Davidson 3, Wofford 1
DAVIDSON, N.C. - Senior Sarabeth Peele's sixth 20-kill effort of the season and senior Hayley Lawson's double-double led the Davidson Wildcat volleyball team past the Wofford Terriers in a 3-1 (25-21, 21-25, 25-21, 25-21) SoCon matchup on Halloween afternoon at Belk Arena.
Peele finished with exactly 20 kills to lead Davidson (15-14, 6-6), while Lawson turned in her fifth double-double of the season with 44 assists and 13 digs. Senior Molly Crenshaw and sophomore Molly Crenshaw each finished with 16 digs, while senior middle blocker Jorden Benedict also hit double figures for the 'Cats with 10 kills.
Rachel Woodlee and Stacy Byrd each had 12 kills to lead Wofford (12-18, 2-10), while Bekah Dorsey finished with a team-best 22 assists to go along with 12 digs. Reagan Styles led the defense with 21 digs.
Davidson battled back from a 6-1 deficit to knot the score at 7 on two kills from Peele and one each from Lawson and junior outside hitter Christine Perzinski. Wofford reclaimed the lead, 11-9, on two kills from Byrd, but Davidson put together a 4-0 stretch to go back ahead, 14-12, and force Wofford into a timeout. The Terriers tied the set at 15 on a 3-1 swing, and the teams traded points until the Wildcats used a 3-0 run to open a critical 21-17 advantage, enough for the 25-21 win as Benedict and Peele put down back-to-back kills to close the set.
The Wildcats jumped out to an 8-3 lead to start the second set, but Wofford tied the score at nine on a 6-1 run that included aces from Tara Gough and Amanda Liguori. The Terriers extended their lead to 15-10 on kills from Wendy Burnett and Woodlee, but the Wildcats tied things at 17 with a 7-2 run, including four kills from Peele. Wofford halted the momentum with three straight points on kills from Byrd and Liguori and took a 23-19 lead on back-to-back scores by Burnett and Woodlee. The teams traded points to close the set, and a Wildcat hitting error knotted the match at 1-1 with the 25-21 Wofford win.
In the third set, Davidson turned a 7-4 lead into a commanding 19-8 advantage, punctuated by a 6-0 run that included three kills from Peele and one each by junior middle blocker Madison Benedict and Perzinski. The Terriers got back into the game behind a 10-3 run with a pair of scores from both Byrd and Liguori to cut Davidson's lead to 22-18. Davidson regained possession on a service error but kills from Byrd and Woodlee put the Terriers within three, 23-20. Junior opposite Erin Lupfer gave Davidson a set-point chance, 24-20, but Woodlee fought it off. Perzinski closed the set for the Wildcats on a set from Lawson to lift Davidson to a 25-21 win and a 2-1 advantage in the match.
The Wildcats opened an 8-8 tie with a 9-4 run to take a 17-12 lead in the final set. Wofford got within one, 19-18, on a 6-3 spurt but the 'Cats put together three straight on two Terrier errors and an ace by Peele to regain a 22-18 lead and force Wofford into a timeout. Davidson closed the match by splitting the final six points, and Crenshaw aced the match winner in the 25-21 decision for Davidson.
Davidson will play its final home weekend next weekend when it hosts College of Charleston Friday, Nov. 5, at 7 p.m. and The Citadel (Senior Night) Saturday, Nov. 6. at 7 p.m. The Wildcats will wrap regular-season play the final weekend when they travel to Georgia Southern and Chattanooga. The Terriers will return to action at in-state rival, Furman, Wednesday at 7 p.m. before returning to Ben Johnson Arena for senior day on November 6th against Elon.
Samford 3, Elon 0
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford University volleyball team took down its second consecutive top-ranked SoCon opponent Sunday in a 3-0 sweep of Elon. After Samford's win over UNC Greensboro on Saturday, Elon moved into first place in the North Division with a win over Chattanooga. However, Samford (13-14, 7-6 SoCon) came up with its third SoCon upset in the last week with a win over Elon (15-13, 6-5 SoCon) in the Pete Hanna Center Sunday.
Samford has now won five of its last six matches. If Samford continues its winning ways on the road next week, the Bulldogs could move into first place in the North Division with a tie and be headed for their third straight SoCon Tournament appearance.
The Bulldogs and the Phoenix battled it out in three close sets but it was Samford that would make the plays to come out on top this time. The three-set battle saw 19 tied scores and nine lead changes, and had the Bulldogs hitting over .300 as a team for their third straight match and their seventh of the season. Samford posted an impressive .433 hitting percentage in set one, only committing three attack errors as a team. The Bulldogs also knocked down 24 kills in set three, holding Elon to just 13 in the set.
Elizabeth Neisler posted her second consecutive 20-kill match and her third of the season. She tallied 20 kills and hit .308 while also adding a dig to her stat line. Lauren Hutchinson followed with 17 kills and hit .583 against the Phoenix. That marks the sixth time she has hit over .500 in a match this year. She also tallied two aces, matched a career high in digs with four and posted a career-high two solo blocks.
Allie Bettinger posted her second double-double of the season with 10 kills and 11 digs. She hit .450 on the day, only committing one error and also had a block assist. Hillary Fountain had five kills and hit .267 while also grabbing nine digs, two aces and one assist. Taylor Palmer knocked down four kills in her second start at home and came up with a dig and a block assist as well.
Alexis Bauer led the back row with 14 digs while also adding an ace. Samantha Bland added eight digs and an assist while Lyndsey Holt also grabbed a dig.
Sarah Schermerhorn and Lauren Copenhagen led Elon with 10 kills each. Schermerhorn hit a team-high .625 with no errors on 16 attempts. Megan McMahon dished out 33 assists while Ali Deatsch had 11 digs followed by McMahon with seven.
Neisler opened up the first set of the day with a kill to start Samford off with a lead, but a service error by Garvey evened the score. Two more Samford errors and an ace by Caroline Lemke had Elon leading by a score of 4-1 quickly, but Samford answered back with three straight points on an Elon error, a kill by Bettinger and a block by Palmer and Bettinger to tie the score at four. The score was tied four more times before Samford took a three-point lead on back-to-back kills by Neisler, and Elon called its first timeout of the match.
The Phoenix quickly came back and took a one-point lead on four straight kills but Samford fought back to tie the score before going on a 6-2 run to move ahead by four points. A kill by Bettinger followed by an ace from Fountain and a kill by Hutchinson forced Elon to burn its second timeout. Although the Phoenix cut the Bulldog lead to three out of the break, Samford would go on to win set one, 25-19, on back-to-back kills by Neisler.
An Elon error out of the gate gave Samford the first point of the second set but Traci Stewart came back with a kill to get the Phoenix on the board. However, Samford put together a 7-3 run, sparked by a kill from Neisler and capped off by a kill from Hutchinson, and the Bulldogs had a four-point lead while Elon called a timeout. After the break, Elon fought back but Samford matched the Phoenix point for point and maintained a four-point lead. Schroeder wanted a timeout anyway to talk to his team.
With Samford leading 13-9, Elon fought back to cut the lead to two due to several Samford errors. The Bulldogs called another timeout and came back to match the Phoenix point for point again to maintain a two-point lead. Samford reached set point on a kill by Bettinger and Elon called its final timeout. The Phoenix came back with a kill to hold off the Bulldogs, but a kill from Hutchinson sealed the deal and the Bulldogs went on to win set two, 25-23.
Elon jumped out to a 2-0 lead in set three on back-to-back attack errors by Neisler but Samford quickly moved ahead by one due to a Phoenix service error and two kills by Bettinger. After three tied scores, Samford finally took a three-point lead on two kills by Neisler followed by a kill from Palmer. Elon called a timeout and fought to get within one point but Samford pulled ahead by three again with two kills from Hutchinson.
Elon called another timeout but the Bulldogs pushed forward and took a 22-17 lead on a kill by Palmer and two kills from Neisler. However, the Phoenix managed to cut the lead back to two, forcing Samford to take a timeout. A block out of the break from Copenhagen and Schermerhorn got Elon within one point but Samford fought back with kills from Neisler, Fountain and Hutchinson to win set three, 25-23, and complete the match sweep.
Samford moves into the home stretch next weekend as it takes its final road trip of the season. The Bulldogs will face Western Carolina on Saturday and a tough Appalachian State team who is tied for first place in the North on Monday. The Bulldogs have clinched the North Division title the last two years against the Mountaineers - first in Boone, N.C., and last year at home. They have also played five sets the last two times the Bulldogs have visited Appalachian State. This road trip with be a huge test for the Bulldogs and Schroeder is set to prepare his team.
The match against Western Carolina on Saturday begins at 3 p.m. while Appalachian State and Samford will face off on Monday at 2 p.m. Elon will remain on the road next weekend as it travels to nearby rival UNC Greensboro for a 6 p.m. match on Friday, Nov. 5, then to Wofford for a 7 p.m. match on Saturday, Nov. 6.
UNCG 3, Chattanooga 2
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - UNCG had five players record double-digit kills and the Spartans came back from a 2-0 deficit at the break to defeat Chattanooga on the road, 3-2 (18-25, 20-25, 25-21, 25-23, 15-8), on Sunday afternoon in Maclellan Gym. The win put UNCG back into a tie for first place in the North Division with Elon after the Phoenix fell to Samford this afternoon.
The Spartans improved their overall record to 19-8 and 7-5 in the Southern Conference. The Mocs fell to 10-19 this season and 5-8 in the league.
Caley Redden had a match-high 13 kills to lead the Spartans, while Alissa Beaudway, Kayren Finney, Ariel Newman and Olivia Humphries added 11 kills each. Redden, Newman and Beaudway all had double-doubles as they had 19, 15 and 11 digs, respectively. Ari Lysacek also had her team-leading 13th double-double this season as she posted a match-high 48 assists and 12 digs. Kellie Orewiler had a team-high 21 digs, as well.
Heather Parman and Christina Teter led the Mocs offensively with 12 kills each. Parman also had a matching 12 digs for a double-double. Tess Kosycarz had 40 assists and 10 digs for Chattanooga too.
After the Spartans forced a fifth and final set, UNCG carried its momentum into the set as it took an early 5-2 lead. The Spartans continued to push their lead as they went ahead 9-4 on a kill by Humphries that forced a Chattanooga timeout. UNCG would go on to complete its comeback by winning the fifth set, 15-8.
In the opening set, the Spartans opened the match with a 5-3 lead after a kill by Beaudway. That would be the final lead for UNCG as Chattanooga went on a 12-2 to take a commanding 15-7 lead. The Mocs led 20-11 before the Spartans rallied to cut the lead down to 20-16. After a Chattanooga timeout, the Mocs would go on to win the set, 25-18.
The Spartans once again fell behind early as the Mocs built a 12-6 lead after an attack error by UNCG. UNCG continued to fight and chip away at the Mocs lead before tying the set at 16. The Spartans trailed just 20-19 late, but the Mocs won four-straight points en route to winning the set, 25-20, to take a 2-0 lead into the break.
It appeared it was much of the same in the third set as UNCG fell behind 8-4 before the Spartans called a timeout. Out of the timeout, UNCG won the next five points to take a 9-8 lead on a kill by Newman. The Spartans led 20-17 late before the Mocs came back to cut the lead to 22-21, but UNCG regrouped to win the final three points to win the set, 25-21.
The fourth set was the closest set as the teams saw the scored tied nine times. The teams traded points in the early going as they were tied at 13 before UNCG rattled off four-straight points to take a 17-13 lead. The Spartans had set point at 24-20 on a kill by Redden before the Mocs cut the lead to 24-23. UNCG finally closed out the set on a block by Beaudway and Kayren Finney.
The Spartans return home on Friday as they host backyard-rival Elon in a battle of North Division leaders at 6 p.m. in Fleming Gymnasium. The Lady Mocs are back in action next weekend at Appalachian State and Western Carolina. Chattanooga hosts its senior day on Nov. 13 at Maclellan Gym against Davidson.