UNCG 3, N.C. A&T 0
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Coming off a rough weekend, Ariel Newman and the middle blocking duo of Alissa Beaudway and Olivia Humphries picked UNCG up and helped it sweep cross-town rival North Carolina A&T, 3-0 (25-15, 25-8, 25-16), in the home opener for the Spartans on Wednesday evening.
The Spartans improved to 9-3 on the year, while the Aggies fell to 1-9 this season.
"It was a good match for us to get back on the winning side, especially after a tough weekend," said coach Patrick Nicholas. "I thought our offense showed some really good things. It was really good to get back on the winning track."
Newman led UNCG offensively with nine kills from her outside hitter position. Beaudway added eight kills for UNCG and posted a .500 hitting percentage, while Humphries had seven kills and a career-high seven service aces.
Jeana Daniels paced the Aggies on the offensive end as she had a team-high seven kills. Amber Inman had a double-double as she posted 14 assists and had a match-high 12 digs.
The Spartans started a little slow as the two teams were tied at seven. UNCG then went on an incredible 12-1 run to take a commanding 19-8 lead over the Aggies. The Spartans went on to win the set, 25-15, on a kill by Billi Baker.
UNCG came out firing in the second set as they never fell behind the entire set. The Spartans led 13-7 midway through the set before going on another 12-1 run, which included four-straight aces from Humphries, to take the set, 25-8.
Coming out of the break with a 2-0 lead, UNCG looked to incorporate some of the freshman into the game, including as many as five in the match at one time. Those freshman picked up where the upper classman left off and clinched the win for the Spartans by winning the set, 25-16.
The Spartans will to the court this weekend as they host the Spartan Spiketacular in Fleming Gymnasium. UNCG will play its first match of the tournament on Friday at 7 p.m.
Wofford 3, Converse 0
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Senior Stacy Byrd had 12 kills and a .455 hitting percentage as the Wofford College Terriers defeated the Converse College Valkyries 3-0 (25-13, 25-12, 25-20) in Hannah Gym Wednesday night in a nonconference match.
The Terriers hit .337 as a team compared to the Valkyries .020 hitting percentage. Wofford had 44 kills with 12 errors on 95 attempts, while Converse had 25 kills on 101 attempts with 23 errors. Wofford also had nine total team blocks compared Converse's one block.
In the opening set, Converse took an early 6-3, but Wofford battled back to tie the match at six. The Terriers quickly pushed the lead to 15-10 with a Catelyn Amende kill. Wofford ended the match on a 10-3 run to win the set 25-13 and hit .345 in the set, while Converse hit -.062.
Set two, started with the Terriers taking a 6-4 lead. Wofford extended their lead to ten, 18-8, and won by a 13-point margin, 25-12. Byrd had five kills on five attempts in the set to pace the Terriers. Wofford raised their hitting percentage to .524 in the set, while Converse only mustered a -.115 hitting percentage.
Converse took an early lead in the final set, 4-1, before Wofford rallied to tie the match at five. The two teams traded points until kills by Amende and Wendy Burnett gave Wofford a 10-8 lead. Wofford controlled the rest of the set to seal the match with a 25-20 win. Byrd and Burnett had five kills in the set.
To go along with her 12 kills and .455 hitting percentage, Byrd added seven digs, a service and three blocks to finish the match with 15 total points. Amende followed with eight kills and .462 hitting percentage, and Burnett and Arden Anderson had six kills a piece. Anderson was perfect on the match with her six kills coming on six attempts. Bekah Dorsey had a match-high 18 assists and a team-high eight digs.
The Terriers will return to action Friday at 2 p.m. against SIU-Edwardsville in the opening match of the Wofford College Invitational. The team's second match on Friday will be against fellow Spartanburg school USC-Upstate at 7 p.m. The two matches will be the Terriers first matches of 2010 in the friendly confines of Ben Johnson Arena.
Presbyterian 3, Western Carolina 1
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - The Western Carolina volleyball team lost a close, four-set match to Presbyterian on Wednesday night at the Ramsey Center.
"We need to become a better team with a better defensive mentality," said Western Carolina head coach Manuel Concepcion.
The Catamounts (3-8) lost the first set 25-19 before taking set two into extra points, 30-28. The Blue Hose (5-4) held on for a close 25-23 victory in set three before winning the final set, 26-24.
The first set saw WCU trailing early (15-7) before going on a 5-2 run to get the match within five (17-12). Senior Paloma Alvarez brought the Catamounts within three points (21-18) on a kill before the Blue Hose took advantage of three WCU attacking errors to win the set.
WCU jumped out to an early 11-4 lead in set two on nine Presbyterian errors paired with a Sara Gantt service ace and a kill by Alvarez. The Blue Hose returned the favor by going an 11-4 run of their own to tie the match at 15. The match was tied five more times throughout the set with the final tie at 28. An attacking error by Presbyterian's Amanda Kettles and a service ace by WCU's Carrie Minogue sealed the 30-28 set-two victory for the Catamounts.
WCU and Presbyterian exchanged leads much of the third set with neither team leading by more than two points the entire match. The match saw the two teams tied at 22 before an attacking error by Kelcie Randazzo gave the Blue Hose a one-point advantage (23-22). Minogue tied the match at 23 on a kill before Presbyterian scored the final two points to win the set.
Set four saw WCU lead late in the match, 22-20, before the Blue Hose battled back to tie the match at 23. A Minogue kills gave WCU set point (24-23), but Presbyterian scored the final three points of the match on kills by Presley Mabrey and Lisa Shelley and a WCU attacking error.
Alvarez led the Catamount offense with a team-high 15 kills. The Arecibo, Puerto Rico, native added nine digs and two blocks on the night.
"Paloma played one of her best games of the year both at the net blocking and during her attacking game," said Concepcion.
Junior Emily Franklin recorded a career-best 33 assists on the night. The Lexington, Ky., native ranks second in the team with a total of 88 assists on the year.
"She is doing a good job for us and made good decisions at important moments tonight," said Concepcion.
Minogue and Randazzo both contributed 10 kills on the night. Minogue posted a .389 attacking percentage while chipping in three blocks.
In other defensive statistics, freshman Leah Best recorded four blocks and Amanda Chaparro added nine digs.
Both Presbyterian and WCU struggled in the attacking game as the Blue Hose recorded 35 miscues to the Catamounts' 32. However, WCU committed four fewer service errors (12-8) and four less receiving errors (8-4).
"To have 20 errors from our outside hitters is too many and it is not going to help win games," said Concepcion. "We can compete with at least 80 percent of the teams in our conference and we have shown that in the teams we have faced so far this season, but we have to commit fewer errors and get better mentally on defense."
WCU will be back in action on Saturday, Sept. 18 as they play host to the Western Carolina Invitational. The Catamounts face North Carolina A&T at 1 p.m. before playing UNC Asheville at 7 p.m. North Carolina A&T and UNC Asheville square off at 4 p.m. in the tournament's second match.