Elon 3, Howard 1

LYNCHBURG, Va. - Three Phoenix players recorded double-digit kills in the 3-1 (23-25, 25-23, 25-20, 25-21) win over the Howard Bison in the first match of the Liberty Invitational presented by Pepsi. The Phoenix dropped the first set, but rebounded by clinching the final three sets for the win. Caroline Lemke led all Phoenix hitters with 13 kills, while Traci Stewart and Sarah Schermerhorn tallied 12 kills each.

With the win Elon's record remains unblemished at 6-0, while Howard falls to 0-5 on the season. The 6-0 record marks the best start to a Phoenix volleyball season since transitioning to the Division I level.

Also notching kills for the Phoenix were Lauren Copenhagen with nine and Carly Ledbetter with six. Setter Emily Regan earned a match-high 44 assists to go along with her two kills and two block assists. The team earned a side-out percentage of over 50 percent in each set, including a 71 percent in the fourth set.

Lemke posted two solo blocks and one assisted block to lead a Phoenix defense that held Howard to a .133 team hitting percentage. Schermerhorn and Stewart each finished with three block assists. Ali Deatsch recorded a match- and career-high 19 digs.

Howard's Gazelle D'Artois led all players with 18 kills for an attack percentage of .250. Tosin Elebute was second on the team with 12 kills. Jasmine King paced the Howard offensive effort with 39 assists.

Elebute, Gabrielle Martin and Taylor Johnson each finished with one solo block for Howard.

Elon jumped out to an 11-6 lead in set one that forced the Bison to call a timeout. Howard kept the set close and scored six straight points to take a 23-20 lead. Two points by the Phoenix, including a kill by Stewart, put the Phoenix within one at 23-22. The teams traded points on the next two possessions, but Howard clinched the 25-23 win on a kill by Elebute.

Trailing 8-5 in the second set, Elon scored four straight points, including a kill and a service ace by Copenhagen, to take a 9-8 lead. Following five straight Bison points that gave Howard a 15-10 lead, Ledbetter notched a kill that was followed by a block from Schermerhorn and Regan that brought the set within four at 16-12. The Phoenix rallied from a 21-17 deficit with four straight points that tied the set at 21. Elon went on to score the final four points, including the set-winning kill by Stewart to take the second set 25-23. 

Howard maintained a narrow lead through the opening possessions of the third set, but the Phoenix fought back to take a one-point lead at the 13-12 mark. The lead wouldn't last long as the Bison rattled off four straight to regain a 16-13 lead. A Stewart kill helped spark a 12-3 run by the Phoenix that allowed them to clinch set two 25-20.  During the run, Lemke tallied three kills, while Stewart earned two, including the set-winner.

With set four tied at four, Howard recorded three straight points that included a service ace by Jiyana Brown that made it a 7-4 set.  Two Bison miscues sparked a five-point rally by Elon that gave the Phoenix a 17-16 lead and forced Howard to call a timeout.  Despite trading points on several possessions, two attack errors allowed the Phoenix to take a 22-20 lead. A Phoenix service error brought the set within one, but three-straight Elon points, including a pair of kills by Schermerhorn and Stewart sealed the final set 25-21 and the match for the Phoenix.

Elon returns to action tomorrow afternoon at 1 p.m. when it takes on East Tennessee State in the second match of the Liberty Invitational. The team will also face tournament-host Liberty at 6 p.m. Live stats for each match will be available at www.elonphoenix.com.

UNC Greensboro 3, Coastal Carolina 2
UNC Greensboro 3, Eastern Kentucky 1

COLUMBIA, S.C. - UNC Greensboro kicked off its competition at the Gamecock Invitational with a come-from-behind five-set win against Coastal Carolina and a four-set win against Eastern Kentucky on Friday afternoon at the Volleyball Competition Center.

The Spartans dropped the first two sets to the Chanticleers, 25-14 and 25-21, before storming back to take the final three sets, 25-22, 26-24 and 15-11. UNCG came out in the second game and won the first two games, 25-21 and 25-17, before dropping the third game, 25-22. The Spartans quickly rebounded to take the fourth game, 25-16, to seal the victory.

Senior Catherine Hanners has continued her transition to the outside hitter position as she paced the Spartan attack against Coastal Carolina with 20 kills. Junior Caley Redden recorded her first career double-double with 11 kills and 11 digs and Emily Lindborg and Billi Baker added 11 and 10 kills, respectively.

"What a match," head coach Patrick Nicholas said after the Coastal Carolina match. "Coastal came to play and we were flat and unaggressive in the first game and we started the second game flat. Then we began to play as a team and bringing energy as we competed hard. As we started passing better our offense began to click. Four of our hitters played really well in terminating the ball and minimizing their errors. Catherine was big for us. I was real pleased that Caley, Billi and Emily all contributed significantly for us offensively, especially Caley for recording her first career double-double. I was very proud of the team for sticking together and fighting so hard to get to that fifth game."

The Spartans dropped the first game to Coastal Carolina, 25-14, as they hit just .160 in the game. UNCG fell behind 7-3 and were never able to recover as they trailed the entire game. After falling behind, 18-6, in the second game, the Spartans began to fight back, but it was too little too late as the Chanticleers won the set, 25-21.

UNCG was eventually able to get back on track in the third game. With the two sides tied at 12 midway through the game, the Spartans won the next four points, highlighted by a Hanners kill, to take a 16-12 lead. Kayleigh Knerr was able to seal the game for UNCG with a pair of service aces.

Despite just hitting .086 in the fourth game, UNCG was able to win the game 26-24. The match was knotted at 24, but a kill by Hanners and a block by Alissa Beaudway set up a fifth and final game.

In the final game, UNCG hopped out to a commanding 6-1 lead and never looked back as Beaudway clinched the win for the Spartans with a kill to win the game, 15-11.

Hanners again led the Spartans in the second game as she delivered a career-high 22 kills against Eastern Kentucky. She also added 18 digs and five service aces in the match. Lindborg (14), Baker (10) and Redden (10) each had double-digit kills for the second-straight match. Arielle Lysacek churned out 51 assists and Knerr had a season-high tying 24 digs.

The Spartans hit an impressive .325 for the match against the Colonels as the two teams traded points through much of the first game. With UNCG clinging to a 17-16 lead, the Spartans won the next three points on back-to-back kills and a service ace by Knerr as they went on to win the game, 25-21.

UNCG trailed 6-4 early in the second game, but went on to win seven of the next eight points to take an 11-7 lead. The Spartans continued to ride their wave of emotion as they went on to win the game, 25-17. It appeared as if UNCG would make it a sweep in the match as it led, 21-18, but Eastern Kentucky went on a 7-1 run to win the game.

UNCG led throughout the entire fourth and final game as it hit a staggering .500 to take the game 25-16 to win the match.

The Spartans will wrap up their play at the Gamecock Invitational on Saturday at 12 p.m. against host South Carolina.

Furman 3, Bethune-Cookman 0
Furman 3, Mercer 2

MACON, Ga. - The Furman volleyball team defeated Bethune-Cookman, 3-0, and Mercer, 3-2, in the opening day of action at the Bear Brawl in Macon, Ga.

Freshman Natalie Braun led the Paladins with nine kills and rookie Carolyn Nicoletti recorded 15 assists and three service aces as the Paladins rolled to a 25-15, 25-11, 25-19 win over the Wildcats to open the tournament.

Later in the evening, Furman overcame a 2-0 deficit against Mercer for the win. The Bears won game one 28-26, then took game two 25-13, before the Paladins re-bounded with a 25-22 victory in game three. Furman won game four 25-21 to force a deciding fifth game, where the Paladins recorded a 15-12 score for the win.

Four Paladins recorded double-digits in kills in the match. Sophomore Kelly Kirby led the team with 20 kills, while Braun and junior Katherine Hall each added 14 kills. Sophomore Alexis Shaffer recorded a .560 attack percentage and 17 kills for the Paladins. Senior Kelsey Salava paced Furman with 65 assists and 22 digs, while freshman Caroline Adams tallied 9 blocks.

Furman (4-1) will face Troy Saturday at 1 p.m. in the final day of action at the Bear Brawl.

Maryland-Eastern Shore 3, Wofford 0
Wofford 3, Gardner-Webb 2

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - The Wofford volleyball team opened the 2009 season by splitting a pair of matches on Friday at the Runnin' Bulldog Classic. The Terriers fell to the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore 3-0 and earned their first win of the season with a 3-2 victory over host Gardner-Webb.

The Terriers opened tournament play with a three-set loss to the UMES Hawks. In the first set, the Hawks took an early 10-6 lead, but the Terriers fought back to within one point, with a kill from Arden Anderson bringing the score to 10-11. Despite a few short runs late in the game, Wofford was not able to catch the Hawks and fell in the first set 22-25.

In set two, UMES again jumped out to an early 7-2 lead before the Terriers were able to mount an attack. A UMES attack error brought the score within two at 10-12, but a 13-5 run by the Hawks put an end to the set with a score of 25-15. The third set saw the Hawks maintain their lead throughout play, ending the match with a 25-20 score.

The Hawks used a strong offense to topple the Terriers, racking up 51 kills and only 13 errors for a .328 attack percentage. The Terriers were unable to match the offensive effort, recording 31 kills  and a .179 hitting percentage for the match.
Sophomore Christine Edwards led the Hawks with 17 kills, while Caylin Woodward and Whitney Johnson each added 10. Setter Bella Jade Romero racked up 42 assists, while Karin Vikterlof led the defense with 12 digs.

Junior Stacy Byrd led the Terriers with nine kills and only one error for a .333 attack percentage. Byrd also added two service aces in the loss. Senior Shanna Hughes led the defense with 10 digs and setter Joanna Suddath added 23 assists.

In the second match of the day, the Terriers recovered from their earlier loss to earn an exciting 3-2 comeback win over host Gardner-Webb.

In the first set, Gardner-Webb took a commanding 10-3 lead to open play. Wofford battled back to put the score at 13-8 before again the GWU offense took over, running off seven unanswered points to take a decisive 20-8 lead.
Wofford would score only four more points in the remainder of the first set, as the Lady Bulldogs downed the Terriers 25-12 to take an early 1-0 match lead.

The Lady Bulldogs again got on the board first in set two, this time by way of a kill by Rhyne. The Terriers were able to take their first lead of the match at 3-2 off a GWU attack error, but the Bulldog offense recorded three straight kills to reclaim the lead at 7-3. Gardner-Webb did not allow the Terriers to catch up again, leading by as many as 10 points before claiming the 25-21 win, giving the Bulldogs the 2-0 match advantage.

Set three began the same way, with the Bulldogs taking an early lead. This time, however, the Terriers were able to recover from a four-point deficit to keep the set close. A Sarah Palmer service ace marked the beginning of a 6-0 run for the Terriers, giving the team a 19-14 lead. The Bulldogs answered with a run of their own to tie the score at 20. The next five points saw three ties before a decisive service ace from senior Joanna Suddath gave the Terriers the 25-23 win.

The fourth set saw the teams trading points until Wofford was able to fashion a 5-0 run in the middle of the set to take an 18-12 lead. Despite a Gardner-Webb timeout, the Terriers held on to the lead and took advantage of several Bulldog miscues. A kill from senior Shanna Hughes gave Wofford the 25-16 win and forced the match to a deciding fifth set.
The teams battled through four ties early in the fifth set, before a kill from Stacy Byrd gave the Terriers the 8-7 advantage. Wofford then ran off three straight points before a GWU kill stopped the run at 11-8. A GWU attack error and a service ace from Hughes put Wofford up 13-8, and the Terriers held on to claim a 15-10 set win and a dramatic 3-2 match win. Wofford used a .333 attack percentage (5 kills, 0 errors) to gain the advantage in the fifth set.

Gardner-Webb had four players with double-digit kills, with sophomore Laura Wilcox recording a match-high 15 kills. Setter Regina Feagin notched a match-high 52 assists and added 19 digs. Libero Brett Wilson led the team with 21 digs.

Leading the Terriers' offense was freshman Arden Anderson, who notched 10 kills while adding 7 total blocks. Setter Joanna Suddath recorded 28 assists and added six kills, while senior Shanna Hughes led the team with six service aces. Freshman libero Reagan Styles led the team with 16 digs, while Stacy Byrd and Sarah Palmer each added 15 defensive saves. The team recorded 11 total blocks during the match.

After opening the season with a loss, the win over Gardner- Webb puts the Terriers at 1-1 for the season. Wofford will face UMES at 12:00 p.m. tomorrow and Gardner-Webb again at 2:00 p.m. to finish play at the 2009 Runnin' Bulldog Classic.

William & Mary 3, Appalachian State 1

BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University came out on an impressive note and took a 1-0 set lead, but the Mountaineers could not hang with a tough William and Mary squad and fell in its 2009 home-opener 3-1 to the Tribe. With the loss, ASU drops to 1-3 on the season, while W&M improves to a stout 4-1.

The first set was a back and forth affair as it saw eight tied scores and four lead changes. The Black and Gold went ahead 7-5 after sophomore Kasey Sauls recorded one of her four kills on the evening to give Appalachian a two point lead. Appalachian would continue with its offensive assault and not relinquish its lead until the Tribe went up by two off back to back points by Erin Skipper.

Despite being down, ASU would not let the set slip away, going on a 4-0 run to make the score 21-20. An attack error by Skipper knotted the score once more at 23 apiece and three consecutive points by freshman Kelsey Kuehner lifted the Apps over William and Mary for the early 1-0 set advantage.

Reminiscent of the first, the second set was just a tight with seven lead changes, but just one lead change proved to be the difference maker. Appalachian held the advantage until the midway point when W&M tied the score at 14 and the Black and Gold were unable to rally a comeback. Kills by Kelly Rhein and Becca Norris pulled the Apps within one and tied the set at 23 all, but the Tribe were able to eek out the 23-25 victory.

William and Mary began to pull away from the Mountaineers in third set action, taking a 18-13 lead, before Kuehner tallied four straight points to make it 19-17. Caroline Sedon got in on the action as well with a service ace, to move the Apps back within one, but it wasn't enough as the Tribe earned the 25-21 win.

The Black and Gold were extremely sluggish in the fourth set and W&M took advantage of the Apps sloppy play, as they downed the Black and Gold 25-7 to hand Appalachian a 3-1 defeat.

Kuehner and Norris each finished the match a team-high 10 kills, while Sauls posted an impressive 30 assists and career-high 18 digs.

Appalachian continues with the Appalachian Invitational, returning to action Saturday September 5, taking on North Florida at Noon.

North Carolina State 3, The Citadel 0
USC Upstate 3, The Citadel 2

Spartanburg, S.C. - The Citadel Volleyball team dropped a pair of game on Friday in Spartanburg at the USC Upstate Volleyball Classic. The Bulldogs opened the day falling to North Carolina State 3-0. In the night game, the Cadets fell to host USC Upstate 3-2.

In the early match, The Citadel fell to NC State, 3-0. The Wolfpack won in three sets by scores of 27-25, 25-21, and 25-21. The Bulldogs did manage to push the Pack and kept each set close, but were not able to beat out their ACC opponent. Junior Tatum Jestila led the way for the Cadets, recording 12 kills on 29 total attacks to go along with eight digs and a service ace. Sophomore Alyssa Holum recorded seven kills on only 12 total attacks and recorded 27 assists.

In the night match, the Bulldogs battled in a back-and-forth affair with host USC Upstate before eventually falling, 3-2. The two teams alternated wins in all five sets, 12-25, 25-22, 21-25, 30-28, 15-17. The Bulldogs fought off elimination on multiple occasions and rallied to force a fifth set, but could not beat the Spartans on their home floor. Three Citadel players recorded double-double outings: Tatum Jestila (18 kills, 15 digs), Jessica Maas (14 kills, 14 digs) and Jessica Maxwell (12 kills and 10 digs; first career double-double). Alyssa Holum added a career-high 49 assists. The team record 12 service aces, a season high.

"We had two tough losses today. We need to finish the close sets," said Head Coach Carolyn Geiger. "We need to close out a fifth set when we are up 8-4. I have to give USC Upstate credit; they played one heck of a match. That being said, we will now focus on tomorrow's match against Asheville."

The Bulldogs return to action on Saturday, Sep.5 when they conclude the USC Upstate Volleyball Classic with UNC Asheville at 1:30 p.m.

For more information on Bulldog Volleyball, visit the official website of The Citadel Athletics at www.CitadelSports.com.

Central Arkansas 3, Samford 0

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Samford University volleyball team fell in its first match of the Belmont Tournament this afternoon to Central Arkansas. The Sugar Bears swept the Bulldogs in three straight matches, handing Samford its first loss of the season. Samford falls to 3-1 while the Sugar Bears improve to 2-2.

"Elizabeth Neisler played well for us today and that shows as she was one of our offensive leaders," Samford head coach Derek Schroeder said. "In game one, we did not execute on any of the areas in our scouting report game plan. UCA maintained good pressure on us and we did not respond well. This was a tough learning match for a young team."

Samford played two close sets with Central Arkansas before eventually losing the match. The Bulldogs took the Sugar Bears to extra points in the first set, but Central Arkansas came up with two big service aces at the end of the set to take a 1-0 lead in the match.

The Bulldogs played catch up in the second set, trailing the Sugar Bears the whole time. Despite Samford's efforts to tie the score a few times, Central Arkansas still managed to get the 25-22 win in set two.

Samford seemed to come alive in the third set, taking an early two-point lead, but Central Arkansas would not give up and the Sugar Bear offense was too much to contain. The final score of set three was 25-16.

Freshman Elizabeth Neisler was Samford's leader in hitting with a .308 average and a team-high three block assists. She also added six kills, seven and a half points and one ace.  Rachel Gadberry also tallied six kills while grabbing two block assists, an ace and eight points. Sheriden Stangohr notched a team-high nine kills on 17 attempts. She also led the team in points with nine while grabbing two block assists.

Allie Bettinger had four kills and two block assists for six points while adding one ace and one dig. Hillary Fountain led the Bulldogs in assists, dishing out 13 while tallying three kills, three digs and two block assists. Casey Garvey grabbed nine of Samford 24 assists and four digs, while Sarah Gardner had six digs, one assist and one ace. Shelby Brandon had two kills and one block assists while Katie Luckman had one kill, one assist and seven digs. Alexis Bauer led the Bulldogs in digs with nine while grabbing three kills and one ace. Alicia Roth added two digs.

The Sugar Bears were led by Chloe Smith who tallied 11 kills and 15.5 points while also grabbing one assist, three aces, three block assists and eight digs. Cristin Curl led UCA in digs with 10 while Robyn Smith dished out 27 assists.

The Bulldogs will continue tournament tomorrow afternoon with a 12:30 p.m. meeting with former Ohio Valley Conference foe Southeast Missouri. They will then wrap up play in the Belmont Tournament as they meet up with Belmont at 6 p.m.

Follow the action via live stats on www.belmontbruins.com. A full recap and results will be available upon the complete of the day's play.

Central Arkansas handed Samford its first point of the match with an attack error to start out the first set. UCA's Chloe Smith then came back with a kill to get the Sugar Bears on the board. A 9-5 run by UCA gave the Sugar Bears a five point advantage and force Samford to use its first time out. The Bulldogs then grabbed three consecutive points out of the bear on a service error by UCA and kills by Gadberry and Bettinger. The Bulldogs had cut the lead to two.

Eventually, due to a service error by UCA's Robyn Smith and with a kill by Fountain, Samford got within one. Although Central Arkansas would score two more points, Samford soon tied the score with the help of kills by Bauer and Neisler and an ace by Gadberry.

With the score tied, Central Arkansas called a timeout. It would be a back-and-forth game from that point, with the Bulldogs taking a two-point lead before the Sugar Bears would reclaim the lead and go up by two. The score was time three more times before UCA's Chloe Smith served up back-to-back aces to win, 27-25.

Central Arkansas took a quick four-point lead in set two before the Bulldogs caught up and tied the score at 10 on kills by Fountain and Stangohr, an ace by Gadberry and blocks by all three as well as Neisler, Bettinger, and Brandon. The comeback was short-lived, however, as Central Arkansas quickly pushed the lead back out to four. Samford climbed back within two, but the Sugar Bears would eventually take set two, 25-22.

Samford grabbed the first lead of the third set early on a kill by Neisler and a block by Neisler and Stangohr to take a two-point lead. However, Central Arkansas would eventually tie the score at eight and would dominate the second half of the set, leading by as much as eight. The Sugar Bears took the final set, 25-16.

Evansville 3, College of Charleston 1

CINCINNATI, Ohio - Junior setter Cole Dawley (Charleston, S.C.) flirted with a triple-double as she posted 51 assists, eight kills and eight digs and junior libero Paige Johnson (Sleepy Hollow, Ill.) notched a career-high 20 digs as the College of Charleston (1-3, 0-0) fell to Evansville (3-1, 0-0) 3-1 Friday evening at the Cincinnati Bearcat Invitational in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The Cougars jumped out ahead early with an 8-4 lead in the first set before Evansville rallied to even the score at 11-11. Deadlocked at 14-14, the Purple Aces used a 4-1 run, capped off by a pair of back-to-back kills by sophomore outside hitter Brooke Maher, to pull ahead 18-15. Four kills over the next five points then keyed a 4-1 run by the Cougars that made it 19-19. Another 4-1 run then put Evansville back ahead 23-20 before they withstood consecutive kills by sophomore middle blocker Elyse Chubb (Peachtree City, Ga.) and escaped with a 25-22 victory.

Following a set that featured a number of runs, Evansville and the College of Charleston came right back with a frame for the ages in Game 2. Neither team could gain a solid advantage and they were never separated by more than two points as the clubs battled through 25 ties. 

Trailing 12-10, the Cougars used a 3-0 run fueled by a block and a pair of attack errors to take a 13-12 lead. The Purple Aces then responded with a quick kill from junior middle hitter Viera Rajcan that tied the score and touched off a run of six ties and three lead changes leading to a 21-21 score. A kill by sophomore middle blocker Sarah Havel (Carmel, Ind.), paired with a UE error, gave the College of Charleston a 23-21 lead before Evansville answered back with consecutive points to tie the set at 23-23.

A kill by junior right side hitter Ginny Phillips (Raleigh, N.C.) brought the Cougars to set point at 25-24 before an error tied the set at 25-25. Heading into extras neither team showed any signs of letting up as they exchanged three straight kills to deadlock again at 28-28. Maher drilled another kill to give the Purple Aces set point at 29-28 but it was the Cougars turn to rally as Havel nailed her seventh kill of the match to make it 29-29. A 2-1 UE spurt gave them the lead at 31-30 before back-to-back kills from Phillips flipped the advantage to CofC at 32-31.

They too could not capitalize as Evansville staved off defeat once again. The teams then traded points again until the Purple Aces found themselves down 35-34. This time, they not only averted defeat, they made sure that they would not be threatened again as a pair of kills and a CofC error gave them a hard fought 37-35 victory and 2-0 match lead.

The College of Charleston showed no signs of tired legs and nothing but determination at the start of Game 3 as they barreled out to impressive leads of 12-4 and 16-7. After their slow start, Evansville rallied to close to within 22-17 on a 10-6 run before the Cougars squelched any chance of a comeback with three of the final four points to lock up the set 25-18 and get back in the match at 2-1.

Evansville bounced right back at the start of the fourth set, taking 3-0 and 7-3 leads before a Cougars timeout. Following a kill and ace by Havel to narrow the gap to 7-5, the Purple Aces used a 7-3 run to push their lead to 14-8. Then it was the College of Charleston's turn for a rally of their own as an 8-3 stretch made the score 17-16.

Trailing 19-16, the Cougars made their move as a 5-0 run, sparked by a pair of kills from freshman outside hitter Kelly Kolich (Overland Park, Kan.), gave them the lead at 21-19 and forced a UE timeout. Following the break, the Purple Aces took firm control of the set, scoring six of the final seven points to claim a 25-22 win in the set and a 3-1 decision for the match.

Sophomore setter Ellen Sawin paced the Purple Aces offense as she tied her career-high of 57 assists while junior outside hitter Emily Wandersee led three Evansville players in double-figure kills with 19, hit .447 and added four blocks. Maher and freshman outside hitter Hannah Wilson each added a double-double with 17 kills and 17 digs and 16 kills and 18 digs, respectively. On the defensive side of the ball, sophomore libero April Lubrecht led all players with a match-high 26 digs while junior libero Julie Sylvester added 11 digs.

Dawley's near triple-double of 51 assists, eight kills and eight digs, along with a match-high five blocks, led the College of Charleston. She was joined by Ginny Phillips who tallied 17 kills and 10 digs for a double-double and hit .375 while Kelly Kolich notched her first career double-double with 14 kills and 17 digs.

On defense, Paige Johnson earned a career-high in digs for the second time this season as she came up with 20, surpassing per previous high of 19 set against South Carolina last weekend. Senior outside hitter Emily Sawin (New Lenox, Ill.) added eight kills and a season 17 digs and Sarah Havel chipped in with 11 kills.

The Cougars return to action on Saturday, September 5 when they face Youngstown State at 10 a.m. before taking on the Cincinnati Bearcats at 7:30 p.m.

UT Arlington 3, Georgia Southern 0

FORT COLLINS, Colo. - The Georgia Southern women's volleyball team held the lead in the first two sets, but UT Arlington came-from-behind to grab each set and take the match in three sets (25-21, 26-24, 25-17). Lauren Claybaugh posted a team-high 12 kills as Kate Van Dyke led the Eagles in assists with 25 at the Hilton Classic in Moby Arena Friday (September 4).

Georgia Southern dropped to 3-2 on the season while UT Arlington improved to 2-3.

Two Maverick errors opened the first set as the Eagles jumped out to an early 2-0 advantage. At 7-all, Georgia Southern benefitted from four kills, three Maverick errors and a block assist by Van Dyke (Shawnee, Kan.) and Sarah Gildersleeve (Naples, Fla.) to pull away with a dominating 15-8 lead. After six set ties, UT Arlington responded with a 6-2 run to draw the set to within three points, 17-14. At a 20-17 GSU lead, the Mavericks capitalized on two Georgia Southern errors and a block to tie the match at 20-all. UT Arlington took the lead at 21-20 and closed out the set, 25-21.

In set two, it was a back-and-forth affair as neither team held more than a two point lead until the Eagles gained an 11-8 advantage. Holding a 12-10 lead, Georgia Southern benefitted from four Maverick errors to widen its lead to six at 16-10, forcing a UT Arlington timeout. Two kills by Bethany Sanford (Avondale, Ariz.) and an ace by Van Dyke pushed the margin to 19-10. The Eagles led by as many as nine at 20-11 before the Mavericks went on a 15-4 run on seven errors by Georgia Southern; UT Arlington came-from-behind to take the second set, 26-24.

Georgia Southern would hold a 2-1 lead in the third set before UT Arlington recaptured the lead for the duration of the set. Hitting errors plagued the Eagles as the Mavericks secured the match with a 25-17 third stanza off four kills by Bianca Sauls.

UT Arlington hit .152 from the floor with 31 kills, 28 assists and 35 digs. Sauls led the Mavericks with a team-high eight kills for a .087 hitting percentage and eight digs. Raegen Daniel posted 20 assists in the Mavericks' winning effort.

Georgia Southern was led by Claybaugh (Danville, Calif.) who registered a .194 hitting percentage with 12 kills. Van Dyke posted 25 of the Eagles' 30 assists, while Sanford led the team with nine digs. For the match, Georgia Southern hit .047 from the floor with 32 kills, 30 assists and 25 digs.

The final day of the Hilton Classic takes place on Saturday, September 5. Georgia Southern will look to rebound from this two-match skid when it closes out the tournament facing Ohio State at 11 a.m. local time (MT).

Bradley 3, Western Carolina 1

RADFORD, Va. - Western Carolina volleyball (0-5) lost to Bradley 3-1 Friday in the first day of action at the Radford Invitational.

It was the first time this season the Catamounts have avoided a shutout in the first five matches of the season. Sophomore Carrie Minogue led the squad with 12 kills on 21 attacks and just three errors and a .429 attack percentage.

Senior setter Katie Hennessey had a season-high 39 assists in the match and also recorded 10 digs for a double-double.

Western Carolina returns to action Saturday facing South Carolina State at 9 a.m. and Coppin State at 4:30 p.m.