The Citadel 3, Stetson 2
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Senior outside hitter Rachael Farrell was the catalyst for The Citadel volleyball team that completed a five-set victory (25-20, 22-25, 25-22, 21-25, 15-12) over Stetson in the East Bay Deli Invitational, hosted by Charleston Southern. Farrell finished with a career-high 21 kills and posted 28 digs, fifth-most in a single match in program history.
Farrell, who finished with a .294 attack percentage, became the first Bulldog to post 20 or more kills in a match since Tatum Jestila on Sept. 21, 2010. Farrell was joined by Lauren Hurt (12 kills) and Jessica Maxwell (10 kills) on a Citadel front row that had 59 team kills. Defensively, Farrell's 28 digs were closely followed by Emily Dalton (19 digs), Mikaela Tracy (18 digs) and Amanda Rudnik (12 digs). Tracy also handed out a match-high 44 assists as The Citadel earned its first win of the season.
Stetson's tandem of Kaley Melville (25 kills, 16 digs) and Ellen Hawks (11 kills) provided a formidable attack. The combination of Melville and Hawks, alongside Kelli Carneal (nine kills) and Cailyn Prewitt (eight kills), allowed the Hatters to finish with a 63-59 edge in kills. Teammate Monique Russell anchored Stetson's back row with 32 digs, while the duo of Carneal and Weller dished out 27 and 24 assists, respectively. Stetson fell to 3-11 following the loss.
The tone for the match was set from the very beginning with five ties among the first 20 combined points of the opening set. Knotted at 10-10 following a kill by Maxwell, Erin Bucherl's service game allowed the Dogs to extend the lead to 13-10, keyed by a pair of unforced Stetson errors. Clinging to a two point lead, 16-14, a Hurt kill followed by a Prewitt error allowed The Citadel to extend the lead to four. The Hatters made one last push, drawing within a pair, before two kills down the stretch and a Tracy service ace made for the 25-20 win.
Stetson grabbed control of the second set early and did not look back. The Hatters jumped out to a 5-1 lead on a series of kills by Prewitt and Melville. After a 5-1 run with Maxwell in serve, bringing the game to a 6-6 tie, Stetson scored seven of the next 10 points to move in front 13-9. Kills by Maxwell, Farrell and Amanda Rudnik kept the Dogs within striking distance, 17-16, but a combined five kills by the front row of Carneal and Melville proved to be the difference, 25-22.
The Citadel rebounded in the third set by jumping out to a 10-2 lead, highlighted by two Farrell kills and five service points by Maxwell. Penetrating the Stetson defense with kills by Hurt and Rudnik, the Dogs maintained their lead 18-10 at the midpoint of the set. Stetson pieced together an 11-3 offensive explosion to pull even at 21, keyed by three Melville kills, before consecutive kills by Maxwell, Farrell and Rudnik gave the Cadets a set point. Two points later Maxwell completed the 25-22 victory when she drove a Tracy assist past the Hatter defense.
The hotly contested match continued in the fourth set with the two teams battling through three early ties to reach a 10-10 score. The Bulldogs took advantage of kills by Bailey Kernodle, Maxwell, Rudnik and Hurt to eventually draw game even at 16-16. With Rudnik in serve, a pair of Stetson attack errors combined with a kill by Kernodle provided a brief 19-16 lead. With the match on the line, the Hatters responded by outscoring The Citadel 9-2 over the remainder of the set to win 25-21.
The two teams battled throughout the early stages of the decisive fifth set, reaching a 6-6 tie on kill by Hurt. Dalton gave The Citadel breathing room with a service ace and an unforced Stetson error, making for a 9-6 lead. The Hatters pulled within two points on just one more occasion for the remainder of the match as kills by Maxwell, Rudnik and Farrell completed the 15-12 Citadel victory.
The Citadel returns to action on Saturday afternoon when they play Wofford at 12:30 p.m. and follow with an evening match against Charleston Southern at 7:30 p,m.
Samford 3, Alcorn State 0
Samford 3, Tennessee Tech 0
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford offense was firing on all cylinders in the opening day of the Bulldog Invitational Friday, as the home squad earned two convincing sweeps over Alcorn State and Tennessee Tech.
Samford improved its record to 7-6 behind two dominating performances, limiting both opponents to negative hitting percentages. Samford hit a season-high .429 against Alcorn State and followed with a .327 clip against Tennessee Tech. Michaela Reesor earned a combined 23 kills, including a double-double in the Tennessee Tech match with 13 kills and 14 digs. Selina Schirmer made her first career start as the setter in the match against Alcorn State, earning 25 assists and five service aces. The defense was strong as well, as Samford earned a combined 12 team blocks and 92 digs.
The Bulldogs built a substantial early lead in set one over the Braves thanks to sustained service rallies by Alexis Bauer and Alicia Roth, as Samford was up 10-3. Alcorn State would draw within eight, down 15-7, but that was the closest they would come as Samford rattled off ten unanswered points to earn the 25-7 set victory.
The second frame was the most decisive of the match, as the Bulldogs built a 13-2 lead to force an Alcorn State timeout. The Braves would only score three points during the remainder of the set, as Samford charged ahead to a 25-5 victory, the team’s largest set win so far this season.
Leading 6-2 in set three with Lauren Hutchinson at the service line, Samford put up four unanswered points to move ahead 10-2. Samford improved its lead to ten after an Emily Meitz kill made the score 16-6 and then three consecutive points gave the Bulldogs a 19-6 lead. With Samford at match point, up 24-8, the Braves got a point off a service error but Hutchinson sealed the frame with a kill to give the Bulldogs the 25-9 win and the 3-0 sweep.
The Samford offense was equally as relentless against the Golden Eagles of Tennessee Tech. The visitors would draw within three, down 7-4, but Samford pulled far ahead thanks to a 9-0 run as the Bulldogs went up 16-4. Neither team could maintain possession for more than two points in the closing stretch, but the lead proved large enough for Samford to earn a 25-10 win.
Set two would be the closest of the match, though Samford still ended up with a comfortable eight-point lead. Samford’s three-point lead, up 7-4, would be the closest of the match. Samford maintained possession for the majority of the set, eventually leading by ten, up 20-10. The Golden Eagles would outscore the Bulldogs down the home stretch, 7-5, but again the lead proved large enough for Samford to pull out the 25-17 win, despite hitting .184 as a team.
The final frame was the match’s most decisive as Samford built an early 10-3 lead to force a Tennessee Tech timeout. The Golden Eagles would only score five more points in the rest of the set as Samford hit .462 as a team en route to a 25-8 victory to cap the 3-0 sweep.
Samford concludes its weekend tomorrow at 2 p.m. as they face Gardner-Webb (4-10).
Appalachian State 3, Campbell 0
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Dalton Tolliver and Jacqui Spurgeon each tallied double-digit kill totals as Appalachian State University volleyball used a balanced effort to sweep Campbell, 3-0, on Friday in the opener of the 2012 Wake Forest Black & Gold Challenge at Reynolds Gymnasium,
The Mountaineers (3-8) dominated throughout as they led for nearly the entire match against the Fighting Camels (5-8) and, in the process, picked up their first sweep of an opponent this year.
After falling behind by two points early in the first set, the Apps reeled off a 5-0 run to take a 9-4 lead. The Camels were able to piece together an impressive run of their own later in the set to draw within two points (12-10), but App State would notch five of the next six points to extend the lead to a comfortable 17-11.
The Mountaineers never led by less than six points the rest of the way en route to a 25-19 first-set victory.
In the second set, Campbell again jumped out to an early lead but quickly fell behind as the Mountaineers battled back to take a 3-2 lead. The Apps dominated the remainder of the set thanks to a 14-2 run midway through that helped make the final 25-10 and give App State a 2-0 lead.
The third and final set of the evening played out nearly the same way, with the Camels once again scoring first before the Apps rebounded to take a lead and cruised to a 25-17 set-victory and a 3-0 match-win.
Tolliver led all players with 12 kills while Spurgeon finished just behind with 10. Meghan Mahoney notched a career-high 18 assists while Courtney Rhein posted a double-double with 17 assists and 13 digs.
Campbell did not have a player record more than five kills in the match as the Camels managed to hit a paltry -.043 as a team, committing 25 attack errors on 93 attempts while putting down just 21 kills.
The Mountaineers hit a respectable .230 on the attack and tallied six blocks on the evening as Tolliver and Jessica Eley each picked up three block assists.
App State wraps up weekend play tomorrow with matches against Toledo and Wake Forest at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m., respectively. The Mountaineers open their home schedule on Tuesday at 7 p.m. against North Carolina A&T.
MATCH NOTES: The Mountaineers improved to 176-165 all-time in regular-season tournaments... the Mountaineers picked up a 3-0 sweep over an opponent for the first time since Oct. 30, 2011 when the squad defeated Elon by a 3-0 final in Boone... Rhein increased her career-dig total to 1,496... she needs 333 more digs to become App State’s career digs leader... Tolliver has now posted 10 or more kills in seven of the team’s first 11 matches.
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Wofford 3, Charleston Southern 1
CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Wofford women’s volleyball team has now won six of its last seven matches as they improve to 6-3 on the season with a 3-1 (25-14, 22-25, 25-16, 25-16) win over host Charleston Southern Friday night in the East Bay Deli Invitational.
After dropping their first two matches of the season, the Terriers have won six of their last seven dating back to the program’s breakthrough win over Ole Miss on August 25. Wofford has also reeled off three straight wins starting with a 3-1 win over Stetson on September 1, a team the Terriers will play Saturday at 5:30 p.m. in the final match of the tournament.
Wofford finished the match with 15 total team blocks compared to four team blocks for the Buccaneers. The Terriers’ 15 blocks tied for third all-time for team blocks in a four set match.
Wofford also held a .319 hitting percentage while holding Charleston Southern to a .062 clip.
Amanda Liguori paced the Wofford offense with 12 kills, while Taylor Baird recorded her first double-digit kill performance of the season with 11 kills. Arden Anderson and Wendy Burnett added nine kills. Anderson’s nine kills came on 14 attempts with only one error for a match high .571 hitting percentage. Elizabeth Buterbaugh and Rachel Woodlee added six kills. Buterbaugh earned her first collegiate start as she recorded a .455 hitting percentage with her six kills coming on 11 attempts and one error. Bekah Dorsey and Tara Gough handed out 26 and 18 assists respectively.
Defensively, Reagan Styles collected a match-high 22 digs as she was the only player on both teams with double-digit digs. Styles moved into fourth place all-time with 1,339 career digs. At the net, Burnett had a match-high eight total blocks putting her in a tie for fourth for blocks in a four-set match. Anderson added five block assists pulling the senior within nine block assists from the Terrier all-time record. She currently sits a 296 block assists. Baird added five total blocks as she tied a career-high with 14 points.
Wofford controlled the opening set from start to finish as they took an early 14-9 lead en route to a 25-14 win. The Terriers hit a sizzling .440 in the opening set led by Anderson who had three kills on three attempts.
In the second set, Charleston Southern broke a tie at nine with a 5-2 run as the Bucs pulled ahead to a 14-11 lead. Wofford was never able to regain the lead as they fell, 25-22.
Wofford regained control of the match in the third set, as they flipped a 12-11 deficit into an 18-12 lead with a 7-0 run. Kelsey Bagwell served eight straight points and Baird had two kills early to spark the run. The Terriers went on to claim the set 25-16.
Again, it was all Wofford as the Terriers opened up a 14-9 lead. Wofford never relented as they clinched the set and match with another 25-16 win.
Katrina Houston led Charleston Southern with eight kills, while Wynter Davis added seven kills. Kirsten Struksnes handed out 27 assists.
Wofford plays its second match of the East Bay Deli Invitational Saturday at 12:30 p.m. against The Citadel in a nonconference match. The Terriers will end the tournament with the Stetson match.
UNCG 3, UNC Wilmington 2
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Facing a 2-0 deficit Friday night, the UNCG volleyball team mustered a stirring rally which resulted in a 3-2 victory over in-state rival UNC Wilmington before a raucous crowd inside Fleming Gymnasium on the first night of the Spartan Spiketacular.
The Spartans (5-4) improved to 2-3 this season in five-set matches, winning their first such decision since the opening weekend of the season – a victory over Liberty. UNCG had dropped three consecutive five-set affairs to High Point, UNC Asheville and American University.
After allowing the Seahawks (6-6) to hit well over .300 in the first three sets, the Spartans limited their guests to .157 and .115 performances in the fourth and fifth frames. UNCW would end up with the upper hand hitting-wise at .263-.204, but the teams tied in kills with 69 apiece. UNCG dug 78 balls as compared to 76 for the Seahawks while UNC Wilmington finished with a 12.0-8.0 advantage in total blocks.
Redshirt junior Olivia Humphries came alive as the match went on, recording a career-best 25 kills on 49 attempts with six errors to post a .388 hitting mark. She also produced a personal-best 11 digs for her first-ever double-double. Sophomore Vicky Harley was also a key cog for the offense, putting down a career-high 16 kills and hitting .333 (16k/36ta/4e). Defensively, the Spartan received 19 digs each from their two liberos – junior Kellie Orewiler and freshman Katherine Santiago. Junior Morgan Freeman also contributed two service aces and five blocks.
The first set was tied at seven before a 6-1 run, capped off by a McKenzie Keightley kill, pushed UNCW in front 13-8 and forced a UNCG timeout. The advantage grew to 16-10 before the Spartans scored four of the next five points to pull within 17-14. The home side could not take advantage of the momentum, however, as Jennifer Mallard shut the door with a kill to give the Seahawks the 25-18 frame victory.
In the second interval, the teams fought to a deadlock at 11 before a 7-1 run gave UNCW full control of the set. Tough serving by Morgan Kline contributed to the outburst as she recorded two aces during the stretch. UNCG could manage just three more points in the frame as the Seahawks cruised into the intermission with a 25-15 win and a 2-0 match advantage.
A Humphries kill made the score 10-8 in favor of the Spartans as the third set commenced and the lead grew to 14-10 when Freeman tallied an ace. UNCG led by 18-12 and 21-14 scores before UNC Wilmington came roaring back to tie the proceedings at 23. A kill by Harley gave the Spartans their first set point of the match, but the Seahawks were able to fight UNCG off twice to tie the frame at 25. Keightley put the next serve in the net, however, while Humphries put down a kill on the next rally to send the match to a fourth set.
UNC Wilmington raced out to a 5-1 lead in the fourth interval, drawing a quick timeout from the Spartan sideline. Things didn’t get much better for UNCG from there as a Christi Laite kill made the score 13-6. The advantage ballooned to as much as 17-9 before the Spartans began the comeback. With the score at 18-11, three-straight kills from junior Karrian Chambers, Harley and sophomore Kelsey Sidney drew the Spartans to within four. It looked grim for the home team when Keightley posted a kill to give the visitors a 21-18 lead.
The odds were even slimmer for UNCG to force a deciding set when Meredith Peacock gave the Seahawks their first match point at 24-21 with a kill. However, two Spartan kills and a UNCW attack error pumped new life into UNCG and knotted the set at 24. The Seahawks couldn’t find the mark on offense the last two rallies, as two attacking errors capped a set-ending 5-0 run for the Spartans - who took the interval 26-24.
UNCG was forced to play from behind again in the decider when, with things tied at three, the Seahawks went on a 5-1 tear to move in front by four. Humphries and Chambers put the Spartans on their backs, however, recording kill after kill to deadlock the set at 10 points apiece. The teams traded small 2-0 runs before a Humphries kill and a UNCG block afforded the Spartans two match points. Sophomore Emily McMurtrey barely missed her next serve long, but Humphries rose over the block once more, slamming the door shut with a kill to complete the improbable comeback.
College of Charleston 3, Georgetown 2
CHARLESTON, S.C. – College of Charleston rallied from a 2-0 deficit to defeat BIG EAST opponent Georgetown (27-29, 25-27, 25-23, 25-22, 15-13) in five sets on the opening night of the Holiday Inn Charleston/Mt. Pleasant Tournament at TD Arena.
In a match that featured 43 ties and 18 lead changes with only set decided by more than two points, College of Charleston (5-4) battled with its back against the wall and knocked off yet another major conference opponent in Georgetown (6-4). The win marked the first time since September 2, 2011 that the Cougars have come back to win after being down 2-0 after CofC defeated Harvard that day.
The win was highlighted by a number of individual and team milestones marked by Darcy Dorton’s 20-20 performance (20 kills, 22 digs), marking just the second time a player has registered a 20-20 in digs and kills in the Southern Conference this season.
Morello and junior Taeler Davis also stepped up big in the face of pressure. Morello set new career highs as she tallied her first double-double, landing 11 kills and making 12 while she hit an impressive .357. Davis set new career highs in assists (62), digs (13) and blocks (5) as she played in her first full match this season at setter.
Sloane White set a new season high with 18 kills and no errors as she hit .450 on the match. The Cougars finished with a team attack percentage of .267 while holding Georgetown to .201.
Kerstin Koehler made nine total blocks to lead a team defensive effort that set a new season high in blocks with 16. Emily Shelton recorded 21 digs and Andi Zbojniewicz made seven digs.
Georgetown was led by an impressive performance from Alex Simpson who had 26 kills and 23 digs. Dani White registered 20 kills, Lauren Saar tallied 19 digs and 13 kills, and setter Haley Lowrance paced the Hoyas with 72 assists.
The Cougars built a 9-5 lead in the first set and then extended it to 16-12 after a kill from White. College of Charleston seemed to be in control with a 22-18 lead late in the set with a kill from Emily Neideffer, but the Hoyas went on a 5-1 run to tie the game at 23. The Cougars had set point with a kill from Dorton but Georgetown tied it again and went on to win 29-27 after two kills from Alex Johnson.
The second set was even tighter than the first with 15 tie scores as the teams were nearly even in sideout percentage (53-50). The Cougars overcame a late 23-20 deficit with a 4-0 run to set up set point. But a ball-handling error kept the Hoyas alive and Georgetown eventually won 27-25 with kills from Dani White.
College of Charleston took a small lead in the third set with a 3-0 run after a 15-15 tie. The Hoyas battled back to tie it up at 21-all, but the Cougars won three of the next four, and Sloane White put the set away, 25-23.
The fourth set was another tight one as it featured 14 ties, but only two lead changes as the Cougars maintained slight leads throughout. With the match on the line, Georgetown’s Dani White made an error at 22 and then Neideffer and Davis executed a perfect block to give CofC set point. Neideffer finished the set with a kill and CofC forced a fifth set.
College of Charleston led 8-5 at the turn in the final set, but the Hoyas pulled back to within 11-10 on a kill from Annalee Abell. Morello put CofC up 14-11 and Georgetown nearly came back but a Sloane White kill after a CofC timeout gave the Cougars a 15-13 set win and match victory.
College of Charleston will face Presbyterian at noon tomorrow and then conclude the tournament with Michigan State at 7 p.m.
UNF 3, Western Carolina 1
Western Carolina volleyball fell to North Florida 1-3 (15-25, 18-25, 25-19, 18-25) Friday afternoon in the first day of the Winthrop Classic held in Rock Hill, S.C. behind the play of the Ospreys Paige Pridgeon who led UNF with kills (15) and tallied 17 digs. The Catamounts fell to 3-9 for the year with North Florida improving to 6-4.
Jordan Timmermann led the Catamounts in kills with 10. It was the fifth time that Timmermann has picked up double digit kills, tying sophomore Caitlin Piechota with double-digit kills with matches. Piechota returned to action for the first time in three matches due to an ankle injury, picking up eight kills. Senior captain Abbey Scroggins also had eight kills.
North Florida jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the match before Western Carolina got on the board in the third set, winning the set by six points, 25-19.
The Ospreys returned to take the fourth set and the match with its 25-18 win of the fourth.
UNF had three players with at least 17 digs as Anna Budinska picked up 24 digs to go with her 10 kills and Nicole Baran tallied 30 digs.
The Catamounts outblocked the Ospreys 9-7, with Addy George picked up five blocks for the second straight match and Scroggins getting four blocks. Sophomore middle blocker Leah Butler had three blocks for the match.
Freshman setter Tina Nazario picked up her second double-double of the season behind 29 assists and 18 digs. The Columbia, S.C., native also had two kills and two blocks. Morgan Cochran picked up a season-high 28 digs, one behind your career-best 29, with Paige McConlogue also picking up double-digit digs with 16.
The Catamounts return to action tomorrow with two matches on Saturday. WCU opens up the day with a noon match against Mercer (2-5) and the Catamounts wrap up the tournament with host-Winthrop Eagles in the tournament finale at seven p.m. Both matches will feature live stats and the final match against Winthrop will be streamed – subscription-based - through Winthrop’s All-Access page with the link found on CatamountSports.com.
William & Mary 3, Elon 1
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The Elon volleyball team won the first set at William & Mary, today, Sept. 14, but was not able to hold on for the win, falling 3-1 (25-23, 13-25, 22-25, 16-25) in the first day of the Colonial Challenge. The Phoenix is now 5-8 on the season, while the Tribe improves to 6-5.
Freshman Megan Gravley finished with a double-double after 11 kills and 10 digs. Sophomore Chanelle Smith recorded 10 kills, while sophomore Kris Harris tallied eight. Freshman Ana Nicksic led all players with 35 assists. On defense, Gravley, senior Celia Rose Eddy and sophomore Danielle Smith all recorded three blocks each.
The Phoenix started off strong in the first set with a 7-5 lead off kills by Gravley and D. Smith and a block by Eddy and D. Smith. After the Tribe tied the score at seven-all, the set went back-and-forth until the maroon and gold went on a 6-1 run with the help of kills by Harris and C. Smith to take a five-point advantage, 17-12. William & Mary pulled within one, 18-17, but back-to-back kills by Gravley extended the Elon lead to three before the Tribe tied the set at 21-all. Elon scored four of the final six points with two more blocks by D. Smith and Eddy and a kill by Harris to win the set, 25-23.
Elon struggled in the second set as William & Mary jumped out to a 10-3 lead. Down by seven, 12-5, a kill by Harris sparked a span of three straight for the Phoenix to cut the deficit to four, 12-8. The Tribe then pulled ahead on a 5-0 run to increase its lead by nine, 17-8. Elon was not able to overcome the disadvantage as William & Mary tied the match with a 25-13 set win.
Kills by C. Smith, Harris and Allison Johnson helped the Phoenix take a three-point advantage at the beginning of the third set, 6-3. After the Tribe tied the score at seven-all and then took an 11-8 lead, a kill by Catherine Head put the maroon and gold back within two, 11-9. A block by Gravley and Head would then pull the Phoenix within one, 15-14. Down by five, 24-19, the Phoenix put together a 3-0 run off the serve of C. Smith with kills by Nicksic and Gravley to keep hold the Tribe at set point. William & Mary would go on to take the set, 25-22, and hold a 2-1 match lead.
The fourth set started off extremely tight with the Phoenix and Tribe trading points. The Phoenix took a slight two-point advantage, 10-8, after a kill by C. Smith and an ace by Head. With the set tied at 12-all, William & Mary scored five straight to take a 17-12 lead. The Tribe finished the set, and the match, on an 8-4 run to win by a final of 25-16.
The Phoenix will continue play in the Colonial Challenge tomorrow, Sept. 15, with matches against Hampton and Howard at noon and 5 p.m., respectively.
Wisconsin 3, Georgia Southern 2
STATESBORO, Ga. – Alexis Mitchell and Julie Mikaelsen each posted 15 kills, and Wisconsin overcame a four-point deficit in the fifth set to earn a 3-2 (19-25, 25-19, 21-25, 25-20, 15-12) volleyball victory over Georgia Southern at the SpringHill Suites Eagle Invitational in Hanner Fieldhouse Friday night.
Trailing 10-6, the badgers scored five straight points with the aid of a kill from Mitchell and two from Mikaelsen. Then the duo got a block to give the Badgers an 11-10 advantage.
Mitchell was in on three more bocks to finish the set. With the score tied 12-12, her kill gave the Badgers the lead back, and then she combined for a block with Crystal Graff to make the margin 14-12. A Georgia Southern hitting error finished the match.
Moriah Bellissimo led the Eagles (7-5) with 14 kills to go along with nine digs and two blocks. Meredith Paskert collected 13 kills and eight digs, and Jamie DeRatt finished with 12 kills and 12 digs. Kate Van Dyke was credited with 46 assists and 17 digs, and Alexandra Beecher had a match-high 28 digs.
Graff finished with nine kills and 11 digs for Wisconsin (10-1), and Mitchell finished with seven digs and five blocks. Mikaelsen had five blocks, and Courtney Thomas posted 49 assists and nine digs.
With the match even at 2-2, the Eagles went on a 6-2 run in the fifth set to open their 10-6 cushion. DeRatt started the spurt with a kill, and Van Dyke and Kym Coley added a block. But the Badger defense took over from there, and Georgia Southern wound up with just five kills on 27 attack attempts in the frame.
The teams traded wins in the first four sets with almost identical scores. GSU raced out to a 9-4 lead to start the match and never trailed in the set from there. When things got tight at 19-17, Bellissimo came up with a couple of kills and served out the set with an ace. Play went the other way in set two as Wisconsin went out to a 9-5 lead and never trailed in the set.
With the Eagles clinging to a 22-21 lead in the third set, DeRatt got a kill, and after a Wisconsin hitting error, ended the set with another kill. The Badgers never trailed in the fourth set and led by as many as seven points at 23-16 following a GSU service error.
Georgia Southern plays two matches in the SpringHill Suites Eagle Invitational Saturday. The Eagles host Savannah State at 2 p.m. and Jacksonville at 7 p.m.
High Point 3, Davidson 0
DAVIDSON, N.C. - Tindall Sewell led the way with 10 kills, but the Davidson volleyball team couldn't get past High Point as the Panthers ground out a 3-0 victory over the 'Cats on Friday evening at Belk Arena.
Sewell and Taylor Pisel each finished with an attacking percentage of .250 to share the team lead as the 'Cats dropped three sets by scores of 21-20, 20-25 and 27-29. The team finished with six total team blocks and 26 kills, while combining for 49 digs and 34 assists on the evening.
Caroline Brown recorded a team-high 17 digs and added nine kills to the stat sheet. Pisel came up with several big kills in the match, totaling seven on the night. In addition, she tied for a team-high three block assists. Morgan Shannon had 12 digs and an assist, while Hannah Rau continued as one of the team’s best blockers with three block assists. Ariel Ley had 30 assists and posted four digs and four kills as well.
High Point had three players finish in double digits in kills with Courtney Johnk and Kristin Heldt guiding the squad with 12 apiece. Chelsea Davis had 11 kills, while Annemarie Chin and Wavie Chin boasted 16 and 13 digs, respectively. The Panthers served up two aces in the match and ended with eight team blocks.
Neither team dominated the first set, as High Point’s late five-point advantage would be the largest of the set. After the Panthers’ took a 19-14 lead on a kill from Johnk, the Wildcats would battle back with kills by Ley and Brown, combined with a few HPU errors, to come within one down 20-19. A kill by Pisel and a service error on the Panthers kept Davidson within one at 22-21, but a sloppy ending would give High Pont the set by a score of 25-21.
The ‘Cats battled to a 4-1 lead to start off the second set, but the Panthers would catch up on a kill by Kristin Heldt to tie the set at 10-10. A slew of errors kept the ‘Cats in front 13-10, but he Panthers would capitalize on a Davidson attacking error to even the set once again at 13-13. Just as kills by Brown and Ley kept the slim lead in favor of the Wildcats, a Davidson error once again tied things up for the Panthers. Maddie Simpson then recorded three kills to lead HPU the rest of the way as they took the set 25-20 to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Errors came in favor of the ‘Cats midway through the third set as they took a 14-8 lead. However, the Panthers tallied five straight points to tie the set at 14-14 on a block by Heldt and Jamie McDonald. After the Panthers took an 18-17 lead, Brown notched a kill to tie the game at 18-18. High Point would take another slim advantage, but three straight points from the ‘Cats ended with a kill by Rachel Earnhardt to once again tie the set at 23-23. With one point to go for the win, the Panthers committed an attacking error to keep the ‘Cats in the game. A kill from Pisel then put the Wildcats a point away from the win, but things once again got sloppy and the Panthers capitalized to lead 28-27 on a kill by Heldt. High Point would take the set 29-27 to earn the 3-0 match victory.
The Wildcats will return to action at noon on Saturday when they face N.C. Central on the second day of play at the Wildcat Classic. The ‘Cats will also face Green Bay in the final match of the tournament with the game slated for a 7 p.m. start.
Miami (OH) 3, Chattanooga 2
The Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team fell 3-2 in a close match with Miami (Ohio) to open the Adidas Hoosier Classic in Bloomington, Ind., Friday afternoon.
The Mocs dropped the first set 25-17 to the Redhawks. Freshman Lauren Gainer led the team in kills with three while also tallying a .500 hitting percentage in the first game. UTC kept a tight 11-11 game until Miami went on a 9-1 run to take a 1-0 set lead.
Miami took the second game 25-23 in a much closer contest. Tied 23-23 late in the match, Miami's Lisa Treadway collected back-to-back kills to put the Mocs away.
Despite the 2-0 set deficit, Chattanooga battled back in the third set after the intermission to take a 25-18 victory to pull within one game and keep the match alive. The Redhawks took the first point but UTC pieced together two four-point runs to take the set.
Chattanooga evened up the match at 2-2 in the fourth set with a 25-21 win. The Mocs took a 10-2 lead to begin the match, but Miami fought back to pull within two points. Despite the Miami rally, UTC extended its lead and claimed a four-point win.
The rubber-game was also decided by just four points, but the Redhawks got the best of Chattanooga with a 15-11 win to take the match 3-2.
Freshman Sarah Batterton led the attack for the Mocs with 15 kills and a .433 hitting percentage.
Senior Christina Teter followed up with 14 kills and Gainer collected 10 kills.
Junior Bridget Camacho assisted with 45 kills and senior Paula Passmore led the team with 20 digs.
Chattanooga wraps up the tournament tomorrow with matches against Indiana and Valparaiso. The Mocs take on the hosting Hoosiers at noon. Indiana will provide play-by-play audio and can be followed on live stats via the link above. UTC's matchup against Valpo is set to begin at 5 p.m. with live stats provided.