Elon 3, Radford 0
ELON, N.C. - The Elon University volleyball team built an early lead in the first set and never trailed in its home opener on Tuesday night, August 30, as the Phoenix swept the visiting Radford Highlanders, 3-0 (25-18, 25-23, 25-21), inside Alumni Gym. Elon remains unbeaten at 5-0 this season, while Radford drops to 2-1 on the year.
Senior Caroline Lemke paced the Phoenix attack with 12 kills and three blocks, while senior Traci Stewart registered nine kills and three blocks in the win. Senior Megan McMahon tallied a match-best 33 assists in the victory, while junior Ali Deatsch finished with 20 digs.
The Phoenix managed to reach 10 first in the match's opening set after junior Celia Rose Eddy smashed down a point in front of Radford's Christine Beckham to give Elon a 10-6 advantage. Lemke gave the Phoenix a six-point edge, 15-9, later in the set to force Radford head coach Marcie Jenkins to call a timeout. Elon went on to win the first set, 25-18, and take a 1-0 match lead after outscoring the Highlanders, 10-9, over the remainder of the set.
Elon jumped out to an early lead in the second set after reeling off eight consecutive points off the serve of senior Nickie Halbert to make it an 8-0 game. The Highlanders climbed back into the match later in the set after an Elon miscue made it a five-point game, 13-8. Rookie Chanelle Smith helped the Phoenix take an 18-10 lead late in the set after a kill in front of the net on the right side proved to be too much for Radford's Rachel Fertitta to handle. Radford battled back to make it a four-point game, 20-16, later in the set and force an Elon timeout. The Highlanders managed to make it a one-point game late, but a kill by Lemke was too much the Highlanders, giving Elon the 25-23 victory.
The Phoenix put the Highlanders in a hole early in the third set, going on a 7-0 run to start the game, capped off by back-to-back errors from Radford. But the Highlanders managed to claw back in the game and pull within two points after an Elon attack error made it a 10-8 game. The Highlanders made it a one-point game, 20-19, late and forced an Elon timeout after a Rachel Wiechecki ace just tipped off the fingers of Smith near the back line. But that was as close as the Highlanders would come, as a blocking error by Radford gave the Phoenix a 25-21 set win and a 3-0 sweep.
Wofford 3, Charleston Southern 0
CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Rachel Woodlee paced Wofford with 12 kills, as the Terriers swept the Charleston Southern Bucs 3-0 (30-28, 25-19, 25-20) Tuesday in a nonconference match.
In the first set the Terriers pushed a 4-4 tie to a 13-7 lead. Wofford used two kills from Woodlee and kills from Bekah Dorsey and Amanda Liguori during the run. Wofford would hold the lead until the Bucs fought back to tie the match at 23. The two teams traded the lead until Wofford broke a 28-28 tie with a kill from Taylor Baird. The Terriers would end the set on a kill from Woodlee to earn the 30-28 win. Woodlee, Ligouri and Baird all had four kills in the set.
With the score tied at five in the second set, the Terriers used kills by Baird and Dorsey to take an 8-5 lead. Wofford never relented as they pushed the lead to as high 21-16 before closing out the set with a 25-19 win.
In the third and final set, the Terriers rallied from down 5-2 to tie the set at five. After falling behind in the set, 7-5, Wofford used a 7-2 run to take a 12-9 lead and take control of the set. The Terriers would go on to win the set 25-20 and seal the 3-0 sweep.
Woodlee led the Terriers with with 12 kills on 27 attempts and a .333 hitting percentage. Ligouri followed with eight kills, while Baird added seven kills. Dorsey handed out 26 assists. Arden Anderson led the Terriers with three block assists.
It was the program's first win against Charleston Southern since the 2005 season.
Davidson 3, NC Central 0
DURHAM, N.C. - Sophomore middle hitter Tindall Sewell and sophomore outside hitter Caroline Brown paced the Davidson volleyball team to a 3-0 (25-16, 25-17, 25-22) sweep of the NC Central Eagles Tuesday night at McDouglad-McLendon Gym.
Brown led Davidson (3-1) with a match-high 11 kills and seven digs, while Sewell added 10 to go along with an assist and a block. Senior outside hitter Christine Perzinski just missed a double-double, finishing with nine kills and a match-high 15 digs. Junior setter Ariel Ley tallied a match-high 32 assists, and junior libero Molly Crenshaw finished with 13 digs.
Ashley McCarthy led NC Central (0-5) with six kills, three digs and a pair of blocks, and Jzima-Malaki Kalao had five kills and five digs. Alice Genna tallied 17 assists and also paced the defense with nine digs.
The Wildcats got off to a slow start in the opening set, falling behind 5-7 before using several runs to take control. After a Davidson timeout, the 'Cats scored five straight on a pair of kills from Sewell and an ace by sophomore Jenna Ptaschinski to take a 10-7 lead. An 8-2 run pushed it to an 18-10 lead, before the Eagles got a point on a Davidson error. Another 4-0 spurt extended Davidson's lead to 22-11, and though the Eagles mounted a challenge with a 5-2 run, the 'Cats took the first set, 25-16 on a kill by Crenshaw.
The second set played out in a similar fashion, with Davidson rattling off four straight points behind a pair of kills by Brown to turn a 7-7 tie into an 11-7 lead. The Eagles clawed back with a 6-3 run to get within a point, 14-13, but Davidson won six straight, including three kills from Sewell, to jump out to an important 20-13 advantage. Brown put away three straight balls to finish off the second frame, 25-17, and give Davidson a 2-0 lead in the match.
The Wildcats took a 7-4 lead to start the final set before pulling ahead 11-6 on kills by Sewell and Perzinski. A pair of putaways from senior middle hitter Madison Benedict and sophomore outside hitter Megan Chamberlin pushed Davidson's lead to 15-9, but the Eagles challenged with a 4-0 to close the gap to 15-13. The 'Cats won the next three points to take an important 18-13 lead. Central closed within a pair, 24-22, but Perzinski put away the match winner.
Furman 3, Presbyterian 0
CLINTON, S.C. - Senior Kelly Kirby recorded a double-double and led the Paladins with 27 assists and 10 digs as the Furman volleyball team blanked Presbyterian, 3-0 (25-14, 25-23, 25-12), Tuesday at Templeton Arena in Clinton, S.C.
After a close start to set one, Furman led 12-11 before the Paladins reeled off six-straight points behind strong serving from Kirby for an 18-11 lead. The Blue Hose scored two points to cut into the lead, but Furman ended the set winning seven out of eight points for the 25-14 win.
The two teams again battled through a close beginning to the second set. With the teams tied at eight apiece, Presbyterian won seven out of the next eight points to take a 15-9 advantage. Furman chipped away at the lead and tied the match at 19-19 off a Blue Hose error, then eventually took the lead after a service ace by senior Carolyn Nicoletti and a kill from junior Caroline Adams. The teams traded points back and forth, and the Paladins led 24-22 following a kill from junior Natalie Braun. The Blue Hose cut the lead to one off a kill by Caroline Cann, but senior Alexis Shaffer dropped in a kill to seal the 25-23 set win for Furman.
After the break, Furman came out strong in the third set and quickly built a 14-5 lead. The Blue Hose could only come within seven points of the Paladins in the final set, as Furman took a 25-12 win for the match victory.
Shaffer recorded a .750 attack percentage to lead the Paladins, notching six kills, no errors and eight attempts, and junior Chandler Ambrester paced the team with 10 kills.
Presbyterian (0-2) was led by Presley Maybrey, who paced the team with 12 kills, while Ashtin Frank tallied 22 assists for the Blue Hose.
Samford 3, Alabama 2
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- Down 2-1, the Samford Bulldogs (4-0) rallied to win 3-2 against the Alabama Crimson Tide (3-1), the first victory against Alabama in volleyball program history. Samford out-hit the Crimson Tide in three of the five sets, with numerous Bulldogs contributing significantly on offense and defense.
Hutchinson, Neisler and Katie Murphy all had double-digit kills in five sets and at least six blocks each. Samford held the edge in serve percentage, .903-.891, including three service aces by Neisler. The teams were neck-and-neck statistically except in blocks, where Samford dominated the Crimson Tide at the net 27-7.
Samford looked to make a statement early, jumping ahead 6-1 in the first set and forcing an Alabama timeout. The Bulldogs never relented the lead, though the Crimson Tide threatened late pulling within three at the 21-18 mark. Samford was in a good position at the end however, with their primary server Casey Garvey serving three straight, with kills by Neisler and Hutchinson sealing the 25-18 victory in the first set.
In the second set, it was Alabama that earned the early lead, jumping ahead 12-4 thanks to long service rallies. The Bulldogs stayed in the game and after a timeout, down 16-9, the Bulldogs went on a 4-1 run forcing an Alabama timeout. Alabama went on a late run however to eventually pull away 25-17.
The third set started much like the second, with the Crimson Tide earning early momentum. Down 13-6, the Bulldogs started the chip away at the lead, with Hutchinson, Neisler and Michaela Reesor all earning crucial kills in the middle of the game. For every Samford point, Alabama answered right back with the two teams trading points. Reesor and Alexis Bauer had multi-serve rallies in the closing moments, only down four at the 23-19 mark. The Crimson Tide earned two quick points however to poise themselves for a match victory.
After two sets hitting .129 and .281, the Bulldogs hit .303 in the fourth set, their best of the night, helping to earn the 25-18 victory. Though the score was identical to the first set, the pace was not as neither team could grab early momentum. Samford began to pull away tied at 13, with Murphy earning a kill, giving Reesor a chance to knock off four successful services in a row. Up 20-15, Alabama took a timeout and Alexis Bauer earned her own four-service run with Neisler securing the victory.
The 400-plus fans at the Pete Hanna Center were rocking heading into the deciding fifth set. At the halfway point, Samford held the 8-4 edge, though Alabama refused to give up, drawing within two as Samford took a timeout up 10-8. The Bulldogs managed to hold a slim lead most of the second half, but Alabama gained their first lead of the set at 14-13, one point away from stopping the Bulldog comeback. Neisler slammed one home to tie the game at 14, then Carter put another one away to give Samford the 15-14 lead. Alabama tied it at 15 but Murphy earned back-to-back kills in an exciting 17-15 finish to secure the 3-2 Samford victory.
Chattanooga 0, Belmont 3
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team (1-3) opened their home schedule on Tuesday night at Maclellan Gym dropping a match to Belmont (2-2), 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-22). Freshman Melissa Green led the defense with 12 digs.
Leading the offense was junior outside Heather Parman with eight kills followed by classmate Christina Teter with seven and contributing six was senior middle blocker Ellie Kuhn. Registering five kills for Chattanooga was sophomore outside Jennifer Kuroski.
Sophomore setter Bridget Camacho recorded 24 assists for the Mocs and added five digs during the contest.
Eight different Mocs recorded a dig as junior libero Paula Passmore notched eight and freshman Kasey Talley dug up seven attacks.
Chattanooga started off well in front of an announced attendance of 225 taking control of the first-half of the set with a 13-9 lead. Following a Belmont timeout, the Bruins fought back and took a 16-14 lead.
The Mocs would fight back following a timeout of their own and knot the set at 17. A three-point run by Belmont put it in control and eventually took the frame, 25-22. Chattanooga totaled 14 kills during the frame including three service aces and compiled a side-out percentage of 60. The Bruins offense clicked at a rate of .333 managing 13 kills.
During the second set, the tough service of Belmont's Maggie Johnson put the Mocs behind early, 6-0. They fought back scoring on six of the next seven rallies highlighted by a Teter kill to come within one at 7-6.
Belmont then took control of the set and match with a 10-4 run in recording a 25-18 victory. The second set saw the Bruins connect on 17 kills, but 23 digs allowed them to win some long rallies heading into the intermission.
The first 10 points of the third set went back and forth between the squads before the Bruins went on a five-point run to take a 10-5 lead. Chattanooga battled back and closed the gap with a run of its own capped by two kills by Kuhn to put the team within three, 23-20. A mistake by Belmont and kill by Teter brought the Mocs to within one, 23-22, but the Bruins responded to the pressure and took the set, 25-22.
Johnson paced the Bruins offensively with a match-high 14 kills, while Jen Myer added 12. Hannah Miranda led the match with 33 assists, while Scarlet Gable registered 14 digs.