BOONE, N.C. - Three attack errors by East Tennessee State and a kill by sophomore Maggie Seeds in the fifth set sealed a thrilling 3-2 win Tuesday evening at the Holmes Center, as the Mountaineers staged a comeback, after falling behind 2-1 sets to win to over take ETSU. With the win, ASU earns its second home victory of the 2009 campaign and improves to 1-1 in five set matches during the 2009 season. The Black and Gold also move to 4-10 on the season, while the Buccaneers drop to 5-8 overall.

Appalachian came out strong as they dominated play in first set action. ASU earned an early 12-11 lead off a kill by sophomore Kelly Rhein, after the set was tied on six different occasions. The Apps would hold onto their advantage the rest of the set, as a slam by senior Maja Jechorek put ASU up 16-13.

ETSU would not go away quietly, rallying to knot the set three more times before the Black and Gold pulled away, thanks in part to two attack errors by the Bucs and another kill by Kelly Rhein. Two more kills by Kelly Rhein and Jechorek pushed Appalachian to the 25-22 first set victory.

The second set was not as kind to the Mountaineers, who found themselves in an 8-2 hole early on. East Tennessee continued with its offensive assault, earning a 17-7 advantage, with Erin Ryan, McKayla Barber and Whitney Cogburn pacing the attack. An error by ASU and two kills by Barber put the set out of reach, as ETSU cruised the 25-11 second set win, to knot the match at one apiece.

The Apps sluggish play continued in the third set, with East Tennessee taking a commanding 16-5 advantage. After falling behind 21-7, Appalachian tried to rally a comeback, cutting their deficit to just ten points, thanks in part to back to back errors by Ryan and Jamie Stancliff and a kill by Seeds. The rally pressed on, with ASU making the score 23-13, but two errors by the Apps proved to be the difference-maker, giving the Bucs a 25-16 third set win.

Strong fourth set play led the Black and Gold to a 11-8 lead in the beginning of the set, with offense coming from Jechorek, Seeds and junior Caroline Sedon.

Despite Appalachian's lead, ETSU continued to battle puling within one at the 16-15 mark off a kill by Desiree Dyck. That would be the narrowest of margins, as ASU continued its solid play, with a kill by Seeds and error by Dyck giving ASU a five point lead. A kill by Jechorek and two

ETSU errors lead the Apps to the 25-18 fourth set win.

The Mountaineers carried their momentum into fifth set action, down for the last time at the 3-2 mark, before going up by as many as three points to earn the set and match win.

Maggie Seeds and Maja Jechorek tallied a team-high nine kills, while Becca Norris posted eight on the evening. Freshman Courtney Rhein had 20 digs to pace ASU on the defensive front, while Caroline Sedon recorded a career-high 11 block assists.

ASU looks to continue with its impressive play this weekend, as the Mountaineers travel to Charleston, S.C. for their first Southern Conference match of the 2009 campaign to take on The Citadel, Saturday September 26 at 1 p.m.

Charleston Southern 3, College of Charleston 1

CHARLESTON, S.C. - Freshman setter Liza Price (Fort Mill, S.C.) notched her first career double-double with 42 assists and 13 digs and senior outside hitter Emily Sawin (New Lenox, Ill.) had 12 kills and 12 assists as the College of Charleston (4-8) fell to Charleston Southern (9-6) 3-0 in a non-conference volleyball match at the Carolina First Arena in Charleston, S.C. The Buccaneers took the match by scores of 23-25, 25-15, 25-22 and 26-24.

The Cougars began the match strong as they built a 15-10 lead in set one before seeing CSU narrow the gap to 20-18 with an 8-5 stretch. They would eventually close to 23-22 before a kill from sophomore middle blocker Elyse Chubb (Peachtree City, Ga.) and a Bucs service error gave CofC a 25-23 victory.

It would be a far different story in the second set as Charleston Southern battled out to a 10-6 lead before the Cougars clawed back to within 11-9. CSU then used a 13-3 run, fueled by five College of Charleston errors and three kills from junior outside hitter Amanda Hill, to push to a 24-12 advantage. After allowing three straight points, a kill from junior middle blocker Amberle Trinder finished off the frame at 25-15 and tied the match at one set a piece.

The Cougars made Game 3 a much closer affair as they stayed within three points the entire set, eventually closing to within two points at 20-18. The teams would exchange the next eight points to make it 24-22 before another Trinder kill ended the set, this time at 25-22, and gave Charleston Southern a 2-1 match lead.

CofC jumped out to the early lead in the fourth set, plowing out to leads of 8-4 and 17-9 before CSU responded. A quick 5-0 run narrowed the gap to 17-14 and put the Bucs back in the set. Trailing 21-17, Charleston Southern put together a 9-3 run behind four kills from Hill and eventually overtook the Cougars for a 26-24 win and a 3-1 match victory.

Amanda Hill posted a pair of match-highs with 18 kills and 26 digs to pace CSU while senior setter Sam Sasan nearly had a triple double as she dished out 50 assists to go along with nine digs and seven kills. Junior middle blocker Cori Holeman added to the offensive attack with 12 kills, a .407 hitting percentage and notched a match-high seven blocks defensively while Trinder finished with 10 kills and six blocks. Junior libero Tricia Rodl chipped in with 16 digs and senior middle blocker Nichole Diller finished with seven kills and five blocks.

Liza Price, making the start in place of junior setter Cole Dawley (Charleston, S.C.), had a career match with 42 assists, 13 digs and four blocks while Emily Sawin had a double-double with 12 kills and 12 digs. Junior right side hitter Ginny Phillips (Raleigh, N.C.) also reached double-figures in kills and digs with 10 and 13, respectively, while sophomore outside hitter Katie Robinson (Gainesville, Fla.) added seven kills and 10 digs.

Sophomore middle blocker Sarah Havel (Carmel, Ind.) and Elyse Chubb contributed on both sides of the ball as they each delivered nine kills and had five and four blocks, respectively. Junior libero Paige Johnson (Sleepy Hollow, Ill.) finished the night with a team-high 16 digs.

The Cougars continue their seven match homestand on Saturday, September 26 as they kick off Southern Conference play against Western Carolina. First serve is set for 2 p.m. in Carolina First Arena.

NOTES
The loss snaps an eight game winning streak against Charleston Southern dating back to September 26, 2001 ... the match was the first between the teams since an October 13, 2004 meeting ... entering the match, CofC had won the last 24 sets against the Buccaneers ... the victory extends a five-match win streak for Charleston Southern and snaps the Cougars' three-match win streak.

Charlotte 3, Davidson 0

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Charlotte 49ers defeated the Davidson Wildcat volleyball team, 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-22), in the tightly-contested, cross-county battle at Halton Arena Tuesday evening.

Sarabeth Peele tallied 15 kills for Davidson (2-12), while Charlotte (9-6) had a pair of players with nine kills in Jenna Litoborski and Bianca Rouse. Hayley Lawson posted 28 assists for the Wildcats, while Charlotte setter Sheri Davis had 29. Jennifer Chamblee paced the Davidson defense with eight digs, and Kaitlin Knight made a match-best 12 for the 49ers.

After taking a 20-13 lead, the 'Cats dropped a heart breaker in the first set as the 49ers closed with a 12-3 run. Davidson used four kills from Peele and a pair from each Lawson and Jorden Benedict to pull away from an 8-8 deadlock in the opening set. But holding on to a 21-16 lead, Charlotte knotted the score with a 5-0 run. A Charlotte setting error put Davidson back up a point, but a Wildcat error tied the score once more. The teams traded points until, evened at 23, a Shari Davis kill and a Davidson error delivered the 25-23 victory in favor of Charlotte.

While Charlotte took a slight 9-6 lead to open the second set, the Wildcats would even the score at 11 behind a 5-1 run. The teams would side out for the next six possessions, until Charlotte used a pair of scores to grab a 19-17 edge. Davidson responded with a kill from Peele before a Charlotte error knotted the set again. Litoborski took the next point and a Davidson error pushed the margin to two once again, but Peele put the 'Cats back within one, 21-20. The 49ers, though, would close the match with a 4-0 run and claim a 25-20 win to go ahead 2-0 in the match.

Indicative of the match, the third set would come down to the last points as well. The Wildcats took a 6-3 lead to start the final set and held the margin through the first half. But with Davidson leading 13-10, Charlotte used a 5-2 span to tie the score at 15. The Wildcats answered with a 5-1 run of their own to take a 20-16 lead, but the 49ers won the next four points to even things at 20. Chamblee lifted the 'Cats a point, but a Litoborski kill combined with three straight Davidson errors gave Charlotte a 24-21 lead. Though the 'Cats would fight off one match point on a Peele putaway, Jennifer Webb would punch home the match-winner for the 25-22 victory.

Davidson will open Southern Conference play this weekend, traveling to Wofford for a 2 p.m. match Saturday, before heading to Furman for a 2 p.m. match Sunday.