Chattanooga 3, The Citadel 0
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - On Sunday, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga volleyball team established their outside hitters early and used experience and depth up the middle to sweep The Citadel, 3-0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-21). Senior middle blocker Courtney Barnes (Franklin, Tenn.) lead the match with 13 kills hitting at a .435 rate.
"You normally establish your middle early and then go to your outsides or right sides later creating a split in the block," said Barnes. "Today, our outsides swung really well, so they (The Citadel) were creeping towards the outside, so we were able to get some open kills in the middle. We worked in reverse, but it worked well for us."
With the victory, Chattanooga improves to 11-9 and 3-5 in Southern Conference play, while The Citadel dropped to 4-20 and 0-8. The Lady Mocs middles sophomore Ellie Kuhn and Barnes tallied a total of 19 of the squad's 43 kills with Kuhn also adding five blocks.
"Well, I really thought that we came out really flat starting out," said head coach Lisa Rhodes. "Of course, the thing that we have in our favor is that we are deep. I think it was good to have Bailey (Chastain) to come in and giving us some good minutes. We were back on our hells a little bit at the end thinking that we had the match won, but I am grateful to win in three though."
After senior setter Cassie Conner was able to stretch the Bulldogs through kills by outside hitters freshmen Kirsten Beasley (Amarillo, Texas) and Heather Parman (Ooltewah, Tenn.), junior Bailee Chastain (Signal Mountain, Tenn.) feed the middle effectively creating lanes for the team's hitter as she finished with 26 assists.
Sophomore right side Stephanie Harville (Morristown, Tenn.) was also effective today for the Lady Mocs registering eight kills, 10 digs and three blocks. Beasley led the outsides with four kills, while Parman had three and sophomore Laura Brock (Chattanooga, Tenn.) with two.
Chattanooga was paced defensively with 10 digs, but three more players were close to double-digits with freshman Paula Passmore (Merrit Island, Fla.) and Chastain had nine, while Parman recorded eight.
Three individuals Parman, Passmore and Chastain each notched two service aces and sophomore Jessica Scott (Lawrence, Kan.) added another as the Lady Mocs registered seven, the second most thi season.
In the first set, the two teams traded points for a majority of the frame, but four kills each by Kuhn and Beasley helped the Lady Mocs to the 25-20 victory. Chattanooga took advantage of seven Citadel errors and downed 15 attacks hitting at a .263 clip.
The Citadel rebounded with a more aggressive attack and smarter hitting by only committing four errors in the second set. They were matched by Chattanooga, but the Lady Mocs were on top for most of the stanza as they scored five of the last seven points for a 25-18 win.
Racing out to 20-9 advantage, the Lady Mocs held on for a 25-21 victory as The Citadel fought their way back into the third set. The squad hit .288 for the match only committing 13 errors holding the Bulldogs to just .157 hitting.
Chattanooga is back on the court Wednesday at 7 p.m. against conference rival Samford inside Maclellan Gym. The Lady Mocs are back on the road starting a four-match road trip next weekend when the travel to Furman and Wofford.
Elon 3, Davidson 0
ELON, N.C. - The Elon volleyball team completed a Southern Conference sweep as it routed the Davidson Wildcats 3-0 on Sunday afternoon in Alumni Gym. Traci Stewart led the team with 11 kills, while Caroline Lemke added 10. The duo combined for just six errors to hit .500 and .375, respectively.
With the win, the Phoenix improved to 17-4 overall and 5-3 in league play. Davidson dropped to 4-20 on the season and 1-7 in the SoCon.
Emily Regan paced the Phoenix offense with 38 assists and added four kills in the win. She was also in on one block. Sarah Schermerhorn and Jessica Barrow each tallied eight kills. Lemke led the match with four block assists, while Lauren Copenhagen, Schermerhorn and Stewart registered three assisted blocks each. Carly Ledbetter recorded Elon's only solo block.
Davidson's Sarabeth Peele led all players with 12 kills, while Jorden Benedict finished second on the team with 11. Defensively, sisters Madison and Jorden Benedict led the Wildcats with one solo and one assisted block each.
Set one saw the teams tie 10 times before Davidson took a two-point lead at 12-10. The Wildcats maintained a slight advantage until the Phoenix scored five-straight points that brought the score to 17-14. Davidson answered with a 5-0 run of its own to retake the lead at 19-17 before Elon scored three consecutive points to make it a 20-19 set. The score tied one more time before the Phoenix tallied the final four points to take set one 25-21.
After Elon took an early 4-2 lead, Davidson brought the set to within one at 6-5. A pair of kills by Schermerhorn and Barrow extended the Elon lead to 8-5. The teams traded points on four possessions before a Stewart kill sparked a three-point run by the Phoenix that made it a 15-10 set. The Wildcats fought to make it a six-point set at 24-16, but a kill by Schermerhorn allowed Elon the 25-18 win.
Davidson raced out to an early 6-2 lead in the third and final set of the afternoon that forced the Phoenix to burn an early timeout. Elon pulled to within two at 12-10 following a kill by Lemke and a block by Stewart and Lemke. The Wildcats put together a four-point run that made it a 16-10 set and caused Elon to use its last timeout. A Davidson service error sparked a six-point Phoenix run that allowed Elon to take a 22-21 lead. The teams tied four times over the next seven possessions, but a kill by Copenhagen and a block by Schermerhorn and Copenhagen sealed the come-from-behind win 27-25.
Elon will return to the court Tuesday, October 20 at 7 p.m., when it travels to Winston-Salem, N.C., to take on the Rams of Winston-Salem State. Full coverage of the match will be available at www.elonphoenix.com.
UNC Greensboro 3, Georgia Southern 1
GREENSBORO, N.C. - UNC Greensboro extended its winning streak to seven matches as they Spartans defeated Georgia Southern, 3-1, on Sunday afternoon in Fleming Gymnasium.
The Spartans improved to 13-9 this season and 6-2 in Southern Conference play. Georgia Southern dropped to 15-8 on the year and 5-3 in league action.
"Today was a really big win against a quality opponent," said head coach Patrick Nicholas. "I was proud of the girls and the way they fought hard and pulled out the win in the fourth set. Our defensive blocking work in practice all week really seemed to show in the fourth set. Now we need to maintain this intensity in everything that we do."
Caley Redden recorded her ninth double-double of the season as she recorded 16 kills and 12 digs. Ari Lysacek had 40 assists, while Catherine Hanners and Kayleigh Knerr had 18 and 17 digs, respectively.
The first set was a back-and-forth affair that saw the two teams tied 14 times and change leads seven times. Trailing 19-18 late in the set, UNCG won the next three points thanks to a pair of kills from Redden and Emily Lindborg, which forced Georgia Southern to call a timeout. The Spartans continued their attack coming out of the timeout as they won four of the final six points to take the set, 25-21.
After being tied at two to start the second set, a kill by Luciana Shafer And back-to-back service aces gave the Spartans a 5-2 lead. UNCG went on to extend its lead to 13-5 on a block by Olivia Humphries and Alissa Beaudway. The Eagles narrowed the Spartan lead to 24-20, but they were never able to overcome their deficit and UNCG claimed the second set, 25-20.
The Spartans appeared to carry their momentum into the third set as they jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, but Georgia Southern rattled off the next seven points to take a 7-3 lead. The Eagles extended their lead to 15-10 before going on a 9-2 run on their way to winning the set, 25-14.
Georgia Southern came took an early 4-0 lead in the fourth and final set, but the Spartans responded to tie the set at 4. The teams traded points for most of the set and were tied at 17 late in the set. A powerful kill by Redden and an ace and two kills by Hanners pulled the Spartans to a 21-17 lead. The Eagles pulled to within 24-23, but Redden delivered her final kill of the afternoon to give the Spartans the set, 25-23.
Next up for UNCG is a trip to Charleston, S.C. next weekend to face College of Charleston on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Cougar's Dig Pink match.
College of Charleston 3, Samford 0
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Sophomore middle blocker Elyse Chubb (Peachtree City, Ga.) delivered 11 blocks and junior right side hitter Ginny Phillips (Raleigh, N.C.) had a near triple double with nine kills, eight blocks and seven digs as the College of Charleston (10-10, 6-2) swept Samford (12-10, 6-2) 3-0 in a Southern Conference match in Birmingham, Ala. on Sunday, October 18. The Cougars took the match by scores of 25-16, 25-14 and 25-17.
Trailing 5-4 in the Game 1, the College of Charleston took advantage of seven Bulldog errors to put together an 11-1 run that set the tone for the entire match. That stretch gave them a 15-6 lead that they would not surrender as the Cougars maintained at least a six point lead on their way to a 25-16 victory and 1-0 match lead.
It was much the same in the second frame as the teams battled out to a 6-6 tie before errors once again doomed Samford. At that point, eight more Bulldog errors helped fuel a 10-0 College of Charleston run that left the score at 16-6 and setup another commanding victory, this time 25-14, over the leaders of the Southern Conference's North Division.
Samford continued to battle at the beginning of sets as they took a 7-4 lead in Game 3 but once again could not hold the advantage as the Cougars went on a 9-1 run behind four straight errors to take a 13-8 lead. CofC slowly expanded that advantage to 18-11 before the Bulldogs rallied to within 21-16. Back-to-back kills for the Cougars followed by a pair of Samford errors took care of any thoughts of a comeback as the College of Charleston claimed a 25-17 victory to earn the sweep.
Senior middle blocker Sheriden Stangohr led the Bulldogs with nine kills and added three blocks while sophomore middle blocker Rachel Gadberry notched seven kills. Junior setter Hillary Fountain paced the offense with 24 assists and freshman libero Alexis Bauer posted seven digs on defense while freshman outside hitter Allie Bettinger added six kills and five digs.
Elyse Chubb's 11 blocks were two shy of her career-high to lead the College of Charleston while Ginny Phillips was a force on offense and defense with nine kills, eight blocks and seven digs. Senior middle blocker Jennifer Darty (Orlando, Fla.) also finished with eight blocks and junior outside hitter Whitney Russell (Decatur, Ga.) added six blocks. On offense, junior setter Cole Dawley (Charleston, S.C.) led the way with 19 assists and added a match-high tying seven digs along with four blocks.
As a team, the Cougars notched a season-high 21.5 blocks with four players recording at least six blocks.
The Cougars return home this weekend when they host UNC Greensboro on Saturday, October 24 and Elon on Sunday, October 25. First serve for both matches is slated for 2 p.m.
NOTES
The victory by the Cougars snaps Samford's undefeated streak at the Pete Hanna Center ... that stretch dated back to November 7, 2007 when the Bulldogs began play in the building.
Wofford 3, Western Carolina 2
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - The Wofford volleyball team claimed a key win in Southern Conference play with a thrilling five-set win over Western Carolina Saturday.
The two teams battled for every point in the first set, until a kill from Stacy Byrd put the Terriers up by two at 18-16. From there, Wofford went on a 7-1 tear behind strong serving from Reagan Styles to claim the first set 25-17.
The second set saw 12 ties, the most of any set in the match. Neither team was able to claim more than a two-point lead until the Terriers went up 16-13. Wofford was able to maintain the slight lead until an offensive push from Western Carolina tied the score at 22. The Catamounts then capitalized on several Wofford errors to fight off two set points and ultimately win the second set 27-25.
After two close sets to open the match, Western Carolina jumped out to an early 6-1 lead in the third set but the Terriers fought back to close the gap at one point, down 10-11. Another Catamount run put Western Carolina ahead 16-11, but Wofford again rallied to tie the score at 18 and only allow three additional points for the Catamounts, taking the 25-21 win.
The fourth set was another battle for the two teams, with five lead changes throughout the set. A Joanna Suddath kill all but sealed the win for the Terriers, putting Wofford up 24-20, but the Catamounts refused to yield, fighting off four match points and earning a 26-24 win to force the fifth and deciding set.
Western Carolina carried its momentum over from the fourth set to take an 8-5 lead in the fifth set, but the Terriers recovered to tie the score at 11. Wofford would then allow only one more point for the Catamounts, claiming the set and match win by a score of 15-12.
The Catamounts were led by Paloma Alvarez, who recorded 13 kills, while Kara Lynzee Brooks added 10 and led the team with a .348 attack percentage. Setter Katie Hennessey notched a double-double with 41 assists and 11 digs and libero Liz Rondone led the defense with 19 defensive saves.
Junior Stacy Byrd led the Terriers with 20 kills and added six blocks. The Wofford net defense was led by freshman Arden Anderson, who recorded a career high 12 blocks, helping the Terriers to a total of 14 team blocks. Anderson's 12 total blocks matched the current school record set by Currie Gossett.
Libero Sarah Palmer backed up the strong blocking with 14 digs, while setter Joanna Suddath and outside hitter Shanna Hughes each added 12. Suddath and Hughes also recorded double-doubles in the match, with Suddath running the team's offense with 43 assists and Hughes tallying 12 kills. Freshman Reagan Styles added 10 digs to bring the team's total to 66.
With the win, Wofford improves to 16-8 overall and 3-5 in the Southern Conference while Western Carolina falls to 3-19 on the season and 0-8 in league play. The Terriers return home to host Chattanooga on Saturday, October 24 in a 2:00 p.m. matchup.