Davidson 3, Gardner-Webb 0
DAVIDSON, N.C. - Preseason All-SoCon honoree Caroline Brown paved the way as the Davidson College volleyball team opened the season by downing the Runnin' Bulldogs of Gardner-Webb in straight sets, 3-0, on Tuesday evening at Belk Arena. The 'Cats picked up the win with set scores of 25-13, 25-18 and 25-23.
Brown picked up right where she left off last season, finishing the night with a team-high 12 kills. She added in 13 digs - nine of which came in the first set - for a double-double and also had a service ace.
Ariel Ley had 30 assists and eight digs, leading the team with two aces in the match while Megan Chamberlin and Taylor Pisel had eight kills apiece. Making her career debut, Hannah Rau led the team in hitting percentage at.400 and had eight digs on the night. Libero Jenna Ptaschinski had a match-high 15 digs, while Tindall Sewell recorded a block for the 'Cats.
For the Runnin' Bulldogs, Carol Solano recorded a team-high seven digs, with Heather Feldman contributing 24 assists and 10 digs for a double-double. Anna Pashkova had a match-high 15 digs. Tiffany Cockrell had four block assists and a block solo.
After trading points to an 8-8 tie in the first set, the Wildcats scored 11 straight points, including two kills from Rau and an ace by Brown. Pisel scored with a kill to put the 'Cats up 21-9 before recording an ace to stretch the lead to 13 at 23-10. An attacking error by GWU's Cockrell finished things off as Davidson dominated the first set 25-13.
The 'Cats jumped out to an 8-2 lead on four attacking errors by the Runnin' Bulldogs, and back-to-back kills from Brown kept them ahead 15-10. The Davidson lead would only increase from then on with a kill by Sewell ended the set at 25-18 in favor of the 'Cats.
Gardner-Webb wouldn't go down without a fight; keeping things close in the third and final set. A kill by Brown gave Davidson an early 3-0 lead, but the Runnin' Bulldogs tied things up at 6-6 before a kill by Callie Hildebrand gave them a 7-6 lead. Kills by Pisel and Brown, along with an attacking error by GWU, tied the set at 10-10 but a Davidson attacking error would give Gardner-Webb the 14-12 advantage. Four straight points by the 'Cats tied things once again at 16-16, and they battled on to take a 22-19 lead on an ace by Chamberlin. Two more kills from Brown would help the 'Cats finish off the set for the 25-23 win and the 3-0 win in the match.
The Wildcats will head to Winston-Salem, N.C., this weekend to take part in the Wake Forest Invitational, hosted by the Demon Deacons Aug. 31 through Sept. 1. They will face Winthrop in a 4:30 p.m. match on Friday before a tilt with host Wake Forest at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday. The 'Cats will then wrap things up with a 4:30 p.m. contest with UNC Wilmington later that afternoon.
Winthrop 3, Appalachian State 0
ROCK HILL, S.C. - Appalachian State University volleyball dropped its fourth-straight match in a 3-0 loss to Winthrop on Tuesday at Winthrop Coliseum.
The Mountaineers (0-3) kept the match close throughout and had a chance to take the second set from the Eagles (3-1) but were unable to notch the set-winning point as they fell by scores of 25-23, 27-25 and 25-23.
App State jumped out to an early lead and stayed ahead for nearly the entire first set, building a lead of 16-12 before Winthrop attempted to stop the momentum with a timeout. The Eagles' strategy worked perfectly as they reeled off a 4-2 run out of the break to pull within two points (18-16) before taking the lead for with five straight points to snag a 21-19 lead late in the set.
The Apps battled back to tie the first set at 21-21, but Winthrop was able to close things out by scoring three of the final five points en route to a 25-23 set victory.
Winthrop's momentum carried over early into the second set as it built an 11-3 lead before Appalachian battled its way back to tie things at 23-23 late thanks to an 8-2 run that featured two kills and a block from Lindsey Sauls.
The Mountaineers would lead by one with two chances to close the set out in the late stages, but the Eagles rallied back for a 27-25 second-set victory and a 2-0 lead.
Appalachian's early third-set lead was short-lived as Winthrop took control of the set and the match with an 11-2 run midway through the deciding set. The Mountaineers trailed by as many as eight points (21-13) before battling back to pull within one (24-23) with a furious 5-0 rally, but the Eagles held on for their second-straight win.
Sauls led all players with 14 kills on the night while recording six digs and four block assists while Jacqui Spurgeon chipped in with nine kills and five digs.
Dalton Tolliver tallied seven kills and five digs while Paige Brown notched a double-double with 27 assists and 12 digs. Courtney Rhein notched a match-high 19 digs.
Winthrop did not have a player record more than nine kills in the match but the Eagles held App State to an attack percentage of just .115 and finished with more blocks.
Appalachian State returns to action this weekend when it takes part in the 2012 Lipscomb Invitational. The Mountaineers will face Lipscomb at 12:30 p.m. on Friday before taking on Houston at 5 p.m. the same day. App State finishes the weekend against Missouri at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday.
MATCH NOTES: Rhein upped her career-dig total to 1,380 and needs just four more digs to move into third-place in Appalachian State history... the Apps dropped to 18-6 all-time against Winthrop and 7-3 in matched played in Rock Hill... the Eagles extended their winning streak to two over the Mountaineers after picking up a 3-2 win when the teams last met in 2009... Sauls and Spurgeon each finished with a career-high in kills... Brown's double-double was her second in the past three matches... Sauls also set a career-high in block assists.