UNCG 3, Appalachian State 1

BOONE, N.C. – Appalachian State University volleyball dropped its weekend finale to Southern Conference rival UNCG by a 3-1 final on Sunday night at the Holmes Center.

The Mountaineers (5-13, 1-3 SoCon) were able to snag a first-set victory, but ultimately could not hold off the Spartans (8-7, 3-1), who downed the Apps by scores of 25-17, 27-25 and 29-27 over the final three sets.

Appalachian jumped out to an early 6-1 lead in the first set, forcing UNCG to burn an early timeout. The Spartans would come out of the break to pull within three points (7-4) but were never able to gain the lead as the Mountaineers led the entire set en route to a 25-21 win.

The second set was nearly a complete reversal of the second as UNCG grabbed an early lead and stayed in front nearly the entire set to tie the match at 1-1.

A back-and-forth third set would ensue as the teams swapped leads four times throughout. The Mountaineers snagged a quick 6-2 lead, but the Spartans rallied to pull within one point (12-11).

App State pieced together a short, 4-0 run to force a UNCG timeout and extend its lead to 16-11, but the Spartans would again rally to tie the set at 21-21 before finally taking the lead. The Apps were able to push UNCG to the edge by grabbing a 25-24 lead, but were unable to close out the Spartans, who rallied to take a 27-25 third-set win.

The fourth and final set would prove to be just as entertaining as the third as the teams again swapped the lead four times. The Spartans enjoyed their biggest lead of the set at 19-14, but a late push by the Mountaineers tied the match at 24-24. Both teams had opportunities to close the other out in the late stages, but it was UNCG that would prevail by a 29-27 final.

Jessica Eley tallied a carer-high 14 kills for the Mountaineers while Dalton Tolliver and Emily Corrigan each recorded 12. Lindsey Sauls put down 11 kills and Courtney Rhein finished with 25 digs.

Karrian Chambers paced the Spartans with 20 kills and 22 digs while OIivia Humphries tallied 16 kills on the night. Kellie Orewiler finished the match with 25 digs and Emily McMurtrey notched 57 assists.

The Mountaineers struggled on the offensive side of the net, hitting just .180 on the attack while UNCG finished with a respectable .259 hitting percentage. Both teams were effective defensively as the Apps tallied 12 blocks to the Spartans’ 10.

College of Charleston 3, Davidson 0

DAVIDSON, N.C. – College of Charleston remained unbeaten in SoCon play with the squad’s fourth straight road sweep, defeating Davidson 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-19) on Sunday afternoon.

The Cougars (11-5, 4-0) captured their fourth consecutive SoCon road sweep for the first time since 2005 while Davidson fell to 6-8 and 2-2 in SoCon play.

College of Charleston made the sweep despite some inconsistent play on the court. CofC hit just .237 and made a season-high nine service errors. However, the Cougar defense notched 10 blocks, out-dug the Wildcats 44-39 and held Davidson to a .115 hitting mark.

Darcy Dorton, the conference’s leader in kills per set, once again paced the Cougars with 14 kills and nine digs. Sloane White posted a team-best .435 hitting mark as she made 12 kills.

Freshman Melissa Morello made 10 kills and five digs as she continues to reach double digits in every three-set match that she’s played in. Junior Taeler Davis made 35 assists and four blocks and seven digs. Emily Shelton finished with 16 digs for the Cougars.

Davidson’s Tindall Sewell led the Wildcats with nine kills and Caroline Brown notched eight kills. Sewell also finished with four blocks.

College of Charleston got off to a slow start in the first set, falling behind 6-2 and forcing an early timeout. However, the Cougars responded and quickly took an 8-7 lead on the serve of White. The teams remained within a couple of points throughout most of the set, but Davidson made a run to get to 20 first after a CofC service error. Dorton and White responded with consecutive kills to tie the set at 20 and make Davidson take a timeout. White then recorded three kills and made a block in the final points of the set to give CofC a 25-22 set victory. White finished with eight kills in the first set, her most in any one set this season.

Although the Cougars only hit .176 in the second set, the CofC came to the front, limiting Davidson to just .062 hitting and recording five blocks. College of Charleston jumped out to a 10-4 off a block from Davis and Neideffer. CofC extended the lead to 14-7 on two kills from Dorton and a solo block from Davis. Although CofC led 20-14 at one point, Davidson rallied with several blocks of its own to bring the margin to 22-20. A Wildcat service error gave CofC some breathing room and Dorton finished the set with a solo block and a kill, 25-20.

Morello came alive for the Cougars in the third set, notching six kills on eight attempts with no errors. The Cougars broke open a 14-14 game to build a 20-15 lead after a kill from Morello. Several late attack errors doomed the Wildcats late, and the Cougars came away with a 25-19 set three victory.