Elon 3, South Carolina State 0
Elon 3, UNC Wilmington 0

DURHAM, N.C. - The Elon volleyball team opened the 2009 season with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-15) win over South Carolina State and a 3-0 (25-19, 25-23, 25-23) win over UNC Wilmington Friday at the Hilton RTP/NCCU Tournament on the campus of North Carolina Central in Durham, N.C. The Phoenix is now 2-0 on the season.

"This was a great way to start the season," head coach Mary Tendler said. "It was nice to see such strong performances from Traci and Lauren and see the team win in close sets."

In the season opener, sophomore Traci Stewart went 12-for-19 with just one error for an attack percentage of .579 to lead the Phoenix. She also recorded three service aces. Junior Lauren Copenhagen tallied six kills, while junior Sarah Schermerhorn and sophomore Caroline Lemke totaled five kills each. Pacing the offense was senior Emily Regan with 10 assists.

Stewart and senior Jessica Barrow each recorded one solo and one assisted block to lead the team defensively. Freshman Ali Deatsch finished with a team-high seven digs.

As a team, Elon hit .342 and held the Bulldogs to a .119 hitting percentage.

S.C. State's Melissa Robinson led the Bulldogs with nine kills. Three Bulldog players- Peri Ligons, Linnie Garrett and Jade Sanford- finished with five kills each. Sanford, Brittany Davis and Bria Brimmer each notched one block.

Copenhagen hit .353 in match two with six kills and no errors, while Stewart tallied eight kills and two service aces. Schermerhorn and Barrow notched four kills each, with Schermerhorn recording a match-high three service aces. Leading the offense was Regan with 19 assists.

Schermerhorn and Stewart each posted four assisted blocks, while Lemke tallied one solo block and two assisted blocks. Copenhagen paced the defensive effort with eight digs.

Lindsey Strucko of UNC Wilmington finished with a match-high 14 kills and one service ace in the effort. She also was second on the team in digs with 11.  Kimberly Friedl, Paula McConnell and Rachel Caricato each had five kills. Kelsey Bendig and Natalie Lahaie led the match with 14 assists each.

Defensively, Friedl led the team with three assisted blocks, with Strucko adding two. As a team, the Seahawks finished with five total blocks.

"After UNC Wilmington beat us last year on our home court, the team had some extra motivation to get the win today," Tendler added. "This was a good win for the team, especially after UNC Wilmington defeated UNC Asheville earlier today."

The Phoenix returns to action tomorrow at 1 p.m. when it takes on UNC Asheville on the final day of the Hilton RTP/NCCU Tournament. Elon will also face host team North Carolina Central at 5 p.m.

College of Charleston 3, Winthrop 2

CLEMSON, S.C. - Senior outside hitter Emily Sawin (New Lenox, Ill.) drilled a match-high 16 kills while junior setter Cole Dawley (Charleston, S.C.) recorded 37 assists as the College of Charleston (1-0, 0-0) rallied to defeat Winthrop (0-1, 0-0) 3-2 Friday evening at the Big Orange Bash in Clemson, S.C. The Cougars claimed the five set victory by scores of 15-25, 17-25, 25-14, 25-17 and 15-7.

In the deciding fifth game, a service ace from freshman setter Liza Price (Fort Mill, S.C.) and a pair of kills from sophomore outside hitter Katie Robinson (Gainesville, Fla.) helped give CofC a 4-2 lead before four straight points gave Winthrop a 6-4 advantage. Following a timeout, the Cougars responded with a dominant 9-0 run, fueled by three kills from Sawin, to take a commanding 13-6 lead. CofC would then close it out with a back-to-back points for a 15-7 victory.

At the start of the match, Winthrop jumped out to an early 7-1 lead and eventually pushed out to a 16-9 advantage before closing out the first set with a 25-15 victory. CofC stayed within three points for most of the first half of the second set, and narrowed the gap to one point on several occasions, before the Eagles took a 10-9 lead and used a 10-2 run to expand it to 20-12. A late rally pulled the College of Charleston to within five at 22-17 before Winthrop scored the final three points for a 25-17 win and 2-0 lead in the match.

Following a pair of decisive victories by the Eagles in the first two sets, the College of Charleston answered back with a 25-14 victory in the third frame, pulling to within 2-1 for the match. In that set, the Cougars battled through a number of early ties before taking a 9-8 lead. They then rattled off the next 10 points, capitalizing on four Winthrop errors, to extend to a 19-9 advantage. That stretch was part of a larger 13-1 run that made it 22-10 before CofC closed out the 11-point victory.

In a key fourth set, the Eagles took early leads of 3-0 and 5-2 before the two teams knotted at 5-5 and exchanged the next four points to reach a 7-7 deadlock. From there, a 3-0 Cougars run made it 10-7 and forced a Winthrop timeout. Still trailing by three at 12-9, the Eagles rallied for a 12-12 tie behind three straight kills, the first two from senior right side hitter Kelley Taylor.

Three consecutive kills of their own, including back-to-back by Cole Dawley, then earned the Cougars a 15-12 lead. After WU narrowed the margin to 15-14 with a block and a kill, the College of Charleston took firm control of the set, registering 10 of the next 13 points for a 25-17 victory. That win would set up the Cougars dominant performance in the fifth set.

Kelley Taylor led the Eagles individual performances with a team high 15 kills and .517 hitting percentage while junior setter Kelsey Hall dished out a club high 31 assists. Defensively, junior libero Ginnie Talley posted 11 digs and junior middle hitter Sara Felts added four blocks, one solo. Junior outside hitter Kaley Viola added seven kills and nine digs while freshman middle hitter Baylee Strachan contributed three block assists.

Emily Sawin's match-high 16 kills paced the College of Charleston while sophomore middle blocker Sarah Havel (Carmel, Ind.) posted a match-high seven blocks, including a career-high four solo. Junior libero Paige Johnson (Sleepy Hollow, Ill.) recorded a career-high tying 14 digs and notched three service aces, both of which were match-highs, and Cole Dawley finished with a match-high 37 assists to go along with eight kills and a .545 hitting percentage. Katie Robinson added a career-best nine digs and six kills, including a pair of key shots at the start of the fifth set, while junior right side hitter Ginny Phillips (Raleigh, N.C.) tallied nine kills.

The Cougars return to action tomorrow morning, Saturday, August 29 when they face South Carolina at 10 a.m. before wrapping up the tournament with a 6 p.m. tilt with the host school, Clemson.

Georgia Southern 3, Presbyterian 0

STATESBORO, Ga. - Georgia Southern volleyball kicked off its 2009 campaign Friday night, August 28, in Hanner Fieldhouse with a dominating 3-0 win over the Presbyterian College Blue Hose. Opening night of the Holiday Inn Invitational witnessed Troy defeat Stetson, 3-1, before the Eagles came out firing to go 1-0 on the season. The crowd of 531 is the second-largest in Eagle volleyball history.

Sophomore outside hitter Bethany Sanford (Avondale, Ariz.) tallied a game-high 12 kills in three games for a .333 attack percentage. Fellow classmate Hayli Ketner (Spartanburg, S.C.) contributed 11 kills to the 1-0 Eagles. Georgia Southern hit .319 for the match tallying 39 kills to PCs .179 percentage and 35 kills.

It was a great first win for the team. I thought we had great energy, as I knew we would. Everyone comes out ready to play in the first match of the season, said head coach Chad Callihan. We managed our nerves well and keep our errors low. We really put forth a pretty consistent effort for the first match of the season.

The Eagles secured the first set by a margin of 25-19 led by five kills from both Sanford and Lauren Claybaughs (Danville, Calif.). Amanda Kettles and Presley Mabrey led the attack for the Blue Hose, each posting four kills in the opening set.

With the same momentum from the opening set, the Eagles came out firing in the second frame. Georgia Southern held the lead until errors plagued the home team and the Blue Hose took an 18-17 advantage. PC held the set close before an assist by Kate Van Dyke (Shawnee, Kansas) and kill from Sanford gave Georgia Southern a 22-21 lead, forcing a Presbyterian College timeout. A kill by Sarah Gildersleeve (Naples, Fla.) followed by a block from Claybaugh and Gildersleeve gave the Eagles a set point at 24-21. Van Dykes second service ace of the match capped off the second frame, 25-21, for the Eagles.

I thought Kate [Van Dyke] did an excellent job for her first collegiate start. She maintained great poise throughout the match and kept her consistency, said Callihan. She helped lead the team and did a nice job for the Eagles.

The Blue Hose came out strong in the third set, taking an early lead. A back-and-forth affair persisted until a kill from Claybaugh gave Georgia Southern a 17-16 advantage, and the Eagles never looked back. Georgia Southern widened the margin to 23-20 before two ball handling errors from PC gave the Eagles match point at 24-22. Gildersleeve secured the match at 25-22 for the Eagles, recording her third kill of the evening.

Van Dyke registered 37 of Georgia Southerns 39 assists in her first appearance as an Eagle. Lone senior Cristin Haines (Palos Heights, Ill.) posted a game-high 12 digs for the Eagles. Ketner and Sanford registered seven digs each.

In earlier action of the Holiday Inn Invitational, Troy handled Stetson in four sets. The Trojans dominated the court in the opening two sets, taking the frames 25-18 and 25-13, respectively, before the Hatters returned from halftime to conquer the third set 25-22. Troy hit a .355 in the fourth set with 14 kills to take the final frame 25-9. Overall, the Trojans nailed a .366 percentage, tallying 63 kills to Stetsons .107 and 30 kills.

The final day of the Holiday Inn Invitational, Saturday, begins with a Troy vs. Presbyterian match-up at 10 a.m. The Eagles return to the court for a noon match against Stetson before night action commences with Presbyterian vs. Stetson at 5 p.m. and Troy vs. Georgia Southern at 7 p.m.

Samford 3, Louisiana-Monroe 0

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University volleyball team took its season opener in a 3-0 win over the University of Louisiana at Monroe Friday night. The match was the first for both teams in the Drury Inn Samford Invitational.

Samford won in straight sets widening the lead with each win, 25-16, 25-15 and 25-8. The Bulldogs out-blocked the Warhawks six to three, never hit under .300 and kept their opponents under .038 hitting the whole match.

The Bulldogs were led by freshman Allie Bettinger who knocked down 11 kills on 20 attempts for a .400 hitting percentage in her first collegiate appearance. She also grabbed one dig. Senior Sheriden Stangohr led her team in hitting with a .750 percentage, tallying six kills on eight attempts with no errors while also grabbing one dig, two block assists and two blocks solo. Sophomore Rachel Gadberry also added seven kills on 11 attempts for a hitting percentage of .545 with two aces, two digs and two block assists.

Sophomore Shelby Brandon and junior Hillary Fountain added three kills each while Brandon also had one dig and one block assist and Fountain had 11 assists, one dig and two block assists. Freshman Casey Garvey led the Bulldogs in assists with 19 while also adding four digs. Freshman Alexis Bauer led Samford in digs and aces with 10 and 5, respectively, while senior Sarah Gardner added five digs and one ace. Junior Samantha Bland had two aces and two digs while freshman Elizabeth Neisler posted one kill and one block assist.

ULM was led by middle blockers Mari O'Neal and Mahogany Dilonga with nine and five kills, respectively. Setter Meghan McCoy dished out 16 assists for the Warhawks while O'Neal added one. Outside hitters Michelle Messing had Christy Tribble had five digs while middle blocker Ashley Bland and right side Lacey Bates both tallied two block assists each.

"I am very happy with this match as our season and home opener," Samford head coach Derek Schroeder said. "We got better each set we played, executed and made points happen for us. We have a long way to go this season and our first step was in the right direction."

Earlier on Friday, Southern Miss defeated Tennessee State, 3-0, in match one of the Drury Inn Samford Invitational.

Samford will begin day two of the Drury Inn Samford Invitational Saturday morning at 11 a.m. with a match-up against Southern Miss. Following that match, ULM will play a double header against Tennessee State and Southern Miss at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. The Bulldogs will wrap up the tournament with a 7 p.m. match against Tennessee State.

Stangohr got the Bulldogs on the board first in set one with a big block before Samford gave up a point and tied the score on a service error by Gadberry. Three more times the score would be tied before Samford when on a 7-0 run to take an 11-4 lead. After a kill by Mahogany to cut the Bulldogs' lead to six, Samford put together nice run to stretch the lead to 10.

After a ULM timeout, Samford added another point on a kill by Fountain but the Warhawks went on a 4-1 run to force the Bulldogs to take a time out with the score at 22-14.  Out of the time out, Bettinger grabbed her fifth kill of the match to make it 23-14. Samford grabbed one more point on a ball handling error by ULM's O'Neal to force set-point. Although the Warhawks were able to hold Samford off for two more points, O'Neal committed another error to give Samford the winning point and the Bulldogs took the first set, 25-16.

Stangohr chalked the first point again for the Bulldogs in the second set with a kill assisted by Fountain. An attack error by the Warhawks and an ace by Bland quickly put Samford ahead, 3-0. After ULM scored a kill to get on the board, the Bulldogs tacked on two more points with another kill by Stangohr and an ace by Gadberry. It was back-and-forth as the Bulldogs were up by two and then by four before Schroeder decided to call a timeout.

Out of the break, Fountain served up an error to make the score 10-7, but the Warhawks returned the favor with a service error by Lacey Dietlin. Another error by ULM gave Samford a 12-7 lead and the Bulldogs would go on a 6-4 run to force the Warhawks to call a timeout with the score at 18-11.

An error by ULM out of the break extended Samford's lead to eight and although their opponents tried to cut the lead to six, Gadberry and Brandon knocked down back-to-back kills to stretch the lead to 22-14. ULM called another timeout and the Bulldogs committeedan error out of the break to bring the score to 22-15. But with an error by ULM, an ace by Gadberry and a kill by Stangohr, the Bulldogs were headed into the match break up two games to none with a 25-15 set two win.

Samford dominated the third set scoring the first 16 points unanswered. Bettinger tagged the first kill of the set before ULM committed two errors followed by a kill by Gadberry and a block by Gadberry and Fountain. After a ULM timeout, Samford tacked on nine straight points to force another Warhawk timeout. After another kill by Gadberry to score the Bulldogs' 16^th consecutive point, ULM finally got on the board due to an attack error by Fountain. Samford would allow ULM to score only seven more points before take set three, 25-8. 

Chattanooga 3, East Tennessee State 1

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga opened its season with a 3-1 victory against East Tennessee State, 3-1 (25-22, 25-14, 23-25, 25-20) at the Comfort Inn & Suites Volleyball Classic. Freshman outside hitter Kirsten Beasley recorded her first collegiate double-double posting a match-high 15 kills and 10 digs. The Lady Mocs return action later today at 7 p.m. when they face host Morehead State.

The win was the first for the Lady Mocs in the opening match of a season, since defeating Jackson State 3-0 to begin the 2001 campaign. Since then, Chattanooga has faced stiff competition to begin the season including tangling with Tennessee, South Florida and Depaul.

"I think it was great that we got a win in the first match since 2001," said head coach Lisa Rhodes. "It is a nice way to start out with such a young team. While it was not always pretty, we were able to find a way to win and I am really proud of them for coming back in the third set that we ended up dropping. I think we have an exciting future."

The Lady Mocs' offense was also paced by sophomore Ellie Kuhn with 12 kills and five total blocks, two of which were block solos. Sophomore Laura Brock recorded 10 kills with six of them coming in the decisive fourth game. Leading Chattanooga with a .500 attacking percentage was junior Courtney Barnes who posted eight kills.

Senior Cassie Conner helped the Chattanooga offense by recording 41 assists and two aces. While freshman libero Paula Passmore recorded a match-high and personal best 33 digs aiding the defense and keeping rallies alive.

"Kirsten for a freshman played really strong," said Rhodes. "It will be very exciting to see how she is going to develop throughout the season. Laura (Brock) started a little shaky and scared, but came out in the fourth set really strong and was a big key to that win. I was really pleased with Ellie's performance. She had a nice match today."

Three players - Beasley, Brock and Paula Passmore - made their Chattanooga debut starting in the opening contest.

During the first, a young Chattanooga squad attacked the net and kept the lead away from the Bucs recording a 25-22 win. After taking the lead, the Lady Mocs continued to dominate posting a .290 attacking percentage as a team in the second set, 25-14. 

In the third set, ETSU was looking to close out the match with a 22-17, but the Lady Mocs almost made a dramatic comeback when Beasley came to the service line. Chattanooga scored five-straight points to tie the match up at 22 all, but its effort was not enough as the Bucs sent the match to a fourth set with a 25-23 win.

After learning from its mistake by letting ETSU back into the match, the Lady Mocs shut the door with a team attacking percentage of .412 and posting 17 kills en route to clinching the match, 25-20.

Tonight at 7 p.m. the Lady Mocs return to the court battling host Morehead State at the Comfort Inn and Suites Invitational. Chattanooga completes the two-day tournament on Saturday against James Madison at 11:30 a.m.

UTC returns home on Sept. 11 for the Country Inn and Suites Invitational against Austin Peay at 7:30 p.m. in Maclellan Gym. SIU-Edwardsville and Loyola (Ill.) will also be competing in the event that concludes Sept. 12.

Morehead State 3, Chattanooga 0

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - In the second match of the day, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga dropped its match against Morehead State 3-0 (15-25, 17-15, 19-25). Earlier this afternoon, the Lady Mocs defeated East Tennessee State 3-1 to open the season with a win and will return to action tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. against James Madison to complete the Comfort Inn and Suites Volleyball Classic.

Junior middle blocker Courtney Barnes lead Chattanooga with 11 kills and posted a .316 attacking percentage. Sophomore Ellie Kuhn recorded three total blocks including one block solo.

Defensively, sophomore Jessica Scott dug out 12 balls, while freshman Paula Passmore recorded a match-high 13 digs for Chattanooga.

During freshman Christina Teter's first action on the court, she recorded a block solo. Also, freshmen Heather Parman notched two kills and Meagan Ernd posted three kills in their initial time on the floor with the Lady Mocs.

In the first set, Morehead State had a one-point lead 13-12 before the Eagles scored eight-straight points taking the set, 25-15. Just like the first, Chattanooga fought hard with Morehead State before the Eagles finished the set on a 13-5 rally, 25-17. The Eagles closed out the Lady Mocs in the third set, 25-19, but Chattanooga improved throughout the match recording a .351 hitting percentage in the final set.

For the match, Morehead State recorded an impressive .300 attacking percentage.

UTC returns home on Sept. 11 for the Country Inn and Suites Invitational against Austin Peay at 7:30 p.m. in Maclellan Gym. SIU-Edwardsville and Loyola (Ill.) will also be competing in the event that concludes Sept. 12

Campbell 3, Davidson 1

Charleston Southern 3, Davidson 1

RALEIGH, N.C. - The Davidson Wildcat volleyball team opened its 2009 season with a pair of losses to Campbell and Charleston Southern Friday at the NC State Classic at Reynolds Coliseum on the campus of NC State University. 

The Wildcats suffered a 3-1 (25-16, 19-25, 25-22, 25-12) loss to Campbell (1-0) in the first match of the day, before dropping the second, 3-1, (25-21, 24-26, 25-20, 25-23) to Charleston Southern (1-0).

Junior outside hitter Sarabeth Peele led the Wildcats with a match-high 14 kills against Campbell and a team-best 16 kills against Charleston Southern.

Peele was the only player in double figures against the Camels, with Christine Perzinski and Jorden Benedict just behind with nine and eight kills, respectively. Junior setter Hayley Lawson finished with 36 assists, and freshman Molly Crenshaw anchored the defense with 15 digs. Caroline Hammersley led the Camels with nine kills.

Perzinski and sophomore Madison Benedict tallied 12 kills against Charleston Southern, who was led by Amanda Hill with 17. Junior setter Anna Bradbury posted 47 assists, and Crenshaw again led the defense with 12 digs.

In the first match, Campbell opened up an 11-3 lead. The Wildcats managed to close the gap to 17-13, but a five-point run put the Camels back ahead, 22-13. Campbell won the last three points to take the first set, 25-16.

The second set was back and forth until the Wildcats used a 5-1 run to take a 16-12 lead. Davidson evened the match at a game apiece behind a 9-6 advantage to claim a 25-19 win.

Campbell jumped out to an early 6-2 lead in the third set and used a 4-0 run to push the margin to 12-6. The Wildcats would battle back to trail just a point, 21-20, but the Camels won the next two crucial scores for a 23-20 lead and took a 2-1 edge in the match with the 25-22 win. The Camels took an overwhelming 14-2 lead to open the fourth and final set, taking the match with a 25-12 win.

The Wildcats came back for the second match of the day and, despite close scores, dropped a 3-1 decision to the Charleston Southern Buccaneers. In the first set, the Bucs took a slight lead, but a pair of kills from Peele gave the 'Cats the 17-15 edge. Three straight Wildcat errors put the Bucs back up, and despite evening the score once more at 18-all, the 'Cats lost the first set, 25-21.

In the second set, Davidson grabbed a 10-5 lead, but Charleston used a 10-5 run of its own to tie the score at 15. The teams traded points until the 'Cats finally got a set-point opportunity at 24-23. A kill from Cori Holeman forced extra play, but a Buc hitting error coupled with a kill from Peele delivered the game, 26-24, for the Wildcats.

It was Charleston who took an early lead in the third set, opening a 6-2 margin before allowing Davidson to pull ahead, 10-8 behind a five-point serve from Jennifer Chamblee. The Bucs, though, reclaimed the lead with a 10-3 run, and went on to take a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-20 win.

In the fourth and decisive set, neither team could gain more than a two-point advantage, until Charleston opened up a 20-16 lead, which proved enough for the 25-23 win for the match.

Davidson will finish its tournament appearance with a pair of matches tomorrow, taking on Morgan State at 2 p.m. and the host Wolfpack at 7 p.m.

Georgia State 3, The Citadel 0

High Point 3, The Citadel 1

Raleigh, N.C. - The Bulldog Volleyball team dropped their first two games of the season on Friday against Georgia State and High Point in the first day of the Hilton RTP/North Carolina Central University Tournament.

The Citadel dropped their morning contest to Georgia State 3-0. Junior Tatum Jestila led the Bulldogs with 15 kills and five digs. Sophomore Alyssa Holum added 20 assists but it was not enough to overcome the Panthers strong attack as they swept the Bulldogs 25-17, 25-16, 25-19.

"We were getting the first game jitters out of the way," said Bulldog Head Coach Carolyn Geiger. "You could tell the girls were tight. Tatum Jestila and Jessica Maas produced on the front row for us. We still need to change the momentum of the game in our favor quickly. There were too many runs of points against us."

The Bulldogs dropped their afternoon game to High Point 3-1. The Citadel started off strong, taking the first set 25-16 and winning their first set of the season. However, the defending co-champions of the Big South adjusted as High Point would take the next three sets by scores of 25-15, 25-12 and 25-15 to win the match. Sophomores Kathryn Johnston added 11 digs while Alyssa Holum contributed 23 assists. Junior Tatum Jestila led the way again with eight kills, an assist and nine digs.

"We started off strong against High Point taking the first set. We had great chemistry on the court. They adjusted to us both offensively and defensively. Our passing game needs to be stronger. But overall, I saw some good things and some things we need to work on for tomorrow's matches. We are still working on putting the pieces of the puzzle together. It will come."

The Bulldogs are back in action on Saturday, Aug. 29 when they battle host North Carolina Central at 1 p.m. and conclude the tournament with UNC Asheville at 5 p.m.

Liberty 3, UNC Greensboro 0

BLACKSBURG, Va. - UNC Greensboro dropped its season-opener to two-time defending Big South champion Liberty, 3-0, on Friday afternoon in the opening match of the Hilton Garden Hokie Invitational. The Flames defeated the Spartans, 25-7, 25-21, 25-17, in Cassell Coliseum on the campus of Virginia Tech.

True freshman Arielle Lysacek led the Spartans with a team-high 24 assists and junior Billi Baker led UNCG on the offensive end with 10 kills. Freshman Olivia Humphries contributed nine kills and a team-high .333 hitting percentage.

Nicki Scripko paced the Flames with 12 kills and Karyl Bacon added 11 kills while Kallie Corbin had a match-high 36 assists.

UNCG took the first point in the first game on a Baker kill, but the Flames responded by taking 18 of the next 19 points to take an 18-2 lead. The two teams would trade the final points in the game as Liberty took the game, 25-7.

In the second game, the Spartans fought back after trailing early 9-7 to take an 11-9 lead. The two teams would end up knotted at 18 later in the game before Liberty won seven of the final ten points en route to winning the game, 25-21. The teams combined for 12 ties and five lead changes in the game.

The third game started quite similar to the second game as the two teams traded points early. After trailing 11-9 midway through the game, UNCG rattled off four of the next five points to take a 13-12 lead on a kill by Baker. Liberty took the next eight points in the game to take a commanding 20-13 lead as they sealed the match by taking the game, 25-17.

The Spartans return to the court Saturday afternoon as they take on Virginia Tech at 12 p.m. in Cassell Coliseum. UNCG will complete its play at the Hokie Invitational at 5 p.m. on Saturday against Montana.

Jacksonville State 3, Furman 1

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Furman volleyball team opened the 2009 season Friday with a 3-1 loss to Jacksonville State in the Deacon Invitational in Winston-Salem, N.C. Freshman outside hitter Natalie Braun led the Paladins with nine kills in the match.

The Gamecocks won the first two games 25-16, before the Paladins posted a .243 attack percentage to claim game three 25-17. Jacksonville State won a close game four, 25-23, to seal the victory.

Sophomores Alexis Shafer and Kelly Kirby and freshman Caroline Adams each recorded seven kills in the match, while senior setter Kelsey Salava tallied 35 assists. Adams added seven blocks to lead the Paladins.

"It is hard to find success when you have 17 service errors," said Furman head coach Michelle Young. "It took us a while to get going, but once we did, we had several good moments. We are looking forward to building on the success we had in our third and fourth games when we take the floor tomorrow."

On Saturday, Furman (0-1) will face Charlotte at 10 a.m. The 49ers lead the series 17-7 after winning the 2002 match 3-0. Also on Saturday, the Paladins will take on tournament host Wake Forest at 7 p.m. The Demon Deacons won a 2001 contest between the two teams 3-0 to take a 4-1 series lead over the Paladins.

Florida International 3, Western Carolina 0

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Western Carolina volleyball dropped its opening match of the season, falling 3-0 (19-25, 21-25, 15-25) to Florida International Friday at the Kentucky Invitational. The Panthers improve to 1-0 and the Catamounts fall to 0-1.

Senior Amanda Kerr led the club with 13 kills on 19 attacks with just one error for a .632 attack percentage. Setter Katie Hennessey had 26 assists.

The Catamounts played it close in the second game of the match. The score was tied at 17 and then 18 before FIU pulled ahead. Isadora Range had a service ace to give the Panthers a 19-18 advantage and the eventual win.

Western Carolina had a .117 hitting percentage while Florida International notched a .245 percentage.

The Catamounts return to action Saturday playing host Kentucky at 10 a.m. and Northwestern at 5 p.m.

Idaho 3, Appalachian State 0

FULLERTON, Calif. - Appalachian State University volleyball posted a solid effort in its season-opening match, but was unable to rally a comeback from an early deficit as the Apps fell to Idaho 3-0 in the first match of the Titans Point Classic Tournament hosted by Cal State Fullerton. With the loss, ASU drops to 0-1 on the young season, while the Vandals improve to 1-0.

The first set was hotly contested as the score was knotted on six different occasions and there were two lead changes.

Idaho got on the board first, with a kill by Debbie Pederson, but Appalachian was able to pull within in one point to make the score 10-9, with sophomore Maggie Seeds recording one of her five kills in the first set. Unfortunately, ASU was unable to pull any closer than one point, as the Vandals took a commanding 17-12 advantage before Kasey Sauls tallied her lone kill of the set to cut the deficit to four.

UI kept its lead and earned a 1-0 match advantage, defeating the Mountaineers 20-25.

The Black and Gold's offensive attack was split evenly in the second set, as Seeds, Becca Norris, Sauls and Maja Jechorek each notched three kills apiece.

Despite some strong offense, the set got off to a rough start for ASU, as it fell behind 6-1, thanks to Sarah Cromwell and Pederson who scored all the Vandals early points.

Freshman Kelsey Kuehner and junior Caroline Sedon pulled the Apps within three points as the duo was credited with a block assist.

Sauls also kept Idaho within a close distance, recording a kill to make the score 20-16, but the early deficit proved to be too much as Appalachian would score three more points compared to Idaho's five and the Vandals won the second set 25-19.

Facing their possible final set of the afternoon, the Apps started the third set off strong, playing toe-to-toe with Idaho, as Jechorek made the score 9-8, scoring one of her 11 kills in the match off an assist from Sauls.

Idaho's one point lead would be as close as ASU could make it, as an 8-4 run put the set out of reach for the Apps, with the Vandals taking an 18-12 lead and capturing an eventual 25-16 to win, to defeat Appalachian.

Seeds and Jechorek led the Black and Gold with 11 kills apiece, while senior libero Cassie Engelgau had 14 digs and Sauls recorded an impressive 30 assists. For the Vandals Cromwell had a game-high 12 digs and Meredith Rice tallied 15 digs.

Appalachian continues with the 2009 season, as it takes on tournament host Cal State Fullerton and Lamar, Saturday August 29, with the matches set to begin at 4:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.