Georgia Southern 3, College of Charleston 2
STATESBORO, Ga. - Guided by Hannah Nelson's career-high 17 kills and second career double-double performance, the Georgia Southern volleyball team took a five-set victory over perennial Southern Conference power College of Charleston in Hanner Fieldhouse Saturday afternoon (October 10). Under the direction of second-year head coach Chad Callihan, Georgia Southern halted the five-year, 10-match, win streak the Cougars held over the Eagles. The Eagles trailed late in the fifth set and fought off two Cougar match points to claim the victory (25-20, 23-25, 27-25, 21-25, 16-14).
Improving to an impressive 8-1 home record, Georgia Southern pushed its overall ledger to 14-6 with the win and 4-1 in conference play. Meanwhile, the Cougars dropped to 7-10 overall and 3-2 in the SoCon. The loss marks only the 11th conference defeat in nine years for College of Charleston, who has already fallen to Furman this season.
"When you think about the top teams in the league, College of Charleston is always the team that comes to mind. They are a quality program and was pre-season picked to finish first," said head coach Chad Callihan. "This was a great win for us as we continue to build things as a program. We will enjoy this win for a little while and then get ready for the next match."
Three Eagles recorded double-doubles in the win led by sophomore Nelson (Norcross, Ga.) who finished with 17 kills and 14 digs. Nelson's showing marked a career-high kill performance and second career double-double. Bethany Sanford (Avondale, Ariz.) recorded her 10th double-double of the season with 16 kills and 17 digs as Lauren Claybaugh (Danville, Calif.) capped off the match with 14 kills and 13 digs for her second double-double of the season and career.
Parker Small (Charlotte, N.C.) tied her season-high kill performance with 15 as freshman setter Kate Van Dyke (Shawnee, Kan.) tallied 63 assists. Senior libero Cristin Haines (Palos Heights, Ill.) led the defense with a match-high 23 digs.
College of Charleston hit .287 from the floor led by Sarah Havel's match-high 19 kills on no errors. Cole Dawley led the defense with 14 digs, 48 assists and three service aces.
"I thought we did a nice job offensively today with the exception of the second set and a couple of moments in the fourth set where we just started to get tight. We did a nice job of keeping our mindset on winning the match, rather than getting caught up on thinking we have the chance to beat Charleston," said Callihan. "We put forth a strong offense and, our blocking needed to improve on our defense, but I thought our digging behind the block was very strong. We out-dug them by almost 30 balls in the match."
Georgia Southern came out firing in the opening set, grabbing an early 16-11 led forcing the Cougars to take a timeout. Three consecutive kills from Havel closed College of Charleston to within two points at 16-14, but the Eagles opened their lead back to four at 20-16. Four kills from four contributing Cougars mixed with an Eagle kill closed the score to 21-20 Georgia Southern. Nelson fired her fourth kill of the stanza, as the Eagles closed out the first set, 25-20, with two opponent errors and a service ace from Sarah Gildersleeve (Naples, Fla.).
College of Charleston won a decisive second set in a come-from-behind fashion. With Georgia Southern leading 9-8, the Eagles broke away to a seven-point lead at 20-13, but the Cougars went on a 9-0 run to take a 22-20 advantage. A Havel kill gave the Cougars set point, 24-22, as College of Charleston evened the match with a second set win, 25-23.
Carrying the momentum from the second set, College of Charleston held the lead the majority of the third set until Georgia Southern came back to tie the stanza at 20-all. Trailing 12-9, the Eagles slowly chipped away at their deficit to 19-20 when a Nelson kill tied the set at 20-all. The conference foes traded points to a 21-all tie when Georgia Southern took its first lead of the set off a Claybaugh kill. Four more ties ensued as the teams pitted the set at 25-all. Behind strong serving from lone senior Haines, Georgia Southern took a highly contested third set, 27-25, with a kill from Van Dyke and service ace from Haines.
Striking .343 from the floor, College of Charleston grabbed the fourth set, 25-21. Georgia Southern tied the set twice at 5-all and 12-all, but the Cougars never relinquished control. Following the 12-all tie, College of Charleston broke away finding set point at 24-21. An Eagle error secured the set in favor of the Cougars, forcing a final fifth set.
The Cougars grabbed the first two points to begin the final set, but the Eagles retaliated going on a 5-0 run to take a 5-2 lead. Georgia Southern continued to hold a two-point lead, but College of Charleston chipped away and tied the set at 9-all. At 10-all, the Cougars took a two-point lead helped by a Jennifer Darty kill and Eagle error and the Cougars found match point at 14-12. Georgia Southern fought off consecutive match points by a Nelson kill and service ace from Sanford, tying the stanza at 14-all. Gildersleeve put the Eagles in front with a kill and Nelson secured the match on the next point with her 17th kill of the match.
"Hannah Nelson had a huge match for us with a double-double and her career-high in kills. She did a wonderful job of playing within herself, putting timely balls away, and not making any errors. Defensively she also made some nice plays as well," said Callihan. "I also thought Kate [Van Dyke], with the situation, did a wonderful job of distributing the ball to our hitters and keeping the other team's defense off-balance, while playing good defense of her own. Consistently, she is continually developing into a great player for us."
Georgia Southern closes out this four-match homestand Tuesday, October 13. The Eagles will host SoCon veteran Davidson on Dig Pink Night at 6 p.m. Single-game tickets for Georgia Southern volleyball matches are priced at $5 for an adult and $1 for youth (ages 3-12). Season tickets can be purchased for $15 for a general admission pass. A family plan, which includes two adult passes and two children passes, can be purchased for only $35.
Samford 3, Western Carolina 0
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - The Samford University volleyball team grabbed its first Southern Conference road win of the season over Western Carolina Saturday afternoon by a score of 3-0 (25-23, 25-13, 25-21). The Bulldogs improve to 11-7, 5-0 SoCon while the Catamounts fall to 3-17, 0-6 SoCon.
"This was our first road challenge and I think we responded very well to a Western Carolina team that played well," Samford head coach Derek Schroeder said. "We focused on battling for every point and not getting caught up in the crowd or our emotions."
The Bulldogs were led by Sheriden Stangohr who hit .440, knocking down 13 kills on 25 attempts with only two errors. She also served up two aces while posting two block solos and six block assists. She had a team-high 20 points. Rachel Gadberry hit .333, posting seven kills on 12 attempts while adding one block assist. Allie Bettinger grabbed nine kills, three digs and three block assists while Elizabeth Neisler had six kills and one block assist.
Hillary Fountain dished out 32 assists while also grabbing four block assists, two digs and one kill. Alexis Bauer and Samantha Bland led the back row defense with six digs each while Bland also added two aces. Casey Garvey served up three aces and had three digs while Shelby Brandon added three kills, one assist and one block solo.
Kara Lynzee Brooks led Western Carolina as she hit .312, knocking down six kills on 16 attempts with one error. She also added four block assists. Katie Hennessey dished out 17 assists while Liz Rondone led in digs with 12.
Samford out-blocked the Catamounts 11-5, and held Western Carolina to a collective .000 hitting percentage through three sets.
Samford will be back in action Sunday as the Bulldogs take on Appalachian State in Boone, N.C., at 2 p.m. Fans can follow all the action via live stats at www.goasu.com. A full recap and results will be available on www.samfordsports.com upon the completion of the match.
Western Carolina opened up the first set with three consecutive kills to take the early lead. Samford answered right back and went on a 6-0 run to take a three-point lead on a kill by Stangohr, back-to-back blocks by Stangohr, Fountain and Neisler, an ace by Garvey and a few Catamount errors. WCU cut the lead to two on a block by Abbey Scroggins and Brooks, but the Bulldogs put together another run, a 4-1 run, to stretch their lead to four.
Soon, Samford extended the lead to six points, but the Catamounts roared back to tie the score at 19 on a 7-2 run of their own. Western Carolina took the lead back on an error by Bettinger, but Bettinger answered back with a kill to tie the score at 20. Samford took over the lead on a Catamount error, but WCU tied the score at 21 and took a two-point lead. However, Samford put together a 4-0 run to win the first set, 25-23.
Samford jumped out to an early five-point lead in set two on two kills and two blocks by Fountain and Stangohr and an ace by Garvey. Soon, the Bulldogs led by seven as they added three more points after WCU finally got on the board. With an 8-1 lead, Samford continued to dominate, eventually taking a 10-point lead. Samford would go on to win the second set, 25-13,
The tables were turned in the third set as the Catamounts scored five straight points to get things started. Stangohr finally got the Bulldogs on the board with a kill and Samford cut the lead to one on an 8-3 run to make the score 9-8. With two Catamount errors and a kill by Gadberry, Samford tied the score at 10 and fought through two more ties before taking a 13-12 lead. The score was tied three more times before the Catamounts took the lead again at 17-16, but Samford fought back and would go onto win 25-21 with the help of three kills and a block by Stangohr.
Appalachian State 3, Chattanooga 0
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University volleyball closed out the third set on a 9-0 run en route to a 3-0 victory over SoCon foe Chattanooga Saturday, in a critical SoCon North Division battle. With the win, ASU snaps a two-match losing streak and earns a win over the Lady Mocs for the first time since October 20, 2007. Appalachian also improves to 7-12 on the season and 3-2 in SoCon play, matching its overall wins and conference wins from the 2008 season, while the Lady Mocs drop to 9-8 overall and 1-4 in league action.
Thanks in part to strong play by junior Caroline Sedon, the Black and Gold notched a commanding 10-4 advantage in first set action. ASU would not relinquish its advantage as back to back kills by Lauren Swecker pushed the score to 13-6 in Appalachian's favor. The Mountaineers' offensive assault did not let up, as Maja Jechorek and Maggie Seeds chipped in on the offensive front to give ASU the ten point lead.
Appalachian took its ten point lead and cruised to a 25-16 first set win, as a kill by Swecker, a UTC error and a Becca Norris kill gave ASU the early 1-0 match lead.
Swecker finished the match posting her best-effort of the season, recording a season-high 10 kills, with a team-best .381 hitting percentage, to go along with a season-high 16 digs. The Charlotte, N.C. was also stout on the defensive front as she had 22 service receptions and did not make one error.
Second set action saw the score tied on 12 different occassions and seven different lead changes, but ASU was able to eek out a three point win. Chattanooga jumped out to a 5-2 lead before Appalachian picked up its play and pulled within one point at the 10-9 mark off a kill by Jechorek. The Lady Mocs tried to taking advantage of its lead, earning a three point cushion with Courtney Barnes pacing the attack.
Despite falling behind, a kill by Swecker and two UTC errors tied the score once more at 15 all. The burst of energy was all the Apps needed as a block assist by Norris and Jechorek put ASU ahead 16-15. The two teams traded points with the set being tied at the last time at the 22 all mark before the Mountaineers finished the set on a 3-0 run with Chattanooga recording two errors and Kasey Sauls and Norris combining for a block assist to push ASU to a 25-22 victory.
The Black and Gold found themselves in a 6-2 hole early on in third set play, before a rally ensued and the Apps tied the match at six all and then knotted it up six more times, with the last tie coming at the 16 all mark.
ASU then dominated, finishing the set scoring nine straight points, with Swecker, Seeds and Norris each tallying kills, including Seeds having two in the final three points to lead ASU to the 25-16 third set win and 3-0 match victory.
In addition to Swecker, two other Apps finished the contest with double-figure kills as Jechorek and Seeds each notched 12. Jechorek also had 11 digs and tied a season-high four block assists and one block solo. Sauls was impressive as well, with 42 assists against the Mocs.
Appalachian looks to carry its momentum into another grueling match-up as the Apps host SoCon North Division leader Samford, Sunday October 11 at 2 p.m. in the Holmes Center.
Davidson 3, The Citadel 1
DAVIDSON, N.C. - Behind 25 kills from junior Sarabeth Peele, the Davidson Wildcats defeated The Citadel Bulldogs, 3-1 (25-17, 29-31, 25-22, 25-15), to pick up their first Southern Conference victory of the season Saturday afternoon at Belk Arena.
Davidson (4-16, 1-3) also got 12 kills from junior Jorden Benedict on just 17 swings, to go along with five blocks, and nine kills from sophomore Madison Benedict. Junior setter Anna Bradbury posted a career-high 49 assists, and freshman Molly Crenshaw tallied 15 digs to go along with three aces.
The Citadel (3-18, 0-6) also placed a pair of hitters in double figures. Tatum Jestilla recorded a double-double while hitting .519 (15-1-27), with 15 kills and a team-best 15 digs. Jessica Maas was the second Bulldog in double figures with 12 kills, in addition to four blocks. Setter Alyssa Holum recorded a team-best 25 assists, and Kathryn Johnson added 11 digs.
The Wildcats took an early 9-3 lead to take control of the opening set, but The Citadel rallied to close within a point, 12-11, behind a 7-2 run including a pair of kills by Maas. Davidson responded by winning six straight scores on strong serving from Lawson and five consecutive Bulldog errors to reclaim an 18-11 advantage. The Wildcats stayed in control the rest of the way, and though the Citadel survived three set points, Peele punched home the winner for the 25-17 victory.
After trading scores to open the second set, The Citadel managed a 12-7 lead, but after a pair of kills by Peele, an ace by Southern Conference leader Ariel Ley knotted the score at 14. Jorden Benedict and Lawson were part of a 3-0 run that lifted the 'Cats to a 17-15 lead, but The Citadel hung around and eventually knotted the set at 22. A Peele putaway followed by a Bulldog error gave the 'Cats a 24-22 lead, but The Citadel won the next three points to reclaim a 25-24 lead and force a set point. After the teams traded scores, The Citadel finally broke through with a 30-29 lead as a ball handling error on Bradbury delivered the 31-29 win and evened the match at a set apiece.
The Wildcats dug out of an early 6-3 hole to reclaim a 16-13 lead in the third set. The Bulldogs clawed back to knot the score at 18 behind a 4-2 run and the lead would be tied four times, until at 22-22, Peele gave the 'Cats the edge. Sophomore Erin Lupfer made it 24-22, and Peele closed out the 25-22 victory to give Davidson a 2-1 edge in the match.
The fourth and final set was all Davidson, as the Wildcats converted a commanding 16-5 lead into a 25-15 win to take the match. The Citadel attempted to rally, making a 6-2 run to close to 18-11, but Davidson closed with an 8-4 run to claim its first Southern Conference victory of the 2009 season.
The Wildcats continue in SoCon play tomorrow, hosting the College of Charleston (7-10, 3-2) at 2 p.m.