Chattanooga 3, East Tennessee State 1
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - In a rematch of the first bout of the season, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga downed host East Tennessee State, 3-1 (25-22, 25-20, 23-25, 25-23). The Lady Mocs were led tonight by another newcomer in freshman outside hitter Meagan Ernd (Munter, Ind.) posting a match-high 13 kills as well as four digs. Ernd is the fourth newcomer on this year's squad to pace Chattanooga (5-3) in kills helping to drop the Bucs to 3-7.
The team controlled the net blocking down 13 total attacks with middle blockers junior Courtney Barnes (Franklin, Tenn.) and sophomore Ellie Kuhn (San Antonio, Texas) each recording six blocks, two of them solo.
The duo was not only successful defensively, but they both had double-digit kills that combined to tally 25. Additionally, Kuhn went the entire match without a mistake resulting in a .579 attack percentage on the night.
Setting up the players was junior Bailee Chastain (Signal Mountain, Tenn.) who notched a season-high 40 assists and came away with nine digs, one shy of her second double-double of the season. Additionally, sophomore outside hitter Laura Brock (Chattanooga, Tenn.) had eight kills and seven digs.
Freshman libero Paula Passmore (Merritt Island, Fla.) dug up 19 balls pacing the Chattanooga defense.
On the service line, sophomore right side Stephanie Harville (Morristown, Tenn.) recorded a career-high two service aces tonight and generated seven kills, five blocks and 11 digs. Sophomore transfer from Austin Peay Dakota Davis (Cleveland, Tenn.) made her first appearance with the Lady Mocs serving in the second set.
Chattanooga won the match by only committing 15 errors and maintaining a .287 attack percentage during the match, while ETSU made 28 costly mistakes.
To start the match, the Lady Mocs were on fire hitting .432 with 19 kills in the opening set, 25-22. They cooled off slightly in the second set, but still managed a 25-20 win with 12 kills. After the intermission, the Bucs were able to take one set, 25-23, thanks to six errors by Chattanooga. The Lady Mocs finished off ETSU in the fourth set, 25-23, by only having two errors, while the Bucs had 10.
This weekend, Chattanooga travels to Ruston, La., for the Lady Techster Home Tournament that starts Friday against Grambling at 6 p.m. The Lady Mocs play their first back-to-back games the following day beginning at 1 p.m. with Southeastern Louisiana followed by host Louisiana Tech. Then, Belmont comes to Maclellan Gym Sept. 23 at 6:30 p.m. wrapping up the pre-conference schedule.
Elon 3, Radford 0
ELON, N.C. - Lauren Copenhagen led the Phoenix volleyball team to a 3-0 (25-8, 25-11, 26-24) win over the Radford Highlanders on Tuesday evening at Alumni Gym. Copenhagen recorded 10 kills on 23 attempts for an attack percentage of .348. With the win, the Phoenix reached the 10-win plateau with a perfect record. Radford fell to 7-5 on the season.
"I was very happy with how we started the first two sets," head coach Mary Tendler said. "AJ (Allison Johnson) and Celia (Eddy) stepped into tonight's match and were extremely productive. Each has had good practices and I was happy to see it translate into a match."
Traci Stewart was second on the team with six kills and added two service aces. Sarah Schermerhorn finished with five kills and three service aces.
The Phoenix defense held Radford to a -.036 hitting percentage and was led by Caroline Lemke who recorded two solo blocks and two assisted blocks. Stewart and Celia Eddy finished with three assisted blocks each, while Schermerhorn, Emily Regan and Allison Johnson totaled two assisted blocks each.
Lauren Clary led the Highlanders with five kills, while Laura Waddell and Emily Hayes finished with four each. Hayes tallied the only Radford block on the night.
The Phoenix set the tone early in the first set, jumping out to an early 12-6 lead that forced Radford to use its first timeout. Behind the service of Schermerhorn, Elon rattled off 10 straight points to take a 22-7 lead. A pair of kills by Copenhagen and an attack error by the Highlanders allowed the Phoenix to take set one 25-8.
Elon opened strong in set two, gaining an 11-4 edge that included five straight points on the service of Lizzie West. Radford fought to within 10 at 18-8 on a Phoenix error. Elon answered with seven of the final 10 points to seal the set 25-11.
Radford took an early lead in set three, scoring three straight to bring the score to 9-5. Following an Elon timeout, the Phoenix scored six straight points that included a Stewart service ace and two kills by Regan. Radford battled back to tie the score at 16 on a kill by Clary. The score knotted four more times, but the Phoenix were able to record the final two points to win the final set 26-24.
Elon will look to keep its winning streak alive as it hosts the Phoenix Classic this weekend, September 18-19. The Phoenix will welcome Navy, Georgia State and Norfolk State for the two-day tournament. Elon will face Norfolk at 7 p.m. on Friday before taking on Georgia State and Navy on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Full coverage of the tournament will be available at www.elonphoenix.com.
Wofford 3, Winston-Salem State 0
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Wofford volleyball team claimed a 3-0 sweep of Winston-Salem State for the second time this season on Tuesday night.
The Terriers led the first half of the opening set, taking a 15-10 lead before the Lady Rams mounted a comeback. WSSU tied the score at 22 and fought off one game point to bring the score to 23-24, but a service error gave Wofford the 25-23 victory.
WSSU claimed the first point of the second set, but would not lead again as the Terriers pulled away to a commanding 13-5 lead en route to a 25-12 win. The third set saw ties at four, five, and seven points before Wofford began to pull away, eventually claiming the 25-15 victory.
Winston-Salem State was led by senior Annika Barnwell's 9 kills, while sophomore Ashley Harris added six. Libero LaKeisha Hawes led the Lady Hawk defense with 10 digs.
Freshman Rachel Woodlee led the Terriers with 10 kills, while senior Shanna Hughes added eight. Setter Joanna Suddath recorded 27 assists and added six kills in the winning effort. Hughes and libero Sarah Palmer each contributed seven digs.
With the win, the Terriers improve to 8-2 and extend their winning streak to seven straight matches. Winston-Salem State falls to 1-10 overall. The Terriers will next travel to Orangeburg, S.C. to take part in the South Carolina State Tournament where they will face Providence, UNC-Asheville, Hampton and WSSU.
Furman 3, Winthrop 1
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Junior Katherine Hall hit .359 with 16 kills to lead the Furman volleyball team to a 3-1 win over Winthrop Tuesday night at Alley Gymnasium in the team's home opener. The Paladins won set one 25-23, before the Eagles took set two 26-24. Furman then won sets three (25-21) and four (25-19) to seal the win.
Freshman Chandler Ambrester picked up 10 kills in the Paladin victory, while senior setter Kelsey Salava added 38 assists. Rookie Natalie Braun tallied 15 digs, and sophomore Carolyn Nicoletti collected 14 digs in the win. Freshman middle blocker Caroline Adams recorded six block assists and one block solo to lead the team.
Furman (6-1) will play at the Clemson Classic this weekend. On Friday, the Paladins will face Michigan State at 11 a.m. and Presbyterian at 5 p.m. Furman will play Clemson Saturday at 10 a.m. to conclude the tournament.
Charlotte 3, Appalachian State 0
CHARLOTTE, N.C.- Appalachian State University volleyball could not hang with a talented Charlotte squad Tuesday evening, as the 49ers swept the Mountaineers 3-0. With the loss, ASU drops to 3-7 on the season, while UNCC improves to 5-6 on the season.
It was all Charlotte early on in first set action, notching a 7-1 advantage over a slow-starting Appalachian squad. ASU picked up its pace, pulling within three points at the 10-7 mark, with Kelsey Kuehner leading the Appalachian offense. The Black and Gold continued to compete, still down by just three, with the score at 19-16, with senior Becca Norris tallying two kills and Kuehner chipping in as well.
However, three points turned out to be the narrowest of margins for Appalachian, as three kills by the 49ers and a service error by the Apps gave Charlotte the 25-20 first set win.
ASU struggled to find its footing in second set play as well, facing an early 6-2 deficit, with two Appalachian ball handling errors proving to be costly. The Apps got back on track, cutting Charlotte's lead to just two points with Maja Jechorek slamming home a kill to make it 12-10. Unfortunately for the Mountaineers, points by Jenna Litoborski pushed the set out of reach at the 16-12 mark. A kill by Kuehner made the score 21-15, but it was too little too late, with the 49ers earning the 25-19 second set advantage.
The Apps posted a valiant effort battling back and forth with UNCC in the third set, down just 9-8, with Maggie Seeds getting the Black and Gold going offensively. A 5-0 run by the 49ers put the Apps in a hole they couldn't climb out of, down 13-9. Appalachian cut the deficit to five at 16-11, but kills by Litoborski put the match away, with ASU dropping a 25-17 third set decision.
Norris and Seeds lead ASU on the offensive front with six kills, while Litoborksi had a match high 15 kills.
The Mountaineers continue with their 2009 season Friday September 18, as the compete in their last regular-season tournament, the Black and Gold Challenge in Winston-Salem, N.C. ASU's first match is set for 4:30 p.m. against Liberty.