Davidson 3, Samford 2
DAVIDSON, N.C. - Behind the second straight 20-kill effort from senior outside hitter Sarabeth Peele, the Davidson Wildcat volleyball team defeated the Samford Bulldogs, 3-2 (25-17, 20-25, 13-25, 25-21, 15-12), Saturday afternoon in SoCon volleyball action at Belk Arena.
In the teams' fifth meeting, Davidson (10-8, 2-0 SoCon) picked up its first-ever win over Samford (6-11, 0-3 SoCon), while improving to 2-0 in league play for the first time since 1999.
Peele led the Wildcats with 21 kills and nine digs, while senior middle blocker Jorden Benedict and junior opposite Erin Lupfer each added 13 kills. Senior setter Hayley Lawson finished with 45 assists and nine digs, and junior outside hitter Christine Perzinski also had nine digs.
Samford got 22 kills from Elizabeth Neisler, to go along with 11 and 10 from Katie Murphy and Lauren Hutchinson, respectively. Hillary Fountain finished with 47 assists, and Alexis Bauer paced the defense with 20 digs.
The Wildcats roared out of the gate, winning the first five points of the match en route to a convincing 25-17 win. The Bulldogs tried to make it interesting early, getting within two, 7-5, on a kill by Neisler and a hitting error, but Davidson pulled away with a 7-1 run to open a 14-7 lead. The Wildcats controlled the set throughout, finishing with a .448 hitting percentage to just .160 for the Bulldogs.
The second set featured nine ties, though Samford used an early 4-2 lead to control play most of the way. Davidson led just once, 12-11, on back-to-back kills from Peele, but Samford got the two-point margin back on kills from Neisler and Hutchinson. Davidson knotted the score at 14 on a kill from Peele and a Bulldog error, and the set went back and forth, tied as late as 19. The Bulldogs rattled off four straight to open a 23-19 lead and evened the match with a 25-20 win.
Samford took a 5-1 lead to start the third set and went ahead 2-1 in the match with the 25-13 win. Neisler chipped in four kills, while Hutchinson, Shelby Brandon, and Murphy each had three.
Fighting to extend the match, Davidson broke a 3-3 tie with a kill from Lupfer and an ace from Peele before forcing the Bulldogs into a timeout by pulling ahead 9-5. A Wildcat hitting error put Samford within a score, 10-9, but Davidson put together a 4-0 run to open a 14-9 lead and continued to pull ahead 21-16 late in the set. The Bulldogs won three straight to force Davidson into a timeout at 22-19 before pulling within two on a Wildcat hitting error. Peele and a Bulldog hitting error lifted Davidson to a 24-20 lead, and though Neisler fought off one set point, Lupfer put away the next for the 25-21 win to force a fifth set.
The fifth set was a nail biter with ties at every point through 10 and three lead changes. The Wildcats led by a point five times in the set and opened a two-point lead, 12-10, on two straight kills from Peele, but Samford answered with putaways from Hutchinson and Murphy to tie it up again at 12. Lupfer's 13th kill of the match put Davidson ahead 13-12 before a hitting error gave the 'Cats a match point, which Perzinski punched home for the 15-12 win.
Davidson will return to action when it hosts Gardner-Webb in its final non-conference match of the season Tuesday at 7 p.m. before traveling to Charleston to face the College of Charleston and The Citadel next weekend. The Bulldogs will round out their month-long road swing Wednesday as they travel to Chattanooga, Tenn., to take on their SoCon rival. Match play begins at 7 p.m. ET at MacLellan Gym.
Furman 3, College of Charleston 2
GREENVILLE, S.C. - Junior Alexis Shaffer hit .407 with 13 kills and six blocks to lead the Furman volleyball team to a 3-2 (25-22, 25-12, 17-25, 23-25, 15-10) win over the College of Charleston Saturday afternoon in Alley Gymnasium. With the score tied 8-8 in the fifth set, the Paladins reeled off six straight points off kills by Shaffer and freshman Elle Ross and two service aces by Natalie Braun for an eventual 15-10 win in the final set.
In set one, the two teams battled to a 22-22 tie before Furman won three straight points for the 25-22 win. The Paladins carried the momentum into set two, winning handily 25-12, and outhitting College of Charleston .448 to .103. The Cougars then fought back to win set three 25-17. After College of Charleston took an 8-4 lead in the fourth set, Furman came back to tie the score at 11-11. The two teams traded points back and forth and were eventually tied at 23-23 before the Cougars won the last two points to force the deciding fifth set.
Sophomore Chandler Ambrester added 13 kills and 13 digs for the Paladins, while sophomore Natalie Braun tallied 12 kills, 13 digs and three service aces in the victory. Junior Kelly Kirby paced the team with 29 assists and 18 digs, and freshman Sarah McCarthy recorded 17 kills and three service aces. Sophomore Caroline Adams posted nine kills and four block assists in the match.
Sarah Havel led the College of Charleston (14-5, 3-1 SoCon) with 17 kills, while Ginny Phillips and Madelyn McGinnis each added 10 kills for the Cougars. Cole Dawley recorded a team-high 41 assists, and Paige Johnson posted 14 digs.
Furman (8-7, 2-1 SoCon) will play at Wofford Wednesday at 6 p.m.
Western Carolina 3, UNCG 2
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - The Western Carolina volleyball team used a balanced attack to upset UNC Greensboro in five sets (29-27, 25-22, 18-25, 18-25, 15-11) on Saturday afternoon at the Ramsey Center.
The Catamounts (6-12, 1-2 SoCon) snapped a nine-game losing streak against the Spartans (14-4, 2-1 SoCon) dating back to the 2005 season when WCU defeated UNC Greensboro in the opening round of the Southern Conference Tournament.
Sophomore Amanda Chaparro paced the offense with 16 kills with a .282 attacking percentage. Senior Paloma Alvarez recorded 14 kills (.250 attacking percentage) while Kelcie Randazzo and Rebecca Stoltz both added 11 kills in the victory.
Junior Emily Franklin posted a career-high 47 assists. Freshman Morgan Cochran led the defense with a match-high 25 digs while classmate Randazzo recorded a career-high 20 digs to go along with her aforementioned 11 kills, her seventh double-double of the season. Chaparro also chipped in 14 digs and three block assists. Stoltz also added six block assists to pace the Catamount blocking attack.
After trailing 9-3 early in the opening set, the Catamounts went on an 8-1 run to take their first lead of the set, 11-10. The rest of the set was back and forth as the two teams exchanged leads with neither team leading by more than one point until WCU took a two-point advantage at the 23-21 mark on an Alvarez kill. UNCG rattled off two points after using a timeout to get to set point (25-24). The Catamounts and Spartans were tied three more times down the stretch until back-to-back kills by Minogue and Stoltz gave WCU the first set, 29-27.
Chaparro recorded a .500 attacking percentage in the first set with six kills and zero errors while Franklin posted 15 assists. Randazzo also had .500 attacking percentage in set one, collecting four kills.
The beginning of the second set started similar to the first as WCU trailed early, 11-7, before using 10-2 run capped by an Alvarez kill to take a 17-13 advantage. The Catamounts never looked back after pulling ahead, never trailing in the rest of the set to win, 25-22.
The Catamounts led 1-0 to open set three, but that would be the only time they led as UNCG went on a 13-7 run to take a 13-8 advantage. WCU went on a 4-2 run to get within three (15-12) before the Spartans used a 9-3 run, making the score 24-15. The Catamounts rattled off three consecutive points to give UNCG a scare, but Ariel Newman recorded a kill on the final play of the set to give the Spartans a 25-18 victory.
WCU led by two (11-9) early in the third set and tied UNCG twice - with the final tie at 13 all - before the Spartans scored five consecutive points to take a 18-13 lead and force WCU to use a timeout. Alvarez and Randazzo both picked up kills to get the match within three (18-15), but UNCG ended the set on a 7-3 run to take the match into a fifth set.
Set five saw the two squads tied seven times - with the final tie at 11 - before the Catamounts used a Chaparro kill and service ace paired with three Spartan miscues to score the final four points of the match and upset UNCG.
WCU recorded four more service aces than the Spartans (6-2) and had four less service receive errors in the contest (6-2).
Statistically, the two teams looked similar as WCU posted 63 kills to UNCG's 62. Both teams recorded 79 digs in the contest and the Spartans recorded three more assists (60-57) than the Catamounts.
The Catamounts return to action on Sunday, Oct. 3 when they play host to SoCon foe Elon at 3 p.m.
Appalachian State 3, Elon 1
BOONE, N.C. - The Elon University volleyball team dropped its first Southern Conference match of the year, 3-1 (22-25, 19-25, 25-22, 16-25), at Appalachian State on Saturday afternoon. Elon is now 10-9 (2-1 SoCon) on the season, while Appalachian State moves to 12-5 (3-0 SoCon).
Sophomore Allison Johnson led the Phoenix with 10 kills, while senior Lauren Copenhagen followed with eight.
Junior Caroline Lemke led Elon on the defensive side with nine block assists and helped the team to 15 total. Sophomore Ali Deatsch recorded 22 digs on the afternoon and Copenhagen finished with 14.
In the first set, the Phoenix took the early lead 9-4 with a kill from senior Sarah Schermerhorn, but the Mountaineers would come back and tie the set at 11-all after two straight kills. The remainder of the game went back and forth and saw the score tied seven times before Appalachian State took the 22-21 lead and eventually closed out the win 25-22.
The second set remained tight in the beginning but Elon found itself down 24-16 with ASU holding the set point. The Phoenix would score three straight points, including a kill from Lemke, to hold the Mountaineers at 24-19. The set would come to an end with Appalachian State taking the victory, 25-19.
In the third set, the Phoenix found itself down quickly 2-0, but kills from Johnson and freshman Cali Estes would help move the set to three -all. With the game tied at eight, Elon began to capitalize on some ASU mistakes and move ahead 14-10. The Mountaineers took advantage of a 7-3 run and tied the game at 17-all. Elon regained the momentum and scored on four of the next five points, which included three kills from Johnson, and moved ahead 21-18. With the score at 24-22, the Phoenix had its first set point of the afternoon within grasp and won the set 25-22 to move the match into a fourth set.
The fourth set began with a 7-2 Mountaineer advantage and continued as ASU went on an 11-7 run to make it 18-9. Elon fought back to score three straight points and close the gap to six points at 18-12. However, the Mountaineers' lead was too much for the Phoenix to overcome and the set and match would end with the score 25-16 in favor Appalachian State.
The Elon volleyball team will be back in action tomorrow Sunday, Oct. 3 as it heads to Western Carolina for a 3 p.m. match-up.
Wofford 3, The Citadel 1
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Stacy Byrd recorded her first double-double of the season with 11 kills and 11 digs as the Wofford College Terriers defeated The Citadel Bulldogs, 3-1 (25-17, 25-18, 16-25, 25-19), Saturday night in Ben Johnson Arena.
Byrd's 11 kills came on 22 attempts with four errors for a.318 hitting percentage as she lifted the Terriers their first Southern Conference win. Wofford improves to 11-10 overall and 1-3 in the SoCon, as the Bulldogs fall to 5-14 overall and 0-4 in the conference.
Wofford broke a 5-5 tie with a 12-4 run to take a 17-9 lead. Three Wendy Burnett kills highlighted the Terrier run. Wofford took advantage of The Citadel's unforced errors to take a 25-17 set one win. The Terriers hit .348 in the match compared to the Bulldogs .129.
In set two, Wofford led wire-to-wire as they jumped out to a 7-2 lead. The Citadel got within two points early in the match, 9-7, but Wofford used six kills from Catelyn Amende to win the set 25-18.
The Citadel broke a 7-7 on a Wofford attack error and Bulldog service ace to take a 9-7 lead. Wofford closed the lead to one twice in the match, but The Citadel held on to force a fourth set with a 25-16 win.
The fourth and final set started with the Terriers trailing 6-1, but Wofford rallied and eventually tied the set at 11 on a kill by Rachel Woodlee. The set then saw three ties, before Wofford exploded with an 8-0 run to take a 24-16 lead. Amende served nine times as the Terriers received kills from Amanda Liguori, Byrd, Woodlee and Arden Anderson during the stretch. The Terriers took the set 25-19 as Liguori had the game-ending kill.
Amende and Liguori followed Byrd with nine kills, as Arden Anderson had eight kills and .412 hitting percentage. Woodlee paced the Terriers with five block assists, which set a new career-high for total blocks. Bekah Dorsey saw her double-double streak end as she handed out 22 assists, but came up two digs shy of double-digits. Reagan Styles had a team-high 16 digs.
Wofford will take the court against Furman October 6th at 6 p.m. in Ben Johnson Arena for their next match.
Georgia Southern 3, Chattanooga 0
STATESBORO, Ga. - Bethany Sanford and Parker Small combined for 15 kills to lead the Georgia Southern Volleyball team over Chattanooga in straight sets (25-18, 25-17, 25-19) Saturday night (October 2) in Hanner Fieldhouse. The Eagles won their ninth match in a row to improve to 12-6 overall and 3-0 in Southern Conference play. Chattanooga dips to 4-14, 0-3.
Georgia Southern's nine-match win streak marks the longest streak since the Eagles set a program record 19-match win streak in 2003. The 3-0 SoCon start is the best since a 4-0 start in 2005.
Junior Ashley Roe anchored the backcourt with 23 digs, while Kate Van Dyke fueled the attack with 25 assists. Small and Sanford led the Eagle attack with eight and seven kills, respectively; Small also added five blocks in the win.
Small hit .571 in the opening frame posting four kills on just seven swings leading Georgia Southern to a 25-18 first set win. Chattanooga kept the set close going through five lead changes and 12 tied scores. The lead bounced back-and-forth with neither team leading by more than three points through a 14-14 tie. A Moc attack error sparked a 4-0 Eagle run, handing Georgia Southern an 18-14 advantage as the Eagles closed out the frame on a service ace from Sanford.
Georgia Southern pushed in front 2-0 with a 25-17 second set win posting a .318 hitting percentage. The Eagles forced eight Chattanooga attack errors as the Mocs were held to a -.038 hitting percentage. A 4-0 Eagle run midway through the set gave Georgia Southern an 18-12 lead to force a Chattanooga timeout. Sanford's third kill of the frame handed the Eagles set point and a Moc error sealed the set win for Georgia Southern.
The conference foes knotted the score seven times in the third set before Georgia Southern took its final lead at 11-10. The Eagles used a 5-0 run to push to 22-14 and a Sanford kill set up match point for Georgia Southern at 24-16. Chattanooga fought off three match points but a Moc error sealed the conference win for Georgia Southern with a 25-19 third set win.
The Eagles continue conference play traveling to Charleston, S.C., to visit College of Charleston and The Citadel next weekend. Georgia Southern takes on the Cougars Oct. 8 and the Bulldogs Oct. 9.