Western Carolina 3, Norfolk State 0; Arkansas State 3, Western Carolina 0
CULLOWHEE, N.C. ? Western Carolina volleyball (1-11) split a pair of matches in the first day of action Friday at the Catamount Clash in the Ramsey Center.
The Catamounts picked up their first win of the season, defeating Norfolk State 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-21) in their first match of the day. In the nightcap, Western Carolina fell 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-21) to Arkansas State.
Against Norfolk State, Western Carolina went over .200 in attack percentage for the first time this season, tipping the scales at .217. The club also had just 13 errors in 129 attempts, in contrast to the Spartan’s 24 miscues.
“I kept telling the team if we could break 200 in attack percentage we would start winning matches,” admitted Head Volleyball Coach Stephanie Dragan. “We had some great performances defensively which allowed our middles to get the ball.”
Freshmen Carrie Minogue and Rebecca Stoltz continued to shine for the Catamounts, each logging in 11 kills in the match. Junior setter Katie Hennessey notched the eighth double-double of her career with 35 assists and 14 digs. Fellow junior Liz Rondone added 20 digs in the contest.
“Our defense played well enough to get our freshmen the ball,” Dragan said. “And that’s a big deal right there.”
After dispensing with Presbyterian 3-0 in just one hour and five minutes, earlier in the day, Arkansas State had to face a tenacious Western Carolina club. The Catamounts gave the Redwolves a fight but prevailed with a .233 attack percentage to WCU’s .129.
Stoltz and Kerr led the club with six kills a piece. Rondone added 14 digs.
Western Carolina faces Presbyterian College at 2 p.m. Saturday in the final day of action of the Catamount Clash.
Samford 3, Memphis 1
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford University volleyball team grabbed its first win the UAB-Samford Invitational Friday afternoon as they defeated Memphis, 3-1 (20-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-10). The Bulldogs (9-2) fell in the first set but turned the match around quickly, winning three straight sets. Samford continues it's best start ever while the Tigers move to 7-4 on the season.
Samford took quick two-point lead in the first set on back-to-back kills by Adams, but Memphis quickly tied the score and took over, eventually leading by three. The Bulldogs were able to climb within one several times but the Tigers would not relinquish their lead. Memphis went on to win set one, 25-20.
Memphis grabbed the first point of the second set and seemed to set the pace for how things would play out. Fighting through a few ties, the Tigers took a three-point lead, but Samford rallied back to tie the score again on a block by Adams and Gadberry. Another block by Gadberry and Sosnowski gave the Bulldogs the lead and Samford took over the flow of the game, soon taking a five-point lead. The Tigers were able to get within two points but Samford closed it out down the stretch and won game two, 25-22.
Memphis handed Samford its first point of the third set with a service error and Fountain added an ace to take the early two-point advantage. The Tigers then got on the board but two consecutive kills by Sosnowski gave Samford a 4-1 lead. With Samford leading 9-6, Memphis took a timeout. However, straight out of the break, Adams knocked down a kill to extend the Bulldogs' lead to four. Samford continued to push the lead out to seven and Memphis fought back, but the Bulldogs took set three, 25-20.
The Bulldogs dominated the fourth and final set, taking a 6-0 lead to start out. A Memphis error game Samford its first point and Adams and Gadberry added to the lead with a block. Adams then followed up with a kill, and an ace by Fountain put the Bulldogs up, 4-0. An error by the Tigers made it a five-point game and with a kill by Gadberry, the score was 6-0. After Memphis got on the board, Samford only allowed the Tigers to score nine more points, taking set four, 25-10.
Senior Ashley led the Bulldogs in the match, posting her fourth double-double on the season with 14 kills and 13 digs, while also grabbing three block assists. Kirstein Sosnowski followed close behind, knocking down 12 kills and leading the Bulldogs in hitting percentage with a .333 average. Sosnowski also had four block assists and one set assist. Hillary Fountain had 37 assists and four aces along with three digs while Courtney Gay added 10 digs and one ace.
Rachel Gadberry posted eight kills, five block assists and two digs while Sara Sears added four kills, three digs and two block assists. Samantha Bland had three aces, five digs and one assists while Sheriden Stangohr added two kills, two digs and three block assists. Sarah Gardner had four assists.
The Bulldogs will play again tonight at 7 p.m., when they take on the Trojans of Troy University.
Samford 3, Troy 1
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford University volleyball team grabbed win number two in the UAB-Samford Invitational Friday night against Troy. The Bulldogs defeated the Trojans, 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-23, 25-15), and now move to 10-2 on the year, while the Trojans fall to 8-5. Earlier Friday, the Bulldogs defeated Memphis, 3-1.
"We got into a couple of matches today where we didn't execute as well on our first contacts but we still found a way to win," Samford head coach Derek Schroeder said. "Memphis was big in the middle and big on right side and served the ball very well, but that match turned when we started serving aggressively. Troy passed better than anyone has all year against us and forced us into some serving errors, and we were still able to come together and pull out a win."
Samford came out and set the pace for the match in set one. Back-to-back kills by Adams and Gadberry immediately put the Bulldogs on top by two and after getting on the board, Troy committed several errors that gave Samford a three-point lead. Two kills by Sears extended that lead to four and a service ace by Bland gave Samford a six-point advantage. After a timeout midway through the game, Troy tried to fight back and catch up to the Bulldogs but Samford's intensity was just too much. The Bulldogs led by as much as eight and went on to win the first set, 25-20.
The Bulldogs struck the first blow in the second set as Sosnowski put Samford on the board with a kill, but the Trojans retaliated and soon took over the lead. Troy pushed its lead out to three before Samford got within one, but the Trojans would charge ahead and take a five point lead.
The Bulldogs fought to get back within one on kills by Sosnowski, Stangohr and Adams along with some Trojan errors, and Troy took a timeout. The Trojans widened the gap to three before Samford took a break and fought to get within one again on a kill by Sosnowski followed by a block by Sosnowski and Stangohr. However, the Trojans would keep their lead, and go on to win, 25-23.
Adams put the Bulldogs on the board first in set three but a service error by Stangohr would tie the score up. The teams would fight through a tie for every point until they reached 15, and that is when Samford took its first true lead of the set. The Bulldogs pulled ahead by three on a couple of Trojan errors and a kill by Adams, but Troy would then tie the score at 18 and take its first true lead going ahead by two. However, Samford fought back tied the score three more times and sealed the match, 25-23, on consecutive kills by Adams and Sosnowski.
Troy grabbed the first point for the first time in the whole match in the fourth and final set, but the Bulldogs did not let that intimidate them as they put up four straight points on a kill by Sears, a block by Fountain and Stangohr, and few Troy errors. The Bulldogs completely dominated this final set leading by as much as 10 and never letting the Trojans get within less than two points.
With the score at 10-6, after back-to-back kills by Gadberry, Troy's head coach Sonny Kirkpatrick was issued a yellow card. The Bulldogs extended their four-point lead to six and then to nine after two Troy timeouts, and Samford went on to win the final set, 25-15.
Senior Ashley Adams posted her second double-double of the day and her fifth of the season with 19 kills and 11 digs while hitting .472 and having one block assist. Kirstein Sosnowski was right behind with 14 kills, hitting .444 and grabbing two block assists and one block solo. Sheriden Stangohr hit .467, knocking down nine kills while adding one ace, three digs and four block assists.
Sara Sears posted eight kills, three digs, one block solo and one assist while Rachel Gadberry knocked down seven kills and added one block solo and one dig. Hillary Fountain dished out 54 assists while getting four kills, six digs, one ace and one block assist. Courtney Gay had 18 digs and two assists while Sarah Gardner added seven digs and two aces and Samantha Bland had 10 digs and one ace.
The Bulldogs will take on Alabama A&M tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. in the final match of the UAB-Samford Invitational series that is hosted at Samford.
Georgia Southern 3, James Madison 2; South Florida 3, Georgia Southern 0
TAMPA, Fla. --- Georgia Southern came back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat James Madison and win their final match of the day Friday at the USF Tournament in Tampa.
GSU downed JMU 3-2 (12-25, 22-25, 25-16, 27-25, 15-10) after losing their opener 3-0 (25-14, 25-20, 25-15) to host South Florida. The Eagles’ record stands at 6-6 overall and continue play Saturday at 10 a.m. vs. Toledo.
“It was a rollercoaster,” said GSU head coach Chad Callihan. “We played our worst volleyball and best volleyball of the season all in the same day. Even though we played poorly, we showed some resilience and were able to bounce back and get it rolling here in the afternoon.”
Georgia Southern got 49 assists from senior Mae Chabra (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) and a career-high 14 kills and .423 hitting percentage from freshman Parker Small (Charlotte, N.C.) in the finale as the Eagles rallied from an 0-2 hole for the first time since Nov. 6, 2005 vs. Western Carolina.
“Mae stepped in and did a great job,” said Callihan. “She really established a flow to the offense and I was really proud of her. I think it’s tough to step in in the middle of a match and I thought she handled that really well.”
Prior to Friday GSU had not won a match after dropping the first set by 10 or more points since rally scoring was implemented before the 2001 season.
“We switched setters about halfway through and shuffled the lineup a little bit and it gave us a little bit of a spark,” said Callihan. “I think the girls were really tired of not playing well. We talked after the morning match ? we played real tentative and almost looked nervous and scared. This is a new group with a new coach and I think going on the road, trying to get used to playing on the road is an adjustment. I don’t think we’ve handled it very well until this afternoon. Really it was just making a couple of changes and the kids deciding they weren’t satisfied with the way things had been going.”
Freshman Bethany Sanford (Avondale, Ariz.) led all players with 16 kills and junior Cristin Haines (Palos Heights, Ill.) totaled 31 digs.
“I think Mae, Parker, Cristin and Hayli (Ketner) really stepped up and did some nice things for us,” said Callihan. “And Hannah too; her stat line isn’t great ? she had some silly errors and had a couple of errors that really weren’t her fault ? but she gave us a nice blocking presence over on the right side. She had four block assists which we had been missing. Cristin was just amazing ? she’s incredibly solid.”
In the opening match of the day, South Florida hit .255 as a team and received 21 kills from Marcela Gurgel to easily earn the sweep.
The Eagles were held to a .042 percentage, including -.069 in the third set.
“I think (USF) intimidated us a little bit,” said Callihan. “It got us back on our heels and before we could react and get going the match was pretty much over. ... I think with the travel and going up against a good team ? because they have a talented group ? we weren’t able to find our footing and gain any ground. It was really some bad volleyball for us.”
Sanford recorded eight kills and nine digs, ending her streak of six straight double-doubles.
Chattanooga 3, Alabama A&M 1; Florida International 3, Chattanooga 0
BIRMINGHAM ? Thanks to career performances from Jessica Scott and Bailee Chastain, the Chattanooga Lady Mocs volleyball team notched its fourth victory of the season Friday night, as UTC knocked off Alabama A&M, 3-1 in the first day of the UAB/Samford Invitational. The Lady Mocs took the match, 26-24, 25-27, 25-20, and 25-16, and are now 4-8 on the season. With the victory, UTC finishes the first day of the tournament 1-1. In its first game of the day, the Lady Mocs fought valiantly, but fell to an extremely tough Florida International team, 3-0.
In the team’s victory, Scott and Chastain posted double-digit kills for the Lady Mocs. Scott finished with a career-best 14, while Chastain posted a personal high of 10. Both players also contributed on the defensive side of the ball with ten digs apiece. Those two weren’t the only ones involved in the offense as six other players notched kills for UTC. As a team, Chattanooga committed only 17 errors, and had a hitting percentage of .273. Michaela Huff and Cassie Conner both had solid days with 28, and 19 assists, respectively. Lara Newberry continued her defensive excellence with a match-high 22 digs.
After splitting the first two sets in the match, the Lady Mocs would put the pesky Bulldogs away by taking sets three and four. The third set did not come easy though as the Lady Mocs found itself nodded at 14 halfway through. The Lady Mocs would then break the tie thanks to an A&M error, and wouldn’t trail for the remainder of the set, as UTC took a 2-1 lead with the 25-20 win. In the fourth, and what would be the final set, the Lady Mocs set the tone with a Scott kill to open the set, and would not look back as UTC took the set convincingly 25-16.
In the Lady Mocs first match of the day, UTC saw the Golden Panthers barely scrape by in the first set, 25-23, and was able to pull away in the remaining sets, 25-17 and 25-14. Florida International was led by Yarimar Rosa, who finished with a match-high 22 kills, as FIU high-powered offense hit .350 on the day. The victory did not come easy though, as the Lady Mocs came very close to taking the first frame from FIU. Both teams remained close through the early stages of the match until UTC took the lead from the Golden Panthers. Chattanooga would go ahead by five at 18-13 mark, but FIU would slowly begin its comeback. Florida International would tie it up at 22-all, and were then able to pull ahead for the narrow escape.
Courtney Barnes tied a season-high with 9 kills, and did not commit an error, as the sophomore posted a .643 hitting percentage. Aurore Kullak finished second on the team with eight kills in the match, while Michaela Huff led the team with 11 assists. Newberry once again led the team in digs, with eight.
The Lady Mocs will wrap up its stay in Birmingham Saturday, as UTC will take on Memphis at 5 p.m. EDT.
Elon 3, Radford 1
WILLIAMSBURG, VA. ? The Elon volleyball team improved to 10-3 this season with a 3-1 (25-18, 25-11, 23-25, 26-16) win over Radford in the first match of the Colonial Classic, hosted by William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va. Radford drops to 5-3 with the loss.
Set one saw Elon take a 3-2 lead before Radford came back to score six in a row to gain a 10-6 lead. The Phoenix fought back to tie the set at 13 off a setting error by Radford’s Lauren Clary. The team’s would tie the set at 14, before a Radford attack error and service ace by Lauren Copenhagen sparked an Elon run that allowed the Phoenix to score 11 of the final 15 points to take set one 25-18.
Elon cruised to an 13-4 lead to begin the second set. Three Caroline Lemke kills and two kills by Traci Stewart highlighted the run. Radford strung together three points to narrow Elon’s lead to 15-8. Elon scored 11 of the final 14 points to win set two 25-11.
Elon fell in set three, despite holding a 12-8 lead at one point. Radford fought back to take a 15-13 lead over the Phoenix. The set would tie at 17 before the Highlanders put together a four-point run to take a 20-17. An attack error by Jessica Sullivan tied the set at 20. The tie would be the closest Elon would come, as Radford scored five of the final eight points to seal the set 25-23 and force a fourth set.
Two service aces, one by Lizzie West and one by Stewart, gave Elon a 10-5 lead that forced Radford to take a timeout. Elon scored the next three points, following the timeout to extend its lead to 13-5. The Highlanders made it into double-digits of an Elon service error that narrowed the score to 16-10. A kill by Heidi Haubrich capped off a three-point run that forced Elon to call a timeout at the 16-11 mark. After the timeout, a Stewart kill extended Elon’s lead to 18-11. Radford fought back, bringing the set within four at 18-14, but the Phoenix pulled away for a 26-16 win capped off by a kill from Lemke to take the set and the match,
Pacing Elon’s offense, which posted a .327 attack percentage for the match, was junior Emily Regan with a match-high 36 assists. Leading the charge for the Phoenix was Lemke with a .619 attack percentage, going 15-for-21 with two errors. Stewart was second on the team in kills with 11. Regan posted a .400 with three kills in five attempts with one error.
The Phoenix displayed a stout defense, holding the Highlanders to a .050 hitting percentage. The match marked the sixth time this season that Elon held opponents to an attack percentage to under .100. Kelley Blakewood, who recorded 14 digs, paced the defensive attack. Stewart added eight to the total. The Phoenix totaled three solo blocks, two by Lemke and on by Lauren Copenhagen. Stefanie Meyers and Stewart notched two assisted blocks each, with Lemke and Copenhagen adding one each.
Waddell, who earned 12 kills in the effort, led Radford’s offense. Haubrich and Sullivan contributed to the team’s total offense with seven and six kills, respectively. Kiley Kent recorded 29 assists.
The Highlanders earned two total assisted blocks, one by Waddell and one by Haubrich. Lauren Clary tallied 12 digs.
Elon returns to the floor tomorrow morning at 10:30 when it faces Maryland-Eastern Shore in the third match of the Colonial Classic. Full coverage, including live stats, of the match will be available at www.elonphoenix.com .
West Virginia 3, UNC Greensboro 2
MORGANTOWN, WV ? UNC Greensboro forced a deciding fifth set by winning set four in its opening match at the WVU Classic, but the was unable to complete the comeback as host West Virginia took the fifth set and defeated the Spartans 3-2 on Friday night at the WVU Coliseum. Set scores were 20-25, 25-15, 20-25, 25-18, 3-15.
In the first set, UNCG had to contend with a strong West Virginia offense. The Mountaineers hit .382, making 16 kills off 34 total attacks with three errors, while the Spartans had a .188 hitting percentage with 11 kills off 32 total attacks and five errors. West Virginia took control of the set from the first point. The Mountaineers eventually built an eight-point lead off a UNCG attack error to hold a 19-11 edge. UNCG began to trim down West Virginia’s lead. A service ace by junior Branagan Fuller allowed the Spartans to pull within four and make it a 21-17 set in favor of West Virginia. The two teams traded points until West Virginia’s Abby Norman had the set-winning kill to give the Mountaineers a 1-0 lead in the match.
UNCG built a 6-3 advantage to start the second set. The Mountaineers scored three-straight points to event the set at 6-6. A kill by Caley Redden allowed UNCG to regain the lead, but West Virginia’s Michelle Kopecky had a kill the tied the set. However, four consecutive miscues by the Mountaineers made it an 11-7 set in favor of UNCG, who did not give up the lead for the remainder of the set. UNCG eventually held a six-point, 19-13 edge off a Redden kill. West Virginia and UNCG exchanged kills to make it 20-15 before the Spartans had a five-point run to close out the set and even the match at 1-1. During the Spartans’ final run, sophomore Kayren Finney had two kills, including the set-winner, while junior Kayleigh Knerr served an ace and the Mountaineers committed a pair of attack errors.
UNCG held the early lead in the third set, but West Virginia used a six-point run to take an 8-5 advantage. The Spartans fought back and eventually tied the set 10-10 off a Fuller kill. Kylie Armbruster’s kill allowed West Virginia to take a one-point lead, but a solo block by senior Kaitlyn Nortz and a service ace from junior Lisa Fawell put the Spartans ahead 12-11. Armbruster tied the set with a kill, while a UNCG attack error gave the Mountaineers a 13-12 edge. Sophomore Alissa Beaudway had a set-tying kill, but West Virginia had a five-point run to take an 18-13 advantage. UNCG eventually got West Virginia’s lead down to three as freshman Luciana Shafer had a kill that made it 23-20 in favor of the Mountaineers. However, a kill by Armbruster and a block assist by Norman and Armbruster allowed West Virginia to get the final two points it needed to win the set and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
The Spartans held the lead throughout the fourth set. With UNCG leading 5-3, junior Emily Lindborg’s kill sparked a six-point run that allowed the Spartans to hold an eight-point, 11-3 lead. UNCG eventually took a 13-4 advantage before the Mountaineers rattled off five-straight points to cut UNCG’s lead down to four. However, UNCG answered with a five-point run of its own en route to taking an 18-9 advantage. During the run, Fuller, Shafer and Nortz each recorded a kill, junior Catherine Hanners served an ace and West Virginia had a ball handling error. The Mountaineers began to cut into the Spartans’ lead and pulled to within five late in the set. However, UNCG got a kill from sophomore Billi Baker and West Virginia committed an attack error as the Spartans won the set, evened the match at 2-2 and forced a deciding fifth set.
In the fifth set, West Virginia score the first seven points, getting five kills and one ace while the Spartans had an attack error. UNCG got its first point of the set with a Mountaineer attack error. However, West Virginia scored four more points to take a 10-point lead before the Spartans got a kill from Nortz. After a UNCG service error, Redden had a kill, but West Virginia scored the final three points it needed to win the set and match.
Nortz committed no attack errors en route to hitting a team-best .480. She made a team-high 12 kills off 25 total attacks. Nortz also totaled five blocks, including two block solos and three block assists, and had one service ace. Fawell put up a team-high 21 assists, while Catherine Hanners had a team-best 18 digs. Hanners also posted two service aces.
Kopecky recorded a match-high 17 kills, while Lisa Hough chipped in with 11 kills. Kari Post had a 44-assist, 17-dig double-double, while Bonnie West led the Mountaineers with 20 digs. West also tallied three service aces.
The Spartans wrap up competition at the WVU Classic on Saturday when the Spartans play George Washington at 12 noon and UMBC at 5:30 p.m.
AGATE
West Virginia def. UNC Greensboro 25-20,15-25,25-20,18-25,15-3
UNCG (6-5) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Kaitlyn Nortz 12-1-5; Kayren Finney 8-0-1; Branagan Fuller 7-1-0; Alissa Beaudway 6-0-1; Caley Redden 6-0-2; Luciana Shafer 5-0-2; Emily Lindborg 2-0-0; Catherine Hanners 1-2-0; Kimiko Naito 1-1-0; Billi Baker 1-0-1; Kayleigh Knerr 0-1-0; Lisa Fawell 0-1-0; Totals 49-7-8.0. (Assists) - Lisa Fawell 21; Kimiko Naito 14. (Dig leaders) - Catherine Hanners 18; Branagan Fuller 13; Caley Redden 12
West Virginia (3-6) (Kills-aces-blocks) - KOPECKY,Michelle 17-1-2; HOUGH,Lisa 11-0-0; WOLF,Tammy 9-0-2; ARMBRUSTER,Kylie 9-1-1; NORMAN,Abby 8-0-2; POST,Kari 4-0-2; DE ANGELIS,Tamara 0-1-0; WEST,Bonnie 0-3-0; Totals 58-6-5.0. (Assists) - POST,Kari 44. (Dig leaders) - WEST,Bonnie 20; POST,Kari 17; DE ANGELIS,Tamara 15; ARMBRUSTER,Kylie 13
The Citadel 3, Wofford 0
ORANGEBURG, S.C.- The Wofford volleyball team was handed its third loss of the season Friday afternoon as it fell to fellow conference foe The Citadel in a non-league match as part of the SCSU Invitational in Orangeburg, S.C. The Terriers lost the match 3-0, by scores of 25-20, 25-23 and 25-23.
In set one, the Terriers were never able to get in front of the Bulldogs as they fell behind early 4-1. Wofford was able to bring it back to even at 4-4 on an error by The Citadel (4-6). However, the Bulldogs would take control and maintain at least a three point edge on their way to the opening set.
Set two saw Wofford turn it around and take control when the set was tied at 8-8. Wofford scored the next three to extend the lead. The Bulldogs did not lie down, however, and cut an 18-12 Wofford advantage to 19-19. Both teams would then battle to the end of the set.
The Terriers would once again take a lead in the middle of a set leading the Bulldogs 17-12 in set three. Nonetheless, Wofford failed to maintain its lead as The Citadel climbed back and evened the set at 22, and eventually taking the final set.
Anna Gustafson led the Wofford offense tallying six kills with one error on 11 attacks resulting in a .455 hitting percentage. Liz Sheets also hit over .400 with 10 kills on 39 attacks while committing just two errors. Stacy Byrd led all Wofford hitters with 12 kills on 39 attacks. Sophomore Caitlyn Horton set a career high in assists with 34 passing her previous mark of nine.
Brittany Thompson had a solid game on the backline tallying 17 digs.
The Citadel had three players reach double digits as Tatum Jestila had 10, Jessica Maas 11, and Rachel Sanders led the way with 12.
The Terriers return to action tomorrow as they take on Coastal Carolina at 1 P.M. followed by North Carolina Central at 3 P.M.
Davidson 3, St. Francis 0
BUFFALO, N.Y. ? Led by six kills from senior middle blocker Kittery Neale and hitting .388 as a team, the Davidson volleyball team defeated St. Francis of New York, 3-0, (25-11, 25-14, 25-11) Friday afternoon, opening play at the University of Buffalo Classic.
Neale had six kills on just 11 swings, hitting .545 (6-0-11) in the match. Sophomore Sarabeth Peele, sophomore Jorden Benedict, and freshmen Madison Benedict and Ally Miller each contributed five kills to the balanced Wildcat offense.
With the win, Davidson improves to 4-6. St. Francis got six kills from Detelina Dimitrova, but falls to 0-14.
Davidson won the first point of the first set and never trailed, rolling to a 25-14 win. The Terriers stayed close early, but with the ?Cats holding a slight 5-4 lead, sophomore libero Jennifer Chamblee served four straight points, including a pair of kills from classmate Jorden Benedict, to take a 9-4 lead. Behind strong play from freshman Jessica McAlvany, Peele and Neale, the ?Cats took a commanding 19-9 lead and controlled the set the rest of the way.
The Wildcats wasted little time in the second set, opening an 8-1 lead behind a pair of putaways from Peele and Madison Benedict. A 6-1 run pushed that lead to an imposing 15-2, and a Terrier service error gave the ?Cats a 25-11 win in the second set and a 2-0 lead in the match.
In the final set of the match, the ?Cats struggled out of the gates, falling behind, 5-1, but a four-point serve from freshman Christine Perzinski put Davidson within one, and a St. Francis service error knotted the score at 7-7. Senior Tierney Hodge rattled off five points, including four straight Terrier hitting errors, to give her team a 13-7 lead. Davidson used a 9-4 run to open up a 21-11 lead and a kill from senior Lindsay Paroczai put the match away, with the 25-14 win.
Davidson will finish the tournament with a pair of matches tomorrow, taking on High Point at 1 p.m. and host University of Buffalo at 7 p.m.
Wake Forest 3, Appalachian State 1
BOONE, N.C. - Three players recorded double-doubles against Wake Forest on Friday night, but Appalachian State University volleyball fell 3-1 in the Appalachian Invitational opener at the Holmes Center.
Lauren Swecker led the Mountaineers (2-10) with 14 kills to go along with 14 digs while Jordan Jesberg had 14 digs of her own to go with 13 kills. Freshman Kasey Sauls set 40 assists and passed 12 digs.
The first set opened in Wake Forest's (7-3) favor, as the Demon Deacons took a 3-0 lead before Jesberg served the Mountaineers to a quick 10-7 lead. The Apps hit .227 with 12 kills in the opening set and extended the lead to 14-8 before putting the visitors away with a 25-18 triumph. Jesberg had two aces in the set while Swecker put down four kills.
Caroline Sedon had an impressive opening set with four of her seven blocks. She added six kills with a .353 hitting percentage in the match as the Mountaineers hit .136 on the night. ASU held Wake Forest to a .128 hitting mark.
The second set opened in similar fashion, with WFU on top 7-0 before ASU got rolling. The Mountaineers rallied back to cut the lead to four points at 18-14 and knotted the set up at 22 points apiece. That would be the end of the comeback, however, as Wake came away with three of the final four points.
Tied coming out of the intermission, Carla Durham helped the Apps to a match-high 14 kills in the third, as she posted five of her nine in the set. The Apps managed to stay out of an early deficit but were unable to pull into a dead heat until the scoreboard read 22-22. The teams tied two more times after but late blocking errors by Appalachian allowed WFU to steal a 26-24 win and their first lead of the match at 2-1.
Durham added three blocks and a dig. Cassie Engelgau also filled up the stat sheet in the third set with 16 of her match-high 28 digs. The junior added two assists and an ace as well. ASU held a 5-1 advantage in aces for the night, and have allowed opponents just one service ace in seven home sets this season.
The fourth set saw 13 tied scores but the visiting team amassed 17 kills and four blocks to take their largest win of the night, 25-21. Wake Forest was led by 18 kills from Kristen White.
All in all, the Demon Deacons outscored ASU by just one overall point on the evening and the teams were nearly dead even in every statistical category. A win would have been Appalachian's first over an ACC opponent since defeating NC State in 2002.
Appalachian has two chances to get back in the win column on Saturday, with a 12 p.m. match against NC A&T and a 7 p.m. showdown with Charlotte.
North Carolina Central 3, The Citadel 2
ORANGEBURG, S.C. ? The Citadel Bulldogs (3-6) fell short Friday afternoon against the Eagles of North Carolina Central in their first match of the South Carolina State Tournament. The Bulldogs took the Eagles into five sets before dropping the match, 3-2.
“We had a solid match from our middles, Jessica and Amanda,” said Head Coach Carolyn Geiger. “We took the first set and dropped the second and third sets, but we came back and won the fourth set to force a deciding set five.”
It looked like the Bulldogs had carried their momentum from Tuesday’s victory into their match against the Eagles. The Bulldogs were strong on the offensive end in the first set, recording 14 kills and 37 total attacks. The Eagles were just as powerful on the offensive end, recording 12 kills and 39 total attacks. Even with the power of the Eagles’ front line, the Bulldogs managed to close the set, 25-22.
After a powerful offensive set on both sides, the Eagles refused to go away, battling the Bulldogs in the second set. The Bulldogs couldn’t seem to keep the momentum. The Eagles’ strength and power on the outside dominated over the Bulldogs, holding them to seven kills on 31 total attacks. North Carolina Central continued to battle, dominating the Bulldogs, 25-18.
The Eagles continued to fight hard, keeping the Bulldogs off of the scoreboard. On the offensive side, the Bulldogs couldn’t find a rhythm, recording four kills on 21 total attacks. North Carolina Central showed their power and strength, recording 12 kills on 22 total attacks. The Citadel continued to fight, but fell short, losing 25-19.
After two disappointing sets, the Bulldogs refused to give up. The Citadel dominated on offense, recording 14 kills and 37 total attacks. The Eagles continued to show strength and power on offense, tallying 13 kills and 36 total attacks. The Bulldogs refused to fall, dominating the Eagles in a 25-18 win and forcing the match into a deciding set five.
Both teams were determined to take home a victory. The Eagles were striving for their first win of the season and the Bulldogs were striving for a victory that would push them closer to .500. The set stayed close, coming down to the wire. The Eagles had a little more power on the outside and a little more strength in the front row that the Bulldogs couldn’t quite hang on, dropping the set 15-13 and losing the match.
“I was pleased that we came from behind and kept the fifth set close,” said Geiger. “In the final set, we kept the score close. North Carolina Central had a much taller front row and several lefties that we couldn't stop. I thought we passed well and ran our middle attack often. We stayed positive and kept our communication which we've been working on.”
Three of the Bulldog players, Tatum Jestila, Jessica Maas and Rachel Sanders, recorded double-digit kills, while Jestila recorded a double-double on the day. Jestila had 12 kills and 12 digs, while Maas recorded 10 kills and Sanders finished with 13. Alyssa Holum was a key contributor on the defensive end, leading the team with 15 digs.
The Bulldogs will conclude the first day of the South Carolina State Tournament when they take on conference rival Wofford in their second match of the tournament.
Duke 3, College of Charleston 0
CHARLESTON, S.C. ? Junior outside hitter Emily Sawin (New Lenox, Ill.) drilled 11 kills and hit .345 and sophomore right side hitter Ginny Phillips (Raleigh, N.C.) hit a career-best .529 with 11 kills but it was not enough as Duke University (7-3) downed the College of Charleston (5-5) 3-0 on Friday evening at the Holiday Inn Charleston Riverview Invitational in Charleston, S.C. The Blue Devils earned the win by scores of 25-16, 25-21 and 25-20.
Duke quickly showed why it is one of the top teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference as it jumped out to leads of 7-4 and 14-10 before using a 4-2 run to push its advantage to 18-12. At that point, the College of Charleston answered with back-to-back points to close to within 18-14 but that would be as close as they would get as the Blue Devils used a 7-2 run to take Game 1 by the score of 25-16 and go up 1-0 in the match.
The Cougars took the early advantage in the second set, going up 3-1 and keeping it close as the two teams battled through eight ties and three lead changes before Duke managed a 17-15 lead. Trailing 20-18, the College of Charleston rallied to within a single point three times, the last at 22-21, before a service error and back-to-back kills gave the Blue Devils a 25-21 victory.
Duke regained its strong play at the outset of the third set, taking a 7-3 lead behind six kills. Following an exchange of points to make it 8-4, the Cougars took the lead 9-8 with a 5-0 run fueled by three kills from Emily Sawin. With the score tied at 10-10, the Blue Devils pushed ahead with a 5-2 burst to make it 15-12. The Cougars once again closed to within one point several times before tying the score at 17-17.
Four straight points from Duke, three consecutive on kills, put them ahead 21-17. While Charleston rallied to within 22-20, it was a deficit that they would not recover from as the Blue Devils went on to claim the set 25-20 and the match 3-0.
Sophomore middle blocker Becci Burling led three Blue Devils in double-digit kills with a match-high 13 on a .667 hitting percentage while freshman outside hitter Sophia Dunworth posted a double-double with 11 kills and match-high tying 13 digs. Freshman setter Kellie Catanach setup the offense with a match-best 45 assists and junior outside hitter Rachael Moss finished with 11 kills and 13 digs.
For the Cougars, Emily Sawin delivered 11 kills, six digs, two blocks and a .345 hitting percentage while Ginny Phillips added 11 kills on a team-best .529 hitting percentage. Sophomore setter Cole Dawley (Charleston, S.C.) dished out a team-high 31 assists and added six digs while freshman libero Emily Shelton (Cincinnati, Ohio) posted 10 digs. Sophomore outside hitter Whitney Russell (Decatur, Ga.) chipped in with nine kills.
The Cougars return to action on Saturday, September 20 when they face Gardner-Webb at 1 p.m. and wrap up the tournament against Delaware with a 7:30 p.m. match.