Elon 3, Norfolk State 0

ELON, N.C. - The Elon volleyball team handed the Norfolk State Spartans a 3-0 loss in the nightcap of Friday's matches of the Phoenix Classic to keep its unbeaten streak alive. The Phoenix now owns an 11-0 record this season, while the Spartans dropped to 2-10. In the early match, Georgia State defeated Navy 3-1.

Leading the Phoenix was Jessica Barrow with eight kills on 17 attempts and three errors for an attack percentage of .353. Sarah Schermerhorn tallied seven kills while committing just one error for a hitting percentage of .500. Freshman Allison Johnson totaled six kills on seven attempts for an .857 hitting percentage. Three Phoenix players had five kills in the win. Setter Emily Regan finished with a match-high 23 assists.

The team recorded four total team blocks that included one solo and two block assists by Caroline Lemke. Traci Stewart, Carly Ledbetter and Celia Eddy notched one assisted block each.

Elayne Greer led the Spartans with seven kills, with Nicole Kessner, Paige Gary-Canty and Ellica Morris adding five kills each. Pacing the offensive effort was Kessner with 17 assists.

Trailing 5-6 in set one, the Phoenix used the serve of Stewart to score six straight points and take the lead at 11-6. Following two Spartan points, Elon jumped out to a 15-8 lead that included kills by Barrow, Regan and Lauren Copenhagen. Norfolk State brought the set within three at the 16-13 mark on a pair of Phoenix miscues and a kill by Kessner. The Phoenix answered and scored five of the final eight points to take set one 25-18.

Elon opened the second set by taking a commanding 11-4 lead that forced NSU to use its first timeout. Following the break, Norfolk State fought back to within three at the 11-8 mark on the serve of Sonlange Honore. The Spartans knotted the score at 13 with a service ace by Tracy Copley. Elon answered with three consecutive points to retake the lead at 16-13. The teams kept the set close, tying again at 20 before the Phoenix scored the final five points of the set to win 25-20.

The Phoenix posted 10 of the opening 14 points of set three that included two kills by Lemke and one by Ledbetter. The Spartans used a kill by Charlotte Armstead to bring the set within seven at 14-7, but the Phoenix recorded the next eight points behind the serve of Lizzie West to earn a 22-7 advantage. NSU fought back to within 10, but a kill by Johnson sealed the 3-0 win.

The Phoenix Classic resumes tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. when Navy takes on Norfolk State. Following the early game, Elon will face Georgia State at 12:30 p.m. The afternoon session of the tournament will begin at 4:30 p.m. as Georgia State and Norfolk State face off. Elon and Navy will square off in the final match of the tournament which is slated to begin at 7 p.m. Full coverage, including live stats of the matches, will be available at www.elonphoenix.com. 

College of Charleston 3, South Florida 2

CHARLESTON, S.C. - Junior setter Cole Dawley (Charleston, S.C.) notched a match-high 45 assists and added 10 digs for a double and sophomore middle blocker Sarah Havel (Carmel, Ind.) drilled 12 kills and 10 blocks as the College of Charleston (3-7) downed South Florida (6-3) 3-2 Friday evening at the Holiday Inn Charleston Riverview Classic in Charleston, S.C. CofC claimed the set by scores of 25-20, 16-25, 25-19, 21-25 and 15-7.

Trailing 2-1 in the match and leading by only three points at 12-9 in the fourth set, the College of Charleston rallied for a hard fought 25-21 victory to force a decisive fifth set. In that frame, South Florida raced out to a quick 3-0 lead behind a pair of kills from junior right side hitter Allie Boaz before the Cougars responded in force with a dominating 8-0 run.

With CofC up 8-3 after taking advantage of five Bulls errors during that stretch, the two teams traded the next six points to make it 10-6. That would be as close as USF would get, however, as five straight kills by the Cougars put the set, and the match, away at 15-7.

CofC started the match of strong as they used a 5-1 run with the score tied at 8-8 to pull out to a 13-9 lead in Game 1. It would be an advantage they would not surrender as they extended to a 14-10 lead and eventually pushed on to a 25-20 decision. Cole Dawley's 12 assists and Sarah Havel's five kills and three blocks helped fuel the Cougar's rally.

Trailing 1-0 and tied at 10-10 in the second set, South Florida responded with a 15-6 run behind eight CofC errors and a pair of kills by senior outside hitter Marcela Gurgel to earn a 25-16 victory, tying the match at 1-1.

USF maintained their momentum in the third frame as they jumped out to leads of 6-2 and 10-6 before College of Charleston rallied to tie the set at 10-10. A 6- 0 run then put the Bull up 16-10. It would be all they would need as they withstood a late CofC rally that left the final score at 25-19 and the match advantage at 2- 1 for South Florida.

The Cougars then fought their way out to a fourth set lead of 12-9 before going on to the 25-21 victory. That forced the decisive fifth set and set up their early run that helped decide the match.

South Florida was led by Marcela Gurgel with a match-high 20 kills to go along with nine digs while Allie Boaz added 14 kills and six blocks as the only other player in double-figure kills. Junior setter Mariana Thon paced the offense with 33 assists and contributed five digs and a match-best five service aces. Defensively, sophomore libero Janice Rivera led the way with 14 digs and redshirt-freshman middle blocker Caitlyn Breen posted seven blocks. Senior outside hitter Pamela Luiz chipped in with seven kills and seven digs.

Cole Dawley's 45 assists and 10 digs set up the College of Charleston's offense while Sarah Havel drilled a team-high tying 12 kills to go along with a career- high 10 blocks, two of them solo. She was joined in double-digit kills by senior outside hitter Emily Sawin (New Lenox, Ill.), who had 12 along with nine digs, and junior right side hitter Ginny Phillips (Raleigh, N.C.), who finished with 10 kills and four blocks.

On defense, junior libero Paige Johnson (Sleepy Hollow, Ill.) continued her strong start to the season with a match-high 16 digs and sophomore outside hitter Katie Robinson (Gainesville, Fla.) added seven digs and five kills. Sophomore middle blocker Elyse Chubb (Peachtree City, Ga.) finished with eight kills at a .583 hitting percentage.

The 2009 Holiday Inn Charleston Riverview Classic continues tomorrow afternoon as South Florida (6-3) takes on Lafayette (7-1) at 1 p.m. The College of Charleston wraps up play with a 7 p.m. match against Lafayette on tomorrow evening.

NOTES
This marked the first ever match in the state-of-the-art Carolina First Arena ... as a team, the College of Charleston hit .256 ... Havel's previous career-high for blocks was nine, twice, set against UNC Greensboro on October 12, 2008 and earlier this season on September 5 at Cincinnati.

Chattanooga 3, Grambling State 1

RUSTON, La. - The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga volleyball team improves to 6-3 on the season with a 3-1 (27-25, 25-22, 23-25) victory over Grambling State on the opening day of the Techster Home Tournament. The Lady Mocs were led by freshman outside hitter Kirsten Beasley (Amarillo, Texas), who recorded  10 kills and 12 digs and junior setter Bailee Chastain (Signal Mountain, Tenn.), who had 35 assists and 10 digs. It was the second double-double of the season for both players.

Tomorrow, UTC tangles with Southeastern Louisiana and Louisiana Tech in a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. Both matches will be streamed free of charge, with Southeastern Louisiana on www.LaTechTV.com/athletics.html and Louisiana Tech on www.LaTechSports.com all-access player.

Junior middle blocker Courtney Barnes (Franklin, Tenn.) tied her season-high for the second-straight match with six blocks along with seven kills and two aces.

Chastain kept the Lady Mocs' offense on target throughout the match, but also contributed defensively by blocking down a season-high five balls and had 10 digs. The 35 assists Chastain had on the night gave her 857 for her career. She passed Beck Brashers (1993-94) with 822 helpers in the last match against East Tennessee St.

On the defensive end, freshman Paula Passmore (Merrit Island, Fla.) posted her third 30 dig performance of the year with 31 against Grambling State. Passmore recorded two service aces during the match bringing her season total up to nine.

The outside hitter tonight may not have put up a lot of kills, but they were productive only registering 20 errors in the four sets. Sophomores Laura Brock (Chattanooga, Tenn.) and Jessica Scott (Lawrence, Kan.) each had eight kills on the night, while Scott also kicked in with seven digs.

Again just like against East Tennessee State, the Lady Mocs started on a blazing pace with 15 kills on only two errors in the first set 27-25 win posting a .302 attack percentage. On the other side, Grambling State recorded atleast 10 errors in the first three sets, but were able to surpass Chattanooga in kills with 17, 14 and 15, respectively.

After Chattanooga allowed the Tigers to get back in the match by dropping the third set 25-23, the squad battled back like they have done all year recording a decisive 15 kills taking the fourth set, 25-20, and the match. It was the fifth time the squad has defeated an opponent this season, 3-1, after falling in the third set.

The Lady Mocs return to Maclellan Gym on Wednesday when they face Belmont at 6:30 in the final tune up before conference play. Elon opens SoCon action for Chattanooga on Sept. 26 at 2 p.m., while the Lady Mocs battle UNC Greensboro Sept. 27 at 5 p.m.

Wofford 3, Providence 1

ORANGEBURG, S.C. - The Wofford volleyball team opened the 2009 SC State Spikefest with a 3-1 win over Providence on Friday.

Providence took an early lead in the first set, but the Terriers battled back to tie the score at nine, then went on a 6-1 run to claim a 15-10 lead. Wofford would maintain control for the remainder of the set, taking the 25-20 win.

The second set saw 15 ties before two straight attack errors from Wofford gave the set to Providence, 27-25. The Terriers recovered in set three, taking an early 11-5 lead en route to a 25-11 victory.

The Terriers controlled the fourth and final set, using strong serving to keep Providence out of system and take the 25-19 win.

Providence was led by Lauren Fletcher's 14 kills, while setter Carly Morrison recorded 32 assists. Libero Cassie Muzzonigro led the team with 16 digs in the loss.

Two Terriers recorded double-doubles, while senior setter Joanna Suddath earned a triple-double with 11 kills, 40 assists, and 13 digs. Junior Stacy Byrd led the team with 18 kills and added 12 digs, while senior Shanna Hughes topped the team with 20 digs and contributed 11 kills. Freshman Arden Anderson also notched double-digit kills with 10, while also racking up seven total blocks.

With the win, Wofford improves to 9-2 on the season while Providence falls to 5-9. The Terriers look to extend their eight-match winning streak as they take on Winston-Salem State at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.

Wofford 3, Winston-Salem State 0

ORANGEBURG, S.C. - The Wofford volleyball team swept Winston-Salem State 3-0 for the third time in the past week to finish the first day of the SC State Spikefest with an undefeated 2-0 record.

The first set opened with the teams trading points until a 5-0 run by Wofford broke a 10-10 tie and gave the Terriers a 15-10 lead. The Terriers controlled the remainder of the set, winning 25-19.

Wofford dominated the second set, jumping to an early 12-4 lead. The Terriers recorded a team attack percentage of .514 while holding the Lady Rams to a .000 team hitting percentage en route to claiming the 25-8 win.

Winston-Salem State rallied in the third set, claiming a slight lead at 8-6, but the Terriers powered back to tie the score at 8 and regain control of the lead for the remainder of the set. With a Shanna Hughes kill, Wofford claimed the third and final set by a score of 25-19.

Annika Barnwell led the Lady Rams with nine kills, while libero LaKeisha Hawes racked up 18 digs in the loss.

Freshman outside hitter Rachel Woodlee led the Terriers with 14 kills and a .407 hitting mark while setter Joanna Suddath contributed 29 assists. Senior Shanna Hughes led the Terrier defense with 13 digs in the win.

With the win, the Terriers improve to 10-2 on the season and hold on to a nine-match winning streak. Wofford will take the court again Saturday to face UNC- Asheville at 1:00 pm and Hampton at 5:00 pm.

Michigan State 3, Furman 0
Furman 3, Presbyterian 0

CLEMSON, S.C. -- Freshman outside hitter Natalie Braun hit .423 with 14 kills and six digs to lead the Furman volleyball team to a 3-0 win over Presbyterian Friday afternoon at the Clemson Classic in Clemson, S.C. The Paladins won a close set one 26-24, before winning set two 25-18 and set three 25-21.

Junior Katherine Hall posted a .304 attack percentage with 10 kills and three block assists, while Caroline Adams added seven kills and a team-high five block assists. Senior Stephanie Smith led the Paladins with 11 digs.

Furman dropped a 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-12) match to 17th-ranked Michigan State earlier in the day. Sophomore Kelly Kirby led the Paladins with nine kills, while senior setter Kelsey Salava picked up 24 assists in the loss.

Furman (7-2) will play at Clemson Saturday at 10 a.m. in the Paladins' final match of the tournament.

New Orleans 3, Samford 1
Samford 3, Memphis 1

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The Samford University volleyball team split its first day of action in the Memphis Tiger Invitational Friday as it dropped its first match to New Orleans before defeating host team Memphis. The win over the Tigers snapped a streak of seven straight losses by the Bulldogs. Samford now moves to 4-7 while the Privateers are 5-5 and the Tigers are 2-10.

"I am very proud of this team," Samford head coach Derek Schroeder said. "We have been searching for an identity and a consistent level of play all preseason. In tonight's match, we took a big step forward in our season growth. [Sheriden Stangohr] and [Rachel Gadberry] were very fast and determined in transition. [Alexis Bauer] and [Samantha Bland] were an anchor on serve-receive."

Against Memphis, the Bulldogs dropped the first set by just two points but rallied back win the next three to capture their first win in seven matches. Samford took an early lead and kept it for most of the first set but the Tigers fought back to win, 25-23. The Bulldogs then dominated the second set, leading by as much as 11, and going on to win, 25-14. The third set was a tight fight to the finish, going into extra points as Samford won, 29-27. After quickly falling behind by four in the fourth set, Samford forged ahead and took the lead, winning 25-19.

The Bulldogs out-hit (.195 to .174), out-dug (53 to 42) and out-blocked (13.5 to 8) the Tigers. That is the sixth time Samford has accomplished that this year. Several Bulldogs achieved career and season highs against the Tigers.

Freshman Allie Bettinger notched a career-high 20 kills and three assists while also hitting .311 and posting two aces, two digs and eight block assists and leading in points with 22.5. Stangohr added 15 kills and five block assists along with 20.5 points, three aces and one dig. Gadberry posted a career-high eight block assists while also added three kills and two digs.

Bauer and Bland each tallied 13 digs against the Tigers, a season high for Bland. Bland also added a season-high three kills and one assist while Bauer posted two assists and one kill. Hillary Fountain dished out a season-high 46 assists while adding four digs, three block assists, three kills and one ace. Casey Garvey tallied five digs, one assist and a career-high two aces.

Elizabeth Neisler tallied 11 kills on a career high 34 attempts, scoring 13.5 points and posting a career high in digs (4) and block assists (5). Shelby Brandon had five kills and five block assists along with three digs.

Memphis was led by Altrese Hawkins and Casey Sines who posted 11 and 10 kills, respectively. Sines also hit a team-high .471 while Christine Bach and Stephanie Pauls lead in assists with 20 and 19, respectively. Becky Shaffer posted a team-high 12 digs while Carolyn Baker tallied a team-high five blocks.

Despite out-hitting (.217 to .204), out-blocking (13 to 6) and out-digging (54 to 52) in its first match against New Orleans, the Bulldogs fell to the Privateers, 3-1 (24-26, 22-25, 25-16, 16-25).

Samford was up 24-21 in the final minutes of the first set but just could not put it away. The Privateers held the Bulldogs off for five straight points to win the first set, 26-24. Samford dropped another close set in the second, 25-22, before finally capturing a set of their own in the third by a score of 25-16. However, UNO won the fourth and final set, 25-16, to get the match win.

Gadberry led the Bulldogs against the Privateers posting a season high in hitting with a .588 attack percentage and in kills with 11. She also had three digs and four block assists. Stangohr was second with 10 kills while leading in points with 16. She also added eight block assists and one block solo as well as one service ace.

Bauer and Bland led in digs wit 11 and 10, respectively. Bauer also had one assists while Bland added two assists and one ace. Fountain led in assists, dishing out 37 while posting a season-high hitting percentage of .429. She added three kills, eight digs, one aces and one block assist. Garvey added eight digs and one assist while Alicia Roth served up one ace.

Bettinger just missed her third double-double with nine kills and nine digs while added one ace and one block assist. Neisler posted eight kills and three digs with five block assists and three digs while Brandon added three kills, five block assists, two digs and two assists.

New Orleans was led by Kaley Hubbard and Maria Szivros who both posted 12 kills. Hubbard also led the Privateers in blocks with four while Nicky Valenti led in digs with 24 and Hajnalka Molnar dished out a team-high 36 assists.

The Bulldogs will play two more in the Tiger Invitational on Saturday, beginning with a noon match against UALR. Samford will then wrap up play against cross-town rival UAB at 4:30 p.m.  Live stats are available through link on the schedule page at www.samfordsports.com or through links at the tournament page on www.gotigersgo.com. Results will be post after each match and a full recap will be available on www.samfordsports.com after the conclusion of the last match.

South Carolina State 3, The Citadel 2
The Citadel 3, North Carolina Central 1

Orangeburg, S.C. - The Citadel Volleyball team earned their second victory of the season on Friday after splitting their matches on the opening day of the South Carolina State Spikefest. The Bulldogs fell to host South Carolina State in five sets, 3-2 in the morning match. In the afternoon, the Cadets downed North Carolina Central, 3-1.

The Citadel opened the tournament with a tough five set match with host South Carolina State (3-8), eventually falling 3-2. The host team took the match 26- 24, 20-25, 17-25, 25-17 and 15-9. Freshman Rachael Farrell recorded a double-double for The Citadel, pouring in 11 kills and 11 digs to go along with a service ace. Sophomore Alyssa Holum added 33 assists, nine digs and a team-high four service aces while junior Amanda Beal contributed 11 kills. Bria Brimmer had 40 assists and 14 digs to lead South Carolina State.

In the afternoon match, the Bulldogs defeated North Carolina Central (1-11) to earn their second victory of the season, 3-1. It was the second time defeating the Eagles for The Citadel. The Cadets took the match in four sets, winning 25-18, 23-25, 25-16 and 25-16. The Bulldogs won their previous match-up on the opening weekend of the season at the Hilton RTP/North Carolina Central University Tournament. The Cadets also won that match, 3-1. Junior Tatum Jestila recorded a double-double for the Bulldogs, tallying 11 kills and 10 digs. Freshman Rachael Farrell added 14 kills and two service aces for The Citadel. Belin Behncke-Biney leads the Eagles with 18 kills.

"It was a tough loss this morning," said Head Coach Carolyn Geiger. "I don't want to take anything away from South Carolina State because they played well, but I was disappointed in this loss and our overall performance. Thankfully, we rebounded and came back strong against North Carolina Central. We are now looking ahead to tomorrow's tough matches against Alabama State and Charleston Southern."

The Bulldogs return to action on Saturday as they face Alabama State at 9 a.m. and conclude the South Carolina State Spikefest against Charleston Southern at 1 p.m.

Game statistics and a game recap will be available online at www.CitadelSports.com following Saturday's matchups. For more information on Bulldog Volleyball or The Citadel Athletics, visit the official website of Bulldog Athletics.

Georgia Southern 3, James Madison 0

ROCK HILL, S.C. - Handling the James Madison Dukes in three sets, the Georgia Southern volleyball team opened the Wingate Inn Classic Friday morning with a win. The Eagles, 8-4, recorded the victory 25-19, 25-19, 25-20, to drop James Madison to 4-7 on the year.

Georgia Southern hit .325 for the match led by Bethany Sanford (Avondale, Ariz.) with 11 kills. The sophomore outside hitter was followed by Hannah Nelson (Norcross, Ga.) and Moriah Bellissimo (Blackstone, Va.) with six kills each. Freshman Kate Van Dyke (Shawnee, Kan.) continues to lead the Eagles in assists, posting 28 against James Madison.

James Madison was held to a .161 opening set attack percentage as the Eagles jumped out with an early lead. The Dukes tied the match at 10-all, but a 9-4 Eagle run opened the score to 19-14. James Madison would get to within two at 20- 18, but Georgia Southern closed out the set with a 5-1 run.

Up one set in the match, Georgia Southern showed a repeat performance in the second stanza. James Madison was forced to take two timeouts as the Eagles held a steady lead after a 6-all tie. Holding as big a lead as seven at 20-13, Georgia Southern would take the second set, 20-19, heading into intermission with a 2-0 match lead.

Georgia Southern closed out the match hitting a game- high .346 from the floor in the third set. The Dukes took the early lead before the Eagles tied the set at 11-all and took the final advantage.  Georgia Southern put together a 7-3 run to hold an 18-14 lead. Following a James Madison timeout at 22-19, the Dukes recorded their last kill of the game to pull to within two points, 22-20, but three Duke errors secured the set and match for the Eagles at 25-20.

Georgia Southern takes a short break and returns to the court tonight at 7:30 p.m. to take on host school Winthrop. The Eagles then close out the Wingate Inn Classic on Saturday at 11 a.m. facing off against Gardner- Webb.

Winthrop 3, Georgia Southern 2

ROCK HILL, S.C. - Bethany Sanford's game-high 21 kills were not enough for the Georgia Southern volleyball team to overcome Winthrop in the second game of day one at the Wingate Inn Invitational. Georgia Southern and Winthrop traded sets as the Eagles hit .266 for the match. Georgia Southern fell to 8-5 overall this season, while Winthrop improved to 7- 5.

Recording 64 kills, 58 assists and 71 digs, Georgia Southern struck .266 from the floor in five sets to Winthrop's 58 kills, 55 assists and 57 digs for a .198 hitting percentage. GSU was led by Sanford (Avondale, Ariz.) with 21 kills, followed by Lauren Claybaugh (Danville, Calif.) who added 15. Freshman Kate Van Dyke (Shawnee, Kan.) posted 50 assists as senior Cristin Haines (Palos Heights, Ill.) recorded a game-high 20 digs.

Georgia Southern got off to a slow start in the opening set as Winthrop went up 4-0 partially by two Eagle errors. Three Eagle kills by three contributors pulled Georgia Southern to within one at 6-5. But a 3-0 run by Winthrop widened the score to 9-5, forcing a GSU timeout. Seven tied scores would follow with the last tie at 20-all before Winthrop pulled away with a three-point lead at 23-20. Winthrop closed out the opening set, 25-23.

GSU wasted no time attacking early in the second set, opening with a quick 13-4 lead before a Winthrop timeout. The Eagles hit .455 from the floor recording 18 kills led by Sanford and Claybaugh, who each posted six. Georgia Southern's largest lead occurred at 22-7 before securing the second set, 25-11, thereby evening the match at 1-all.

Both teams battled in the third set that witnessed 11 ties and four lead changes. Winthrop tied the score for the final time at 17 apiece before taking the last lead. Winthrop capped off the set with three Eagle errors, three kills and a service ace from Kristin Cruse.

Winthrop opened the fourth set gaining the early advantage, but it would be short-lived as Georgia Southern tied the match at 10-all. Winthrop managed to regain the lead between the next six ties before Georgia Southern gained the lead for the first time since 2-1. The Eagles closed out the set with kills from Sanford and Hannah Nelson (Norcross, Ga.), securing the stanza off a Winthrop error at 25-22. GSU evened the match at 2-all, forcing a deciding fifth set.

Claybaugh posted three kills in the final set, but was matched by Winthrop's Kellie Sellers. Winthrop kept the set close as the teams tossed the lead back- and-forth. Tied at 10-all, Winthrop went up 11-10 before Claybaugh's second kill of the set evened the game at 11-all. But Winthrop posted a 4-1 run to close out the set, 15-12, securing the match with it.

Georgia Southern closes out the Wingate Inn Invitational tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. The Eagles take on Gardner-Webb for their final fall tournament match before opening Southern Conference play next week.

UNC Wilmington 3, Western Carolina 2

CONWAY, S.C. - Western Carolina volleyball (3-8) fell 3-2 (25-22, 25-16, 21-25, 21-25, 11-15) to UNC Wilmington Friday in the first day of action at the Coastal Carolina (8-3) Tournament.

Rebecca Stoltz led the Catamounts with 12 kills and had just one error on 21 attacks. She had a .524 attack percentage. Senior libero Liz Rondone had 27 digs in the match.

Western Carolina had a solid hold on the match, leading 2-0, but the Catamounts dropped the final three games as UNC Wilmington came roaring back. UNCW had a roaring .476 attack percentage in the fifth game to secure the match.

Western Carolina returns to action on Saturday playing Charlotte at 9 a.m. and host Coastal Carolina at 6 p.m.

Georgetown 3, UNC Greensboro 1

GREENSBORO, N.C. - UNC Greensboro was able to take the first set from Georgetown, but the Hoyas stormed back to win the final three sets to win, 3-1, at the UNCG Tournament on Friday night in Fleming Gymnasium.

The Spartans fell to 4-7 on the season, while the Hoyas improved to 7-5 this year.

"Once again we started off strong, but we need to learn how to be more mentally tough to be able to finish matches," said head coach Patrick Nicholas. "We continue to work on finding leaders within the team and that will come as we become more of a cohesive team. I am pleased though that the team continues to improve with every match. We are finally getting a few players back from injury and I think that, in addition to becoming a stronger team, will help us get to where we need to be as the season progresses."

Catherine Hanners led the Spartan offense with 11 kills and Caley Redden had 10. Ari Lysacek had 35 assists for UNCG, while Kayleigh Knerr led the team with 16 digs.

Vanessa Dorismond, Lindsay Wise and Kortney Robinson each had 10 kills for Georgetown and Ashley Malone added 37 assists. Robinson also had 14 kills to record a double-double.

The Spartans started the match off right as they jumped out to a 10-5 lead on a Redden kill, one of eight first-set kills for her. After UNCG extended its lead to 16-8 on a block by Redden and Kayren Finney, Georgetown was able to mount a comeback to take a 21-20 lead. The Spartans rattled off five of the final seven points in the set to win the set, 25-23.

The second set saw the two sides trade points for most of set. They saw themselves tied late in the set again, this time at 22, before Georgetown won the final three points to take the set, 25-23.

The Hoyas carried their momentum into the third set and took at 16-10 lead midway through the set. The Spartans were never able to mount a comeback in the set and Georgetown took a 2-1 set advantage.

Georgetown led the entire fourth set, but the Spartans were able to pull within 15-14. UNCG's comeback wasn't enough as the Spartans fell, 25-19, to seal the victory for the Hoyas.

The Spartans return to action tomorrow in the second day of the UNCG Tournament. UNCG faces La Salle at 2:30 p.m. before taking on NC State at 7 p.m. in the final match of the tournament.

The first two matches of the afternoon were a pair of 3-0 sweeps. Georgetown took just over an hour to defeat La Salle as they kicked off the tournament on Friday morning. Vanessa Dorismond had a team-high 10 kills and an incredible .474 hitting percentage to lead the Hoyas. Rachel Stemper had seven kills to pace the Explorers in their opening loss.

Megan Smith and Stephanie Wallin led the charge for High Point as they swept NC State in the second match of the day. Smith had 15 kills and Wallin added 11 to lead the Panthers. Keri Demar was the offensive leader for NC State with 12 kills in the match.

In the third match of the day, NC State was able to defeat La Salle, 3-1. Demar once again led NC State, this time with 15 kills, and Kelly Wood chipped in 11. Rachel Stemper had a match-high 22 kills for the Explorers in the losing effort.

Winthrop 3, Davidson 1

ROCK HILL, S.C. - The Davidson Wildcats dropped the opening match of the Wingate Inn Classic to the host Winthrop Eagles, 3-1 (16-25, 25-20, 25-23, 25- 18) Friday afternoon at the Winthrop Coliseum.

Sarabeth Peele posted a double-double to lead Davidson (2-9) with 19 kills and 13 digs, while Winthrop (6-5) placed a pair of hitters in double figures. Kaley Viola paced the Eagles with 14 kills, and Kelly Taylor added 12.

Ariel Ley and Madison Benedict each tallied seven kills, and Hayley Lawson had 38 assists. Molly Crenshaw led the Wildcat defense with 14 digs.

Winthrop setter Kelsey Hall chipped in 43 assists, and the Eagles had a pair of defenders with double-digits in digs in Kristin Cruse (13) and Ginnie Talley (10).

The Wildcats jumped out to an early 8-4 lead, forcing the Eagles into a quick timeout, and captured an easy 25-16 win to open the match. Peele tallied five kills and a pair of aces in the first set to lead the Wildcats, who opened a 21-13 lead late in the game. Madison Benedict closed the set with four straight kills before an Eagle hitting error lifted Davidson to a 25-16 win.

The two teams traded possessions to open the second set, until a 4-0 span gave Winthrop an 11-7 lead and prompted the Wildcats to take a timeout. Back- to-back hitting errors by the Eagles put the 'Cats back within two, but Winthrop started to pull away again as Davidson took another timeout, trailing 18-13. A 4-1 Winthrop run opened a 22-14 margin, before a kill from Jorden Benedict and a pair of Eagle hitting errors forced the Eagles to call a timeout. Erin Lupfer posted two kills along with a putaway from Ley, but Winthrop evened the match at a set apiece with the 25-20 win.

Kills from Lupfer, Ley and Peele helped Davidson take a 7-5 edge, but the Eagles rattled off four straight scores to reclaim a 9-7 lead. Two kills from Peele cut Winthrop's lead to one, 11-10, but Taylor and Carolyn Weed pushed the margin back to two. Davidson wouldn't get closer, but the Wildcats fought off four set points until Viola finally secured the 25-23 win to give the Eagles a 2-1 edge in the match.

The fourth and final set was tied at six and again at 12-12, before three Wildcat hitting errors and an ace by Cruse put the Eagles ahead 16-12. Davidson would never recover, and Winthrop closed out the match with a 9-6 run en route to the 25-18 victory.

Davidson will return to action with a double-header on the final day of action at the Wingate Inn Classic. The Wildcats will play James Madison at 1 p.m. and close out the day with Gardner-Webb at 5 pm.

Liberty, Appalachian State 0

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.- in the first match of the Black and Gold Challenge, Appalachian State University volleyball could not keep pace with a strong Liberty squad, as the Flames swept the Apps 3-0 Friday afternoon. With the loss, the Mountaineers drop to 3-8 on the season, while LU improves to an even 5-5 overall.

The match got off to a rough start for Appalachian, who came out sluggish in first set action, as Liberty notched an early 9-3 lead. ASU's deficit would increase with the Flames continuing their solid play going up 15-5. Kelsey Kuehner and Maggie Seeds tried to get the offense going, but it was not enough as LU's offensive assault would not let up.

A kill by Caroline Sedon and block assist by Sedon and Seeds cut Liberty's lead to just six at the 16-10 mark, but that would be the narrowest of margins for the Apps down the stretch, with Liberty capitalizing on four costly Appalachian errors, to hand ASU a 25-13 first set loss.

A mid-set 7-0 run by Liberty and two kills down the stretch by Chelanie Mccarty proved to the difference-maker in ASU's second set loss to Liberty.

Senior Maja Jechorek got the Mountaineers off to a solid start, as the two teams battled in the beginning of second set play, in what would be a back and forth affair. The scored was knotted four times before each team scored nine points, with the last tie coming at the nine all mark.

An attack error by Nicki Scripko and bad set by Kallie Corbin pushed ASU ahead 11-9, but that would be the Black and Gold's last advantage of the set, as a 7-0 run put Liberty ahead 17-11.

ASU tried to rally a comeback, pushing the score to 20-18 with Lauren Swecker scoring the Mountaineers lone ace of the match and Jechorek slamming home a kill, but that would be as close at it got, with LU squeaking out the close 25-20 victory.

Appalachian continued with its strong play early on in the third set, with Seeds and Jechorek contributing to ASU's offense. Liberty however, grabbed a five point lead at the 12-7 mark, with Mccarty scoring a kill and Rebecca Warren tallying an ace for the Flames.

Errors continued to hinder the Apps who fell behind 16-8, thanks in part to three Appalachian attack errors. Liberty used the ASU mistakes to its advantage, and ran away with the 25-14 set and 3-0 match win.

The Mountaineers return to action Saturday September 19, as they play tournament-host Wake Forest at 12:30 p.m. and then take on ACC-power Duke at 4:30 p.m.