Furman 3, Davidson 0

DAVIDSON, N.C. – Natalie Braun recorded a double-double with 13 kills and 16 digs as the Furman volleyball team swept Davidson, 3-0 (27-25, 26-24, 25-21), to conclude the regular season Saturday at Belk Arena in Davidson, N.C.

The teams battled through 14 ties in the first set.  The Wildcats took a slight advantage to open the match, then the teams were tied at 7, 11, and 15.  The Paladins scored two-straight points off a kill  from senior Caroline Adams and a service ace by senior Chandler Ambrester to tie the match at 18, then the teams were tied at every point.  With the teams knotted at 24, a kill by Ambrester gave Furman set point, but Davidson answered with a kill by Taylor Pisel to deadlock the teams at 25.  A kill from senior Caroline Adams again forced set point, and a block by junior Christina Dorismond and senior Christina Curry sealed the 27-25 Paladin set victory.

The Wildcats took an early 11-6 lead to open the second set and maintained a five-point lead at 15-10 before the Paladins put together a 6-1 run to tie the match at 16.  The teams traded points and remained tied at 17 and 18, but Davidson claimed three-consecutive points to take an 18-21 advantage.  Following a Dorismond kill, the Wildcats connected on three of the next four points to reach set point at 24-20, but Furman came alive, scoring six-straight points behind the strong service of freshman setter Jo Wilks and three kills by Braun to win the set, 26-24.

After the break, the Paladins jumped out to a quick 12-5 lead, but Davidson put together an 8-3 run to come within two of Furman, 15-13.  The Paladins scored three-consecutive points to stretch a 17-15 lead to 20-15, but the Wildcats scored six out of seven points to cut the deficit to one at 22-21.  Furman rallied for winners in the last three points of the match, taking advantage of a Wildcat error then capitalizing off kills from Ambrester and Dorismond to seal the set, 25-21.

Ambrester recorded a double-double with 12 kills and 13 digs, while Dorismond added 12 kills in the victory.  Wilks led the Paladins with 43 assists, and junior libero Elle Ross paced the defense with 22 digs.

Davidson (10-15, 6-9 SoCon) was led by Caroline Brown, who notched a double-double with 15 kills and 13 digs.  Tindall Sewell added 14 kills, and Molly Crenshaw led the Wildcats with 19 digs. 

Furman (22-9, 10-6 SoCon) will compete at the Southern Conference Tournament Nov. 17-19 in Davidson, N.C.

Samford 3, Western Carolina 0

CULLOWHEE, N.C. ---- With the regular season winding down and a No. 1 seed in the tournament locked, Samford started its weekend with a commanding 3-0 sweep at Western Carolina.  It is the Bulldogs’ first sweep since Oct. 13 at the Citadel.

Samford (21-8, 13-2 SoCon) struggled offensively, hitting .193 as a team, but made plays when it counted.  Senior middle Lauren Hutchinson led the attack with ten kills while Michaela Reesor and Katie Murphy trailed just behind with nine and eight, respectively.  Senior libero Alexis Bauer earned 15 digs, setting a new personal single-season best with 543 so far this year.  She is now 31 away from setting a Samford single-season school record.  Casey Garvey added 41 assists, putting her on the single-season top ten list for the second consecutive season.

Western Carolina (8-23, 4-12 SoCon) hit .009 in the match, failing to surpass a .026 clip in any of the three sets.  Saturday was Senior Night for the Catamounts, as senior Jordan Timmermann led their offensive effort with six kills on 25 swings.

Western Carolina scored the opening point of the first set but it was Samford that gained the early momentum, jumping ahead 8-2 behind six unanswered points to force the home team into an early timeout.  Samford continued the streak out of the break, going on a 3-0 run to move up 11-2.  The Bulldogs moved the lead into double-digits and continued to roll, leading 19-4 as the Catamounts took another timeout.  The Western Carolina offense found some rhythm late, but the deficit proved too large to overcome as a solo block by Lauren Hutchinson ultimately gave Samford the 25-12 win.

Neither team maintained possession in the first half of set two, as the lead was traded back-and-forth.  Samford managed to move up three, leading 17-14, and slowly extended the lead to five, up 23-18 as the Catamounts took a timeout.  The Bulldogs ended the set riding a 4-0 run, winning 25-18 to move up 2-0 in the match.

Samford had first possession in set three and started with seven unanswered points off of four kills, two blocks and a service ace by Casey Garvey.  The Bulldogs held a five-point lead at the halfway point, up 13-8, and extended it to eight, up 20-12, as the Catamounts took a timeout.  The Bulldog ended up winning the set by the same score as set two, 25-18, to complete the sweep.

Samford concludes the 2012 regular season tomorrow in Boone, N.C., against Appalachian State (7-21, 3-11 SoCon) at 2 p.m. ET.

College of Charleston 3, UNCG 0

CHARLESTON, S.C. – College of Charleston finished the 2012 regular season with a sweep of the UNCG Spartans, 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-21) on Senior Night at TD Arena.

The win marked the 11th sweep for College of Charleston (23-7, 14-2) as the Cougars locked up the two seed in the SoCon South Division.

Seniors Emily Shelton and Kelly Kolich were honored before the match for their combined five years of play in the CofC program. The two finish 72-10 against SoCon opponents with only three home losses since Shelton’s first year in 2008.

Shelton finished the match with a team-high 18 digs and three assists, while Kolich made seven kills and five digs with one solo block in the three sets.

The Cougars were led by Darcy Dorton’s 14 kills and 17 digs, her team-best 14th double-double of the season. Sloane White finished with 13 kills and a .407 hitting percentage.

Setter Taeler Davis recorded a double-double with 40 assists, her season-high for a three-setter, and 11 digs. Emily Neideffer recorded eight kills and Kerstin Koehler made five kills and three blocks.

UNCG had a standout performance from Karrian Chambers who recorded 17 kills and 13 digs for a .317 hitting percentage. However, that was the bright spot for the Spartans as the visitors only managed a .175 attack percentage and 34 total kills.

CofC used a 4-0 run midway through the first set to open a 15-11 lead, but UNCG came back to tie the set at 20. Kills by Dorton and Kolich and a Spartan error put CofC up 23-20 and a service ace from Shelton gave CofC the first set victory, 25-22.

The second set was seemingly as close as the first one, however the Cougars never allowed UNCG to tie the score at any point. CofC extended a 15-14 lead to 21-15 after kills from Dorton, Neideffer and White and the Spartans never recovered. Neideffer finished the set with a kill as CofC won 25-21.

CofC jumped out to a 19-13 in the third set, but the Spartans slowly pulled back, getting to within 22-19 and eventually 23-21. However, a kill from White and a Spartan setting error quickly deflated the visitor’s momentum and the Cougars celebrated victory with a 25-21 match-clinching third set win.

The Cougars will not play for another week in preparation for the Southern Conference Tournament at Davidson, N.C. The opening round will be on Saturday, Nov. 17 and CofC will take on the third seed from the North Division.

Georgia Southern 3, Wofford 1

STATESBORO, Ga. – Seniors Meredith Paskert, Moriah Bellissimo and Kate Van Dyke, playing in their final home contest, were honored before the match and then proceeded to lead the Eagle volleyball team to a Southern Conference South Division Championship-clinching victory, a 3-1 win over Wofford Saturday night in Hanner Fieldhouse.

It’s the third SoCon regular season title for Georgia Southern and the first since 2003. It’s also the Eagles’ 12th-consecutive victory.

Paskert and Bellissimo each collected 15 kills and four aces, and Van Dyke posted a match-high 44 assists for the Eagles (24-6, 15-1 SoCon). Kym Coley added seven kills and five blocks, and Alexandra Beecher was credited with a match-high 28 digs.

Wendy Burnett led Wofford (15-13, 5-10 SoCon) with 10 kills, and Amanda Liguori posted eight kills and nine digs.

With the match tied 1-1, the Eagles exerted their will in the third and fourth sets, holding Wofford to a total of seven kills and a -.038 hitting percentage. On the other side of the net, Georgia Southern hit .480 in the third set and .152 in the fourth.

Paskert and Bellissimo kept the Terriers on their heels with their serve. The Eagles won three straight points on Paskert’s serve to open an early 4-2 lead in the third set, and then she served out the last five points of the frame, including two aces. Bellissimo logged three of her aces in the fourth set.

As the top seed from the South Division, GSU will play the fourth seed in the North Division in the SoCon Tournament at Davidson next weekend. The action opens Saturday, Nov. 17, in Belk Arena.

Chattanooga 3, Appalachian State 1

BOONE N.C. – Appalachian State University volleyball fell to Southern Conference rival Chattanooga, 3-1, in the second to last match of the season on Saturday night at the Holmes Center.

The Mountaineers (7-22, 3-12 SoCon) nearly rallied from an early 2-0 deficit to send the match to a decisive fifth set, but the Mocs (13-17, 7-8) were able to hold off a late Appalachian rally to pick up the four-set win.

In the first set, neither team was able to gain an advantage until Chattanooga pulled away with a 5-0 run midway through to take an 18-13 lead, but the Apps rallied with a 4-0 run later in the set to take a 23-22 lead.

The Mountaineers had the Mocs pinned to the wall with a 26-25 advantage and a set victory in sight, but Chattanooga staved off defeat and earned a hard-fought 28-26 first-set win.

The second set saw the Mocs race out to a 17 point lead (16-9) before the Apps began their comeback. Trailing by eight (21-13) late in the set, the Mountaineers reeled off six-straight points to close the gap to two points, but could not overcome the early deficit and lost 25-19.

Appalachian responded much better in the third set as it led by as many as nine points (19-10) before the Mocs made a comeback attempt of their own. Chattanooga, which trailed by 11 points (24-13) pieced together a 5-0 run to cut the Mountaineer lead to 24-18 before Jessica Eley put down the set-clinching kill.

The fourth and final set saw another back-and-forth battle ensue as the Mocs rallied from an early 6-1 deficit to take a 12-11 lead midway through.  After trading the lead several times in the closing moments, Appalachian led by one point (23-22), but the Mocs scored three points in a row to put the Mountaineers away.

Jacqui Spurgeon and Dalton Tolliver led the Apps with 11 kills each while Eley finished with nine kills, two solo blocks and four block assists. Courtney Rhein tallied a team-best 26 digs while Lauren Brown and Paige Brown each notched double-doubles in digs and assists.

Chattanooga was paced by a match-high 20 kills from Sarah Batterton, who also finished with five block assists. Paula Passmore led the Mocs with 29 digs and Bridget Camacho tallied 56 assists.

The Mountaineers hit .122 on the attack while Chattanooga posted a .151 hitting percentage. The Apps finished with 14 total blocks to eight for the Mocs.

Appalachian State closes out the season tomorrow when it faces Samford at 2 p.m. at the Holmes Center. Rhein, this year’s lone senior, will be honored in a pregame ceremony.

Elon 3, The Citadel 0

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel volleyball team completed its 2012 season on Saturday as the team recognized the careers of seniors Emily Dalton, Rachael Farrell, Jessica Maxwell and Cassie Uribe. However, it was Elon that got the best of the Bulldogs, as the Phoenix emerged with a 25-19, 25-12, 25-19 victory at McAlister Field House.

The Bulldogs (6-28, 0-16 SoCon) were led offensively by Maxwell and Amanda Rudnik, who finished with six kills apiece. Teammate Ise d'Angelo added five, to go along with nine digs, but The Citadel struggled to find its offensive rhythm with only 23 team kills. Meanwhile, on defense, Erin Bucherl guided the way with 12 digs and following d'Angelo's nine were four players with five each.

Chanelle Smith's 10 kills and .375 hitting percentage led a well-balanced Elon lineup, as 10 players finished with at least one kill. Teammate Megan Gravley was among those with multiple kills, finishing with nine on the evening. The Phoenix (16-15, 9-7 SoCon) notched 43 kills as a team and posted a .202 hitting percentage. The combination of Ali Deatsch (27 digs) and Ana Nicksic (34 assists) also had solid performances for Elon, as the Phoenix finished second in the Southern Conference's North Division.

The Citadel fell behind early in the opening set, but behind kills from Maxwell, Uribe and d'Angelo remained within striking distance at 10-8. It was there that Elon's Kris Harris rattled off six consecutive points in serve, opening a 16-8 lead, which was halted by a series of Maxwell kills. Leading by four in the latter stages of the match, Deatsch sent a pair of service aces past the Cadet defense to make for a 20-14 margin. The two teams traded points down the stretch, but it was two kills by Carly Ledbetter that proved to be the difference, 25-19.

Elon again gained the early lead in the set, jumping out to a 6-2 advantage on a kill by Kris Harris. Following a Farrell kill and two points in serve by Maxwell, The Citadel trimmed the margin to one, 6-5. Two points later, with Chelsea Rafetto in serve, the Phoenix scored five unanswered to assume a 12-5 lead. The Bulldogs pulled within seven on only two other occasions throughout the remainder of the game, as three kills by Gravley and two each from Celia Eddy and Chanelle Smith provided the 25-12 margin.

Sensing the opportunity to close out the match, Elon took advantage of the service game of Maggie Reichard and three kills by Chanelle Smith, as the Phoenix established the early 10-2 lead. Citadel kills by Rudnick, d'Angelo and Lauren Hurt drew Dogs within six, 13-7, but Elon maintained its six-point lead. The Cadets made one final surge at the Phoenix, taking advantage of a kills by Rudnik and Farrell, along with a pair of unforced errors, trimming the margin to 22-18. But, it was a pair of attack errors and a Ledbetter ace that clinched the 25-19 Elon win.