Georgia Southern won the opening set, 25-18, Bethany Sanford and Kym Coley lead the Eagles with four kills each. The Eagles were able to hold the Mountaineers to a .119 hitting percentage in the first set and tallied five team blocks. Georgia Southern closed out the set on a 3-0 run.
Courtney Rhein led the Mountaineers with six digs while Anna Wagner tallied five kills.
The Mountaineers came back to win the second set, 25-19, behind seven kills from Anna Wagner. Appalachian State hit .415, holding their opponent to .244. Georgia Southern trailed by seven before going on a 2-0 run. The Eagles came within five, but it wasn’t enough as the Appalachian State tied the match at one a piece.
Georgia Southern was led by Enjoli Johnson and Sanford, who both tallied four kills. Libero Moriah Bellissimo recorded five digs.
The third set was tied at 19, before the Eagles went on a 5-0 run to take a 24-19 lead. The Mountaineers answered with two kills, bringing the set within three, but a kill by Sanford gave Georgia Southern a 2-1 lead. Sanford tallied a team leading nine kills.
Alison Blasingame and Lauren Gray tallied three kills each for Appalachian State, as the team was held a .067 hitting percentage.
Appalachian State opened the fourth set taking an 11-4 lead, before the Eagles went on a 5-0 run. The two teams battled back and forth exchanging points. A kill by Coley brought Georgia Southern within one, but a service error by Hayli Ketner gave the Mountaineers the 25-23 win, pushing the match into five sets.
Appalachian State and Georgia Southern exchanged points in the deciding set. A kill by Sanford brought the Eagles within one, but a kill by Maggie Seeds and an attack error by Georgia Southern’s Nelson gave the Mountaineers the win in the opening match.
The Mountaineers were led by Wagner who recorded 19 kills in the match. Kasey Sauls had 20 digs and dished out 41 assists.
Sanford led the Eagles with 19 kills, while Bellissimo recorded a match-high 23 digs. Kate Van Dyke also recorded a match-high 46 assists.
The match between the Mountaineers and the Eagles was a rematch of last year’s opening round. This is the first time Appalachian State has won a tournament match since 2007.
College of Charleston 3, Elon 0
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.— College of Charleston (24-9,14-2) swept the Elon Phoenix (19-14,7-9) in the second match of the 2011 Southern Conference Volleyball Championship.
The Cougars won the first set 25-18, behind five kills from Elyse Chubb and six digs from Emily Shelton. The Cougars were able to hold Elon to a .000 hitting percentage in the opening set.
Celia Eddy, Chanelle Smith and Danielle Smith led the attack for the Phoenix with two kills each.
The second set remained close in the opening minutes. The score was tied at eight until the Cougars went on a 7-0 run. Elon gained momentum and went on a 4-0 run to come within six points of the South Division Champs, but it wasn’t enough as the College of Charleston won set two, 25-17.
The Phoenix were led by Caroline Lemke and Chanelle Smith, who both tallied three kills. Megan McMahon had seven digs in the second set.
The Cougars were led by Chubb and the Southern Conference Freshman of the Year Sloane White with five kills apiece. Lizzie Theesfeld and Shelton led the defense with six digs.
Elon took an early 3-0 lead over the Cougars in the final set. An attack error by McMahon tied the score at five before the Cougars took off on a 5-0 run before the Phoenix answered with a kill by Chanelle Smith. Elon came within three, but it wasn’t enough as College of Charleston made a clean sweep to stay alive in the tournament and play tomorrow in the semifinals.
Chubb and White paced the Cougars in kills with 17 and 11, respectively. Shelton recorded 17 digs, while Theesfeld had 13. Taeler Davis dished out 42 assists in the sweep. As a team, the Cougars tallied six blocks.
Elon was led by Chanelle Smith and Lemke who had seven and six kills, respectively. McMahon recorded a match-high 18 digs.
College of Charleston will face Appalachian State tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. in the semifinal match.