UNCG 3, Davidson 0

GREENSBORO, N.C. — The UNCG Spartans swept the Davidson Wildcat volleyball team 3-0 (25-27, 22-25, 26-28) but needed extra points in the first and final sets to do so Friday night in SoCon action at Fleming Gymnasium.

Sophomore outside hitter Caroline Brown led Davidson (12-8, 2-5 SoCon) with 12 kills and 10 digs, and junior setter Ariel Ley also finished with a double-double with 23 assists and a team-high 17 digs. Junior libero Molly Crenshaw tallied 16 digs.

UNCG (11-12, 3-4 SoCon) had a pair of players in double figures in kills in Ariel Newman (18) and Karrian Chambers (13). The duo also had double-doubles with 13 and 11 digs, respectively, while Kellie Orewiler finished with a match-best 27 digs. Ari Lysacek also posted a double-double with 39 assists and 14 digs.

The Spartans jumped out to a 7-0 lead to start the match with three aces by Chambers and a pair of kills from Vicky Harley. Davidson battled back within two, 8-6, on kills by sophomore middle hitter Tindall Sewell and senior outside hitter Christine Perzinski but UNCG responded with a 5-0 run to open a 13-6 lead. The Wildcats chipped away, though, finally getting the score knotted at 20 on back-to-back kills by Ley and Sewell. Davidson kept attacking, adding two more on a score by Brown and a Spartan error, and traded points to get a set-point chance, 24-22, on two more kills by Brown. The Spartans came back with a 3-0 run, and sophomore middle hitter Taylor Pisel fought off UNCG's set point to tie the score at 25. A kill by UNCG's Chelsea Evans and a Wildcat hitting error lifted the Spartans to the 27-25 win in the opening frame.

Davidson opened a 10-7 lead in the second set on kills by Brown and senior opposite Erin Lupfer and the Spartans answered with a 7-2 run to take a 14-12 lead. The set went back-and-forth from that point with five ties until, with the score tied at 22, Newman scored three straight to help UNCG take a 2-0 lead in the match with the 25-22 win.

The Wildcats turned an early 7-3 lead into a 20-9 lead in the final set, but UNCG did not go quietly. The Spartans started their comeback with an 8-1 run, including three kills by Newman, to get within four, 21-17. A kill by Brown gave Davidson a set point, 24-21, but UNCG won the next three to tie the score and rode that momentum to a 28-26 win for the match.

 

Samford 3, College of Charleston 0

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --The Samford volleyball team used long runs to spur a 3-0 sweep over the College of Charleston Friday, marking their 13th sweep of the season, fourth in conference, extending their undefeated home win streak to eight matches.

  

The Samford (18-3, 5-2 SoCon) defense held the edge in digs over the College of Charleston (14-9, 5-2 SoCon), 48-42, with Bauer as the only Bulldog in double-digits.  Elizabeth Neisler and Lauren Hutchinson tallied 14 kills apiece, with Hutchinson earning a .571 clip, her fourth conference match hitting over .500.  The junior from Kennesaw, Ga., also earned five blocks, including three in the middle of the final set to help propel the Bulldogs to a victory.

 

Two key runs highlighted the first set, as Samford took control to win, 25-18.  Tied at 6-6, Casey Garvey earned a kill off a Cougar blocking error, giving Chelsi Carter a chance to rattle off five consecutive serves, including two aces and three kills by Neisler to push the Bulldogs ahead, 11-6.  Up 12-8, Neisler earned a kill to give Samford back possession and set up another successful long run.  Bauer followed the Neisler kill with six consecutive serves to give Samford a ten-point lead, 18-8.  The Cougars outscored the Bulldogs from that point on, but the deficit proved too large to overcome and a Cougar attack error ended the set to give Samford the seven-point victory.

 

The Cougar offense came out firing in set two, pulling ahead to an early 5-2 lead.  The Bulldogs retaliated with four straight points to gain the lead, 6-5.  Charleston regained the lead directly after and maintained a slim lead until jumping ahead 15-10 thanks to a five-point rally.  An attack error gave Samford a point, possession and the momentum, giving Garvey a chance to serve up three more points, drawing within one, down 14-15, and forcing the Charleston timeout.  The College of Charleston again maintained a small lead, going ahead by only as much as four points before Samford came back to tie it at 22-22.  Bauer had served two in a row to tie the set up and she added two more to give Samford possession at set point, 24-22.  Charleston earned a kill to draw within one, but Hutchinson made it final with a kill to give Samford the 25-23 comeback win.

 

The third set started neck-and-neck, with the score being tied seven times.  Down 11-12, Neisler and Hutchinson paired up for a block to tie the match for an eighth time, 12-12, and the Bulldogs followed with back-to-back blocks to pull ahead 14-12 and force a Cougar timeout.  Charleston scored one and Samford answered back with three in a row again to pull ahead 17-13 and force another visitor timeout.  The Cougars outscored the Bulldogs 7-4 in the next stretch to draw within one, down 20-21 late.  Refusing to give up the lead, Samford put up three in a row for a third time, setting them up for the win, leading 24-20.  A Bulldog attack error gave back possession to the Cougars, but Michaela Reesor put a stamp on the match the next serve, slamming home the final kill to win the set 25-21.

 

Western Carolina 3, Wofford 2

CULLOWHEE, N.C. --In a match that saw 21 tie scores and 11 lead changes, Wofford came back from a 2-0 deficit to tie the match at two sets apiece. Western Carolina pulled away with a 15-8 fifth set victory to take the match 3-2 at the Ramsey Center Friday night. The win improved the Catamounts to 9-14 and 4-3 in the SoCon. The win also marks the first time since 2007 that WCU has won nine games in a season, also the last time the Purple and Gold reached four conference wins. Wofford fell to 13-10 (2-5 SoCon).

 

Senior Rebecca Stoltz set a career-high 14 kills and tied her career-high in aces with four. Classmate Carrie Minogue also tied a career-high with five aces. Minogue added 10 kills and five digs in the winning effort. The third senior in the 2011 class – setter Brittany Lysik – dished out a career-high 42 assists, besting her previous high of 41 against Davidson a week ago. Her 23 digs were also a career-high.

 

After falling behind 4-0 in the first set, Western Carolina would tie the match at five. A 5-0 run behind the serve of Caitlin Piechota would give the Catamounts a lead that would last the duration of the first set as the Catamounts picked up the first set, 25-15. Winning the first set has been huge for the Catamounts as WCU is 4-0 when winning the first set, including Friday’s match.

 

Both teams played evenly throughout the beginning of the second set. With both teams knotted at 14, senior Rebecca Stoltz would serve her way to a 7-0 run to put WCU ahead 21-14. Western would take set two 25-18, snagging the set with a Carrie Minogue kill from the set of Brittany Lysik.

 

Coming out of the break with a 2-0 lead, the Catamounts would let Wofford pick up momentum and enthusiasm, following an 8-0 run by the Terriers with Amanda Liguori at the serve. Wofford would take the third 25-22. Another long run by Wofford would be the difference in the fourth set as well. Rachel Woodlee would begin her servewith the Terriers down 10-12. A 7-0 run would give the Terriers the lead they would need to push the match into a deciding fifth set, winning the fourth 25-20.

 

Set No. 5 would turn out to be the Rebecca Stoltz Show. Stoltz and the Catamounts picked up the first point with a Stoltz kill off the dish from setter Brittany Lysik. A 5-0 run behind the serve would give the Catamounts a 6-0 lead before the Terriers could even get on the board. In that run, Stoltz added three service aces. Stoltz would add another point – making her point total five for the fifth set – on a kill that would set up match point for the Catamounts. An Abbey Scroggins kill would seal the match for WCU, taking set five, 15-9.

 

Western Carolina’s 113 digs were a season-high for the Catamounts by a long shot. The next closest digs total were 87 back on Sept. 13 against UNC Asheville. Sophomore libero Morgan Cochran posted a season-high25 digs.

 

The freshmen outside hitter duo of Caitlin Piechota and Jordan Timmermann continued with their great freshmen season as both again posted double-doubles. Piechota picked up her fifth with 10 kills and 23 digs while Timmermann’s was her third double-double having 14 kills and 21 digs – both career-highs for TImmermann. Piechota’s 23 digs were a career-high as well.