic, the Davidson Wildcats split results, dropping a 3-1 decision to George Mason before rallying to sweep Rutgers, 3-0, in the tournament finale.
Sophomore outside hitter Sarabeth Peele took top tournament honors as tournament MVP and was joined on the All-Tournament team by senior middle blocker Kittery Neale. Peele finished the tournament with 50 kills, averaging 4.17 per game, while hitting .260 (50-18-123). Neale tallied 35 kills (2.92/game), 14 assists, 21 digs and 10 blocks.
In the morning match, Davidson failed to complete its comeback-bid, dropping its first match of the day, 3-1 (25-18, 25-14, 15-25, 25-23), to the Patriots. After getting down 2-0 in sets, the 'Cats were dominate in the third and nearly able to capture the fourth to force a fifth set, but George Mason rattled off four straight points to fend off the Wildcats.
Neale posted a double-double with 14 kills and a match-high 13 digs against the Patriots, while Peele was close with 16 kills and eight digs. The Patriots were led by Rebecca Walter and Laura Turner with 11 and 10 kills, respectively.
The 'Cats came prepared for the final match of the weekend, sweeping the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers, 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-16). Peele posted 15 kills and nine digs to lead the 'Cats, followed by 11 kills from Neale. Sophomore setter Hayley Lawson finished with a match-high 39 assists.
Davidson pulled ahead 20-13 in the first set of the game, and held off Rutgers for a 25-21 win. The second set was evenly matched, and tied as late as 14-14, but the 'Cats took a slight lead 19-16 on a kill from Lawson, and took control of the match with a 25-22 win. Davidson took a commanding 13-9 lead in the final set and completed the sweep with a convincing 25-16 win.
Charlotte defeated Rutgers, 3-2, in the first match of the day, and George Mason, 3-2 in the third match.
All-Tournament Team
Courtney Cowles, Charlotte
Rebecca Walter, George Mason
Laura Turner, George Mason
Kittery Neale, Davidson
Caitlin Saxton, Rutgers
MVP, Sarabeth Peele, Davidson
Best Libero, Carly Romberg, Charlotte
Clemson 3, College of Charleston 0
COLUMBIA, S.C. ? Sophomore outside hitter Whitney Russell (Decatur, Ga.) posted her second double-double of the season with 13 kills and a match-high 12 digs sophomore setter Cole Dawley (Charleston, S.C.) dished out a 29 assists, but it was not enough as Clemson (6-3) defeated the College of Charleston (5-4) 3-0 on Saturday afternoon in the finale of the Carolina Classic in Columbia, South Carolina. The Tigers picked up the victory by scores of 25-19, 28-26 and 25-18.
In Game 1, Clemson jumped out to an early 3-1 lead before the Cougars rallied to take a 4-3 advantage. It would be short lived as the Tigers came right back to tie the game and take an 8-5 lead. Following an exchange of points that made the score 9-6, Charleston used four kills to close to 11-10.
A 5-1 Clemson run extended the lead to 16-11 before the Cougars countered with a 3-1 run of their own to make it 17-14. The Tigers would maintain at least a three-point lead, however, as they outscored CofC 8-5 to take the set 25-19 and go up 1-0 in the match.
Clemson wasted little time at the beginning of the second set as they charged out to a 10-3 lead and the Cougars responded with a 13-6 run to knot the set at 16-16. Continuing the series of runs, the Tigers used four straight kills to pull back ahead, 20-16. After the teams traded a pair of points to make the score 22-18, Charleston rallied for four consecutive points to tie the score at 22-22.
Back-to-back Clemson kills brought them to set point, 24-22, before a kill by sophomore right side hitter Ginny Phillips (Raleigh, N.C.) and a block by Whitney Russell tied the game at 24-24. Following a service error that gave the Tigers a 25-24 lead, Charleston’s Russell and junior outside hitter Emily Sawin (New Lenox, Ill.) drilled back-to-back kills to give the Cougars set point at 26-25. A CofC block then re-tied the set at 26-26 before Clemson posted consecutive blocks to take the game by the score of 28-26.
After challenging in both of the first two sets, Charleston allowed the Tigers a 12-4 lead to begin the third set before back-to-back kills by Phillips and Russell made it 12-6. With the score at 15-7, the Cougars mounted a 5-1 run to close to within 16-12 and force a timeout. Following the break, the Tigers put together a 4-1 run to push the lead back to 20-13 before going on to close out the match with a 25-18 victory.
Senior middle hitter Danielle Hepburn led the offensive attack for Clemson with a match-high 15 kills to go along with six digs, five blocks and a .364 hitting percentage while senior outside hitter Jeannette Abbott added 10 kills and eight digs. Junior setter Kelsey Murphy posted a match-high 32 assists along with eight digs and five blocks and junior libero Didem Ege finished with a 11 digs. Junior outside hitter Lia Proctor added seven kills and 10 digs.
For Charleston, Whitney Russell led the way with her second double of the season as she posted 13 kills, a match-high tying 12 digs and a .387 hitting percentage and was named to the All-Tournament Team. Sophomore setter Cole Dawley (Charleston, S.C.) setup the offense with a team-high 29 assists and aided the defense with 10 digs while freshman libero Emily Shelton (Cincinnati, Ohio) added a match-high tying 12 digs, including eight in the third set. Junior outside hitter Emily Sawin (New Lenox, Ill.) contributed eight kills and eight digs while freshman middle blocker Elyse Chubb (Peachtree City, Ga.) finished with seven kills, a .312 hitting percentage and a team-high three blocks.
The Cougars return to action on Friday, September 19 when they host Duke at 7:30 p.m. in the College of Charleston Invitational.
NOTES
Russell’s double-double is the second of the season and third of her career ... she managed the feat in the season opener against Portland State and then again vs. Wyoming in the finale of the Oregon State Classic ... Cole Dawley’s double-double is her fourth of the season.
TOURNAMENT RESULTS
September 12
South Carolina 3, College of Charleston 0
Clemson 3, Winthrop 0
College of Charleston 3, Winthrop 0
South Carolina 3, Clemson 2
September 13
South Carolina 3, Winthrop 0
Clemson 3, College of Charleston 0
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Bridget Denson-Dorman ? South Carolina
Belita Salters ? South Carolina
Danielle Hepburn - Clemson
Lia Proctor - Clemson
Whitney Russell ? College of Charleston
Shannon Sitzmann - Winthrop
MOST OUTSTANDING LIBERO
Sarah Cline ? South Carolina
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
Ivana Kujundzic ? South Carolina
Tennessee Tech 3, Furman 1; Furman 3, Miami (Ohio) 1
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. ? Furman split its final pair of matches at the Lady Topper Invitational in Bowling Green, Ky., falling to Tennessee Tech 3-1 before defeating Miami (Ohio) 3-1.
The Paladins began the day with a 3-1 loss to Tennessee Tech. Furman rolled to a 25-14 win in the first set, but Tennessee Tech came back to even the match at 1-1 with a 25-17 win in the second set. The third set saw 15 ties and 8 lead changes before the Golden Eagles came away with a
28-26 win in extra points. Tennessee Tech finished the match with a 25-20 win in the fourth set.
Senior outside hitter Alison West and freshman setter/right side Kelly Kirby led the Paladins with 13 kills apiece. Kirby recorded her first triple-double, with 13 kills, 13 assists and 12 digs, and also added five block assists. Junior setter Kelsey Salava added a double-double with 22 assists and 12 defensive saves. Senior Nicole Palazzo led the team with a
.421 hitting percentage, while Carolyn Nicoletti led the floor defense with 16 digs.
Tennessee Tech was led by Leah Meffert’s 16 kills and 10 digs, while Alysson Sanders also recorded a double-double with 13 kills and 10 digs.
In the evening match, Furman defeated Miami (Ohio) 3-1. The Paladins took the first game 25-22, but again allowed its opponent back in the match with a 25-14 win in the second set. Furman regrouped for a 25-17 win in the third, and clinched the match with a 25-22 win in the fourth.
West again led the Paladins with 19 kills, while committing only three errors on 36 attempts for a .444 hitting percentage. Palazzo matched her mark with 8 kills and no errors on 18 attempts. Nicoletti again led the floor defense with 10 digs. As a team, Furman combined to hit over .400 in each of the three sets that it won.
With the split today, Furman season record remains even at 6-6, while Miami (Ohio) falls to 6-3 on the season. The Paladins have an off week next weekend, before opening Southern Conference play with home matches against The Citadel and College of Charleston on Sept. 26 and 27.
NC State 3, Western Carolina 1; William & Mary 3, Western Carolina 0
RALEIGH, N.C. - Western Carolina volleyball (0-9) had some solid individual performances from freshman Brittany Lysik and junior Amanda Kerr, before falling to host NC State 3-1 (25-14, 19-25, 19-25, 19-25) and William & Mary 3-0 (21-25, 20-25, 19-25) Saturday as part of the Hilton/RTP NC State Classic in Reynolds Coliseum.
The Catamounts started off strong against the host Wolfpack, taking game one 25-14. WCU built a 13-5 advantage off the strong serving of Carrie Minogue and Katie Hennessey as NC State had four attack errors in the tandems serving sets.
It was the strong play of Lysik that kept Western Carolina in the game as she recorded the first double-double of her career with 10 kills and 12 digs. The Catamounts won game one, the first time this season the club has won the opening game of a match, but NC State battled back to win games two and three to take a 2-1 advantage.
Down 11-20, the Wolfpack looked like they would easily put the Catamounts away but WCU fought back in game four with three straight points to pull within six, but NC State pulled out with the win.
Hennessey had 34 assists in the match and junior libero Liz Rondone had 21 digs.
In the second match of the day, Western Carolina was shutout by William & Mary but did leave with a pair of highlights by individual players. Junior Amanda Kerr notched a career-high 13 kills in the match and earned All-Tournament honoros while Lysik extended her streak of double figure digs to three with 14 against William & Mary.
Though Western Carolina was shutout, the club kept the matches close which is a positive note for the Catamounts as they prepare to host their first match of the season at 7 p.m. Sept. 16 against mountain rival UNC Asheville.
Howard 3, Elon 1; Elon 3, St. Peter’s 0
MOON TOWNSHIP, PA. ? The Elon Phoenix volleyball team fell to Howard 3-1 (20-25, 21-25, 25-15, 25-23) before defeating St. Peter’s 3-0 (25-15, 25-15, 25-23) in the Robert Morris Invitational in Moon Township, Pa. Elon is now 8-2 this season.
In the first match of the day, the Bison of Howard held Elon to a .057 hitting percentage in the first match of the day. Traci Stewart led the Phoenix with 15 kills. Caroline Lemke added seven kills in the effort. Setter Emily Regan kept the Elon offense on pace with 21 assists.
Stewart and Lemke proved to be valuable to the Elon defense as each totaled two solo blocks and one assisted block a piece. Kelley Blakewood led the team in digs with 21. Lizzie West, Shelley MacBean, and Regan each posted double-digit digs with 11, 15, and 11, respectively.
For Howard, it was Gazelle D’Artois who shined, recording a match-high 20 kills. Gabrielle Martin also reached double-digits, adding 13 kills to the team total. Grace Demichelis led the way with 48 assists.
Taylor Johnson led the Bison defense with two solo blocks to go along with her four assisted blocks. Demichelis added four assisted blocks, while Keri Partridge notched three assisted blocks.
Elon bounced back to defeat St. Peter’s in the second match of the afternoon. Mandi Wilson went 15-for-30 with two attack errors to register a .433 hitting percentage to lead Elon’s offensive attack. Sophomore Lauren Copenhagen also reached double-digit kills with 10. Freshman Megan McMahon paced the Phoenix offense with 20 assists, with Regan adding 12.
McMahon and Blakewood combined for 24 digs (12 each) to pace a Phoenix defense that held the Peahens’ to a .067 team hitting percentage. Four Phoenix registered at least one block in the win, with MacBean, Lemke, and Stewart leading the way with one solo block and one assisted block each.
For the Peahen’s, Kim Mendoza led the way with nine kills and a .216 hitting percentage. Stephanie Phillips was second on the team, registering six kills. Caroline Garvey recorded a match-high 21 assists in the effort.
Defensively, Renata Bauer led the team with two solo blocks. The two blocks were the only blocks recorded by a St. Peter’s player. Katherine Sura paced the defense, recording a match-best 14 digs.
Elon returns to Alumni Gym Tuesday, Sept. 16 at 7 p.m. when they host Winston-Salem State. Full coverage, including live stats, for Tuesday’s match will be available at www.elonphoenix.com.
Virginia Commonwealth 3, Appalachian State 0; Virginia 3, Appalachian State 0
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Appalachian State University volleyball wrapped up the Marriott Jefferson Cup with a pair of losses on Saturday, with 3-0 sweeps against Virginia Commonwealth and host Virginia. Sophomore Lauren Swecker represented the Mountaineers on the all-tournament team.
The Apps (2-8) faced early deficits against the tough competition in both matches and were their own worst enemy in the early match, as ASU had no aces compared to seven service errors, as well as 32 attack errors to VCU's (4-4) nine.
Swecker paced the offense with 14 kills and a .346 hitting percentage but Appalachian hit just .094 as a team in the match. Swecker added seven digs on the defensive end. Cassie Engelgau again led ASU in the dig category with 14 of the squad's 49.
Carla Durham had 10 kills and Jordan Jesberg added eight in the 25-19, 25-16, 25-18 setback. She totaled three blocks for the day, which moved her into sole possession of third place on ASU's career block assists list.
In the nightcap, the Mountaineers opened strong with 10 kills and just four errors in the opening set. Virginia (7-2) was resilient, however, and dispatched of ASU with 11 kills of its own in the first set. Jesberg stepped up to lead the Apps with 11 kills in the match along with two of the team's four aces, three digs and a block.
No one else on the visiting team had more than Swecker's six kills while freshman Maggie Seeds was the most efficient hitter with a .250 mark. Junior Heather Kale posted double-figure digs with a team-high 12 while Engelgau and Charissa Clearman had seven digs each, and Clearman added 21 assists in the match and 54 on the day.
Seeds had nine kills, three digs and a block for the day while Engelgau finished the double-header with 21 digs.
ASU finished the tournament 1-2 and will travel to East Tennessee State on Tuesday before welcoming Charlotte, North Carolina A&T and Wake Forest to the High Country next weekend for the Appalachian Invitational.