Davidson 3, Chattanooga 2
DAVIDSON, N.C. -- Sophomore outside hitter Sarabeth Peele recorded a season-high 23 kills to help the Davidson Wildcat volleyball team to a 3-2 (29-27, 25-17, 24-26, 22-25, 15-9) win over the Chattanooga Mocs on Sunday afternoon at Belk Arena.
With their first Southern Conference victory of the season, Davidson improves to 5-10 overall and 1-2 in the league, as Chattanooga drops to 6-10 overall and 1-1 in SoCon play.
Peele also contributed 11 digs to the defensive effort. Senior middle blocker Kittery Neale also had a double-double for the Wildcats, with 10 kills and 10 digs, while freshman middle blocker Madison Benedict added 13 kills and a team-high five blocks. Sophomore setter Hayley Lawson tallied 54 assists and 13 digs, and classmate Jennifer Chamblee led the defense with 16 digs.
For the Mocs, Jessica Scott was the lone hitter in double figures, finishing with 11 kills to go along with eight digs. Cassie Conner finished with 35 assists, and Lara Newberry had a match-best 34 digs.
Davidson jumped out to an early 13-8 lead in the first set, but a pair of consecutive putaways from Scott, followed by a Wildcat hitting error gave the Mocs new life. A kill from Neale and an ace from freshman Erin Lupfer put some distance back, but Chattanooga rattled off five straight to take a
16-15 lead. Davidson would trail until, at 20-20, sophomore Jorden Benedict put the 'Cats on top, and the Wildcats used a 3-1 run for a set-point opportunity at 24-21. Chattanooga stopped the 'Cats' momentum with a quick timeout and fought off three straight set points, tying the score at 24.
Davidson got a set-point try at 28-27, on a kill from Peele, and took the match on a Moc hitting error, 29-27.
In the second set, Davidson took an overwhelming 16-6 lead. The Mocs struggled to find an offensive rhythm, juggling their lineup, as the 'Cats pushed that lead to 20-9. Chattanooga recovered and, behind a 6-1 run, narrowed the gap to 21-15, but the early lead proved too much as Davidson went on to take the second set with a 25-17 margin.
After the break, Chattanooga opened play with a 5-1 run and stayed in control for most of the set. Trailing 7-11, the 'Cats used a 4-1 run to get within a point, and would take their first lead at 16-15. Neither team could distance itself, but Peele earned possession for Davidson and a pair of Chattanooga hitting errors put the 'Cats ahead by two, 19-17. Chattanooga, though, won the next three to tie the score, 20-20. With the score knotted at 23, Jorden Benedict gave the 'Cats a match-point try, but a service error and a pair of Wildcat hitting errors gave the Mocs a 26-24 win.
The fourth set played out similarly, with the Mocs taking an early 6-1 lead and Davidson tying the score behind a 5-0 run. From there neither team would take more than a two-point lead, but it was the Mocs on top when it mattered. Tied at 18, the Mocs pulled ahead on a pair of Davidson errors and led the rest of the way in the 25-22 win to force the decisive set.
In the abbreviated set, neither team could gain an advantage, tied at 7-7.
Davidson gained possession as Courtney Barnes' serve missed and Chamblee served three straight points to give the 'Cats an 11-7 cushion that would prove enough, as Davidson went on to win the match with the 15-9 win.
Davidson will return to action next weekend, traveling to Charleston for a pair of SoCon matches. The 'Cats will face the College of Charleston Saturday, Oct. 4 at 2 p.m. and The Citadel the following afternoon at 2 p.m.
Samford 3, Georgia Southern 0
STATESBORO, Ga. --- Samford’s Ashley Adams and Kirstein Sosnowski combined for 25 kills and just two errors to lead the Bulldogs to a 3-0 (25-22, 25-12, 25-11) victory over Georgia Southern Sunday at Hanner Fieldhouse.
Samford wins their sixth straight match and remains perfect in the Southern Conference at 2-0 and 13-2 overall. Georgia Southern loses for the fourth time in their last five outings to fall to 7-10 and 1-2.
“I thought that we did a nice job in the first set,” said GSU head coach Chad Callihan. “We came out and played with good energy but it’s just difficult to sustain. Samford did a great job of applying pressure with their serve and the more pressure they applied the more we began to lose it. Hats off to them, they’re playing great volleyball right now.”
The Bulldogs led for most of the first set but the Eagles hung tough in a three-point loss. But Samford started clicking after that and outscored Georgia Southern 50-23 the rest of the way.
“It was all serving,” said Callihan. “They had seven service aces in the second set and they made a few errors, but they did a great job of when they got up by five or six points, really applying pressure with their serve and they just happened to keep hitting. Our passes broke down and couldn’t get anything consistent to execute good offense. Today we were forced into mistakes by a good team.”
Samford hit a combined .478 over the final two sets compared to -.047 to GSU and tallied a .474 attack percentage for the match.
Adams recorded 11 kills and no errors (.611) while Sosnowski posted a match-best 14 kills.
“We weren’t able to apply enough pressure with our serving so they were in good position all day to attack,” said Callihan. “When you’re passing that well it makes it difficult on our middle blockers to be able to close out on those pins particularly on the right side where they took a lot of swings. Their hitters just did a great job of executing but I really thought their passing and setting was key to their success.”
Freshman Bethany Sanford (Avondale, Ariz.) led GSU with seven kills and senior Mae Chabra (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) added 18 assists.
The Eagles travel to Charleston, S.C. next weekend for matches at the College of Charleston on Friday and The Citadel on Saturday.
Western Carolina 3, Elon 2
CULLOWHEE, N.C. ? Western Carolina volleyball (3-12, 1-1 SoCon) snapped an eight-match losing streak to Elon (12-6, 1-1 SoCon) dating back to 2003, defeating the Phoenix 3-2 (25-16, 25-23, 17-25, 18-25, 15-13) Sunday in the Ramsey Center.
“This is my first victory over Elon in my coaching career at Western Carolina,” said Head Coach Stephanie Dragan. “We have come close, with the last two matches going in five, but it is good to finally come out on top.”
It was the second consecutive match Western Carolina had gone to five games, falling on Saturday 3-2 to UNC Greensboro. Western Carolina had to battle a scrappy Elon club for the win down the stretch, after taking the first two games, and enjoying a 2-0 lead heading into halftime.
In the first game, Western Carolina rode the strong serving of freshman Sara Gantt, who served seven straight points and helped balloon the Catamount lead from two, 14-12, to nine (21-12). The Catamounts took game one off a service error by Elon.
Western Carolina pulled ahead 2-0 heading into halftime thanks to strong serving by Carrie Minogue and Gantt again and also Elon’s miscues as they committed eight errors in the second game. The Catamounts secured the win in the second game, leading by just one point, 24-23, when the Phoenix committed their eighth error of the game to give WCU game two.
It was all Elon in games three and four. Western Carolina was on its heels committing eight errors in both games. The Phoenix trimmed its errors to four in game three and just two in game four.
But it isn’t how you start, it’s how you end, and Western Carolina found a way to bounce back in game five. The final game was tied eight times and was knotted at 13 with each team trading points. Minogue’s kill from an assist by Katie Hennessey gave the Catamounts a one-point advantage and Elon’s 27th error of the match proved to be the most costly as the miscue gave WCU the game and the match.
“I am so proud of the players,” Dragan said. “They dug down deep in that fifth game and just refused to loose.”
For the second straight match, junior Amanda Kerr led the club in kills with 14 against Elon. Minogue added 11 and also had three service aces. Setter Hennessey notched her ninth career double-double with 34 assists and 13 digs. Junior libero Liz Rondone added 22 digs.
Western Carolina will be back in action October 4 for its first Southern Conference match on the road at Chattanooga.