Elon 3, East Tennessee State 2
LYNCHBURG, Va. - The Elon Phoenix handed the East Tennessee State Buccaneers a 3-2 (25-20, 26-28, 25-18, 22-25, 15-11) loss in a thrilling match at the Liberty Invitational this afternoon in Lynchburg, Va. Jessica Barrow led the Phoenix with 13 kills as the team improved to 7-0 on the season. With the loss, ETSU falls to 0-5.
"Jess (Barrow) had a good match today and took some big swings in the final set," head coach Mary Tendler said. "Our bench was a strength for us, with Megan (McMahon) coming in to set that helped swing the momentum in our favor and Lizzie (West) entering to serve and earning an ace. Our passing game really helped us seal the match in the final set."
Lauren Copenhagen, Caroline Lemke and Traci Stewart each tallied 11 kills in the win. Lemke finished 11-for-26 with two errors for an attack percentage of .346 that led the team. Ali Deatsch recorded a career-best five service aces to help Elon's offensive prowess. Melissa Zidar, West and Copenhagen each had one ace during the match.
Sarah Schermerhorn led the defensive effort that held ETSU to a .129 team hitting percentage with two solo blocks and one block assist, while Lemke finished with one solo block and three assisted blocks. Stewart notched three assisted blocks in the win. Pacing the defense was Deatsch with 16 digs, while Copenhagen added 13 to the team's total.
Alysa Long led the Buccaneers with 15 kills, with Lauren Baufield adding 10. Amanda Youell and McKayla Barber recorded nine kills each. Youell also led the match with 43 assists.
Youell's two block assists helped ETSU's defensive effort. Barber finished the match with the team's only solo block to add to her block assist.
The Phoenix opened set one strongly, outscoring the Buccaneers 10-3. During the run, Elon strung together four straight points, including three consecutive service aces by Deatsch. With Elon leading 16-7, ETSU put together a 12-4 run that brought the set within one at 20-19 and forced Elon to call its second timeout. A kill by Schermerhorn sparked a 5-1 run for the Phoenix that sealed the first set 25-20.
A block by Lemke and Stewart and a kill by Copenhagen began the second set. Elon advanced its lead to five points at 8-3 following kills by Stewart and Schermerhorn. East Tennessee State fought back by scoring six of the next eight points to cut the Phoenix lead to one at 10-9. Barrow posted back-to-back kills to give Elon a two-point advantage, but it would be short-lived as the Buccaneers rattled off seven-straight points to take a 21-16 lead. Elon posted a comeback, scoring five consecutive points to tie the set at 24. The set tied again at 25 and 26, but two straight points by the Buccaneers clinched the second set 28-26.
The teams kept set three close during the opening possessions until the Phoenix scored two points on kills by McMahon and Stewart to take a 10-7 lead. Following kills by Stewart, Barrow and McMahon, the Phoenix jumped out to a 17-10 lead. ETSU battled back to within six at 23-17, but the Phoenix held on to win the third set 25-18 after taking advantage of an ETSU error.
The fourth set saw the teams tie 10 times before either team took more than a one-point advantage. East Tennessee State score two straight points, including one off of a solo block by Barber that gave the Buccaneers a 13-11 advantage. ETSU took a four-point lead at the 20-16 mark, but kills by Stewart and Lemke brought the Phoenix back within three. ETSU continued their offensive attack and scored two of the final three points, including the set-winner by Erin Ryan.
The Phoenix took an early 3-1 lead that was followed by consecutive points by ETSU to tie the final set at three. Lemke recorded a kill and a block for back-to-back points that gave Elon a 9-5 lead. Elon maintained the lead throughout the rest of the set, with Barrow tallying two of the final three Elon points to seal the set 15-11 and the match 3-1
Elon will take on tournament host Liberty tonight at 6 p.m. in the final match of the Liberty Invitational presented by Pepsi. Full coverage, including live stats will be available for the match at www.elonphoenix.com.
Elon 3, Liberty 1
LYNCHBURG, Va. - The Elon volleyball team posted a 3-1 (15-25, 25-23, 25-23, 25-23) win over Liberty in the championship match of the Liberty Invitational in Lynchburg, Va. Elon is now 8-0 on the season and remains the only unbeaten team in the Southern Conference. Liberty fell to 3-3 on the season.
Caroline Lemke picked up tournament MVP honors after posting 34 kills over three matches for a hitting percentage of .264. She also notched three solo blocks and was in on 12 blocks. Lemke was also selected to the all-tournament team along with teammate Traci Stewart. Stewart led the Phoenix with 39 kills during the tournament and recorded 11 block assists. She also tallied 18 digs.
"I was really happy with the way that the team blocked tonight," head coach Mary Tendler said. "The team executed the game plan well which allowed us to pick up the win. After a slow start to the tournament, Traci (Stewart) came up big against Liberty and was almost unstoppable."
Stewart finished the match 16-for-33 with just three errors for an attack percentage of .394. Lemke totaled 10 kills for the match, while Jessica Barrow and Lauren Copenhagen notched seven kills each. Pacing the Phoenix offense was Emily Regan with 33 assists. She also recorded three kills on seven attempts. Ali Deatsch continued to display her serving efficiency with two service aces.
Led by Deatsch with 17 digs, the Phoenix defense held the defending Big South co-champions to a team hitting percentage of .122. Lemke totaled six block assists to lead Elon, while Stewart added five. Copenhagen recorded the lone solo block for the Phoenix.
Liberty's Nikki Scripko recorded a match-high 19 kills, while Chelaine McCarty and Karyl Bacon finished with seven kills each. The team had four players with double-digit kills, led by Kelly Haseman with 17. Kallie Corbin led the defense with five block assists.
After falling in the first set, the Phoenix bounced back to win three straight sets. The teams kept each set close, with neither team gaining more than a three-point advantage. The Phoenix scored the final three points in the fourth set to seal the 3-1 victory.
Elon looks to keep its streak alive September 9 with a match against High Point in High Point, N.C. The match is slated for a 7 p.m. start. Full coverage of the match will be available at www.elonphoenix.com.
Furman 3, Troy 2
MACON, Ga. -- The Furman volleyball team defeated Troy, 3-2, on Saturday afternoon to win the Bear Brawl, hosted by Mercer. Senior Kelsey Salava and sophomore Kelly Kirby represented the Paladins on the all-tournament team.
The Trojans jumped out to an early lead, winning game one 25-14. The Paladins countered with a 25-18 win in game two, before Troy took a close game three, 25-23. Furman then won games four (25-16) and five (15-11) for the victory.
Junior Katherine Hall led the Paladins, recording 18 kills in the win, while freshman Caroline Adams had 15 kills and a team-leading .478 attack percentage. Salava tallied 38 assists, and freshman Natalie Braun had 24 digs in the win.
"This was a good tournament, and we were happy to make it through with three wins," said Furman head coach Michelle Young. "It was a real team effort, with different players contributing in different matches."
Furman (5-1) will face Winthrop Sept. 15 in the team's home opener.
Western Carolina 3, South Carolina State 1
Western Carolina 3, Coppin State 0
RADFORD, Va. - Western Carolina volleyball (2-5) picked up a pair of victories Saturday in day two of the Radford Invitational. The Catamounts defeated South Carolina State 3-1 and Coppin State 3-0.
It is the first pair of victories for new Head Coach Manuel Concepcion.
Senior Amanda Kerr led the club in the victory over South Carolina State with eight kills. Fellow senior Katie Hennessey recorded her second straight double double with 35 kills and 10 digs.
In the final match of the tournament, Western Carolina recorded its first shutout of the season, blanking Coppin State 3-0. Carrie Minogue and Amanda Chaparro each had 10 kills in the win.
Western Carolina plays its first home matches of the season beginning Friday, Sept. 11 hosting a home tournament.
Appalachian State 3, Tennessee Tech 1
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University capped off the 2009 Appalachian Invitational in thrilling fashion earning its first home win of the 2009 campaign, defeating Tennessee Tech 3-1 Saturday evening. ASU (2-4) now leads the all-time series between the two squads, 3-2.
ASU took an early 8-5 advantage in first set action and extended its advantage to as many as five points (10 - 5) with strong play coming from freshman Kelsey Kuehner and junior Lauren Swecker.
Kasey Sauls recorded a service ace to push the Mountaineers to an impressive 13-7 lead.
Appalachian held its five point cushion, as two block assists by Norris and Swecker and a solo block by Norris pushed the Apps to their largest lead of the set at 19-10.
A solo block by Sauls, a Golden Eagle error and a kill by Maja Jechorek gave the Black and Gold the 25-14 first set win.
It would be the tale of two teams in the second set as ASU came out sluggish and found itself in a 7-4 hole early. That would be the story of the second set as ASU could not hang with its counterpart.
Three points would be the margin of deficit for the majority of the beginning of the set until back to back errors by the Mountaineers proved to be costly, giving the Golden Eagles a 12-7 advantage.
A 7-1 run with an ace by Leah Meffert and kills by Amanda Lindgren and Teresa Craig put the Apps in a double-digit hole down by 11.
The Golden Eagles continued with the offensive assault and evened the match at one apiece, earning the 25-13 set win.
The Mountaineers picked up their play in the third set and the two squads proved to be evenly matched with the score tied 11 times and three lead changes.
ASU rallied from a 15-12 deficit to push the score to 21-18 with kills coming from Jechorek and Sedon, along with Kelly Rhien and Sedon collaborating for a block assist and Sauls chipping in as well with an ace.
Kuehner gave the Apps the push they needed tallying a kill and combining for a block assist with Norris to give ASU the 25-21 victory and 2-1 match lead.
The fourth set was a battle, but the Golden Eagles slowly pulled away from the Apps earning a five point advantage at the 16-11 mark.
Big kills by Kuehner and Kelly Rhein and an error by TTU helped ASU creep back into the match down just 16-14. Appalachian tied the set at 19 apiece and went ahead one with a Jechorek slam.
The two squads continued to battle with the score knotted at 27 apiece, but Kuehner came up big once again earning an ace to put ASU one away from match point.
Norris and Sauls took the Apps home with a block assist to give Appalachian the 29-27 set victory and 3-1 match win.
Appalachian was stout defensively recording a season-high 16 team blocks with Norris leading the charge, crushing her old career-high of three block assists, talling eight against the Golden Eagles. Three Apps finished the contest in the double-digit kill column with both Kuehner and Norris recording career-highs.
As for Tennessee Tech, Meffert had a game-high 17 kills while Culp recorded a game-high 50 assists.
The Mountaineers look to carry their momentum into next weekend's action, as they travel to Rock Hill, S.C. to compete at the Hilton Garden Invite hosted by Winthrop. Appalachian's first match is set for Friday September 11 against host Winthrop at 7:30 p.m.
North Florida 3, Appalachian State 1
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University volleyball posted a valiant effort but came up just short, as the Mountaineers were unable to hang with a tough North Florida squad, as the Apps dropped a 3-1 decision in the fourth match of the Appalachian Invitational. With the loss, ASU falls to 1-4 on the season while UNF improves to 4-2.
In the first set, ASU took a 7-4 advantage, thanks in part to senior Maja Jechorek and her offensive assault. The Ospreys would not give up easily knotting the set at 17 apiece with Agata Dawidowicz pacing UNF with two kills.
North Florida took the momentum, and went ahead 20-18 and would not relinquish its advantage despite the Apps solid play, as North Florida grabbed the 1-0 set lead winning 25-20.
Appalachian came out on fire in the second set, going up by as many as five points, with Becca Norris and Jechorek chipping in on the offensive front.
The Ospreys tied the score at 13 and eventually took the lead back going up 18-17 with Jessica Catelano recording a kill. Despite the Osprey's rally, back to back kills by junior Caroline Sedon and Kesley Kuehner proved to be the difference in the set as the two gave the Black and Gold the lift they needed to push the Mountaineers to the 25-20 win.
ASU's momentum did not carry over into third set action, with North Florida leading the entire set, extending its lead by as many as five points and notching the eventual 25-21 victory, to take a 2-1 set advanatge.
The Black and Gold were impressive in fourth set play, as the two squads traded leads on five different occassions and the score was tied 12 different times. Simliar to second set action, ASU took a commanding 5-1 lead with kills by Sedon and Kuehner. The Ospreys rallied, to knot the set at 13 all. The set continued to be back and forth until Kaley Read tallied a kill to give UNF the go ahead score.
Sophomore Kasey Sauls kept ASU in the match with a kill of her own to make the score 24 all. A kill by Danija Medina would tie the score once more at 25 all, but two Mountaineer attack errors would give North Florida the thrilling 27-25 win.
Sedon and Jechorek both finished the match in double-figure kills with 15 and 13 each respectively, while Sauls had 35 assists and senior libero Cassie Engelgau 18 digs.
The Apps return to action with the final match of the Appalachian Invitational against Tennessee Tech at 7 p.m. in the Holmes Center.
Davidson 3, High Point 0
HIGH POINT, N.C. - Sarabeth Peele and Christine Perzinski led the Davidson Wildcat volleyball team to its first win of the season, a 3-0 (28-26, 25-23, 30-28) sweep over the host High Point University Panthers in the team's opener at the High Point University Volleyball Classic Saturday afternoon at the Mills Center.
Peele totaled a season-high 19 kills on just 40 swings to lead the Wildcats (1-3), while Perzinski added 10. Hayley Lawson had a match-best 34 assists, and Molly Crenshaw led the defense with 15 digs.
The Panthers (4-2) also placed a pair of hitters in double figures in Megan Smith (13) and Courtney Johnk (12), and Holly Fong had 33 assists to go along with 11 digs. Smith also double-doubled with 12 digs.
The Wildcats opened a slight 4-1 lead to start the match, but the Panthers took a 6-4 lead after rattling off four straight points. The teams knotted the score at 8, including kills from Erin Lupfer, Jorden Benedict and Madison Benedict, but the Panthers pulled ahead with a 3-0 run.
High Point took its largest lead at 17-12 with another 3-0 run before Davidson started to battle back. The Wildcats chipped away and, behind a pair of back-to-back putaways from Peele, got within a point, 21-20. The teams traded possessions before Johnk pushed the Panthers back up two, 23-21. The Wildcats won the next two points on an attack error and a kill by Jorden Benedict to knot the score at 23, but Stephannie Wallin gave the Panthers a set-point opportunity. Her service error knotted the game and Johnk's attack error gave the Wildcats their first set-point try. The Wildcats finally took the set with a kill from Madison Benedict and a Panther hitting error, 28-26.
The Wildcats jumped out to a 7-3 lead in the second set, but the Panthers closed within one, 11-10, behind a 7-4 run. With Davidson holding a slight 18-15 lead, the Panthers won three straight to knot the score. The set was tied at every point with the teams trading possessions until Lawson and an attacking error by Holly Fong delivered the 25-23 win and a 2-0 advantage in the match.
The third set played out in reverse with the Panthers taking a 7-4 lead before the Wildcats fought back to take a 12-11 lead behind an 8-4 run. Davidson held that lead, until at 21-18, High Point went ahead 23-22 behind a 5-1 spurt. Smith's kill gave the Panthers a 24-23 set point, but Jorden Benedict helped the 'Cats survive. The teams traded points until finally, at 28-28, Peele won the last two points to lift Davidson to a 30-28 win for the match.
The Wildcats return to action against Marshall at 4:30 p.m. and wrap up tournament play tomorrow against Winston-Salem State at 4:30 p.m.
Marshall 3, Davidson 1
HIGH POINT, N.C. -- In its second match of the day, the Davidson Wildcat volleyball team dropped a 3-1 (25-19, 25-18, 28-30, 25-20) decision to the Thundering Herd of Marshall at the High Point University Classic Saturday evening in the Millis Center.
Davidson (1-5) placed three hitters in double figures, led once again by Sarabeth Peele with 11 kills, while Madison Benedict and Jorden Benedict each had 10. Hayley Lawson chipped in 35 assists, while Molly Crenshaw had 17 digs.
The Herd (5-0) had four players hit double figures, led by a match-high 15 kills from Kristin Marcum.
With the score tied at seven in the first set, the Herd took a slight 11-8 lead and forced the Wildcats into a timeout. Marshall held the margin, and managed to stretch the lead with a pivotal 4-0 run late in the game to take a 23-17 lead. The Herd closed out the set with a 4-2 run to take a 25-19 victory. In the second set, the Herd opened up a 14-6 lead and pushed it to a commanding 21-12 before taking a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-18 win.
The Wildcats won the third set, despite getting down 7-2 early. Davidson started its rally when they put together a 6-1 run while trailing 18-14 to pull ahead by a point, 20-19 behind the strong play of Madison Benedict and Peele. Jordan Benedict put the 'Cats ahead 23-21, but Marshall would string together three straight points to force the 'Cats into a match point. Davidson survived three match points until Peele knotted the score at 28. Davidson got a set-point try courtesy of a hitting error by the Herd, and Erin Lupfer put the set away for a 30-28 win.
The fourth set was back and forth early, until when knotted at 10, the Herd pulled ahead with four straight points. They moved the lead to 18-14, but the Wildcats rallied with a 4-1 run, including kills from Peele, Jorden Benedict and Lupfer, to pull within two and force Marshall into a timeout. The Herd responded with a 5-2 run and closed out the match with a 25-20 victory in the set.
Davidson will conclude play at the High Point Classic tomorrow, when they face Winston-Salem State at 4:30 p.m.
Wofford 3, Gardner-Webb 0
Maryland-Eastern Shore 3, Wofford 0
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - The Terrier volleyball team earned a second win over Gardner-Webb in as many days and fell to UMES to conclude the 2009 Runnin' Bulldog Classic. Wofford defeated Gardner-Webb 3-0, while suffering a 3-0 loss to UMES.
In the first set against UMES, the Terriers battled the Hawks to a 13-13 tie before UMES fashioned a 12-3 run to take the 1-0 match lead by a score of 25-16. The Hawks jumped out to an early lead in the second game, and the Terriers were not able to overcome the 4-9 deficit, falling by a final score of 16-25.
Wofford recovered in the third set to take a quick 6-4 lead, but the Hawks responded with a 4-0 run to regain the lead. The Terriers would not lead again as UMES claimed the match win with a 25-18 score in the third set.
Christine Edwards led the Hawks with 15 kills, with Whitney Johnson adding 14 kills to the offensive effort. UMES compiled a team attack percentage of .385, with 47 total kills and only 10 errors.
Wofford's offense was led by Shanna Hughes, who recorded nine kills and added eight digs. Senior Sarah Palmer led the defense with nine digs and setter Joanna Suddath racked up 17 assists.
In the second match of the day, the Terriers earned a season sweep over Gardner-Webb with a 3-0 win. The two teams battled at the beginning of the first set, with ties at one, three, four, five and six. With the score 6-6, a GWU service ace set off a run for the Bulldogs that ended in a 15-10 lead for GWU. From there, the Terriers fought back to tie the score at 19. Despite trailing 22-24, Wofford fought off two game points to take the first set 26-24.
The second set saw the Terriers take a quick 10-3 lead, but the Wofford offense sputtered, allowing the Bulldogs to close the gap to one point at 11-10. The Terriers then went on another run, but the run was matched point-for-point by UMES. With the score tied at 17, a GWU offensive spurt gave the Bulldogs a 20-17 lead, but the Terriers battled back to earn game point advantage at 24-23. Both teams fought off game points, with Wofford ultimately coming out on top to earn the 28-26 win.
The tables turned in the third set, with Gardner-Webb taking a 12-6 lead before a kill from Joanna Suddath stopped the run. Suddath's serve then gave the Terriers momentum to close the gap, and propelled Wofford to a 16-16 tie. After a 20-20 tie, the Terriers attempted to close out the match by taking a 23-22 lead, but a Terrier miscue gave the Bulldogs a break to tie the score again at 23-23. Wofford then fought off two match points to take the third and final set by a score of 27-25.
Molly Rhyne led the Bulldogs with 14 kills while also adding 10 digs for a double-double. Brett Wilson led the GWU defense with 16 defensive saves. The Bulldogs out-dug the Terriers 64-55.
Senior Shanna Hughes again led the Wofford offense with eight kills while Catelyn Amende added seven for the Terriers. The defense was led by Hughes' 16 digs. Seniors Sarah Palmer and Joanna Suddath added 14 and 10 defensive saves, respectively. Suddath notched a double-double with 24 assists.
With the split, Wofford's record remains even at 2-2 on the season. The Terriers will host Savannah State on Wednesday at 7:00 pm for the season's home opener.
Youngstown State 3, College of Charleston 0
CINCINNATI, Ohio - Junior setter Cole Dawley (Charleston, S.C.) dished out 28 assists and had nine digs while senior outside hitter Emily Sawin (New Lenox, Ill.) delivered 10 kills as the College of Charleston (1-4, 0-0) dropped a 3-0 decision to Youngstown State (2-3, 0-0) Saturday morning at the Cincinnati Bearcat Invitational in Cincinnati, Ohio.
After scoring the first two points of the match, the Cougars quickly found themselves trailing 5-2 following two aces, two errors and a pair of blocks. The Penguins would eventually expand that lead to 16-11 before CofC clawed back to within 17-15 behind three kills and a block. A flurry of points by YSU then gave them a four-point lead at 21-17 before the College of Charleston pulled to within 21-19 with back-to-back points. At that point, the Penguins locked up the set as they scored four of the final five points, three of which came on a pair of kills and a block from senior middle hitter Allison Heinz, to claim a 25-20 victory.
The two teams were evenly matched at the start of the second set as they battled through four ties and three lead changes over the first eight points before three Cougars errors keyed a 5-0 Youngstown State run that resulted in a 10-4 Penguin lead. CofC was quick to answer back this time with three straight points as they took advantage of a YSU service error and a kill and block from sophomore middle blocker Elyse Chubb (Peachtree City, Ga.) to make it 10-7.
The back-and-forth action would continue as the Penguins came right back to push their lead to 16-10 before CofC put together a 6-2 run to make it 18-16. That would be as close as they would get, however, as Youngstown State ended the set with a 7-4 stretch, including three of the final four points, for a second 25-20 decision that put them ahead 2-0 in the match.
Trailing 4-3 at the start of the third set, YSU once again began to build momentum as they mounted a 6-0 run fueled by four kills from senior middle hitter Ruth Boscaljon and a pair of service aces from freshman outside hitter Suzanne Lasseigne. The Cougars then notched the next couple of points to make it 9-6 but the Penguins would have none of it as three straight blocks, two each by Heinz and senior right side hitter Kaitlin O'Hara, pushed YSU's lead to 13-6.
That was part of a larger 9-1 run that left Youngstown State with a commanding 18-7 advantage as Heinz drilled three more kills over that stretch. Three straight kills from the Cougars, two by sophomore middle blocker Sarah Havel (Carmel, Ind.), narrowed the gap to 18-10 but that would be as close as CofC would get as the Penguins went on to close out the set, and the match, with a 25-16 victory.
For Youngstown State, Boscaljon led all hitters with 13 kills and delivered a .409 hitting percentage while Heinz drilled 10 kills, hit a match-high .500 and delivered a match-best eight blocks. Lasseigne dished out 31 assists while junior defensive specialist Laurie Shives posted nine digs to lead the team. O'Hara added four blocks on the day.
The College of Charleston was led by Cole Dawley's 28 assists to go along with nine digs while Emily Sawin notched 10 kills and five digs. junior defensive specialist Paige Johnson (Sleepy Hollow, Ill.) led the defense with a match-high 11 digs and junior right side hitter Ginny Phillips (Raleigh, N.C.) added five kills and four blocks.
The Cougars wrap up the tournament later this evening with a 7:30 p.m. match against host Cincinnati at Fifth Third Arena.
NOTES
The 3-0 loss is the first for the Cougars since a straight sets defeat at the hands of Duke on September 19, 2008 ... this marks the first time in the College of Charleston's Division I history (Since 1991) that they have started 1-4.
Cincinnati 3, College of Charleston 0
CINCINNATI, Ohio - Junior setter Cole Dawley (Charleston, S.C.) notched a double-double with 43 assists and 18 digs and sophomore middle blocker Sarah Havel (Carmel, Ind.) tied her career-high with nine blocks as the College of Charleston (1-5, 0-0) fell to Cincinnati (4-2, 0-0) 3-0 Saturday evening at the Cincinnati Bearcat Invitational in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Three blocks on the match's first four plays, including back-to-back by junior right side hitter Ginny Phillips (Raleigh, N.C.) to kick things off, gave the Cougars a 4-0 lead. With the score at 6-2, the teams traded runs as the Bearcats rattled off three straight points to make it 6-5 before CofC responded with four straight on a pair of kills and two UC errors. Trailing 10-6, Cincinnati put together a 7-1 run to pull ahead 13-11.
From there, the teams would be separated by no more than three points until the Bearcats extended to a 20-16 advantage. A 4-1 College of Charleston, keyed by a pair of blocks by Sarah Havel and consecutive CofC kills, narrowed the gap to 21-20 before four straight kills from junior outside hitter Stephanie Niemer helped to give Cincinnati a 25-22 opening set victory.
Having been pushed to the limits in Game 1, the Bearcats quickly built a 7-1 lead behind a pair of kills and a block from freshman middle blocker Emily Hayden and a pair of service aces from freshman middle blocker Becca Refenes at the start of the second set. It would not stay that way as the Cougars came right back with an 8-3 run that featured five kills and three blocks to close to within 10-9.
Several mini runs by both clubs left the score at 21-17, Cincinnati, before a kill by sophomore middle blocker Elyse Chubb (Peachtree City, Ga.) and a UC error made it 21-19. A pair of Neimer kills and a CofC error as part of a 3-1 run gave the Bearcats set point at 24-22 but they could not capitalize as the Cougars defense stepped up.
Senior outside hitter Emily Sawin (New Lenox, Ill.), Havel and senior middle blocker Jennifer Darty (Orlando, Fla.) combined on a triple block while Chubb and Darty stuffed the next play at the net to tie the set at 24-24. Niemer's 14th kill of the night made it 25-24 before a Chubb kill knotted the score once again. It would be the last time as a service error and a kill from sophomore outside hitter Missy Harpenau gave the Bearcats a 27-25 decision and a 2-0 match lead.
Cincy took the early lead, 11-7, in Game 3 and would hold on to it until a 5-1 stretch by the College of Charleston tied the score at 12-12. The teams exchanged the next six points, to deadlock at 15-15. A 5-2 Cougar run gave them a 20-17 lead but the Bearcats came charging right back with a 4-1 run fueled by three kills from Niemer to tie the score at 21-21.
A 3-1 run by CofC brought them to set point at 24-22 before three straight kills, including back-to-back from Harpeneau, turned the tables and put the Bearcats ahead 25-24. An exchange of the next four points once again left Cincy with match point at 27-26 but they wouldn't score another the rest of the set as the Cougars drilled three straight kills to earn a 29-27 victory and force a fourth set.
With the opportunity to lock up the match, the Bearcats jumped out to the early lead in that frame, taking a 13-5 advantage behind a team effort before an 8-4 run pulled CofC to within 17-13. With the score at 20-16, Cincinnati used three kills, an ace and an error to mount a match-ending 5-3 run to take the set 25-19 and the contest 3-1.
For Cincinnati, Niemer led all players with a match-high 27 kills and earned a double-double with 14 digs while junior setter Annie Fesl set the tone for the offense with a match-best 57 assists and added 11 digs. Senior libero Jaime Frey posted 21 digs to lead the defense and Harpenau added a double-double of her own with 15 kills and 11 digs. Freshman middle blocker Emily Hayden chipped in with 12 kills to round out the offensive attack for the Bearcats.
Elyse Chubb led the College of Charleston with 12 kills and six blocks while Cole Dawley dished out 43 assists and came away with 18 digs and three blocks. Defensively, Sarah Havel posted a career-high tying nine blocks to go along with nine kills and junior libero Paige Johnson (Sleepy Hollow, Ill.) posted 13 digs. Senior outside hitter Emily Sawin (New Lenox, Ill.) added eight kills, nine digs and three blocks while Darty finished with eight kills and five blocks on the night.
The College of Charleston is back in action September 11-12 when they travel to Cameron Indoor Stadium for the Duke Blue Devil Invitational in Durham, N.C. There they will take on the two-time defending national champion Penn State as well as Duke and Loyola University.
NOTES
Havel tied her career-high of nine blocks set at UNC Greensboro on October 12, 2008 ... as a team, the College of Charleston registered 16.5 blocks ... the Cougars match against Penn State will be the first in program history against a defending national champion ... Elyse Chubb earned All-Tournament honors for the College of Charleston.
Ohio State 3, Georgia Southern 0
FORT COLLINS, Colo. - Bethany Sanford paced the Georgia Southern Eagles with nine kills, while Kate Van Dyke continued to shine with 21 assists as the Eagles took on Ohio State in Moby Arena. The Buckeyes swept the Eagles in three sets (25-18, 25-13, 25-17) to close out the Hilton Classic Saturday morning (September 5).
The loss drops Georgia Southern to 3-3 on the season, while Ohio State improved to 5-1. The Buckeyes commanded the lead the duration of the match beginning with the first set.
In the opening stanza, the Eagles kept the set close. Off three kills by Georgia Southern, the score stood at 11-6. Van Dyke's (Shawnee, Kan.) first kill made the score 11-7 and her second forced an Ohio State timeout at 14-10. A 5-3 run gave Ohio State a seven-point margin at 20-13. The Buckeyes capitalized on Georgia Southern errors and closed out the set, 25-18 on an Eagle error.
Georgia Southern held a 2-1 lead at the start of the second set before an Ohio State kill tied the score at 2-all. The Buckeyes would hold the lead for the remainder of the set. After an Eagle timeout, Ohio State widened its lead to six, 11-5, off two kills and three Georgia Southern errors. The Buckeyes took a six point lead, 16-10, sparking a 5-0 run to take a commanding 21-10 lead. A Sanford (Avondale, Ariz.) kill snapped the run at 21-11. Consecutive kills by Leah Kettelson (Wray, Colo.) would be the final two points Georgia Southern would post as Ohio State closed out the set, 25-13.
The Buckeyes hit a game-high .556 from the floor in the second set, led by Emily Danks with five kills. Georgia Southern was held to a .030 attempt from the floor in the second stanza.
After a 1-all tie in the third set, Ohio State never relinquished the lead. A .324 hitting percentage with 15 kills allowed the Buckeyes to close out the final set, 25-17. Katie Dull and Kristen Dozier paced the Buckeyes with four kills each. Sanford and Moriah Bellissimo (Blackstone, Va.) led the Eagles with three kills each as Georgia Southern hit .139 from the floor.
For the game, the Eagles hit .109 with 31 kills, 27 assists and 35 digs. Sanford posted a team-high nine kills to Van Dyke's 21 assists. Senior Cristin Haines (Palos Heights, Ill.) contributed a team-high nine digs for the Eagles. Ohio State struck .408 from the floor with 46 kills, 40 assists and 43 digs. Katie Dull contributed 12 kills to the winning effort, followed by Dozier with 11. Amanda Peterson posted 35 of Ohio State's 40 assists.
Georgia Southern will look to snap this three-match skid when they travel to Savannah State on Monday, September 7. Match time is slated for 2 p.m.
South Carolina 3, UNC Greensboro 0
COLUMBIA, S.C. - UNC Greensboro narrowly dropped the first game, but the Spartans only hit .123 as a team as they were swept by South Carolina in the final match of the Gamecock Invitational on Saturday afternoon at the Volleyball Competition Center. Catherine Hanners and Kayleigh Knerr were named to the All-Tournament Team.
UNCG fell to 4-3 this season with the loss while South Carolina stayed undefeated to move to 6-0 on the year.
Senior Emily Lindborg was the best attacker for the Spartans as she had 10 kills and hit an impressive .529 for the match. Fellow senior Hanners also had 10 kills and Knerr led the team with 12 digs.
The best game of the afternoon was the first game, with South Carolina narrowly winning, 26-24. The two teams traded points early before South Carolina was able to grab a 14-9 lead, but UNCG clawed back to within 19-18. South Carolina held game-point at 24-21, but back-to-back kills by Lindborg and an attack error by the Gamecocks made the game tied at 24. It was all for naught though as South Carolina was able to take the next two points to win the game.
The second game was much of the same as South Carolina held on to a narrow 17-16 lead midway through the game. The Gamecocks were able to win eight of the next 11 points to take the game, 25-19.
The Gamecocks carried their momentum into the third game as they jumped out to an early 7-1 lead. The Spartans wouldn't go down without a fight as they pulled within 17-13, but they weren't able to overcome the deficit as South Carolina won the game, 25-17.
The Spartans return to the court on Wednesday as they host head coach Patrick Nicholas' former team Marshall at 7 p.m. in Fleming Gymnasium.
Southeast Missouri State 3, Samford 2
Belmont 3, Samford 0
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Samford University volleyball team fell in both of its matches Saturday to Southeast Missouri and Belmont in the final day of the Belmont Tournament. In a series of close sets, the Bulldogs could get past the Redhawks Saturday afternoon, falling, 3-2. Belmont defeated Samford Saturday night, 3-0, but not without a fight from the Bulldogs.
"Although the results may not show it, this was not a bad weekend for us," Samford head coach Derek Schroeder said. "We played a lot of hard-fought matches again, which is good for such a young team. We just couldn't get over that hump to win."
Freshman libero Alexis Bauer was named to the All-Tournament team. Bauer average 3.55 digs per set throughout the tournament. Friday night, she posted nine digs, and notched 14 digs against Southeast Missouri and 16 digs against Belmont on Saturday.
Samford (3-3) fought through five sets with Southeast Missouri (3-3) but was not able to break the winning streak the Redhawks hold over the Bulldogs. SEMO has now won all nine meeting between the two teams.
The Bulldogs won the first set with Southeast Missouri, beginning with a big block by Shelby Brandon and Sheriden Stangohr. Samford pushed led lead out to eight points and held that lead, winning by seven, 25-18. The Redhawks took the next two sets, 25-21 and 25-19, giving them the match advantage.
The Bulldogs came back and took the fourth set, leading by as much as five and winning 25-19. However, it was SEMO that would take the fifth set. After the Bulldogs jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead, the Redhawks went on a 9-4 run to take a two-point lead. Despite a hard fight by Samford, the Redhawks would win, 15-11.
Against the Redhawks, Samford was led by freshman Allie Bettinger. The outside hitter chalked up a career-high 18 kills and 17 digs, for her second double-double on the season. She hit .395 and had 20 points while adding one assists and two aces. Stangohr added 14 kills for a .211 hitting percentage and 18 points, adding two assists, two digs, six block assists and Samford's only solo block of the match.
Brandon knocked down nine kills for 11.5 points, with two digs and a career high of five block assists. Rachel Gadberry had eight kills for 10 points and a .222 hitting percentage. She also added two digs and four block assists. Elizabeth Neisler and Hillary Fountain notched seven kills each. Neisler also had two digs and one block assists while Fountain had 26 assists, a career-high 22 digs and one block assist.
Casey Garvey led the Bulldogs with a career-high 29 assists and 12 digs while Sarah Gardner had eight digs and an ace and Alica Roth added two digs.
In the final match of the evening, Samford took on a tough opponent in host team Belmont (2-6). The Bruins took an early six-point lead in the first set, but the Bulldogs quickly caught up and tied the score at 12. They fought through two more ties before they took their first lead of the match at 15-14, and fought with the Bruins to keep that led before relinquishing it three points later. Samford soon tied the score again and took the lead back but Belmont would go on to force extra points and win, 28-26.
Samford took the first lead in the second set but Belmont would soon take the lead and run with it, eventually winning the second set, 25-18. The Bruins led by as much as eight in the third and final set, and although Samford got within three, Belmont would go on to win, 25-21.
Five Bulldogs had double digits in digs against the Bruins. Fountain and Bauer led with 16 while Garvey added 11 and Bettinger and Gardner tallied 10. Bettinger chalked up her third consecutive double-double, adding 11 kills to her 10 digs while also grabbing 11 points.. Fountain also led the Bulldogs in assists with 18, for her second consecutive double-double.
Garvey also tallied her second consecutive double-double, adding 11 assist to her 11 digs. Brandon knocked down eight kills to lead the Bulldogs in hitting with a .300 attack percentage. She also added three digs. Neisler had six kills, two digs and two block assists while Stanoghr had three kills, two block solos, three block assists, one dig and one assist. Gadberry tallied two kills, two digs, two block assists and one block solo.
Samford will have a quick turnaround this week as they head to south to take on Troy University on Tuesday. Match play starts at 6 p.m.
UNC Asheville 3, The Citadel 0
Spartanburg, S.C. - The Citadel Volleyball team concluded action at the USC Upstate Volleyball Classic this afternoon, falling to UNC Asheville 3-0.
The Bulldogs could not match the intensity of the match with UNC Asheville last weekend in Raleigh when they fell in a grind-it-out five set match. Today, Asheville controlled the match from start to finish, winning in three sets by scores of 25-17, 25-18 and 25-19.
Tatum Jestila once again led the team in kills with 10 and also recorded eight digs while Alyssa Holum tallied 28 assists to go along with a team-high 10 digs.
Jestila was named to the All-Tournament team for the second straight week. The Arizona native tallied 40 kills, 31 digs and three service aces in three games, playing in all 11 sets at the tournament.
"We had a six point lead in the second set, but they rallied for the win," said Head Coach Carolyn Geiger. The same held true in the third set, we went up 5-1 early, but UNCA fought hard and took the lead from us. Our defense struggled today; I thought our offense kept us in the match. We saw three strong opponents this weekend, but we can't let these losses slow us down. We have to look ahead to our first home match against Charleston Southern on Tuesday. They will be a tough test as well. It will feel good to play at home finally."
The Citadel return to action on Tuesday, Sep.8 when the Bulldogs open the season at McAlister Field House against cross-town rival Charleston Southern at 7 p.m.
For more information on Bulldog Volleyball, visit the official website of The Citadel Athletics at www.CitadelSports.com.