Elon 3, Appalachian State 0
ELON, N.C. - It was a history setting night for the Elon University volleyball team tonight as it swept Appalachian State, 3-0 (27-25, 25-20, 25-20), to clinch a share of its first ever Southern Conference North Division title. Senior Sarah Schermerhorn dominated both sides of the ball registering 11 kills for a .429 attack percentage and recording nine total blocks. Elon now improves to 19-13 on the season and takes sole possession of the North Division leader board with a 10-5 SoCon record. With the loss, ASU drops to 18-10 on the season and 9-6 in SoCon play.
Junior Traci Stewart helped the Elon attack with eight kills for a .348 attack percentage, while senior Lauren Copenhagen and sophomore Allison Johnson each recorded seven kills. Junior Megan McMahon set up the Phoenix attackers all night with 28 assists.
Stewart also contributed on defense with a team-high 10 digs and three total blocks. Johnson recorded four blocks in the match, while Copenhagen and junior Caroline Lemke each tallied two. The Phoenix out-blocked the Mountaineers 12-9 on the night.
Elon took an early 9-5 lead in the first set, but a five-point ASU run gave the Mountaineers a 10-9 lead. Elon retained the lead at 12-11 off a kill from Johnson and continued to build the advantage to three points. After a four-point Mountaineer run gave them a two-point lead, Elon was forced to call a timeout. The Phoenix rebounded with a five-point run out of the timeout and regained a three-point lead at 20-17. With the score at a set point 24-21 Elon advantage, ASU rallied off a four-point run to take a 25-24 lead. A kill by Lemke helped even the set at 25-all. Off McMahon's serve, the Phoenix capitalized on a pair of ASU miscues to claim a 27-25 victory in the first set.
In the second set, the Phoenix jumped out to a 5-1 advantage off kills from Stewart, Copenhagen and Schermerhorn, but ASU stormed back to tie the set early at seven-all. With the set later tied at 12-all, Elon went on a five-point run that included a kill by Stewart, two kills by Copenhagen and a service ace by Lemke to take a 17-12 edge. The Mountaineers pulled within one at 19-18, but kills by Schermerhorn and Johnson forced ASU to call a timeout. The Phoenix was able to win three of the last five points to win the set, 25-20, and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
The Mountaineers came out of the break fired up and took an early third set lead 4-0 off two service aces by setter Kasey Sauls. A block by Schermerhorn and Copenhagen helped even the score at five-all before four more points by the Phoenix moved it to a 9-5 advantage. With the score tied at nine-all, Elon went on a 5-1 run off three kills by Schermerhorn and a service ace from Copenhagen to move the score to 15-11. With Elon holding only a two-point lead at 16-14, a kill and a service ace by Stewart moved the Phoenix up four points, shutting the door on a Mountaineer comeback. With the crowd of over 700 people on their feet, a final kill by Lemke sealed the 25-20 set victory, the match sweep and a share of the North Division title.
A win tomorrow night against Western Carolina will ensure the sole division win and the No. 1 north seed in next weekend's conference tournament. Tomorrow's match will also serve as senior night for influential seniors Lizzie West, Copenhagen and Schermerhorn. The match is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. inside Alumni Gym.
Appalachian plays its final regular-season contest of the 2010 season, Saturday, November 13 as they take on UNCG. The Mountaineers and Spartans are set to battle at 7 p.m. in the Spartan's Fleming Gym.
UNCG 3, Western Carolina 0
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Ariel Newman and Olivia Humphries had 10 kills and nine kills, respectively, as the Spartans swept the Catamounts, 3-0 (25-17, 27-25, 25-15), in volleyball action at Fleming Gymnasium on Friday evening
The Spartans claimed their 20th victory of the year and snapped a three match losing skid with the win on Friday night. UNCG improved to 20-11 on the season and climbed back over .500 in Southern Conference play, now boasting an 8-7 record in the league. Western Carolina dipped to 6-25 overall and 1-14 in conference play.
In addition to her 10 kills, Newman added six digs, while Humphries had eight blocks from her middle blocker position. Billi Baker also had a nice evening as she chipped in eight digs and six blocks. Kellie Orewiler had a match-high 21 digs, as well.
Paloma Alvarez led the Catamounts with a double-double as she recorded 11 kills and a matching 11 digs.
The first set was a see-saw battle in the early going as the teams were tied four times. The Catamounts led by two before UNCG went on a 9-0 run to grab a lead it would never give back. During the run, Olivia Humphries proved potent as she had three kills and two blocks.
With the score at 12-5, the Catamounts went on a 5-2 run to cut the deficit to four with back-to-back kills from Rebecca Stoltz. The two teams would battle point-for-point down the stretch, but the Spartans would never give up the lead as they took the first set, 25-17.
UNCG came out of the gates in a fury jumping out to a 10-4 lead. After a timeout, the Catamounts came out swinging as they went on an 8-2 run to knot the set up at 12. Neither team could establish a lead of larger than four throughout the rest of the set.
UNCG would fight off two set points later in the set, including a kill by Kayren Finney to tie the match at 25 apiece. Baker and Finney would combine for a block on the next play to give the Spartans a one point advantage. An attack error by Stoltz allowed UNCG to hang on to win the second set, 27-25.
Three of Newmans' kills came early in the third set as UNCG would jump out to a 5-1 lead. After an Alvarez kill, the Catamounts found themselves trailing only by two at 6-4.
UNCG then caught fire and went on a 17-4 run to stretch its lead to 23-8. Humphries chipped in with three blocks and two kills during the stretch. Newman added two more kills during the stretch, as well. The deficit proved too devastating for the Catamounts as they could not get back within 10 and UNCG would easily win the third set, 25-15.
The Spartans return to the floor for their regular-season finale and senior night as they clash with Appalachian State on Saturday night at 7 p.m. in Fleming Gymnasium. Seniors Billi Baker, Alissa Beaudway, Kayren Finney, Kimiko Naito, and Caley Redden will be honored prior to the match.
WCU returns to action in its season finale tomorrow afternoon against Elon at 5:30 p.m. The Catamounts dropped the first meeting this season in Cullowhee, 3-1, on Oct. 3.
Georgia Southern 3, Samford 1
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - In a match dominated by defense, the Georgia Southern volleyball team closed out the regular season with a 3-1 (25-20, 15-25, 25-21, 25-20) victory on the road at Samford to finish 14-2 in Southern Conference play. The Eagles' 24-win total ranks as the fourth-highest single-season mark in history.
Junior hitters Bethany Sanford and Hannah Nelson each reached double figures in kills for the Eagles, tallying 14 and 13, respectively. Sophomore setter Kate Van Dyke handed out 39 assists, adding a team-high 11 digs, and was one of four Eagles with two block assists. GSU (24-8) recorded six total blocks on the night, with Sanford and sophomore hitter Moriah Bellissimo each posting a block solo.
Samford (14-16, 8-8 SoCon) tallied 13 of the 19 total blocks in the match.
Georgia Southern held Samford to .142 at the net, but hit just .167 on its own side, led by Nelson's .290.
Set One: Georgia Southern 25, Samford 20
Back-to-back kills from Parker Small broke a 17-17 stalemate and provided the momentum the Eagles needed as GSU scored eight of the final 11 points of the opening frame to win 25-20.
Georgia Southern held the Bulldogs to a .000 hitting percentage, while Sanford rattled off a team-high five kills and hit .333 herself.
Set Two: Samford 25, Georgia Southern 15
Samford controlled the second set, running the score to 11-2 to open the game. The Eagles strung together small scoring rallies, but the effort was not enough as the Bulldogs evened the match at one-all with a 25-15 set two win.
Nelson posted a five kills in the frame, but GSU couldn't overcome a powerful Samford offense that hit .348 and a defense that provided five total blocks.
Set Three: Georgia Southern 25, Samford 21
Despite trailing by as many as seven in the early goings, Georgia Southern used a 10-4 scoring drive to rally and take a 2-0 match advantage with a 25-21 win in the third frame.
Sanford added five kills to her ledger in the third game.
Set Four: Georgia Southern 25, Samford 20
The Eagles trailed early again in the fourth game, but rattled off four-straight points to turn a 4-6 deficit into an 8-6 lead and never looked back, closing out the set and the match with a 25-20 final score.
Nelson tallied five kills and Sanford another four to lead the Eagles in the win. The Bulldogs posted five blocks in the game, holding Eagle hitters to .229 at the net.
Seedings and pairings for the 2010 Southern Conference Tournament in Boone, N.C. will be announced later this week.
Next up for Samford is the Southern Conference Tournament in Boone, N.C. The Bulldogs will find out Sunday who they will play. The tournament starts Friday Nov. 19. Samford is currently in position for a No. 3 seed in the North Division.