Wofford 3, Ole Miss 2

CORAL GABLES, FLA. - The Wofford volleyball made program history as the Terriers earned the first victory over a school from a BCS conference with a 3-2 (19-25, 25-21, 15-25, 25-17, 15-12) win over the Ole Miss Rebels Saturday afternoon in the team's final match of the Hurricane Invitational.

Wofford had previously been 0-10 including losses to Miami and Rutgers earlier in the tournament in matches against schools from a BCS conference.

Wofford broke a tie at three with a kill from Taylor Baird and a Rebel attack error to take a 5-3 lead early in the opening set.  Ole Miss responded with a 3-1 run to take a 7-6 lead sparked by a Ty Laporte.  The two teams traded points until the Rebels used two Wofford errors to start a 3-0 run and take a 13-10 lead.  Wendy Burnett ended the run with a kill and Amanda Liguori pulled the Terriers within one with a kill, 13-12.  Ole Miss extended the lead back to three points, 15-12, and held the margin until an Arden Anderson kill and another Wofford point cut the lead to 17-16.  Following a Rebel point, Elizabeth Buterbaugh and Anderson combined for a block and Liguori tied the set at 18 with a kill to the middle of court forcing an Ole Miss timeout.  The Rebels came out of the time out with a kill and two aces from Kara Morgan to push the lead back to three points, 21-18.  The run continued following a Wofford timeout as it the Rebels tacked on two more points to make it a 5-0 run and push the lead to 23-18.  Ole Miss ended the set with 25-19 win.

The Rebels came out in the second set and jumped out to an early 6-1 lead highlighted by two more Morgan aces.  Wofford cut the lead to 6-3 with a Liguori kill and block by Burnett and Alex Bidgood.  The block sparked a 6-1 run for the Terriers as they took a 9-7 lead forcing a Rebel timeout.  Burnett and Liguori had kills during the run.  Coming out of the timeout Wofford increased the lead to 11-8 on a Woodlee kill off the block.  The lead hit 13-9 on Burnett kill as Wofford held the four-point lead until Morgan sparked a Rebel run with a kill that cut the lead down to 14-12, but Woodlee and Wofford answered right back with a kill.  Ole Miss trimmed the lead to 15-14 on a kill and another Morgan ace.  The Terries again responded highlighted by a Reagan Styles ace to push the lead back out to 17-14.  Allegra Wells notched a kill and Ole Miss got a block from Amanda Philpot and Nakeyta Clair to cut the lead down to 18-17, but Wofford answered with a 3-0 run to take a 21-17 and force a Rebel timeout.  Ole Miss came out of the timeout with a 3-1 run highlighted by a block to pull within two points, 22-20.  Following a Terrier timeout, Wofford used kills from Anderson and Bidgood to take the second set 25-21.

Ole Miss took control of the third set early with a 4-2 lead.  Trailing 5-3, Wofford evened the set on a Burnett kill and a Rebel attack error.  Ole Miss held a small two-point lead at 8-6 and 9-7 before Morgan recorded another ace to spark a 3-0 Rebel run and extend the lead to 12-7.  Kills from Liguori and Bidgood trimmed the lead to 12-9, but following a Rebel kill and two aces from Laporte, Ole Miss had the lead stretched out to nine points, 18-9.  Bidgood ended the 6-0 Rebel run with a kill.  Her kill started a 4-0 Wofford run as they cut the lead to 18-13.  Ole Miss closed the set with a 7-2 run to take the set 25-15.

Wofford opened the fourth set with two blocks from Buterbaugh and Liguori and an ace from Styles, as they took an early 4-1 lead.  Wofford extended the lead to 9-3 sparked by another Liguori block.  Jessica Graham had two aces during the stretch for the Terriers.  Ole Miss answered with a 3-0 run to pull within three points, 9-6, but Burnett ended the run with a kill.  After trading points, three Woodlee kills aided in pushing the lead to eight points, 15-7.  Ole Miss used a kill then an ace by Amanda Philpot to make a charge at the lead with a 3-0 run, but an attack error kept the margin at six points, 16-10.  The Rebels again mounted charge at the lead with back-to-back kills and an ace from Morgan with another 3-0 run to pull within three points, 16-13.  After trading points, Wofford answered with a 7-3 run highlighted by three Liguori kills, a solo block by Burnett and two kills from Baird to take the fourth set 25-17.

Wofford took the opening point on a Baird kill in decisive fifth set, but the teams traded points until three Woodlee kills sparked a 4-1 Wofford run as they took a 7-4 lead.  A Terrier attack error and a back row attack call against Wofford cut the lead to 7-6, but Wofford won the next point on an Ole Miss net violation to make it 8-6 on the side switch.  Ole Miss called back-to-back timeouts on the switch, but a Wofford block by Buterbaugh and Liguori pushed the lead to 9-6.  The Rebels used back-to-back kills to cut the lead to one points, 9-8, but Baird banged down a kill to push the lead back to 10-8.  The two teams traded points as Wofford picked up kills from Liguori and Burnett to keep the lead at 12-10.  Two Wofford errors allowed the Rebels to tie the set at 12, but kills by Woodlee and Burnett gave the two-point lead right back to the Terriers, 14-12.  Wofford clinched the set and the match on a Rebel attack error, 15-12.

Wofford outhit the rebels .225 to .171 and had nine more kills 61 to 52.  They also won the battle at the net by one block, eight to seven.

Liguori and Woodlee led the Terriers with 14 kills each in the match.  Liguori earned the team's first double-double of the season with 16 digs.  She also had a team-high 16.5 points as she added three block assists and one solo block.  Burnett added 13 kills as her and Woodlee were responsible for 15 points apiece.  Bekah Dorsey had a team-high 26 assists, but Tara Gough followed with 23 assists.  Bidgood sported a .538 hitting percentage as she had seven kills on 13 swings with no errors.  Styles had a team-high 20 digs.

For the Rebels, Morgan had 15 kills and 23 points as she added eight aces.  She also had a double-double with 11 digs.  Wells was the only other Ole Miss player in double-digits as she collected 13 kills.  Ashley Veach had a match-high 27 digs.

Wofford will travel to Deland, Fla. for the Clarion Invitational hosted by Stetson.  Wofford opens with Florida Atlantic on August 31 at 1 p.m. and Hampton at 7 p.m.

Furman 3, UAB 2

Furman 3, UTSA 0

MURFREESBORO, TENN. - Senior Natalie Braun recorded a 20-20 match, tying her career-high with 21 kills and adding 22 digs to lead the Furman volleyball team to a 3-2 (25-23, 30-32, 16-25, 25-23, 15-10) win over UAB at the Blue Raider Dash Saturday in Murfreesboro, Tenn.  Paladin rookie Jo Wilks notched the first double-double of her collegiate career, adding 58 assists and 11 digs. 

Down 15-10 in the opening set, the Paladins reeled off five-straight points to tie the set.  The teams battled through seven additional ties to settle at 23-all before Furman capitalized off an Blazer attack error and a block assist by seniors Christina Curry and Caroline Adams, taking a 25-23 set victory.

Following eight ties in the beginning of the second set, the teams were deadlocked at 12-all before UAB's 5-2 run gave the Blazers a 17-14 lead.  The Paladins scored two-straight, but UAB answered with three points of their own to maintain a 20-16 lead.  A 7-1 run turned the tide, giving the Paladins a 23-21 advantage, but the Blazers won three out of the next four points to tie the set at 24.  After six back-and-forth ties, the teams were gridlocked at 30 before UAB claimed two-straight points for the set win, tying the match at 1-1 at the break.

Furman answered in the third set, jumping out to a quick 15-6 lead en route to a 25-16 win.  UAB grabbed a 11-6 lead to open set four, and maintained control of the set until Furman clinched four-unanswered points to take a 21-19 lead, its first since the set's opening point.  The Blazers scored two-consecutive points to tie the set at 21-all.  Following ties at 22 and 23, UAB claimed the set's final two points, taking a 25-23 victory to push the match to a decisive fifth set.

Following a 3-3 tie, Furman put together a 7-1 run to lead 10-4 in the final set.  UAB answered with a 6-2 run to come within two points at 12-10 before Adams claimed back-to-back kills and a block to clinch the 15-10 Paladin win.

Adams led all Paladin hitters with a .469 attack percentage, tallying 17 kills and five block assists, while junior Christina Dorismond added 12 kills and five total blocks.  Junior libero Elle Ross paced the Paladin defense with a career-high 28 digs, and fellow junior Amanda Komisarow posted a career-high 10 digs.  Senior Chandler Ambrester recorded eight kills for the Paladins, while freshman Amanda Bohlander collected seven kills. 

Michele Simmons led UAB (1-3) with 13 kills and a .444 attack percentage, while Kiriana Hirini also added 13 kills.  Alison Woods recorded a double-double with 30 assists and 10 kills, and Rachel Fairbanks notched a team-high 31 digs.

The Paladins posted a 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-19) win over Texas San Antonio Saturday night to close out the tournament.

Furman trailed throughout the first set but battled back to tie the set at 19 off a kill from Wilks.  A second-consecutive kill by Wilks gave the Paladins their first lead of the match as Furman clinched a 25-20 victory over the Roadrunners after winning seven out of the last eight points of the opening set.

The Paladins jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the second set and maintained the lead throughout the set, taking a 25-20 victory to lead 2-0 at the intermission.  After a close beginning to the third set, the teams were tied at 17 before back-to-back kills by Braun gave Furman an edge.  The Roadrunners kept the match close, coming within one point at 20-19 before the Paladins scored the last five points of the match for a 25-19 victory.

Braun notched her second double-double of the day, tallying 18 kills and 12 digs, while Ross added 12 digs.  Ambrester recorded 12 digs, and Wilks claimed 34 assists and four kills.  Adams hit .636 with eight kills and four blocks.

The Roadrunners (2-1) were led by Whitney Walls, who hit .455 with 12 kills.  Annie Kunes added 18 digs, while Brandy Huskey topped the team with 34 assists.

Furman (3-1) returns to action next weekend at the Charleston Southern Tournament.  The Paladins open the tournament versus Mercer Friday morning at 11 a.m.

UNCG 3, Hampton 1

DURHAM, N.C. - The UNCG volleyball team capped an impressive opening weekend Saturday morning, topping Hampton in four sets at the North Carolina Central Volleyball Invitational inside McDougald-McClendon Gymnasium. The victory marks the second time in the past three seasons the Spartans have opened the year with three-straight wins.

Sophomore Vicky Harley was key in the triumph, setting a program four-set match record for hitting percentage with a .615 mark. She was one of three players with double-digit kills as she put down 10 on 13 attempts with just two errors. Junior Karrian Chambers led the way with 17 kills while redshirt junior Olivia Humphries added 10 of her own. Senior setter Ari Lysacek put in another nice effort, recording 44 assists, six digs and two aces. She was also named to the All-Tournament Team for her efforts during the weekend.

UNCG was a force at the net in the match, out-blocking the Pirates 8.0-4.0 with Humphries tallying six block assists. The Spartans also held the upper hand in kills (59-35) and digs (58-40). UNCG also had three players with double-figure outputs in digs, as freshman Katherine Santiago racked up 14 to go along with 12 and 10 from juniors Kellie Orewiler and Morgan Freeman.

After a kill by Kelsey Sidney gave the Spartans the first point of the match, Hampton edged out to a 4-2 lead when Allysa Medina responded with a kill. UNCG would score eight of the next 12 points to forge ahead by two at 10-8, but a Sidney attack error would knot the score at 11. The teams traded points until both had 17 and that was when the Pirates took charge, capping a 4-0 run with a Medina kill that put the frame out of reach.

The Spartans were the aggressors at the outset of the second interval, as Lysacek's ace gave UNCG a 12-8 advantage. Hampton would score just four more times in the set as a Chambers kill sent the teams to the locker rooms at a set apiece.

A Harley score allowed the Spartans to assume a 4-1 lead in the third frame until the Pirates tied things at eight with a Krista Kraskura kill. It was all UNCG at that point as the Spartans raced out to a 16-9 lead when Sidney and Harley teamed up for a block. Hampton pulled within five later in the set, but it was too late as the Spartans clinched the interval on a Pirate service error.

A bevy of Hampton offensive mistakes allowed UNCG to move in front by a 6-1 count in the fourth set. That was all the cushion the Spartans needed as they cruised to the match-clinching 25-18 victory.

UNCG returns to action Tuesday, Sept. 4, with a match at High Point. First serve from the Millis Center is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Western Carolina 3, St. Peter's 0

Western Carolina 3, North Carolina A&T

Western Carolina volleyball bounced back from a 3-1 loss to Northern Kentucky Friday night in the first night of the Western Carolina Invitational Tournament presented by Best Western Plus of Dillsboro by cruising to a sweep of St. Peter's (25-17, 25-16, 25-14) and North Carolina A&T (25-9, 25-12, 25-21). WCU placed two on the all-tournament team in sophomores Caitlin Piechota and Jordan Timmermann.

Piechota continued her solid offensive weekend with a team-high 19 kills to go along with the 13 she totaled against NKU a night ago to even Western Carolina's overall record at 1-1. Ford notched nine kills and four digs for the Catamounts as junior captain Morgan Cochran led the team in digs with 17. Cochran has led WCU in digs both years of her career in the Purple and Gold. She also picked up two service aces.

Transfer senior Cayla Crawley saw significant playing time as the Bryson City product added to the Catamount defensive effort with 9 digs.  Sophomore Addy George was again a strong presence in the middle as she had three blocks.

In the second match of the day against North Carolina A&T, the Catamounts quickly gained control of the tempo of the match. The Catamounts jumped out to a 13-2 advantage before taking the first set behind the offensive efforts of Caitlin Piechota, who opened up the first set with 7 kills, hitting .500. Piechota finished with 14 kills to go along with the career-high 19 from the first match of the day to earn all-tournament honors. The Catamounts picked up their second sweep of the day with a 3-0 win over the Aggies (25-9, 25-12, 25-21) in the finale of the Western Carolina Invitational Tournament presented by Best Western Plus of Dillsboro.

Sophomore Jordan Timmermann was also named to the all-tournament team as she posted 12 kills, three digs and two blocks.

WCU quickly won sets one and two before the Aggies came out of the gates with renewed energy after the break to 3-0 lead, the Aggies largest of the match, before the Catamounts would fight back to tie the match at five.  Neither team would gain a lead larger than three in the set, with both teams knotting up the match 11 times with five lead changes.

With the match tied at 20, the Catamounts went on a 3-0 run before finishing the set and the match with a block by Timmermann and classmate Addy George.

Timmermann and Piechota were the only Catamounts with double digit kills, but senior captain Abbey Scroggins tallied seven in the win. Sophomore Leah Butler reached a career high in kills with four, with three of them coming in the second set. Morgan Cochran picked up a season-high 21 digs.

Western Carolina finished the tournament 2-1, beginning the season with two wins out of three for the first time since 2001. Northern Kentucky was perfect over the weekend at 3-0, with St. Peter's finishing 1-2. North Carolina A&T was 0-3. 

The Catamounts now go on an 11-match road swing, including three tournaments, before coming back to the Ramsey Center on Sept. 18 to face Gardner-Webb. WCU travels to Athens, Ohio next weekend for the Ohio University Invitational, meeting the Oregon Ducks on Aug. 31 at 4:00 pm.

Georgia Southern 3, Georgia State 1

ATHENS, Ga. - Meredith Paskert led three Georgia Southern players in double-figure kills with a match-high 15  to lead the Eagles to a 3-1 (26-24, 25-12, 23-25, 25-9) volleyball victory over Georgia State Saturday morning at the Benson Hospitality Bulldog Invitational in the Ramsey Center.

Paskert hit .407 in the match and added three digs and a block assist for Georgia Southern (1-1). Jamie DeRatt notched 11 kills, 11 digs and a pair of block assists, while Moriah Bellissimo tallied 10 kills, 14 digs and six block assists. Kate Van Dyke finished with a match-high 45 assists to go along with nine digs and seven kills.

Sydney Hunsley led the Panthers (1-1) with nine kills, and Emily Averbeck finished with 24 digs. Georgia Southern held Georgia State to a .077 hitting percentage in the match and tallied 12 team blocks.

The Eagles edged out the Panthers 26-24 in the first set by overcoming a late three-point deficit. Trailing 23-20, Georgia Southern scored three straight points on two Panther attack errors and a Bellissimo ace to tie the score. Then with the score tied 24-24, Paskert put down consecutive kills to end the set.

The Eagles ran away with the second set after jumping out to an 8-4 lead with the help of a pair of kills by Van Dyke. With the Eagles leading 17-12, DeRatt and Enjoli Johnson's block ignited an 8-0 Georgia Southern run to finish the set. DeRatt served out the set and helped get the run started with consecutive aces. The Eagles hit .458 in the frame, putting down 13 kills on just 24 attack attempts.

Georgia Southern battled back from a five-point deficit in the third set and trimmed the margin to 23-22 on a Paskert kill, but the Eagles committed consecutive errors, giving the Panthers the 25-23 win.

Leading the fourth set 6-5, a Paskert kill sparked a 13-2 run for the Eagles. Bellissimo recorded three kills and assisted on four blocks in the spurt as the Eagles took a commanding 19-7 lead.  Georgia Southern finished the set and the match with a 6-2 run and held the Panthers to -.033 hitting in the frame.

College of Charleston 3, Jacksonville 2

CHARLESTON, S.C. - It took five sets for the College of Charleston to defeat the Jacksonville Dolphins (30-28, 16-25, 25-18, 22-25, 15-10) in Saturday afternoon volleyball action at the Hampton Inn & Suites West Ashley Invitational.

With the win, College of Charleston improves to 2-0 on the season and will face N.C. State in the title match of the tournament tonight at 7 p.m. Jacksonville falls to 0-2 with the loss.

Cougar hitters Darcy Dorton and Sloane White once again led the way in the kill department with Dorton registering 16 and White making 15 kills. Sophomore Lizzie Theesfeld came off the bench to make 14 kills.

Emily Shelton made 27 digs and Dorton tallied 13 digs for her second double-double in as many matches. The Cougars were able to best the Dolphins despite being outhit (.222-.212) and only registering three blocks to Jacksonville's 12 blocks. College of Charleston recorded five service aces in the match, with several coming in late-game situations.

The Dolphins used an all-around performance from Sammie Strausbaugh to push the match to five sets, as she landed a match-high 23 kills with 25 digs and two service aces. Alison Loeppky added 13 kills for JU.

The Cougars trailed for nearly the entire first set before tying the game at 24 and extending it into extra points. A Jacksonville attack error from Alyssa Robertson gave CofC a 29-28 lead and Dorton finished the set with a kill to give CofC a 30-28 win.

Jacksonville never trailed in the second set, hitting .406 as a team with nine Strausbaugh kills en route to a 25-16 victory. The Cougars responded in the third set by building an 18-11 lead and eventually winning 25-18 on a service ace from Kallie McKown.

The Dolphins fought hard in the fourth set, trading points with CofC all the way to a 21-21 tie before going on a run at the end to win 25-22. However, the Cougars were able to capitalize on late receiving errors by Jacksonville in the final set to win the fifth, 15-10, and the match 3-2.

Chattanooga 3, USC Upstate 1

Chattanooga 3, Tennessee Tech 0

The Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team (3-0) was crowned the 2012 Country Inns & Suites champion Saturday night, polishing off USC Upstate and Tennessee Tech to improve to 3-0 on the season. The three-win start is the best opening-slate record since 2001.

Junior Bridget Camacho was awarded the Country Inns & Suites Invitational Most Outstanding Player title. The setter racked up 119 assists and averaged 11.9 assists over the three-game weekend. In addition to setting duties, Camacho blocked nine attacks and managed 13 digs.

Senior Paula Passmore and sophomore Kasey Talley were each also named to the Country Inns & Suites All-Tournament team. Passmore led the Mocs with 77 digs in the tournament, averaging 7.70 per set, and contributed a team-high six service aces. Talley finished second on the weekend in digs with 37 and aces with five. The middle blocker also collected 24 kills to average 2.40 per set.

Chattanooga picked up play at 12:30 p.m. Saturday and faced off against USC Upstate as both teams entered the match with 1-0 records. While Upstate managed to claim a victory in set three, UTC proved too tough for the Spartans. The Mocs downed USC Upstate 3-1 with the help of an outstanding offensive outing from freshman Julimar Alvarado (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.). The outside hitter led the Mocs' attack with 20 kills and was followed up by senior middle blocker Christina Teter (Signal Mountain, Tenn.) who downed 13 kills and seven block assists against the Spartans.

Chattanooga's first four-set match was a nail-biter until the very last point. UTC claimed the first two sets with identical score of 25-21, but the Spartans took set three 25-19 to force a fourth contest. Chattanooga was forced to outscore USC Upstate 32-30 for its second win of the season.

Chattanooga capped off the Country Inns & Suites Invitational at 8:41 p.m. Saturday with a 3-0 win over in-state rival Tennessee Tech. With the victory, UTC improved to 3-0 on the season, but the Golden Eagles would not make it easy for the Mocs. Chattanooga took the first two sets with similar scores of 25-16 and 25-15, respectively, but TTU forced UTC to score twice extra in the third frame for a 27-25 final.

Tournament MOP Camacho led UTC with 35 assists, four blocks and averaged a team-high .455 attack percentage along with five kills. Senior Heather Parman (Ooltewah, Tenn.) finished the match with 10 kills while Teter led the Mocs with 11. Passmore dug 25 spikes and served up four service aces from the libero position to lead the team in each category.

Chattanooga returns to action Friday as the Mocs travel to Clemson, S.C., to compete in the Clemson Classic. While at Clemson, UTC takes on Clemson, Charlotte and former Southern Conference foe East Tennessee State University.

Ole Miss 3, Samford 1

CORAL GABLES, Fla. ---- Despite staving off the Ole Miss attack late in set four, Samford ultimately fell 3-1 in a close match on day two of the Hurricane Invitational.

Samford (0-2) scored three in a row after Ole Miss (1-1) reached match point in set four to draw within one, but an attack error gave the Rebels the slight edge and the match victory.  Michaela Reesor led all players with 13 kills with Lauren Hutchinson adding 11 more towards the team's total of 54.  Mistakes plagued the Bulldogs again, as they committed 28 errors, 11 in the final frame.

Neither team managed to lead by more than one point for the early portion of set one, though Ole Miss started to add a little cushion, earning as much as a five-point lead at 16-11.  Each team scored nine points after that point, with Ole Miss taking the frame 25-20.

Down 5-3 in set two, the Bulldogs charged back to take the lead, 8-6, thanks to a 5-1 run.  Ole Miss rattled off three in a row however to take the lead, 9-8, and force a Samford timeout.  The teams traded points evenly until the Rebels pulled ahead by three, up 21-18, to force yet another Bulldog timeout.  The Bulldogs responded out of the break with four in a row to take the 22-21 lead as the Rebels regrouped with a timeout of their own.  The Bulldogs reached set point first, up 24-22, but Ole Miss tacked on consecutive points to tie it at 24-24.  An attack error gave Samford possession and set point, up 25-24, and Hutchinson secured the win with a solo block to even the match up at 1-1.

Tied at 10-10 in set three, Ole Miss scored five in a row to move up 15-10.  The Rebels maintained the sizeable lead for most of the frame as they won by a final score of 25-18.

Samford trailed by three points in set three, down 12-9, before going on a 4-1 run to tie the frame up at 13-13.  Ole Miss looked to add distance again, up 16-14, but Samford kept it close, coming within one point down 20-19.  The Rebels tacked on three consecutive points to move ahead 23-19 before a kill by Reesor gave Samford possession, down 23-20.  Ole Miss reached match point up 24-20, but the Bulldogs staved off their attack by scoring three in a row to draw within one, down 24-23, forcing an Ole Miss timeout.  Samford came close to tying the match up, but an attack fell just out-of-bounds and gave the Rebels the 25-23 set-four win and the 3-1 match victory.

Miami (FL) 3, Samford 1

CORAL GABLES, Fla. ---- With their match moved up due to the looming hurricane, the Bulldogs looked to take care of the Hurricanes in the Knight Complex to close out the Hurricane Invitational.  Samford took the first set, but dropped the final three as the host team Miami earned the 3-1 win.

Samford (0-3) was plagued by attack errors again, notching 42 kills and 25 errors.  Lauren Hutchinson led the team with 15 kills while Chelsi Carter led the team with 11 digs, helping her to be named to the All-Tournament Team.  Miami (4-0) hit .378 while three players earning double-digit kills.

The Bulldogs came out of the gate firing in set one, as they pulled ahead to a 9-4 lead forcing the Hurricanes to take a very early timeout.  Reesor was an offensive catalyst, tallying five of the Bulldogs' first ten points.  Samford maintained its lead with an efficient offense, building a 19-12 lead to force Miami into taking yet another timeout.  The Hurricanes closed the gap a bit with a 3-1 run as the Bulldogs regrouped with a timeout of their own.  Samford maintained their lead when, at set point, Chelsi Carter sealed the win with a service ace to give the Bulldogs the 25-20 victory.

Play was very even to begin set two though Miami began to gather a bit of momentum, taking a 14-8 lead as Samford took a timeout.  Samford began to close the gap late, stuffing two consecutive blocks to pull within four, down 21-17.  Following a Miami timeout, they knocked in three consecutive points, reaching set point up 24-17.  The Bulldogs added another point but the Hurricanes sealed the frame immediately after, scoring to take set two 25-18.

The Samford offense wasn't as efficient to start the third frame, as errors helped Miami to an early 10-5 lead.  The Hurricanes widened the gap in the middle portion of the set, moving up by seven, 20-13, as the Bulldogs took a timeout.  Samford could only muster three points from that point forward, as Miami took set three by a final score of 25-16.

The teams were even at 6-6 early in set four, when Miami knocked in five in a row to go ahead 11-6.  The Hurricanes maintained the five-point difference for most of the frame as they reached the 20-point mark first, up 20-15.  Samford drew within four, down 23-19, but Miami sealed the match with consecutive points to close out the 25-19 set win and the 3-1 match victory.

Samford continues its season next weekend at the Cardinal Classic, hosted by the University of Louisville.  The Bulldogs open competition on Friday, August 31 against Marshall at 5 p.m. ET.  The following day, they play Duke at 1:30 p.m. ET and Louisville at 7:30 p.m. ET.

NC State 3, College of Charleston 1

CHARLESTON, S.C. - ACC program N.C. State defeated the College of Charleston 3-1 (25-20, 20-25, 25-21, 25-20) in the final match of the Hampton Inn & Suites West Ashley Invitational at TD Arena Saturday night.

Despite four sets that remained close throughout, the Wolfpack (3-0) were able to pull away in the final points at each juncture and dash the Cougars' (2-1) hopes of a tournament title on opening weekend.

Junior Darcy Dorton led the Cougars with 19 kills, while Sloane White tallied 10 kills. Both players were named to the All-Tournament team after the match. Dorton finished with 58 kills and 36 digs for the tournament while White had 39 kills and an attack percentage of .337. Emily Shelton led the Cougar defense with 19 digs. Junior Emily Neideffer tied a new career high with eight kills for CofC.

N.C. State's setter Megan Cyr was named tournament MVP as she made 44 assists and eight digs for the Wolfpack in the final match. Dariyan Hopper led NCSU with 15 kills and a .364 attack percentage, landing a spot on the All-Tournament team. The Wolfpack's libero, Alexa Micek, also made the All-Tournament team as she had 15 digs in the final match.

N.C. State was powerful at the net, tallying 17 team blocks, including seven from Meredith Richardson. The Wolfpack hit .265 for the match, edging CofC's .219 mark.

College of Charleston jumped out to a 13-7 lead in the first set after a big kill from Dorton. However, the Wolfpack rallied back with an 11-2 run to lead 18-15. The Cougars never pulled closer and Richardson gave the set to NCSU with a kill.

Neither team was able to go on an extended run in the second set with leads never building beyond two or three points. The Cougars eventually built a three-point lead after a Neideffer kill and two errors from Hopper put CofC up for good at the end, 25-20.

Despite outhitting CofC, .314-.121, in the third set, both teams were tied at 18 after four NCSU service errors. After a kill from Dorton gave CofC a 19-18 lead, the Cougars committed four straight errors that eventually gave the Wolfpack a 23-19 advantage. NCSU won the go-ahead third set 25-21 on a kill from Hopper.

The fourth set played very similarly to the third with both teams clawing for every point and eventually tying at 20. The Wolfpack took advantage of two Cougar ball-handling errors to go up 22-20 and the momentum carried through the final points as N.C. State won 25-20.

College of Charleston will continue at home next weekend in the Courtyard Charleston North Classic with North Florida, Memphis and the Slovenian national team coming to town.

Liberty 3, Elon 0

DURHAM, N.C. - The Elon volleyball team was not able to pull out a win against Liberty in its final match of the Hilton RTP/NCCU Tournament today, August 25. The Phoenix (0-3) fell in three sets (20-25, 23-25, 16-25) to the Flames (2-1).

Sophomore Kris Harris led the maroon and gold on offense with 10 kills off 14 attempts and only one error to hit .643. Freshman Ana Nicksic led all players with 28 assists, while sophomore Chanelle Smith and freshman Megan Gravley each earned eight kills.

In the first set, Elon fell behind early but used a kill by Danielle Smith and a block by Harris and Gravley to tie the score at five-all. After a kill by Celia Rose Eddy pulled the Phoenix back within one, 9-8, the Flames went on a five-point run to take a six-point advantage, 14-8. Still trailing by six, 16-10, the maroon and gold used a block and a kill by Harris to cut the deficit to four and force a Liberty timeout. After a three-point run by the Flames made it 22-15, Elon used its second timeout and then recorded three straight kills by C. Smith, D. Smith and Gravley to cut the Flame's lead to three, 22-19. However, Liberty was able to hold on for the first-set win, 25-20.

The Flames took an early 5-1 lead in the second set but the maroon and gold battled back and a kill by Harris tied the set at nine-all. Down by one, 11-10, the Phoenix scored four straight with the help of kills by C. and D. Smith and Ana Nicksic to take its first lead, 14-11. With the set tied at 17, the Flames went on a 6-1 run for a 23-18 lead, but a kill by Harris and a block by Eddy and Nicksic helped Elon pull within two, 23-21. Liberty was able to hold on to win the close set, 25-23.

After Liberty opened the third set with a 12-7 lead, the Phoenix then pulled within three, 12-9. The Flames began to pull away with an eight-point lead, 19-11, but a 3-1 run off two kills by Gravley and one by Harris put the maroon and gold back within six, 20-14. Elon was not able to complete the comeback as Liberty won the final set, 25-16, and the match, 3-0.

The Phoenix will play its first home match of the 2012 season against North Carolina A&T on Wednesday, August 29, at 7 p.m. in Alumni Gym.

Seton Hall 3, Appalachian State 1

No. 16 Minnesota 3, Appalachian State 0

HARRISONBURG, Va. - Appalachian State University volleyball dropped both matches of a doubleheader on the final day of the JMU Days Inn Invitational on Saturday at Sinclair Gymnasium.

The Mountaineers (0-3) were defeated by the Seton Hall (1-0) by scores of 25-18. 25-20, 25-27 and 25-15 in the morning match before being downed in straight sets by No. 16 Minnesota (2-0) by scores of 25-10, 25-12 and 25-19.

The Pirates used a balance attack and stifling defense to down App State in the first match on Monday as Seton Hall saw three players tally double-digit kill totals.

Appalachian took several early, one-point leads and led by as many as two points (10-8) before the Pirates roared back with a 6-2 run to take a 14-12 lead midway through the first set en route to a 25-18 win.

In the second set, Seton Hall snagged a quick lead, but the Apps strung together a 6-0 run midway through the set to grab a 14-10 lead and force a Pirate timeout.

Seton Hall regrouped following the stoppage in play and posted an 8-2 run of its own to take an 18-16 lead it would never surrender as it finished off ASU with a 25-20 second-set win.

The Mountaineers got back on track in the third set as they never trailed in a hard-fought 27-25 victory that saw Lauren Gray register five kills.

The Pirates were able to bounce back in the fourth and final set, jumping out to a quick 6-1 lead on their way to a decisive 25-15 set victory.

Appalachian did get solid performances from a pair of underclassmen as sophomore Dalton Tolliver notched a double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs while posting four block assists. Lindsey Sauls also tallied double-digit digs with 10 while adding eight kills.

Paige Brown, making her first collegiate start, posted a team-high 29 assists to go along with 19 digs while Courtney Rhein added a team-leading 28 digs.

The Mountaineers struggled offensively, hitting at a clip of just .037 percent, but the Pirates fared only slightly better with an attack percentage of .144. Appalachian tallied 14 blocks to SHU's 12 but committed 33 attack errors compared to 29 for the Pirates.

In the second match of the day, Appalachian State would find itself up against one of the top teams in the nation as they took the court against No. 16 Minnesota.

The Golden Gophers would prove to be too much of a challenge for the Mountaineers to overcome as they were able to hold the lead for nearly every point of the entire match en route to a 3-0 victory.

Minnesota dominated the first two sets as it did not trail once while picking up back-to-back double-digit set victories.

App State would jump out to a 3-0 lead in the third and final set, but the Golden Gophers would settle in and cruise with relative ease to a 25-19 third-set victory as they led by as many as seven points late in the set before a small Mountaineer rally fell short.

Minnesota used an offensive onslaught to capture the victory as it hit a scorching .412 percent on the attack during the match and saw three players post double-digit kill totals.

Appalachian was held to an attack percentage of just .098 percent but picked up another solid performance from Tolliver, who tallied a team-high 10 kills.

The Golden Gophers collected seven blocks to the Mountaineers' six and had three different players total at least 12 digs.

MATCH NOTES: Rhein increased her career dig total to 1,361 and needs just 23 more to move into third place in Appalachian State history... the Apps dropped to 173-161 all-time in regular-season tournaments and 6-7 in matches played in Harrisonburg... the Mountaineers are 0-3 for the first time since beginning the 2008 season with an 0-6 record.

UNLV 3, The Citadel 0

CSU Bakersfield 3, The Citadel 0

LAS VEGAS - The Citadel volleyball team completed its first weekend of play on Saturday with a pair setbacks at the UNLV Tournament. The Bulldogs were tripped up by the host Rebels in the afternoon by scores of 25-15, 25-9 and 25-15. In the evening session, The Citadel suffered a loss to CSU Bakersfield by scores of 26-24, 25-18 and 25-13.

The Citadel opened play on Saturday against tournament host UNLV, who emerged with a three-set victory by scores of 25-15, 25-9 and 25-15. The Bulldogs were keyed by the play of Ise d'Angelo and Jessica Maxwell, who finished six kills apiece. Freshman Mikaela Tracy also had a solid outing for the Dogs with a team-high 18 assists and 11 digs.

The Rebels, who finished with a .394 attack percentage, were sparked by a double-double from Daryn Glenn (17 kills, 14 digs) and an 11-kill performance by Madeline Westman. Allison Davies highlighted the UNLV defense with 25 digs, while Westman assisted on six front row blocks.

A pair of kills by d'Angelo and Rachael Farrell gave The Citadel an early 4-3 advantage in the opening set. UNLV retaliated and battled through four ties before assuming an 8-7 lead on a block by Westman and Ceannia Kincade. Outscoring the Cadets 9-4, the Rebels Kinsey Caldwell would hold serve and force consecutive attack errors to stretch the lead to 17-11. Two kills by Farrell and one each by Tracy and Maxwell were not enough as UNLV completed the 25-15 win.

The Rebels' momentum from the end of the first set carried over into the second as they quickly established a 14-3 lead. The Citadel took advantage of kills by Maxwell and Hurt, but was unable to overcome five unforced errors and four straight kills by Kaitlin Winters. The Bulldogs found offense found its rhythm with kills by Tracy, Maxwell, d'Angelo and Farrell, keeping within striking distance at 16-8. Behind Westman's three kills, UNLV put together a 9-1 run over the remainder of the set to complete the 25-9 victory.

With a 2-0 lead in the match, the Rebels ran out to a 10-3 lead in the third set. The Citadel answered with kills by Hurt and d'Angelo and took advantage of a service ace by Farrell to cut the lead to two points. Trailing by four, following d'Angelo's second kill of the set, an attack error by Winters trimmed the score to 14-11. The Rebels countered with four straight kills and brought the lead back to seven at 18-11. The Dogs managed just four points over the remainder of the set as UNLV captured the 25-15 win.

Sophomore Ise d'Angelo capped off her solid showing at the UNLV Tournament with nine kills and nine digs against CSU Bakersfield. Meanwhile, Rachael Farrell finished with six kills, four digs and was one of three Bulldogs with three assisted blocks in the tough 26-24, 25-18, 25-13 loss to the Roadrunners.

Shayna Guitare's nine kills led a well balanced CSU Bakersfield attack. Guitare was joined by Kelsee Sawyer (eight kills), Debora Araujo (seven kills) and Julia Bowen (seven kills) on a front row that tallied 37 kills. Araujo and Mariah Alvidrez added eight digs for the Roadrunners, who earned their first victory of the season.

Senior Jessica Maxwell sparked the Dogs in the early going of the first set, forcing a pair of attack errors by CSU Bakersfield to establish an early 3-1 lead. The Roadrunners quickly responded with a 12-1 run, halted when Maxwell drove home a kill on a pass from Mikaela Tracy. Tracy kept the momentum going in serve when she forced back-to-back attack errors to pull the Dogs within 13-10 of the lead. The Citadel eventually regained the lead on a series of service points by Erin Bucherl, 16-15, before CSU Bakersfield drew even. The set reached a climatic 24-24 tie on an unforced error by CSUB's Lisa Bartsch. That was followed by a Sawyer kill and a Bowen service ace for the final points of a 26-24 win.

The opening stages of the second set was a similar back-and-forth battle, as the two squads endured six ties in the first 20 points before reaching a score of 10-10. Fernanda Goncalves found Araujo, who drove a kill past the Dogs defense for the slim one-point advantage, to give the Roadrunners a lead they did not relinquish. Holding to a 14-11 lead, Araujo was responsible for the next five points in serve to provide an eight-point cushion, 19-11. Maxwell answered for The Citadel by forcing a pair of attack errors by Sawyer and Guitare, but a stretch of three straight points by CSUB pushed the lead to 23-15. Despite a kill by d'Angelo and a service ace from Farrell, The Citadel suffered the 25-18 setback.

CSU Bakersfield took advantage of five points from Bowen and three from Araujo to open up a 10-3 lead in the third set. The Citadel countered with a pair of kills by d'Angelo and Farrell, making for an 11-5 score, but the Roadrunners regained the momentum and scored 10 of the sets next 18 points to assume the 21-13 lead. CSUB closed out the match by notching four consecutive points to complete the 25-13 victory.