College of Charleston 3, Furman 0
CHARLESTON, S.C. – The College of Charleston volleyball team continued its home dominance, posting yet another 3-0 sweep of a top conference opponent in TD Arena as the Cougars knocked off division leader Furman on Saturday afternoon. College of Charleston won 28-26, 25-18 and 26-24.
The Cougars improved 20-9 and 11-2 in the conference, while Furman dropped to 18-8, 11-3. The win marked the 19th straight home conference win for the Cougars, a streak dating back to 2009, and 2011 became the fourth season in five under head coach Jason Kepner that the Cougars have reached 20 wins.
College of Charleston faced Furman set points in the first and third game but clutch kills from junior Kelly Kolich kept the Cougars alive each time. Kolich finished with a team-best 13 kills and a .312 hitting percentage. Freshman Sloane White also reached double digits in kills with 10, while senior Sarah Havel made eight kills and five blocks. Sophomore Kerstin Koehler saw significant time on the outside and she made seven kills and three blocks.
Redshirt-junior Emily Shelton made several spectacular plays in late-game situations as she finished with 22 digs for the game.
Furman was led by Kelly Kirby with nine kills while Alexis Shaffer and Caroline Adams each made eight. The Paladins only hit .102 for the match. Carolyn Nicoletti made 21 digs.
The Cougars won a dramatic first set that neither team was able to control for a significant stretch. College of Charleston went up 18-14 after aces from Shelton, but consecutive blocks from Furman’s Kirby brought the Paladins back within one. After a kill from Adams gave Furman set point at 24-23, Kolich landed a kill to tie the game. Both teams traded kills until consecutive points from Chubb and Kolich gave the Cougars a 28-26 set victory.
With the second game locked at 13-12, College of Charleston scored four straight points to build a 17-12 lead and reached 20 first after a block from Koehler. Furman went on a mini-run of their own to pull within 20-17, but the Cougars scored five of the next six points and won the set, 25-18, on a Paladin ball-handling error. Shelton made 10 digs in the set and the Cougars recorded five blocks to limit the Paladins to a .000 attacking percentage.
Furman seemed determined to extend the match by building an 18-15 lead in the third set. Although the Cougars pulled back to within 18-17, Furman continued to side out and making points to keep College of Charleston at bay. A service error from the Cougars gave Furman a 23-21 lead, but Kolich made a big kill on the next play to make it 23-22. Kirby responded with a kill of her own to give Furman set point. Another kill from Kolich brought the Cougars back to within one and Havel tied the game with a block on the next play. An attack error from Kirby gave the Cougars a 25-24 lead and Havel and Davis ended the match on an emphatic block.
The Citadel 3, Wofford 1
CHARLESTON, S.C. – The combination of freshmen Amanda Rudnik, Ise d'Angelo and Lauren Hurt, who combined for 24 kills, proved to be the difference for The Citadel in their 25-17, 25-17, 11-25, 25-20 victory over Wofford on Saturday afternoon at McAlister Field House.
Rudnik paced the Bulldogs with nine kills, while d'Angelo and Hurt finished with eight and seven, respectively. However, it was the Bulldogs defense that proved most valuable, as four players notched double-digit dig performances, led by Rachael Farrell's 19. Joining Farrell were Alexa Dahlstrom (12 digs), d'Angelo (11 digs) and Emily Dalton (11 digs), as The Citadel finished with a decisive 65-59 edge in digs. Dahlstrom also dished out 29 assists, as the Dogs improved to 8-20 overall and 1-13 in Southern Conference play.
Wofford (13-17, 2-11) was paced by the performances of Amanda Liguori (18 kills) and Taylor Baird (12 kills). Both players topped the .300 attack percentage mark, led by Baird who finished with a .346 attack percentage (12 kills, 26 total attacks). Meanwhile, Liguori finished with a .308 attack percentage (18 kills, 39 total attacks). Teammate Regan Styles led the Terriers defensively with 20 digs, while setter Bekah Dorsey handed out a match-high 41 assists.
Behind five Liguori kills, Wofford took an early 7-3 lead on the Dogs in the first set. The Citadel retaliated behind a pair of kills by d'Angelo to draw even at 10-10, forcing a series of ties. With the set deadlocked at 15-15 and Dalton in serve, kills by Rudnik and Hurt jumpstarted The Citadel offense, as they assumed an 18-15 advantage. After a kill by Wendy Burnett pulled Wofford within two, Farrell responded with a pair of kills to stretch the lead to 20-16 in The Citadel's favor. Two kills down the stretch by Hurt secured the 25-17 win.
Senior Kathryn Johnston, recognized earlier in the day for her contributions to the program, used her service game to provide the Cadets an early 4-0 lead in game two. However, Wofford bounced back behind two kills from Liguori and knotted the game at 6-6. With the score tied 10-10, Wofford committed a critical attack error that opened the door for four straight Bulldog points and a 15-10 advantage. The lead blossomed to 22-14 with a Dalton service ace as The Citadel took a 2-0 lead in the match following the 25-17 victory.
A rejuvenated Wofford squad came out strong following the intermission, jumping out to an early 7-2 lead behind four unforced errors. After a Citadel timeout to regroup, The Bulldogs found their offensive rhythm and pulled within six strikes of the lead, 12-6. Nine kills from six different players, including two each from Liguori, Burnett and Arden Anderson proved to be the difference in the 25-11 Terrier win.
The Citadel rebounded from the setback in the third set behind a pair of kills by Jessica Maxwell to make for a 10-10 tie in the fourth game. A back-and-forth battled ensued before a Maxwell kill gave the Cadets a slim 15-14 lead. The Bulldogs scored eight of the next 12 points to stretch their lead to 23-18, before kills by d'Angelo and Rudnik made for the decisive 25-18 match victory.
Samford 3, UNCG 2
GREENSBORO, N.C. --- The Samford volleyball team earned sole possession of first place in the Southern Conference with a nail-biting five-set win over UNC Greensboro in Samford's final road conference match of the season.
Samford (25-3, 12-2 SoCon) is now 3-0 in five-set matches this season, while UNCG (15-15, 7-7 SoCon) falls to .500 in conference play. Casey Garvey earned her sixth double-double of the season, earning 53 assists and 13 digs. She is now only 47 assists shy of the cracking the single-season top ten at Samford. Three Bulldogs earned double-digit kills, with Lauren Hutchinson leading the team with 17 kills and a .471 clip (17/1/34). Alexis Bauer earned her highest dig total since Sept. 24, tallying 26 of the team's 75, while Chelsi Carter matched her highest dig total in conference play this season, adding 17 to the Bulldogs' total. Katie Murphy was a force up front, earning seven blocks, three solo and four assisted.
UNCG played hard, with Karrian Chambers and Ariel Newman earning 13 kills each, with Ari Lysacek leading the Spartans in assists with 34 and Kelli Orewiler leading the team in digs with 21.
In set one, the Bulldogs only managed to earn as much as a three-point lead in the early going, as the Spartans fought back every step of the way. Tied at 12-12, Neisler landed a kill to break the tie and give Samford possession, allowing Garvey to serve up four in a row to give the Bulldogs their largest lead so far in the set, up 17-12. That run provided the offensive spark the team needed, as they would not let UNCG draw within four points the rest of the set. Up 21-17, the Bulldogs closed out the set with a 4-0 run, all Spartan attack errors, with Michaela Reesor at the service line to seal the 25-17 win.
The Spartans bounced back in set two, evening the match at 1-1 with a 25-16 victory. Up 7-5, UNCG went on a 5-1 run to build a six-point lead. Later, down 7-14, Samford looked to rally back with two kills by Neisler and a UCNG attack error bringing them within four, down 10-14. Four points would be the closest the Bulldogs would come in set two however, as the Spartans came alive in the second half. UNCG hit the 20-point mark with a seven-point lead and would finish the set with a 5-2 run, making the final 25-16.
Set three would prove more tightly contested than the previous two, but the Spartans would be the ones to edge out the 25-22 victory. UNCG battled to an early four-point lead, up 7-3, but the Bulldogs answered back with three in a row to draw within one, down 6-7. The teams traded points evenly for a while until Samford finally tied the game back up at the halfway point, 12-12. UNCG looked to pull away multiple times, putting down consecutive kills but the Bulldogs always fought back, staying within two points. UNCG again hit the 20-point mark first, up 20-17, but Samford answered with back-to-back kills by Hutchinson and Chelsi Carter to pull within one, 19-20. Down 21-23, an attack error gave Samford the point and possession, as the Bulldogs looked to overtake the Spartans and reach 25. UNCG reached set point on the next serve however and Ariel Newman sealed the Spartan win with a kill to go up 25-22.
Samford refused to drop three straight sets and lose, as they forced a fifth frame with a 25-20 win. Samford started the set with a Hutchinson service ace and rolled to an early 5-1 lead. The Spartans scored four in a row afterwards, tying the match at 5-5. Later, tied at 7-7, Samford would score three in a row to build a three point lead and would not relent the lead for the rest of the set. Up 12-9, Samford would make a key 6-2 run to build their largest lead of the set. The gap proved large enough as the Bulldogs played a resilient Spartan team that drew within three late, refusing to give up. Up 23-20, Murphy and Carter knocked down back-to-back kills to force a tiebreaking fifth set.
The fifth set was a thrilling finish to the match, as the teams were tied at seven different points in the set. The Spartans looked to earn a sizeable lead heading into the mid-set switch, pulling ahead 7-4. Samford however took the lead at the switch, knocking in four in a row with Carter at the service line to pull ahead 8-7. UNCG tied it up for the last time at 11-11 before Samford came through in the clutch with a 4-1 run, including two kills by Hutchinson as the final two points of the match for the Bulldogs, sealing the three-point win and the 3-2 match victory.
Georgia Southern 3, Western Carolina 1
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - The Georgia Southern Volleyball team (15-13, 7-5) defeated Western Carolina (11-17, 4-3) 3-1 in the first of two road games in the Tar Heel state. The Eagles face Davidson on Monday night in the second game of the two-game road trip. GSU won the four-game match, 25-16, 21-25, 25-20, 25-18.
Meredith Paskert tallied 18 kills in 38 attempts to lead the Eagles with a .281 hitting percentage. Hannah Nelson was the only other Eagle with double-digit kills. Nelson posted 11 in 33 attempts to help Georgia Southern post sets of .308 and .458 hitting percentages.
The Georgia Southern defense posted 99 digs and held Western Carolina to a .193 hitting percentage. Moriah Bellissimo led the team with 31 digs, while three other Eagles recorded digs of 10 or more. Bethany Sanford posted 15 digs along with Kate Van Dyke who tied her for second in that category. Paskert recorded a double-double with 10 digs to go along with her 18 kills.
The Eagle defense buckled down after allowing hitting percentages of .209 and .277 to open the match. GSU held Western Carolina to a .185 percentage in the third and a .037 percentage in the final set. The defense forced five errors and allowed only 27 attack attempts in the final set.
The Catamounts had three players in double figures in the kill category, and five with double-digit digs. Jordan Timmermann led the team with 14 kills, while Caitlin Piechota added 11 and Carrie Minogue with 10. Morgan Cochran was the team's digs leader with 20, while Paige McConlogue added 17.
Elon 3, Chattanooga 0
ELON, N.C. – The Elon volleyball team snapped its four-match losing streak in impressive fashion tonight, Nov. 5, with a sweep of Chattanooga (25-23, 25-23, 25-13) in Alumni Gym. The Phoenix improves to 17-13 (5-9 SoCon) on the season, while the Lady Mocs fall to 5-24 (3-11 SoCon).
Junior Celia Rose Eddy led Elon with a career-high 11 kills off 13 attempts with no errors to hit .846. Freshman Danielle Smith recorded nine kills, while seniors Megan McMahon and Nickie Halbert split the passes with 21 and 13 assists, respectively.
On defense, senior Caroline Lemke finished with eight blocks, matching her season high. Senior Traci Stewart, freshman Chanelle Smith and Eddy all contributed four blocks each to help the Phoenix out block the Lady Mocs, 12-3.
With the first set tied at eight-all, the Phoenix put together a 7-2 run off two kills by D. Smith, one from Lemke and a block by Eddy and sophomore Cali Estes to take a 15-10 lead. Kills from Eddy, D. Smith, Lemke and an ace by sophomore Maggie Reichard kept the Elon lead at five, 20-15. After another kill from D. Smith put the Phoenix at set point, 24-20, the Lady Mocs scored three unanswered to close the gap to one. Elon stopped UTC’s rally with a block by Eddy and Estes to win the set, 25-23.
Chattanooga would take the upper hand to start the second set with a 4-2 lead, but Elon scored four of the next six points to tie it up at six-all. Down by three, 16-13, two kills by C. Smith, one from Eddy and an ace by junior Ali Deatsch helped the Phoenix score five straight and take a two-point lead, 18-16. With the set tied at 23-all, back-to-back kills by Eddy gave the Phoenix the win, 25-23, and a 2-0 match lead.
The Phoenix opened the third set with a 12-3 run, which included kills from D. Smith, C. Smith, a solo block by Lemke and two blocks by Lemke and Stewart, forcing Chattanooga to use both its timeouts early. Up 14-7, the maroon and gold scored four unanswered to extend its lead to 11. The Lady Mocs would cut the deficit to nine, 19-10, but Elon’s lead was enough to keep the sweep intact as a kill by Estes ended the set in favor of the Phoenix, 25-13.