Furman 3, Wofford 1
GREENVILLE, S.C. - After taking the first set 25-22, the Terrier volleyball team fell to top-ranked Furman in four sets in league play on Wednesday.
The first set saw 12 ties and four lead changes, with neither team able to take more than a two-point lead, leaving them deadlocked at 19. The Terriers strung together two kills and took advantage of a Furman miscue to take a 22-19 lead. A Rachel Woodlee kill and a Furman service error gave the Terriers set point at 24-20, and although the Paladins fought off two set points, a kill from setter Joanna Sudduth gave the Terriers the 25-22 win.
The two teams battled at the beginning of the second set, but after a 5-5 tie, Furman powered past the Terriers on a 9-1 run to take a 14-6 lead, and continued to win the second set 25-10.
The third and fourth sets became defensive battles, with several long rallies between the teams. The Paladins took an early lead in the third set and the Terriers could not overcome a 13-6 deficit as they fell 25-13. In the fourth and final set, Furman quickly took an 8-2 lead but the Terriers battled back to within five points at 10-15. Wofford's offense could not find a hole in the Paladins' defense however, and Furman took the fourth and final set by a score of 25-18.
Furman was led by sophomore Kelly Kirby's 17 kills while freshman Natalie Braun added 12 kills and freshman Chandler Ambrester contributed 10 kills. Ambrester led the team with a season-high 27 digs and Kirby also notched a double-double with 10 digs. Setter Kelsey Salava racked up 42 assists and libero Stephanie Smith added 15 defensive saves.
Junior Catelyn Amende led the Terriers with 10 kills. Setter Joanna Sudduth recorded her seventh double-double of the year with 20 assists and 14 digs, and led the team with a .368 attack percentage off seven kills and no errors. Libero Sarah Palmer led the team with 17 digs and senior Shanna Hughes contributed 14 digs.
With the win, Furman improves to 14-3 overall and remains undefeated at 7-0 in league play while the Terriers fall to 15-7 on the season and 2-4 in Southern Conference play. Wofford will take the court again on Saturday as they travel to Appalachian State. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m.
The Citadel 3, Savannah State 0
CHARLESTON, S.C. - The trio of Tatum Jestila, Jessica Maas and Alyssa Holum led The Citadel to a sweep of Savannah State, 3-0, on Wednesday evening at McAlister Field House. Jestila (11 kills, 9 digs), Maas (10 kills, 3 assisted blocks) and Holum (30 assists) finished the Tigers off by scores of 25-8, 25-13 and 25-17.
"This was a good win for us," head coach Carolyn Geiger said of her team's performance. "This was our first home win and much needed for us to get back on track. It will certainly give us momentum for our eight hour road trip this weekend. Tatum was very close to her eighth double-double, however I more pleased with her being recognized as SoCon Student-Athlete of the Week."
The Citadel improves to 4-17 overall and 12-0 all-time against Savannah State with the victory. Shannon Frain led the Bulldogs defensively with 10 digs, followed by Jestila's nine. As a team Citadel drove home 43 kills, highlighted by Jestila and Maas. Maas' three assisted blocks anchored a front row that tallied 10, with Jestila and Blaine McAllister each adding a pair.
Shatice White's four kills led Savannah State, who falls to 8-16 on the season. Danielle Richardson totaled nine digs on the back row, with Kendra Lewis adding six.
The Bulldogs return to SoCon play at Samford on Saturday, Oct. 17 at 6 p.m. The road trip continues on Sunday, Oct. 18, when they take to the court against Chattanooga at 1 p.m.
Game statistics and a game recap will be available immediately following the match. For more information on Bulldog Volleyball or The Citadel Athletics, visit the website.
Troy 3, Samford 0
TROY, Ala. - The Samford University volleyball team dropped its second consecutive road match at Troy Wednesday, in a 3-0 (26-24, 25-29, 25-22) sweep. The Bulldogs fall to 11-9, 5-1 SoCon while the Trojans improve to 10-10 overall.
"Troy is a well-coached team that beat us at our own game," Samford head coach Derek Schroeder. "Their serving and passing was exceptional and we were fighting an uphill battle the whole match. The bright side was more of a willingness to battle tonight. Our team has realized the road is not easy and has started to respect the level we need to bring to other teams' gyms."
Samford was led by Allie Bettinger and Sheriden Stangohr who both tallied 12 kills on the night. Stangohr notched a team-high .550 hitting percentage and grabbed three block assists while Bettinger had five kills. Shelby Brandon added five kills while Rachel Gadberry had four kills, hitting .333 on 12 attempts and no error with seven digs, one ace and one block assist.
Elizabeth Neisler and Casey Garvey tallied two kills each while Neisler had four block assists and Garvey had an ace, a block assist and seven digs. Garvey led the Bulldogs in assists with 33 while Samantha Bland added two and Hillary Fountain and Neisler added one each. Alexis Bauer posted a team-high 13 digs while Garvey and Bland added seven each.
Troy was led by Meghan Gilroy who posted 12 kills and hit .292. Megan Henderson posted a team-high .750 hitting percentage, tallying six kills on eight attempts with no error. She also posted a double-double, tallying 32 assists and 10 digs.
Samford will be back in action this weekend, Oct. 17-18, as it hosts The Citadel and College of Charleston. Both matches begin at 2 p.m. and will be streamed live for free on www.samfordsports.com. Sunday's match will be Samford's Dig Pink match to support the fight against Breast Cancer. Join Samford in sporting pink and come out and cheer on the Bulldogs.
Troy 3, Samford 0
Samford began the first set with three straight points to take the first lead. However, Troy went on a 6-4 run to tie the game before taking the lead, 7-6, on a Samford error. The Bulldogs tied it at seven and took the lead back on a kill by Stanoghr, but Troy answered back to tie the game at eight. Samford took another two-point lead, but Troy came back and tied it again before taking the lead on a hitting error by Brandon.
After a long one-point lead by the Trojans, Samford fought back to tie it and take the lead on a kill by Stangohr and a block by Stangohr and Neisler. However, Troy responded and tied the score at 20. After a back-and-forth run by each team, Troy held a 24-23, match point, but a kill by Brandon tied the score. However, Troy would grab the next two points to win the first set, 26-24.
The Bulldogs grabbed the first point of the second set, but Troy quickly took over the lead by two. Samford cut it to one several times but the Trojans maintained their lead for the first third of the set, eventually pushing it out to five points. Samford fought back to get within one and then tie the score at 16 on back-to-back kills by Bettinger. However, Troy put together a 5-3 run to take the lead back at 21-18, and the Trojans would go on to win, 25-19.
Troy jumped out with the early two-point lead in set three, but Samford responded with two points of its own to even the score. The two teams traded points once more to tie the score at three but three kills by the Trojans gave them a 6-3 lead. Troy maintained that lead for a while until the Bulldogs fought to get within one and tie it at 13 on a Trojan error. After another tied score at 14, Samford took the lead on a kill by Stangohtr, but Troy answered back and evened the score at 15.
The score would be tied three more times before Samford would take a two-point lead. Troy answered back to event the score at 20, but Gadberry came up with a block to keep the lead for the Bulldogs. An error by the Bulldogs tied the score at 21 and another gave the lead back to Troy. With a Trojan match point at 24-21, a Samford block kept the game alive for Samford, but Troy would respond with a kill to end the set, 25-22.