College of Charleston 3, Wofford 0
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Senior outside hitter Emily Sawin (New Lenox, Ill.) drilled a match-high tying 11 kills and senior middle blocker Jennifer Darty (Orlando, Fla.) had nine blocks as the College of Charleston (7-8, 3-0) defeated Wofford (14-5, 1-2) 3-0 in a Southern Conference volleyball match Saturday afternoon in the Carolina First Arena. The Cougars claimed the match by scores of 25-16, 26-24 and 25-18.
CofC dominated the first set as they raced out to a 10-4 lead by capitalizing on five Terrier errors and notching four kills of their own. They would soon extend their advantage to 19-9 before finishing off a 25-16 victory to take a 1-0 match lead. In that set, the Cougars held Wofford to a team hitting percentage of -.111, allowing only seven kills and forcing 10 errors.
It was a far different tenor in the second set as the Terriers came out strong and battled through four ties to reach a 7-7 deadlock. From there, a 6-3 run gave them the lead at 13-10, forcing a College of Charleston timeout. Out of the break, the Cougars responded by using a 7-3 stretch to take back the lead at 17-16. The teams would trade the next several points before Wofford notched five in a row to go ahead 22-18.
Following an attack error by the Terriers that left the score at 22-19, Cougars' junior outside hitter Whitney Russell (Decatur, Ga.) made her first appearance of the season and had an immediate impact. On the next two plays, she teamed with Darty on a pair of blocks that closed the gap to 22-21 and changed the momentum of the set.
Junior setter Cole Dawley (Charleston, S.C.) notched an ace on the next play to tie the score while another Wofford error and a kill by junior right side hitter Ginny Phillips (Raleigh, N.C.) gave the College of Charleston a 24-22 advantage. The Terriers tied the set at 24-24 but that would be all they would get as Sawin and Havel put the set away with back-to-back kills for a 26-24 win.
The Cougars continued their strong play at the start of Game 3 as they built a 12-5 lead, this time behind five kills and seven Wofford miscues. It would be all they would need as CofC would maintain the lead the rest of the way, only allowing the Terriers within three points at 14-11 before they closed out the set, and the match, with a 25-18 decision. In that frame, the College of Charleston held Wofford to a hitting percentage of -.118.
The Terriers were led by junior outside hitter Stacy Byrd's nine kills and eight digs while senior setter Joanna Suddath dished out 20 assists. Senior outside hitter Shanna Hughes added seven kills while senior outside hitter Sarah Palmer and junior right side hitter Catelyn Amende led the defense with 23 digs and four blocks, respectively.
Sawin's 11 kill, eight dig performance highlighted the Cougars individual performances while Havel recorded 11 kills, four digs, three blocks and two service aces and hit .500. She was joined defensively by Jennifer Darty, who recorded a season-high nine blocks, two shy of her career-high, and by junior libero Paige Johnson (Sleepy Hollow, Ill.) who finished with a team-high 15 digs. Cole Dawley finished with 23 assists and added three blocks while sophomore middle blocker Elyse Chubb (Peachtree City, Ga.) had seven kills and a .600 hitting percentage.
The Cougars wrap up weekend Southern Conference action tomorrow afternoon when they host defending Southern Conference Tournament Champion Furman at 2 p.m.
NOTES
The victory is the 24 straight for the College of Charleston over Wofford and runs their record in the overall series to an impressive 26-1.
Georgia Southern 3, Chattanooga 0
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - A come-from-behind second set gave the Eagles a 2-0 match lead heading into intermission as the Georgia Southern volleyball team handled the Chattanooga Lady Mocs with a 3-0 Southern Conference showdown Saturday afternoon (October 3). Led by sophomore Parker Small and double-doubles from Bethany Sanford and Lauren Claybaugh, Georgia Southern improved to 11-6 overall and 2-1 in conference play, while Chattanooga dropped to 9-7, 1-3.
"This may have our best overall performance this season. We played well in all facets," said head coach Chad Callihan. "Hopefully this win will fuel our confidence as we continue our journey through the Southern Conference."
The opening stanza saw a trade of ties and two lead changes until a 7-all tie sparked a 3-0 Eagle run with Sanford (Avondale, Ariz.) and Small (Charlotte, N.C.) kills and a Lady Moc error for a 10-7 advantage. Small and Claybaugh (Davnille, Calif.) kills coupled with a Lady Moc service error pushed the Eagles' margin to 13-9. Three consecutive Chattanooga errors benefitted the Eagles for a 16-9 advantage. A Stephanie Harville kill for the Lady Mocs snapped the 5-0 Georgia Southern run, but the Eagles responded with a pair of kills on behalf of Hannah Nelson (Norcross, GA.) and Kate Van Dyke (Shawnee, Kan.) for an 18-10 lead. GSU continued to dominate the court and four Eagle kills with a pair of UTC errors gave the Eagles set point. Georgia Southern notched the first set, 25-13, with Chattanooga's sixth attack error paced by Claybaugh's five kills. The Eagles hit .500 for the opening set with only one attack error.
The beginning of the second set reflected the first and at the 7-all tie, Chattanooga took the 9-7 lead with consecutive kills from two contributing Lady Mocs. Following a Georgia Southern timeout at 14-12, Chattanooga took a three-point lead, 16-13, off two kills from a pair of Lady Mocs. The set's pace would soon turn tides as the Eagles, down by four at 18-14, put together a 6-1 run to take the set lead at 20-19. Small's fourth kill of the set gave the Eagles a 21-19 advantage as Georgia Southern soon found set point at 24-20. The Eagles took the set, 25-20, to lead the match, 2-0, off Chattanooga's seventh set error. Small owned the end of the set second as four of her six total set kills came in the final six points.
Following intermission, Chattanooga took the early set lead at 4-1, but a 4-1 run by Georgia Southern tied the set at 5-all. The Eagles took the lead at 11-7 off three Chattanooga errors, service ace from Nelson and kills from Danielle Graham (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Claybaugh, forcing a Lady Moc timeout. At 16-12 Georgia Southern, the Eagles went on a six-point run for a 22-12 lead. At match point, 24-14, the Lady Mocs knocked off the first match point, but Sanford sealed the match for the Eagles at 25-15 with a kill.
For the match, Small hit .450 off 12 kills and only three errors. Sophomore Sanford posted her ninth double-double of the season and fifth consecutive with 10 kills and 10 digs, while Claybaugh recorded her first of the season off 10 kills and 14 digs. The Eagles hit .359 for the match, holding the Lady Mocs to .178. Senior Cristin Haines (Palos Heights, Ill.) led the Eagle defense with 16 digs, while Van Dyke posted 41 assists.
"I thought Kate [Van Dyke] did a great job of keeping all our hitters involved and Chattanooga defense off balance," said Callihan. "Cristin [Haines] did a great job of receiving and on defense."
Chattanooga was held to single digits except for Harville's 12 kills and Paula Passmore's 12 digs. The Lady Mocs committed 16 attack errors and recorded only 34 assists for the match.
Georgia Southern returns home after six matches on the road to host North Florida on Tuesday, October 6. First serve is slated for 7 p.m.
Elon 3, Western Carolina 0
ELON, N.C. - Traci Stewart posted eight kills and only one error to lead the Elon Phoenix to a 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-12) win over the Western Carolina Catamounts in Southern Conference action on Saturday afternoon in Alumni Gym. With the win, Elon moves to 15-2 overall and 3-1 in the league while WCU falls to 3-14 and 0-3 in the SoCon.
Sarah Schermerhorn tallied seven kills with just one error while also posting three block assists and three digs. Jessica Barrow also notched seven kills and added two block assists. Caroline Lemke posted six kills for the Phoenix while pacing the team at the net with six block assists and one solo block. Ali Deatsch led the Phoenix with 11 digs while Lauren Copenhagen and Emily Regan added seven a piece. Regan posted 26 assists in the match. As a team, Elon posted 10 total blocks compared to just two by the Catamounts.
Brittany Lysik led the Catamounts with seven kills while Amanda Kerr added six and Carrie Minogue and Paloma Alvarez each posted five kills. Liz Rondone led the Catamount defense with a match-high 22 digs. Lysik added 10 digs and Katie Hennessey posted seven. Hennessey also tallied 27 assists.
"We came out in the third set ready to go," head coach Mary Tendler said. "Our goal was to finish strong and I feel like we did that. We were slow to start due to the quick pace of the Western Carolina offense. As a team, we were fortunate to come out of this weekend with two wins over quality opponents."
In the first set, Elon jumped out to a 5-1 advantage forcing Western Carolina to call a timeout. Out of the break, the Catamounts earned six of the next eight points to knot the game at 7-7 and force an Elon timeout. After an 8-8 tie, Elon scored the next three point to go ahead 11-8. Leading 13-10, the Phoenix again scored three straight points, behind the serve of Copenhagen, to extend the lead to six at 16-10. Western Carolina cut the lead to four at 21-17 on a kill by Kara Lynzee Brooks, but Elon scored the next two points to push the lead back to six. Elon closed the set on an ace from Schermerhorn, 25-19. Elon posted a .323 hitting percentage in the opening set, committing just two errors.
After a 7-7 tie in the second set, Elon scored the next two points to go ahead 9-7 on a solo block by Lemke. The Phoenix extended the lead to five at 14-9 on back-to-back blocks by Lemke and Stewart. Elon took an 18-12 lead on a kill by Copenhagen before WCU used a timeout. Elon held onto the six-point lead at 19-13, but the Catamounts tallied the next three point to cut the lead to just three at 19-16. Elo pushed the advantage back to six at 23-17 on a kill by Stewart and held on to close the game, 25-19, on a WCU ball handling error.
Elon took the early lead in the third set and never looked back. The Phoenix held a five-point lead at 10-5 before going on an 8-1 run to push the lead to 12 at 18-6. Lizzie West served eight times for the Phoenix during the run while the squad tallied two blocks and Stewart posted two kills. The Catamounts cut the lead to nine at 19-10 on a kill by Minogue but would get no closer as the Phoenix finished the set at 25-12. Elon held WCU to a -.200 hitting percentage in the final set.
Elon returns to action on Wednesday, October 7 in a 7 p.m. match at UNC Greensboro. Western Carolina will face the Spartans on Sunday, October 4 in a 3 p.m. match.
UNC Greensboro 3, Appalachian State 0
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Billi Baker and Caley Redden each recorded double-doubles and three other Spartans had nine kills as UNC Greensboro swept Appalachian State, 3-0, on Saturday afternoon in Fleming Gymnasium in Southern Conference volleyball action.
The Spartans improved to 8-9 this season and 1-2 in SoCon play. The Mountaineers fell to 6-12 on the year and an even 2-2 in league play.
"I was really proud of our girls and the way they fought," said head coach Patrick Nicholas. "We played with more of a passion today and it showed in the score. I'm impressed with how Caley Redden continues to get better every day and Billi Baker has really shown improvement as well. I thought our defense as a whole was great today too. We seemed inspired in our blocking and digging and we refused to let the ball hit the floor."
Baker and Redden each had 10 kills to lead UNCG offensively, while Alissa Beaudway, Emily Lindborg and Luciana Shafer added nine kills apiece. Redden also had a match-high 12 digs and Baker and Kayleigh Knerr chipped in 10 digs each as well. Ari Lysacek had a match-high 40 assists and Lindborg had a match-high too with six blocks.
In the first set, neither team was able to take control early as the two sides found themselves tied at 13 midway through the set. The Spartans took control and it appeared as if the Spartans would take the set after leading 24-20, but the Mountaineers held off four set-points by UNCG to knot the set at 24 all.
A kill by Linborg gave the Spartans a 25-24 lead, but the Mountaineers fought back once again and tied the set at 25 on a block by Becca Norris and Kelsey Sauls. A service error by Appalachian State gave UNCG its sixth set point and the Spartans were finally able to capitalize on a kill by Redden to win the set, 27-25, on perhaps the longest rally of the match.
The Mountaineers came out in the second set and took an early 8-4 lead. The Spartans responded by going on a 9-1 run to take a 13-9 lead and went on to cruise to a 25-16 set win.
With the two teams knotted at seven in the final set, UNCG took the next four points to go ahead 11-7. Appalachian State fought back to pull within 13-12, but the Spartans went on a 7-1 run en route to winning the set, 25-12, to clinch the victory.
The Spartans will make the quick turnaround as they take on Western Carolina on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. in Fleming Gymnasium.
Furman 3, The Citadel 1
CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Citadel Volleyball team lost in four games to visiting Furman University by scores of 25-19, 25-17, 23-25 and 25-18. The Bulldogs win in the third set marks the second time in Southern Conference action that the Paladins have lost this season. It also marks the fourth set victory for The Citadel in 10 matches against Furman, dating back to the 2005 campaign.
Juniors Jessica Maas and Blaine McAllister drove home a team-high 12 kills, while teammate Tatum Jestila added 10 to lead the Bulldogs. Jestila notched her eighth double-double of the season by reaching 11 digs. Setter Alyssa Holum shared team-high honors in digs (11) with Tatum and Rachael Farrell. The Citadel falls to 3-16 overall, 0-4 in SoCon play.
Furman (10-3, 3-0), who has never lost to The Citadel, had four players reach double figures in kills led by Caroline Adam's 23. Joining Adams were Alexis Shaffer (16 kills), Natalie Braun (10 kills, 11 digs) and Kelly Kirby (10 kills, 11 digs). Stephanie Smith registered a game-high 19 digs followed by Carolyn Nicoletti's 13 digs.
The Bulldogs take to the road for their next two matches against Georgia Southern on Friday, Oct. 9 and Davidson on October 10. The Citadel return home to face non-conference opponent Savannah State on Wednesday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m.