Elon 3, Appalachian State 0
ELON, N.C. - The Phoenix volleyball team returned to its winning ways with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 28-26) win over Southern Conference rival Appalachian State on Friday night in Alumni Gym. Elon is now 14-2 this season with a 2-1 mark in the SoCon. Appalachian State suffered its first conference loss and is now 2-1 in league play and 6-11 overall.
Elon's Jessica Barrow led all hitters with 11 kills and just two errors, followed closely by Caroline Lemke with 10 kills. Traci Stewart totaled nine kills on the night. Paced by Ali Deatsch with 12 digs, the Elon defense amassed nine total blocks in the win. Sarah Schermerhorn recorded a team-best six block assists and helped Elon hold Appalachian State to a .130 team hitting percentage.
Maja Jechorek led the Mountaineers with nine kills. She also recorded 11 digs and four block assists. Becca Norris finished the match with eight kills and five block assists. Cassie Engelgau tallied a match-high 25 digs.
Helped by the serve of Deatsch, the Phoenix jumped out to an 11-6 lead in the first set. Appalachian State brought the set to within one at 17-16 following a kill by Norris. Elon answered with two straight points on a kill by Barrow and an attack error by the Mountaineers. Lauren Copenhagen recorded three of the final four Phoenix points to put the set away 25-21.
Elon opened set two with a 5-2 lead before Appalachian State fought back to within two at 7-5. The teams tied the set at nine before three straight Phoenix points, including two Stewart kills, put Elon on top 13-10. Elon saw its lead increase to 16-11 on a pair of kills and an Appalachian State attack error. Elon maintained the lead for the remainder of the set and scored four of the final five points to seal the set 25-18.
The teams kept the final set close, as neither team gained more than a two-point edge until the Mountaineers scored three consecutive points to take a 19-16 lead and forced Elon to use a timeout. Elon answered by scoring five straight points that put the Phoenix up 21-19. The teams tied five times before a service ace by Lizzie West and block by Mandy Wilson and Schermerhorn allowed the Phoenix to take the set 28-26.
Elon returns to action tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m. when it takes on Western Carolina in league action in Alumni Gym. Full coverage, including live stats of the match will be available at www.elonphoenix.com.
Wofford 3, The Citadel 0
CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Terrier volleyball team defeated The Citadel in straight sets on Friday (25-19, 25-21, 29-27).
Wofford opened the first set with a 5-1 run, but The Citadel fought back to tie the score at 10. The Terriers took a two-point lead, but the Bulldogs fought back again to tie the score at 12. The Terriers then went on a 8-2 run to take a 20-14 advantage, and went on to take the first set 25-19 after scoring the last four straight points.
In the second set, the two teams traded points until an 11-11 tie. The Terriers were able to pull away at 20-15, and went on to win the second set by a score of 25-21.
The Terriers opened the third set with a 6-1 run, much like the first set, but again the Bulldogs rallied to tie the score at nine. After ties at 15 and 16, the Bulldogs took their first lead of the match at 17-16, and continued a short run to take a 21-17 advantage. Down 21-24, the Terriers fought off five game points before ending the third set 29-27.
For the Bulldogs, Tatum Jestila and Rachael Farrell led the team with nine kills each. Jestila also led the team with a match-high 22 digs.
Junior Stacy Byrd led the Terriers with 17 kills and 19 digs for her sixth double-double of the year. Setter Joanna Suddath fell one kill shy of a triple double, recording nine kills, 35 assists and 11 digs for her fifth double-double. Middle blocker Catelyn Amende contributed nine kills and led the team with a .417 attack percentage and five total blocks.
With the win, the Terriers improve to 15-4 overall and 2-1 in the Southern Conference while The Citadel falls to 3-15 on the season and remains winless in league play at 0-3. Wofford will face College of Charleston Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
Gardner-Webb 3, Davidson 0
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - The Davidson Wildcats suffered a 3-0 setback (25-17, 25-22, 25-22) to the Gardner-Webb Bulldogs Friday night in non-conference volleyball action at Paul Porter Arena.
Davidson (3-15) was led by Sarabeth Peele and Madison Benedict with six kills apiece, while setter Hayley Lawson posted 14 assists. Peele also led the defense with five digs.
Gardner-Webb (8-11) was paced by Laura Wilcox, who recorded nine kills and hit .643 for the Bulldogs. Setter Regina Feagin tallied 31 assists, and Brett Wilson led the Bulldog defense with 11 digs.
It was the second meeting of the season for the Wildcats and Bulldogs. Gardner-Webb won the previous matchup on September 19 in five sets at the Winthrop Invitational.
The Bulldogs opened up a 13-6 lead to open the match, forcing the Wildcats into a timeout. After the break, the Cats won a pair of points on an Ariel Ley kill and a hitting error from the Bulldogs, but Gardner-Webb would push the lead back to 19-10 with a 6-2 run en route to the 25-17 victory.
Davidson faced a 10-2 deficit to start the second set and, despite a rally, could not recover. The Wildcats pulled within two, 15-13, with a 9-3 swing, and even got within a point late in the frame. Trailing just 21-20, a pair of Wildcat errors pushed the Bulldogs ahead 23-20, but Davidson would again win two straight to close to 23-22. A Wildcat service error and a kill by Evan Moffitt would seal the 25-22 win for a 2-0 edge in the match.
The Wildcats had their chances in the third set, converting an early 9-7 lead into an 18-12 advantage, but could not close out the set. The Bulldogs pulled with five at 20-15, and closed out the match with a 10-2 run to take a 25-22 come-from-behind win.
Davidson will return to Southern Conference play with a trip to Samford to face the Bulldogs at 2 p.m. (CT) Sunday afternoon.