Charleston 3, Presbyterian 0
CHARLESTON, S.C. - The College of Charleston volleyball team secured a 3-0 victory over Presbyterian in their home opener on Tuesday night at Carolina First Arena (25-20, 25-19, 25-23).
Senior outside hitter Whitney Russell led the offensive attack with 10 kills and fellow classmate Ginny Phillips anchored the defense with six blocks.
In the first set freshman Madelyn McGinnis and Russell had four kills each for the Cougars (6-2) and powered the team to a 25-20 victory.
In the next set the Cougars stepped up a notch on defense, limiting the Blue Hose (2-3) to a -.59 hitting efficiency. Junior Sarah Havel was a force at the net with four blocks, and on offense Russell continued her solid play with three kills.
The third set proved to be a tougher battle for the Cougars, who trailed 19-20 and 20-21 before forcing three consecutive Presbyterian errors to go up 24-21. Phillips closed out the set and the match with a kill to complete the 3-0 sweep.
The Cougars don't have much time to rest as they host the C of C Classic this weekend. The tournament will feature matches against Cincinnati on Friday and Auburn and Oregon State on Saturday.
Chattanooga 3, Belmont 2
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Down 2-1 in the match, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga volleyball team came back to record its first victory of the season over Belmont, 3-2 (27-25, 18-25, 20-25, 27-25, 15-12), on Tuesday night at the Curb Events Center. The Lady Mocs sent the match to a final frame after taking the fourth set and used a kill from freshman outside hitter Jennifer Kuroski to seal the 15-13 win.
"It was an awesome win for the team," said head coach Lisa Rhodes. "We are excited to beat a good team on the road, and I liked the way we ended the match as Jennifer kuroski had a hard, clean, on the line kill. It was nice to get that 15th point not from a mistake they made, but something positive that we did."
The comeback was assisted by the strong back row play of freshman Andrea Johnson, who recorded seven digs and provided a challenging service for Belmont (3-5), resulting in a season-high two aces.
A pair of double-doubles was recorded as senior right side Jessica Scott tallied 13 kills and digs along with a career-high six assists, while fellow classmate Bailee Chastain notched her third of the season with 38 assists and 11 digs.
"I think Bailee (Chastain) did a fantastic job," said Rhodes. "I saw a lot of senior leadership on the court with Jess (Scott), Bailee and Courtney (Barnes) stepping up and demanding that all the players pull together to get this win."
Sophomore libero Paula Passmore registered a career-high 34 digs keeping numerous rallies alive for the Lady Mocs.
Season-highs were also set during the match as Kuroski recorded 14 kills, while senior middle blocker Courtney Barnes matched hers with 14, also. Sophomore Christina Teter recorded a career-high four kills from the right side.
Even though Belmont compiled a .267 hitting percentage and 69 kills, the Lady Mocs were able to capitalize on mistakes, 49 of them in fact between attacking and service errors. By comparison, Chattanooga totaled 59 kills, but also dug up a season high 91 attacks from the Bruins.
Throughout the match, the teams totaled 32 ties and 12 lead changes as every game proved to be important.
In the first set, the Lady Mocs and Bruins stayed within two points of each other until a kill from sophomore Ellie Kuhn gave UTC a 15-12 advantage. Chattanooga kept that three-point lead at 20-17 following a service mistake from Belmont.
After a timeout, the Bruins won three-consecutive rallies knotting the score at 20-all. Eventually after trading points, Chattanooga recorded the set victory at 27-25 after two-consecutive attack errors from the Bruins. The Lady Mocs were out-hit by the Bruins, who totaled 17 kills and hit .323, but they capitalized on eight mistakes from the service line.
Belmont took a 4-1 lead to start the third set, but the Lady Mocs came back to tie it up at seven-all with back-to-back-to-back kills from Kuhn, Scott and Kuroski. At 9-8, Chattanooga took its first lead of the set following a Chastain kill.
The Bruins took control by scoring on six-straight rallies, 15-10, recording two aces and three kills. They went on to tie the match up cruising to a 25-18 win. The difference in the set was that the Bruins registered six of their eight aces in the match.
After the intermission, Belmont opened up with a 8-5 lead. The teams battled back and forth with the lead never surpassing three until Chattanooga scored on five-straight rallies in taking a 18-16 advantage highlighted by kills from Kuroski (2) and Barnes along with a block assist by Kuroski and Kuhn. Belmont continued the pressure in a six-point run of its own to close out the set, 25-20, and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Starting the fourth set, Belmont was strong in taking a 7-2 advantage, but the Lady Mocs would not be denied as they tied the match at 11-all. Then, Belmont rattled off two quick points leading to a UTC timeout.
Chattanooga cut the lead to 16-15, but three-straight points from the Bruins seemed to give them control. The Lady Mocs did not back down, however, as kills from Barnes (2) and Beasley capped a five-point run giving them the first lead of the set at 22-21.
Coming down to the end of the frame, the teams traded points and a kill by Kuroski knotted the score at 24-all. Closing out the set and tying up the match was Chattanooga with a 27-25 victory after scoring the final two points on Belmont mistakes. The Lady Mocs registered 15 kills during the set and both teams had five errors apiece.
"The fourth set was huge," said Rhodes. "We did that behind Andrea's serving again. It was really impressive. I think our passing kind of shutdown earlier, but I think we picked it back up in that set."
In the fifth set, Chattanooga began on the offensive generating kills from Kuroski and Chastian in taking a 3-1 lead and increased it to 8-5 before the teams swapped sides. The Bruins knotted the match at eight after recording two kills before the Lady Mocs called time.
After falling behind at 10-9, Barnes and Parman each knotted the score at 10 and 11, respectively, with kills. Chattanooga scored on the next two rallies in taking a 13-11 lead on a kill by Barnes. Chastain registered a kill and provided the Lady Mocs with match-point at 14-12. Kuroski finished off the Bruins with a hard kill just inside the line giving Chattanooga its first win of the season.
Chattanooga returns to action on Friday at the North Florida Invitational with a battle against the hosts at 11 a.m. followed by Illinois-Chicago at 5 p.m. The two-day event concludes as the Lady Mocs face off with Charleston Southern and Troy.
The first home match at Maclellan Gym for Chattanooga is Sept. 17, a rematch of tonight's contest against Belmont at the Country Inns & Suites Invitational. The Lady Mocs also welcome UCF and James Madison the following day with a doubleheader beginning at 11:30 a.m.
Western Carolina 3, South Carolina State 2
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Sophomore Amanda Chaparro posted a career-high 21 kills to lead the Western Carolina volleyball team over South Carolina State, 3-2, on Tuesday night at the Ramsey Center.
The Catamounts (3-4) won the first two sets (25-13, 25-23) before dropping the next two (26-24, 25-21). WCU went on to win the fifth set, 15-9.
WCU jumped out to an early 14-5 lead in the first set, causing the Bulldogs (1-7) to burn a timeout and regroup. S.C. State battled back to bring the match within six (17-11) before the Catamounts took advantage of three Bulldog miscues and kills by Chaparro and sophomore Abbey Scroggins to push the WCU lead to 11 (22-11). After two WCU attacking errors made the score 22-13, the Catamounts rattled off three points to win the set off another Chaparro kill and two Bulldog attacking errors.
The Catamounts jumped to their largest lead (19-11) of the second set before S.C. State used a 7-1 run to bring the set within two (20-18). After a Carrie Minogue kill and a Chaparro service ace pushed the WCU lead to four (22-18), the Bulldogs responded by going on a 5-1 run to tie the match at 23 and cause WCU to use a timeout. A Kelcie Randazzo kill made the score 24-23 before freshman Leah Best and Scroggins paired for a block on an attack by S.C. State's Elizabeth Webb to win the set.
Set three again saw the Catamounts with a lead midway through the match as they had their largest lead of the set at 17-11. S.C. State went on a 5-1 run to bring the match to 18-16 in favor of WCU.
After a Chaparro kill made the score 19-16, the Bulldogs used a kill by Jarne Gleaton and five Catamount errors to take a 22-19 lead. WCU bounced back from the Bulldog offensive attack by going on a 4-1 run to tie the set at 23 all. After the two teams exchanged leads again to tie the set at 24, the Bulldogs got back-to-back kills from Webb and Shabree Roberson to win their first set of the evening.
The fourth set saw the Catamounts and Bulldogs exchange leads five times before the set's final tie at 21. S.C. State never looked back as they scored the final four points of the set on three kills by Desire Waller and a kill by Webb, tying the match at two sets all.
"When the game is on the line we need to take over," said Western Carolina head coach Manuel Concepcion. "We are not taking over and are getting too relaxed. When the games are tied we don't know how to make the right decisions, and that might because we are playing a young roster. We need to improve this before conference play."
After losing the first point of the fifth set, the Catamounts never trailed the rest of the set as they jumped out to an early 8-4 lead on five Bulldog errors, two kills by Chaparro and a kill by Minogue. WCU pushed its lead to seven (13-6) before S.C. State rallied back to get within four (13-9) on three Catamount miscues. Alvarez and Minogue registered back-to-back kills to win the set, giving WCU its third win of the season.
Chaparro led a balanced Catamount offense with a career-high and match-high 21 kills. Alvarez recorded 15 kills, the second best outing of her career with the Purple and Gold. Minogue posted a .286 attack percentage with 12 kills.
"We have been doing well in balancing the offense and our setters have done a great job of placing the ball," said Concepcion.
Randazzo also had a career night with a 43 assists. The Orange Country, Calif., native chipped in five kills and a team-high 18 digs.
"It is amazing to me that we recruited Kelcie to play outside hitter and she has become our main setter," said Concepcion. "She has done an excellent job and is putting in a lot of extra time on her own behind the scenes to get to where she is this season."
Defensively, Sara Gantt added 13 digs on the night while Alvarez and Chaparro recorded 12 and 11 digs, respectively. At the net, Best had a match-high four blocks while Minogue chipped in three blocks.
"Our defense in the back row did great," said Concepcion. "Our height also affected the opponent tonight. Having Leah Best in the middle or on the right side always changes the strategy of the opponent and we like that. I also like the effectiveness Carrie Minogue brings every time we play, she has been our most consistent player this year."
The Catamounts hit the road again this weekend, participating at the Evansville Tournament on Sept. 10-11 in Evansville, Ind. WCU will face host Evansville, Murry State and Loyola (Ill.) at the two-day tournament before returning home for nine consecutive home matches.