In the opening set, Appalachian State got on the board first, but it was College of Charleston who picked up the win, 26-24. The Cougars silenced the Mountaineers with a 4-0 run, until Appalachian State took at 7-5 lead. The Cougars came back to tie the set at eight before another Mountaineer run. College of Charleston’s Sloane White brought the Cougars within one.
Appalachian State and College of Charleston exchanged points, before tying the set at 14. The Mountaineers scored five unanswered points before the Cougars came back to tie the set at 19. The two teams kept it close, tying the set yet again at 24, before the top seed in the South Division closed the set on a kill from Sloane White and an attack error by Appalachian State’s Maggie Seeds.
The Mountaineers tied the match at one before the break, 25-21. Appalachian State led most of the set, before the Cougars tied it up at 12 with a kill from Lizzie Theesfeld. College of Charleston kept the set within one, but the Mountaineers would not give up their lead.
In the third set, College of Charleston overcame a five point deficit to take a two point lead, but the Mountaineers managed to stayed within one before the Cougars went on a 5-0 run, taking a 21-18 lead. Appalachian State battled back, but it wasn’t enough to hold off the Cougars who won the set, 25-22.
The Cougars jumped out to an early lead in the fourth set, but the Mountaineers closed the gap and tied the set at nine. Appalachian State saw a one point lead, but College of Charleston went on a 6-0 run to take a 17-13 lead. The Cougars lead was short-lived as the Mountaineers tied the set at 19 and eventually took a 21-19 lead before Andi Zbjniewicz’s service ace tied the match at 21. Zbjniewicz led all players with four service aces.
The closing plays kept the two teams battling back and forth with neither team leading by more than one. The set was tied at 25 before another attack error by Seeds gave College of Charleston a 26-25 lead. Chubb’s kill from setter
Taeler Davis ended the match and gave the Cougars the ticket to the championship match.
The Mountaineers had three players record double-doubles in the match, Kasey Sauls, Kelly Rhein and Anna Wagner. Seeds tallied a match-high 20 kills, while Sauls dished out 41 assists. Libero Courtney Rhein recorded a match-high 29 digs. Appalachian State had 10 team blocks in the match.
College of Charleston had four players record double-digit kills, Theesfeld, Sarah Havel, Chubb, and White. Emily Shelton paced the Cougar defense with 20 digs.
Samford 3, Furman 0
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.— Samford (28-4,13-3) swept Furman (21-9,13-3) in the final semifinal match of the day. With the win, the Bulldogs advance to the Southern Conference Volleyball Championship for the first time since joining the league in 2008.
Samford jumped out early to a six point lead in the opening set. Furman went on a short 4-0 run initiated by an attack error on Samford setter Casey Garvey. The Bulldogs answered back with a kill from Katie Murphy en route to Samford winning the set, 25-18.
The second set opened with Samford and Furman battling back and forth with the Paladins staying close to the top seed from the North Division. Furman trailed by four before a kill from Christina Dorismond started a 2-0 run, but the Paladins rally fell short, and Samford took a 25-20 win.
After the break, Samford controlled the third set, jumping out to a 20-9 lead. Furman’s Alexis Shaffer and Kelly Kirby tried to get a rally started for the Paladins, but it wasn’t enough as the Bulldogs continued to increase their lead.
Furman was led by Natalie Braun who had a triple-double with 10 kills, 13 assists and 14 digs. Kelly Kirby dished out 19 assists. Carolyn Nicoletti, also added 14 digs for the Paladins.
Elizabeth Neisler led the Bulldogs with 16 kills, Murphy added nine. Libero Alexis Bauer led the Samford defense with a match-high 21 digs. Setter Casey Garvey dished out 38 assists.
Samford will face the College of Charleston tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. in the championship match in the Pete Hanna Center on the campus of Samford University. This is the first time a North Division team will play in the championship match since UNCG did in 2007.
The match will be broadcasted on ESPN3. The winner will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Volleyball Tournament.