Western Carolina 3, The Citadel 0

CHARLESTON, S.C.--Western Carolina efficiently handled The Citadel in three sets Friday night, defeating the Bulldogs 26-24, 25-16, 25-17 as every Catamount saw action in the victory. The Catamounts reach five conference wins for the first time since 2005, improving their overall record to 10-15. The Citadel falls to 7-15, 0-9 in the SoCon.

Senior setter Brittany Lysik had one of her best three set matches of the season 37 assists for the match. That was one assist shy of her three set career-high 38 that Lysik had in the match against Charleston Southern back in September.

Western Carolina hit effectively throughout the match, hitting at a .257 clip for the night, third best match hitting percentage on the season. Four Catamounts hit seven kills or better, with freshman Jordan Timmermann logging 11 kills. Carrie Minogue (10 kills), Caitlin Piechota (eight kills) and Rebecca Stoltz (seven kills) all hit over .330 for the match with Rebecca Stoltz hitting an accurate 46 percent for the match.

In all three sets, the Bulldogs would trade points with the Catamounts early on. The first set would be most closely contested by The Citadel with neither team leading by more than three points before the Catamounts took a 15-11 lead. The Citadel would continue to stay with WCU, eventually tying the match at 23 with a 3-0 run off the serve of Alexa Dahlstrom. WCU took a 25-24 lead off of a service error by The Citadel before an attack error would give the first set to the Catamounts. Previous to tonight’s match, the Catamounts were 7-1 after winning the first set. WCU would improve that record to 8-1 with tonight’s win.

In set two, two big WCU runs would give the Catamounts the set easily. After going 2-1 to start the set, Rebecca Stoltz would lead the Purple and Gold on a 5-0 run, highlighted by two aces. After picking up another ace in the third, Stoltz now has 22 service aces for the season. Classmate Carrie Minogue would lead WCU on a 7-0 run to take a 20-6 lead over the Bulldogs. During that stretch, five different Catamounts would pick up points – Rebecca Stoltz, Carrie Minogue, Brittany Lysik, Jordan Timmermann and Brandi Anderson who  picked up her ninth kill of the season. Freshman Addy George picked up two more kills in the set as WCU won set two, 25-16.

The Bulldogs jumped out to a 5-1 lead to begin the third set, but runs by freshmen servers Jordan Timmermann, Caitlin Piechota and Paige McConlogue would bring the Catamounts back. A Timmermann kill and ace would bring the Catamounts within one at 5-6. A Piechota kill to make the score 9-8 would give the Catamounts the lead for good as WCU would stretch their lead to eight, winning the set and the match with a 25-17 third set win off of a Stoltz kill. 

The win gives the Catamounts a 17-7 all-time record against the Bulldogs. The win also snaps a three-match winless drought against The Citadel.

Defensively, sophomore Morgan Cochran picked up 11 digs while Abbey Scroggins, Stoltz, Lysik and Minogue each picked up two block assists in the match. The blocks for Minogue put her at 275 blocks for her career, two away from Emily Tillotson’s 277 blocks. Tillotson sits at seventh place on the all-time blocks list, while Minogue is at eighth and climbing.

 

Furman 3, UNCG 0

GREENVILLE, S.C.  – Junior Natalie Braun notched her sixth triple-double of the season as the Furman volleyball team rolled past UNC Greensboro, 3-0 (25-14, 25-17, 25-17), Friday night in Alley Gymnasium in Greenville, S.C.  Braun hit .500 and recorded 11 kills, 19 assists, and 14 digs in the win.

The Paladins jumped out to a quick 12-4 lead to open the first set, en route to a 25-14 victory.  Furman opened the second set with a 12-3 lead then held a 22-12 advantage later in the set.  The Spartans cut the Paladin lead to 24-17, but Furman capitalized off a UNC Greensboro attack error for a 25-17 win to lead 2-0 at the break.

The teams battled through a close beginning to the third set.  With the score tied at 12-12, Furman went on a 5-1 run to lead the set 17-13.  After taking a 19-15 lead, the Paladins then won four out of five points to lead 23-16.  A kill from Ariel Newman kept the Spartans’ hopes alive, but a kill from Furman senior Kelly Kirby, coupled with a block from Kirby and junior Caroline Adams sealed the 25-17 victory for the Paladins.  

Adams hit .619 with 14 kills and three blocks in the match, while Nicoletti led the Paladin defense with 17 assists.  Kirby notched 18 assists, and junior Christina Curry added nine kills in the win.

UNC Greensboro (12-13, 4-5 SoCon) was led by Morgan Freeman, who hit .350 with eight kills.  Ari Lysacek tallied 16 assists for the Spartans, and Kellie Orewiler led the defense with 19 digs.  

 

 

Samford 3, Davidson 0

DAVIDSON, N.C. ---The Samford volleyball team had won eight straight sets heading into today’s match, and they tacked on three more to that streak with a 3-0 victory against Davidson Friday, extending their winning streak to six matches.

The offensive front for Samford (20-3, 7-2 SoCon) had another solid performance, with four in double figures for kills, including Michaela Reesor with her second double-double of the season.  The Bulldogs held the Davidson (12-10, 2-7 SoCon) offense to a .168 hitting percentage, while countering with a .336 clip led by Katie Murphy at .522 (13/1/23). Three earned double-digit digs, led by Alexis Bauer (14) with Reesor (13) and Chelsi Carter (11) not far behind.

Tied at 6-6 in set one, the Bulldogs began to pull away towards an eventual 25-20 victory.  Samford went on a 13-8 run after the tie, with four kills by Murphy during that stretch to force a Wildcat timeout.  Each team earned four points after the break, with Davidson taking another timeout down 18-23.  Reesor knocked down two in a row to give the Bulldogs set point, but a service error gave Davidson possession and a point.  Hutchinson erased any possible comeback with a kill immediately after to seal the 25-20 win.

Up 5-4 in set two, Murphy knocked down a kill to allow Carter to serve two in a row, including a service ace, giving Samford the early 8-4 lead.  Davidson fought back, eventually tying the game at 10-10 and three more points afterwards before the Wildcats took a timeout down 15-17.  The Bulldogs held a three-point lead at the next timeout, up 22-19, and outscored the Wildcats 3-2 in the closing stretch, including two kills by Hutchinson, to finish the set 25-21.

Samford started the third set firing on all cylinders, pulling ahead 5-0 with Bauer at the service line to force an early Davidson timeout.  The following stretch saw Samford maintain their lead, though Davidson fought back and stayed in the game, taking another timeout down 12-16.  The Bulldogs built as much as a six point lead, pulling ahead 23-17, with Murphy tallying three more kills.  Samford looked to secure the sweep, up 24-20, but the Wildcats answered with three in a row in front of a loud home crowd to draw within one.  Samford took a timeout and Hutchinson and Elizabeth Neisler paired up for a block on the final point of the match, wrapping things up at 25-23.

 

Elon 3, Wofford 0

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – In a match full of offense, the Elon volleyball team took advantage of strong hitting to earn a sweep at Wofford (25-19, 25-17, 25-22) today, Oct. 21. The Phoenix finished with a .377 hitting percentage compared to .272 from the Terriers. Elon improves to 16-9 on the season (4-5 SoCon), while Wofford falls to 13-12 (2-7 SoCon).

Freshman Kris Harris was dominate at the net, recording 12 kills off 18 attempts with no errors to hit .667. Freshman Danielle Smith matched her career high of 11 kills, while freshman Chanelle Smith finished with eight kills. Seniors Megan McMahon and Nickie Halbert split the passing duties with 28 and 12 assists, respectively. 

Junior Ali Deatsch led the defense with 12 digs while senior Caroline Lemke tallied three blocks.

In the first set, a kill by D. Smith stopped a 4-0 start by Wofford. The Phoenix eventually tied the set at eight-all off an ace by Halbert, while a block by Lemke gave Elon its first lead of the set, 9-8. With the maroon and gold still holding a one-point advantage, 12-11, the Phoenix put together a 7-2 run, which included kills from sophomore Cali Estes, D. Smith, C. Smith and senior Traci Stewart and an ace by Deatsch, to make it 19-13. Two kills by Lemke helped extend the Elon lead to seven, 22-15, and the Phoenix would gp on to win the set, 25-19.

Elon started the second set with a 7-3 lead off kills by D. Smith and Lemke and a block by Harris. Up by one, 8-7, the Phoenix went on an 11-1 run off kills by Harris and Lemke, an ace by Deatsch and a block by Lemke and Estes for a 10-point lead, 19-9. Harris would end the set with a kill to give Elon a 25-17 win and a 2-0 match lead heading into the break.

After a kill by Estes put the Phoenix up by five, 12-7, the Terriers scored four straight to pull within one, 12-11, forcing Elon to call a timeout. A kill by D. Smith stopped the Wofford run and helped Elon start a 4-1 strech, capped by a kill by Stewart, to take a 17-12 advantage. From there, Wofford managed to score six unanswered to take an 18-17 lead. With the score still in favor of the Terriers, 22-21, the Phoenix used two kills from D. Smith and one by Harris to finish the match on a 4-0 run for a 25-22 win.

 

College of Charleston 3, Appalachian State 0

CHARLESTON, S.C. – College of Charleston returned to TD Arena with an outstanding performance, sweeping the SoCon-leading Appalachian State Mountaineers, 3-0, in volleyball action on Friday night.

The Cougars improved to 7-2 in conference play and moved to 16-9 on the season. The win extended College of Charleston’s home conference match winning streak to 17, dating back to 2009. Appalachian State fell to 15-8 on the season and 7-2 in conference play. 

Despite only hitting .190 on the match, the Cougar defense recorded 13 team blocks, the second-most for CofC this season, while holding Appalachian State to a .084 hitting percentage. Senior Sarah Havel led the way defensively, tying her season-best output with eight total blocks while also making eight kills. Sophomore Taeler Davis made five block assists and 35 assists.

Freshman Sloane White led the way with nine kills while junior Kelly Kolich hit a team-best .700 by making seven kills with no errors. Freshman Lizzie Theesfeld recorded a match-high 15 digs, while senior Hayley Harrell broke double digits with 10 digs. 

Appalachian State was led by Maggie Seeds and Alison Blasingame who each made eight kills. Courtney Rhein recorded 13 digs. 

College of Charleston broke a 16-16 tie in the first set by winning the next four points off of kills from Theesfeld, Davis and Havel, followed by a block from Havel. Despite four points won by the Mountaineers on set point, a kill from Kerstin Koehler gave the Cougars a 25-20 set one victory. White led the Cougars with four kills in the first set, while Theesfeld made eight digs.

The second set was nearly identical to the first with both teams trading points to force a tie at 16. The Cougars scored five of the next six points to go up 21-17 after an ace from White that forced an ASU timeout. A block from Havel and Davis followed by a Kolich kill ended the second set for College of Charleston, 25-20.

The Cougars jumped out to a 9-4 lead in the third set before three straight blocks from Appalachian State capped a momentous run that tied the set at 11. However, the Cougars were able to pull away with a kill from White and consecutive blocks from Havel that sealed a 25-16 set victory. Kolich made five kills in the final set while White made four.