Wofford 3, Kennesaw State 0
KENNESAW, Ga. -- The Wofford volleyball team picked up right where it left off from its last match with a 3-0 victory over the Owls of Kennesaw State 25-16, 25-14 and 25-20 Tuesday night in Kennesaw, Ga. With the win, the Terriers extend their winning streak to seven matches.
In the opening set, the match stayed on serve until 10-9 when the Terriers won five of the next six points to eventually take a 15-10 lead. Wofford (8-2) then took 10 of the next 16 points to close out the opening set.
Set two started off very similar with neither team able to establish a comfortable lead. However, the Terriers were able to go on two extended runs in the middle of the set to push the lead to 19-11. A kill by Stacy Byrd gave the Terriers a nine point lead at 20-11, which helped seal the deal.
The Terriers fell behind early in set three trailing 8-4, but another strong push led them on a 13-4 run capped off by a Shanna Hughes kill to make the score 17-12. Hughes added three straight kills as Wofford built a 20-14 advantage.
Liz Sheets was solid offensively with eight kills on 14 attacks and zero errors for a .571 hitting percentage. Anna Gustafson also contributed with six kills on 10 attacks for a .500 hitting percentage. Hughes led all players with 12 kills in 35 total attempts.
Libero Brittany Thompson anchored the Terrier back line with 18 digs, while Hughes also reached double digits in digs with 11. The team finished with seven total blocks with Sheets leading the way with five assisted efforts.
The Owls struggled hitting .062 as a team with two players hitting in the negative. Paris Leonce was the top Kennesaw State (1-9) performer with seven kills and a .150 hitting percentage.
Wofford will continue play this weekend at the SCSU tournament in Orangeburg S.C. The Terriers open play at noon Friday against Charleston Southern before meeting SoCon foe The Citadel in a non-league match at 5:15 p.m.
High Point 3, UNC Greensboro 0
GREENSBORO, N.C. ? UNC Greensboro was swept by High Point 3-0 on Tuesday night at Fleming Gymnasium. Set scores were 20-25, 16-25, 22-25.
In the first set, UNCG had to contend with a High Point offense that put together four different three-point runs. The Panthers eventually used those runs to take a 18-11 lead. High Point’s lead increased to eight before the Spartans rattled off six of the next seven points. UNCG got kills from junior Catherine Hanners and freshman Luciana Shafer and scored points off four High Point errors to make it 21-18 in favor of the Panthers. A kill by Anna Lott began another three-point High Point run that led to a 24-18 Panther advantage. UNCG hung on, scoring points off a High Point attack error and a Hanners ace, but Stephanie Wallin had the set-winning kill for the Panthers.
High Point scored eight-straight points early in the second set to take a 9-3 lead. UNCG pulled to within four, but the Panthers had used three- and four-point runs to take a 16-6 advantage. The Spartans eventually cut High Point’s lead down to seven off a kill by sophomore Kayren Finney to make it a 23-16 set. However, back-to-back UNCG attack errors allowed the Panthers to get the final points they needed for to win the set.
UNCG scored six of the first seven points in the third set. A service ace by Hanners and a solo block by Finney gave the Spartans a 2-0 advantage. High Point scored off a service error, but Finney and junior Branagan Fuller blocked an attack from Wallin to spark a four-point run and make it 6-1 in favor of UNCG. However, three-straight points by the Panthers trimmed UNCG’s edge down to two. High Point made it a one-point set on three different occasions before freshman Luciana Shafer had a kill that started a three-point run. During that run, sophomore Kimiko Naito served an ace put UNCG up 12-8. After the teams traded points, an Audie Gonzalez kill sparked a three-point Panther run that eventually cut UNCG’s lead down to one. The Spartans answered as a kill by sophomore Billi Baker and back-to-back Fuller kills gave them a 16-12 edge. However, High Point scored the next five points, including the go-ahead, to take a 17-16 advantage. UNCG regained the lead after back-to-back Panther errors, but High Point reeled off four-consecutive points to hold a 21-18 lead. The Spartans evened the set at 21-all after kills from Fuller and Hanners and a Panther attack error. A kill by Ashley Mellot gave High Point the one-point lead, but a Mellot attack error tied the set at 22-22. However, High Point scored the final three points of the match off kills from Kristina Taylor and Wallin and a Spartan error.
Fuller recorded a team-high 10 kills. Naito had 11 assists, while Hanners totaled 11 digs.
Gonzalez tallied a match-high 11 kills, while Taylor put up 29 assists. Julie Hershkowitz recorded 14 digs.
The Spartans return to the court this weekend when they travel to Morgantown, WV for the WVU Classic. UNCG opens the tournament against host West Virginia on Friday, Sept. 19 at 7:30 p.m., and then concludes the tournament on Saturday, Sept. 20 against George Washington and UMBC.
AGATE
High Point defeated UNCG 25-20,25-16,25-22
High Point (7-2) (Kills-aces-blocks) - GONZALEZ, Audie 11-0-2; RAUS, Lindsay 7-0-3; LOTT, Anna 6-0-1; MELLOTT, Ashley 6-0-0; WALLIN, Stephanie 6-0-2; TAYLOR, Kristina 3-1-1; HATCH, Lauren 0-1-0; Totals 39-2-5.0. (Assists) - TAYLOR, Kristina 29. (Dig leaders) - HERSHKOWITZ, Julie 14; DYER, Tara 10; HATCH, Lauren 9; TAYLOR, Kristina 8; GONZALEZ, Audie 8
UNCG (6-4) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Branagan Fuller 10-0-1; Kayren Finney 7-0-3; Kaitlyn Nortz 5-0-0; Luciana Shafer 5-0-0; Billi Baker 2-0-1; Catherine Hanners 2-2-0; Kimiko Naito 0-1-0; Kayleigh Knerr 0-1-0; Totals 31-4-3.0. (Assists) - Kimiko Naito 11. (Dig leaders) - Catherine Hanners 11; Branagan Fuller 9; Kayleigh Knerr 8
Elon 3, Winston-Salem State 0
ELON, N.C. ? The Elon volleyball team earned a 3-0 (25-5, 25-5, 25-8) shutout over the visiting Winston-Salem State Lady Rams Tuesday night at Alumni Gym. The win improves the Phoenix to 9-3 on the year, the best start since 2000. Winston-Salem State drops to 1-8.
WSSU grabbed two of the first three points in set one before Elon scored the next 11 behind the serving of Shelley MacBean. An attack error by Caroline Lemke gave the Lady Ram’s their third point of the set. With Elon leading 13-3, Annika Barnwell notched the team’s first kill of the night making the score 13-4. Elon went on to score the final nine points, capped off with a service ace by Lizzie West, to take set one 25-5.
The hitting woes continued for WSSU in the second set, as Elon notched nine kills and held the Lady Rams to a -.346 attack percentage. Elon scored seven of the first 10 points of the set. An Elon miscue gave Winston-Salem State its final point of the set and broke a 12-point run by the Phoenix. Behind the serving of West, Elon grabbed the final six points of the set to win 25-5.
Elon opened the third set by scoring 10 of the first 15 points. Following a kill by Barnwell, the Phoenix strung together a five-point run. WSSU’s scored back-to-back points at the 21-7 mark. The Phoenix scored the final four points of the set to take it and the match at 25-8.
On it’s way to a .491 team hitting percentage, Elon had six players with an attack percentage of over .500. The team was led by Stefanie Meyers who went six-for-six with no errors for a hitting percentage of 1.000. Mandy Wilson earned seven kills in the win for an attack percentage of .600. The team recorded a season-best 14 service aces that was led by West with four. Junior Emily Regan and freshman Megan McMahon paced the offensive effort with 13 and 15 assists, respectively.
Elon’s defense held the Lady Rams to an overall hitting percentage of -.268. Meyers again came up big, earning two total blocks that included one solo block. Lemke, MacBean and Regan each had one assisted block each.
Elon returns to action this weekend when it travels to Williamsburg, Va. for the Colonial Classic hosted by William and Mary. Elon and Radford will open the tournament Friday afternoon at 4:30. The Phoenix will face Maryland-Eastern Shore at 10:30 a.m. Saturday morning before taking on William and Mary at 7 p.m. for the final match of the tournament. Full coverage of the tournament will be available at www.elonphoenix.com .
UNC Asheville 3, Western Carolina 1
CULLOHWEE, N.C. ? A pair of career-highs by freshmen Carrie Minogue and Rebecca Stoltz wasn’t enough to push Western Carolina volleyball (0-10) past mountain rival UNC Asheville (6-4), as the Catamounts fell 3-1 (26-28, 30-28, 27-25, 12-25) to the Bulldogs in its home opener Tuesday in the Ramsey Center.
Western Carolina pushed three of the four games into overtime, taking game two, but just couldn’t seem to get past the Bulldogs.
“We just couldn’t seem to have a complete game tonight,” said Head Volleyball Coach Stephanie Dragan. “It was a great effort by Carrie and Rebecca and we had some good performances defensively, but overall errors really hurt us.”
Minogue was scorching on the court, with a career-high 19 kills and a .441 attack percentage, committing just four errors in 34 attempts. Teammate Stoltz had a career-high five blocks, four of them solo and also had five kills.
“Carrie played incredible tonight, she had the presence to come up with some big plays,” Dragan said. “Rebecca’s blocks gave us some huge momentum swings, and she has shown a lot of growth.”
In game one, the contest was tied at 20 when both teams traded points back and forth. Tying the game five more times, in that stretch, Western Carolina had game point, at 26-25, but costly attack error tied the game again and UNC Asheville scored the final two points to win game one.
Western Carolina took the advantage in game two. This time it was a Bulldog error that set up the Catamount win, as a pair of UNCA errors gave WCU the win.
Game three was also a tight contest with UNC Asheville coming out on top. The Bulldogs pulled away in game four, as the Catamounts had a -.037 attack percentage and they had their best attack percentage of the night, in a game, with .393.
Western Carolina hosts the Catamount Clash on September 19-20. The first match for the Catamounts, in the tournament, is at 2:30 p.m. against Norfolk State.
East Tennessee State 3, Appalachian State 2
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - Appalachian State University volleyball jumped out to a two-set lead on Tuesday evening before East Tennessee State came roaring back to take a 3-2 win over the Mountaineers, 29-31, 16-25, 25-14, 26-24 and 15-10. It was the first five-set match of the season for ASU.
Lauren Swecker put away a match-high 17 kills with a .295 hitting percentage, nine digs and a block. Carla Durham had a solid all-around match as well with 14 kills, an impressive .520 hitting percentage, five blocks and a pair of digs.
The first set would not be decided by the standard 25-points, as the teams battled back and forth before the Mountaineers took a 31-29 win. It proved to be a foreshadow of what was to come, as the set was back-and-forth and truly went the distance.
An early eight-point run gave the Apps (2-8) a 9-2 lead early in the second set behind strong serving from Jordan Jesberg. ASU extended the lead to as many as 12 points before closing out the set and taking a 2-0 lead, 25-16. Jesberg ended the night with eight kills, nine digs and an ace.
ETSU (3-7) began its comeback after the intermission with a 25-14 win in the third set before pulling out a 26-24 thriller to force a fifth set. The comeback was completed when the Lady Bucs grabbed hold of an early lead in the deciding set and held on for the 15-10 clincher.
Cassie Engelgau came just one dig shy of matching her season-high with 19 to go along with two of Appalachian's six service aces. Heather Kale matched Jesberg and Swecker with nine digs of her own. Kale also added a pair of aces on the night.
Freshman Maggie Seeds pitched in seven kills and four of the team's 10 blocks while senior Charissa Clearman set 44 assists along with seven digs and a block.
Appalachian smashed 28 kills over the first two sets but was limited to just 27 over the final three. The loss snapped a seven-match winning streak against ETSU, which dated back to the 2002 season. For the Lady Bucs, Whitney Cogburn narrowly missed a triple-double with nine kills, 19 assists and 13 digs.
The Mountaineers host the Appalachian Invitational on Friday and Saturday this weekend. The team hits the court next on Friday at 7 p.m. against Wake Forest.
The Citadel 3, North Carolina A&T 0
CHARLESTON, S.C. ? The Bulldog Volleyball team defeated the Aggies of North Carolina A&T, 3-0, Tuesday night in their home-opener at McAlister Field House. After defeating the Aggies in three sets, the Bulldogs take control of the series, 2-1, taking a slight edge.
“It was a great win at home,” said Head Coach Carolyn Geiger. “Everyone contributed to this win. I thought both setters really connected with our hitters and were offensive themselves. We had a solid match out of our middles, Jessica and Amanda. I thought the fan support was amazing; they were cheering and into the match.”
The first set was all about the Bulldogs. The Aggies took control at the very beginning of the set, taking over, 3-0, but the lead didn’t last long. The Bulldogs fought back and took control. Once the Bulldogs took over the set at 7-6, the rest was history, maintaining the lead for the rest of the set.
The Citadel had 14 kills and 30 total attacks in the first set, while the Aggies had four kills and 21 total attacks. Tatum Jestila and Jessica Maas dominated in the first set, each with four kills.
Rachel Sanders contributed with four digs, leading the set for both teams. The Bulldogs’ put on an outstanding performance, taking the set 25-10.
North Carolina A&T couldn’t find their rhythm, losing the second set 25-14. The Bulldogs continued to battle, taking over the set at 2-1, where they never looked back. The Citadel tallied 14 kills and 35 total attacks in the second match, while the Aggies only managed to tally five kills and 29 total attacks.
Sanders took control on the offensive end for the Bulldogs, with five kills and nine total attacks. On the defensive end, Amanda Beal and Jestila tallied six digs, respectively. The Bulldogs continued to dominate the Aggies throughout the set and the momentum continued to move with the Bulldogs into the third set.
The Aggies began to fight back in the third set, keeping the game close and within reach. The Bulldogs led for the majority of the set, but the Aggies took the lead at 18-17, but couldn’t hold on. The Bulldogs’ strength and quickness was too much for the Aggies, claiming the lead at 19-18. The Bulldogs stayed on top for the rest of the set.
Maas dominated once more in the third set, tallying four kills, 10 total attacks and six digs. Jestila contributed on defense with six digs. The Citadel had 14 kills and 44 total attacks on the set. The Bulldogs’ determination to claim a victory and increase their record to 3-5 was the force that put them in the driver’s seat, claiming the match in three games.
The Bulldogs finished with 42 kills, 109 total attacks, 35 assists and 51 digs, while the Aggies finished with 21 kills, 92 total attacks, 18 assists and 36 digs. The Bulldogs’ effort and heart allowed them to take away a victory in their home-opener, in front of their home crowd.
Claiming a victory against the Aggies will continue to give the Bulldogs confidence as they go into the weekend. The Bulldogs will travel to Orangeburg, S.C. to participate in the South Carolina State Tournament, which will take place Sept. 19-20. In Orangeburg, the Bulldogs will face North Carolina Central, Wofford, Hampton and South Carolina State.