Appalachian State 3, The Citadel 2
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Similiar to its match on Tuesday, Appalachian State University volleyball rallied after falling behind 2 sets to 1 to come from behind and defeat The Citadel in its first Southern Conference match of the 2009 campaign. With the win, ASU improves to 5-10 on the season and 1-0 in league play, while the Bulldogs drop to 3-13 and 0-1 in the SoCon. Also with the victory, the Apps move their winning streak to two matches in a row.
It was all the Mountaineers in first set action, who grabbed a commanding 11-2 early advantage. The offensive assault revolved around sophomore Kelly Rhein who had three kills early on, while Maggie Seeds and Caroline Sedon chipped in as well.
ASU did not let up, continuing their dominance as back to back points from Seeds kept the Black and Gold ahead by 10 points.
Two final kills by Sedon put the first set away, giving the Appps the impressive 25-11 first set win.
Unfortunately things did not go as smoothly for Appalachian in the second set who found themselves down by six points at the 11-5 mark, with Jessica Maxwell leading the Bulldog attack.
Points by Becca Norris and Kelly Rhein tied the match at 14 all, but The Citadel was relentless as three kills by Jestila Tatum, earned the Bulldogs a 20-16 advantage.
The Citadel continued with its solid play, shutting down the ASU offense, tying the match at one all, with the 25-20 second set win.
The third set was not kind to Appalachian either, as the Bulldogs came out on fire, going up 10-2 with points coming from all over. ASU pulled within six points thanks to a service ace by Maja Jechorek and kill by Norris.
The Apps continued to try to muster a comeback, pulling within four points at 17-13, but that was as close as it got for a sluggish Appalachiain squad who dropped the third set 25-18.
Despite falling behind 2-1, the Black and Gold did not go away quietly, with the two teams trading points early on in the heated affair in fourth set action.
ASU earned a four point lead with Sedon and Kelly Rhein tallying kills and with that advantage Appalachian never looked back, as Jechorek slammed three kills and Sedon two, helping the Apps cruise to a 25-14 fourth set victory.
With the momentum in their favor, the Mountaineers played strong in the fifth and final set, going up 11-6 with Norris pacing the offense. Kills by Jechorek and Sedon an attack error by The Citadel led ASU to the 3-2 match win and 15-9 fifth set victory.
Three Apps finished the contest with double-figure kills, as Kelly Rhein paced the group with a career-high 19. Jechorek and Seeds each recorded 15 and 10 respectively.
Sophomore setter Kasey Sauls was impressive in the Mountaineers win as well, as she tallied a season-best 48 assists.
Appalachian continues with SoCon play as the Black and Gold return to action Wednesday September 30, hosting Western Carolina, at 7 p.m. in the Holmes Center.
Furman 3, Georgia Southern 1
GREENVILLE, S.C. - Sophomore Alexis Shaffer hit .536 with 15 kills to lead Furman to a 3-1 win over Georgia Southern in the Paladins' Southern Conference openener Saturday afternoon at Alley Gymnasium in Greenville, S.C. Furman won set one 25-22 and set two 25-18, before the Eagles took a close set three 26-24. The Paladins won set four 25-22 to seal the victory.
Sophomore Kelly Kirby hit .312 with 14 kills and nine digs, while freshman Caroline Adams recorded a .296 attack percentage with 12 kills. Senior Stephanie Smith posted a team-high 22 digs, and senior setter Kelsey Salava had 51 assists and 12 digs.
Furman (8-3, 1-0) will host Davidson Sunday at 4 p.m.
College of Charleston 3, Western Carolina 1
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Senior outside hitter Emily Sawin (New Lenox, Ill.) notched season-highs with 18 kills and 17 digs as the College of Charleston (5-8, 1-0) defeated Western Carolina (3-12, 0-1) 3-1 Saturday afternoon in a Southern Conference match in the Carolina First Arena. CofC claimed the victory by scores of 25-21, 24-26, 25-20 and 26-24.
Leading 2-1 in the match, the Cougars came out strong in the fourth set, racing out to a 5-1 lead before Western Carolina closed to within 8-7 on 7-2 run. It would be a close set from there on in as the teams would be separated by no more than three points the rest of the way. Trailing 18-16, the Catamounts capitalized on a pair of CofC errors and an ace and kill of their own to pull ahead 20-18.
A pair of kills each by junior right side hitter Ginny Phillips (Raleigh, N.C.) and sophomore middle blocker Sarah Havel (Carmel, Ind.) then keyed a 5-1 run that put the College of Charleston ahead 23-21. WCU would not go quietly as they rallied for the next two points to tie it at 23-23 and would eventually deadlock at 24-24. Back-to-back kills by Sawin and sophomore middle blocker Elyse Chubb (Peachtree City, Ga.) then put the set, and the match, away at 26-24 and locked up the 3-1 victory.
A close match from the very beginning, the two teams battled through six ties at the start of Game 1before tying at 8-8. From there, CofC used 6-0 run fueled by a pair of kills from Sawin and two WCU errors to claim a 14-8 lead. The Cougars would then maintain at least a six point lead until the Catamounts closed to within four at the final margin of 25-21.
Trailing by a set, Western Carolina again rallied, this time from a 7-3 deficit, and knotted the second frame at 13-13. Neither team was able to take a firm lead as they deadlocked six times to make it 22-22. A pair of Sawin kills brought CofC to set point at 24-22 but the Catamounts responded with back-to-back kills of their own by sophomore middle blocker Rebecca Stoltz and junior outside hitter Kara Lynzee Brooks and forced consecutive Cougars errors to take a 26-24 victory and even the match at a set a piece.
The College of Charleston wasted little time at the start of the third set as they quickly claimed a 6-3 lead on three kills from Havel. They would maintain that three-point lead at 17-14 before allowing a pair of kills by Brooks and committing an error that evened the set at 17-17. The Cougars then mounted an 8-3 run that put the set away at 25-20 and set the stage for their two-point victory in the final frame.
Junior outside hitter Paloma Alvarez led the offensive attack for Western Carolina as she notched a team-high 14 kills and hit .344 while sophomore middle blocker Carrie Minogue posted a solid all-around match with eight kills, five blocks, four digs and three assists. They were joined offensively by senior setter Katie Hennessey with 31 assists and Brooks with eight kills. Defensively, senior libero Liz Rondone came away with a match-high 19 digs and sophomore outside hitter Brittany Lysik added nine digs.
Emily Sawin produced her best match of the year for the College of Charleston as she delivered her fourth double-double of the season with 18 kills and 17 digs and Sarah Havel broke her career-high for kills with 14 and added a career-high tying three service aces. Ginny Phillips added to the offensive performance of the Cougars as she drilled 15 kills and added five digs and three service aces. Junior setter Cole Dawley (Charleston, S.C.) setup the offense with 47 assists while freshman setter Liza Price (Fort Mill, S.C.) chipped in with 10. On the defensive side of the ball, junior libero Paige Johnson (Sleepy Hollow, Ill.) finished with 13 digs and senior middle blocker Jennifer Darty (Orlando, Fla.) added five blocks.
The College of Charleston resumes its Southern Conference schedule next Wednesday, September 30 as they take on cross-town rival The Citadel. First serve is set for 7 p.m. in Carolina First Arena.
NOTES
Havel's previous career-high for kills was 13 set against Wofford on September 26, 2008 ... this season she has broken career marks in both kills and blocks having registered 10 last weekend against South Florida ... the victory for the College of Charleston is the 14 straight over Western Carolina ... CofC is now 138-9 in the Southern Conference since 2001.
Wofford 3, Davidson 0
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Wofford volleyball team picked up its first Southern Conference win of the season with a 3-0 sweep of Davidson on Saturday.
Wofford opened the first set with a solid 10-5 lead, and capitalized on several Davidson errors to hold on to the five point lead at 15-10. Davidson rallied to bring the score within one point at 19-20, but the Terriers held on to take the first set win by a score of 25-21.
Davidson stormed out to a 6-1 lead in the second set, but Wofford fought back to tie the score at six. The Wildcats went on a 3-0 run to take a 9-6 lead, but the Terriers rallied to tie the score at 11 behind a service ace in the corner from Joanna Suddath and again at 13. A two-point run by the Terriers forced a Davidson time out, but the momentum was on the side of the Terriers, who went on to take the 25-21 win and 2-0 set advantage.
Wofford controlled the beginning of the third set, taking a 7-3 lead before the Wildcats called a time out. The Terriers continued to build their lead, with a 15-8 advantage forcing Davidson to take its second time out of the set.
Davidson was led by junior Jordan Benedict and sophomore Madison Benedict, who had 10 kills apiece. Setter Hayley Lawson recorded 31 assists, and libero Molly Crenshaw led the defense with 14 digs.
Junior Stacy Byrd topped the Terriers with 12 kills, while senior Shanna Hughes added nine kills and 13 digs. Libero Sarah Palmer also recorded 13 digs, and setter Joanna Suddath contributed 19 assists.
With the win, Wofford improves to 14-3 overall and 1-1 in the Southern Conference while Davidson falls to 2-13 on the season and 0-1 in the league.
Elon 3, Chattanooga 2
CHATTANOONGA, Tenn. - The Elon volleyball team opened Southern Conference play with a thrilling 3-2 (20-25, 22-25, 26-24, 28-26, 16-14) win over Chattanooga. The win allowed the Phoenix to improve to 13-1 on the season and 1-0 in league play. Chattanooga falls to 5-5 on the season that includes a 0-1 mark in the SoCon.
"This was an exciting match to be a part of because both teams played hard and competitively," head coach Mary Tendler said. "I was proud of the way that the team responded after being down, at times, by quite a few points. The players remained confident and were able to match clutch plays when it was needed."
Sarah Schermerhorn led the Phoenix with a .229 attack percentage after notching 13 kills in 35 attempts. Jessica Barrow earned a team-best 14 kills, while Caroline Lemke added 11. Traci Stewart earned a double-double in the match with 13 kills and 14 digs. Emily Regan paced the offense with 37 assists.
Ali Deatsch recorded a career-best and match-high 39 digs to lead a Phoenix defensive effort that held the Lady Mocs to a .180 team attack percentage. Schermerhorn led the team with seven assisted blocks, while Stewart added one solo and four assisted blocks. Barrow and Lemke totaled one solo and two assisted blocks each.
Laura Brock led Chattanooga with 17 kills, followed by Kirsten Beasley with 16. Courtney Barnes and Stephanie Harville reached the double-digit kill plateau with 13 and 12, respectively. Ellie Kuhn led all blockers with one solo and eight assisted blocks.
After falling 20-25 and 22-25 in the opening two sets, Elon responded with a 26-24 win in set three. During the third set, the teams kept the score close until a 5-0 Phoenix run, highlighted by consecutive service aces from Megan McMahon, put Elon on top 20-16. The teams knotted the score three times before Elon scored the final two points to seal the win.
Chattanooga raced out to a 14-8 lead in the fourth set that forced Elon to use a timeout. Following the break, a Stewart kill sparked a 4-0 run that brought the Phoenix to within two at 14-12. A kill by Lizzie West helped Elon score five straight points and take its first lead of the set at 24-23. Chattanooga fought back, tying the set at 24, 25 and 26 before Schermerhorn and Lemke scored the final two points to take set four 28-26.
With momentum on its side, Elon jumped out to an early 5-1 lead in the final set. A 7-1 run by the Lady Mocs allowed the team to take a 14-11 lead. Elon's Lemke tallied two kills and two block assists as Elon answered with the final five points of the set to take the 3-2 win.
Elon continues SoCon play tomorrow as it travels to Birmingham, Ala. to take on Samford at 3 p.m. The match marks the meeting of the top two teams in the North Division. Full coverage of the match will be available at www.elonphoenix.com.
Samford 3, UNC Greensboro 1
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University volleyball team clinched its first Southern Conference win Saturday over UNC Greensboro by a score of 3-1 (25-21, 24-26, 25-21, 25-20). The win was Samford's 18th consecutive win in the Pete Hanna Center. The Bulldogs now move to 7-7 overall and 1-0 in league play while the Spartans fall to 6-8, 0-1 SoCon.
"This was a good win for us in our conference opener," Samford head coach Derek Schroeder said. "At times, we showed our youth but we made plays when it came down to it. We just need to keep getting better and better every week. Sheriden Stangohr was a stud for us today."
Stangohr led the Bulldogs by notching season high in kills with 17 and digs with five. She also tallied a.364 hitting percentage while posting three block assists. Hillary Fountain and Allie Bettinger notched their third double-double of the year as Fountain grabbed 50 assists and 10 digs and Bettinger had 15 kills and 11 digs. Fountain also had four kills, two block assists and two block solos while Bettinger one ace and one block assist.
Elizabeth Neisler and Shelby Brandon each had nine kills while Neisler added two digs and one block assist. Brandon led the Bulldogs in hitting with a .368 percentage while grabbing one dig and one block assist. Rachel Gadberry added seven kill while hitting .250 along with two digs and two block assists.
Alexis Bauer led the back row with 19 digs while adding four assists and ace. Casey Garvey added eight digs, two assists and two aces while Samantha Bland had five digs and one ace.
UNC Greensboro was led by Caley Redden who posted a double-double with 15 kills and 10 digs while hitting .257. Air Lysacek dished out 40 assists while Catherine Hanners and Kayleigh Knerr had 17 and 13 digs, respectively. Emily Lindborg led the Spartans in blocks with two block solos and four block assists.
Samford will be back in action tomorrow for the second match in a three-match home stand. The Bulldogs will host Elon at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
The Bulldogs came out in the first set and scored three straight points to jump out to an early lead. After a UNCG error, Stangohr and Neisler knocked down back-to-back kills to force the Spartan to burn their first timeout. UNCG then responded with two points right out of the break, but Samford refused to relinquish its lead, forging ahead to push the lead to seven. The Spartans eventually climbed back within three, but Samford would go on to win set one, on a kill by Brandon and a Spartan error.
A UNC Greensboro error gave Samford its first point of the second set and a block by Fountain and Stangohr put the Bulldogs up 2-0. Both teams would fight to keep the score close as they fought through 12 ties throughout the game. The Spartans took their first lead of the match when they tied the score at four and followed with a kill by Billi Baker to make the score 5-4. It would be a back-and-forth game from then on out until Samford took the largest lead of the set at 22-19. After a UNCG timeout, the Spartans got within two again and sparked a 6-0 run to win set two, 26-24.
In set three, the Spartans to the early three point lead with each of the first three points going to UNC Greensboro. Samford quickly answered back, however, going on an 8-5 run to tied the score before taking the lead on an ace by Bettinger. The Bulldogs then pushed the lead out to four on a kill by Neisler followed by one by Bettinger and then a block by Bettinger and Gadberry. Two Spartans error pushed the Bulldog lead out to six before UNCG cut it back to four, but Samford would go on to win the third set, 25-21.
Neisler got the Bulldogs on the board first in the four and final set with a kill followed by an ace by Garvey. Samford then went on a 4-2 run to push its lead out to five before UNCG decided to take a timeout. The Spartans fought back to tie the score at 14 but after a timeout by Samford, the Bulldogs retained the lead and would go on to win, 25-20.