Appalachian State 3, Furman 0
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University volleyball got the win in a dominating 3-0 match against Furman (8-8, 4-1 SoCon) on Friday night.

Appalachian (11-8, 2-3) scored the first point of the first set to set the tone for the rest of the match. After scoring off a kill to make the score 5-4, the Moutanaineers were able to maintain the lead for the rest of the first set, winning 25-20.

The second set began with five score ties before the Apps took off, leading the set 12-7. The Moutaineers would not give up the lead, taking the second set 25-20.

The third set featured eight ties as Appalachian struggled to pull ahead for good. With the score tied at 14, the Mountaineers pulled ahead off a service error and continued to score, making the final score of the third 25-21 and taking the match 3-0.

Emily Corrigan and Lindsey Sauls took charge for the Mountaineers, each recording 12 kills on the match.

Meghan Mahoney led Appalachian in digs, tallying a match-high 15, followed by Kati Stammen, who notched 11. Paige Brown recorded a match-high 41 assists for the Apps.

Christina Dorismond had 15 kills on the match for the Paladins, while Jo Wilks recorded 30 assists.

The Mountaineers had a dominating .356 attack percentage on the match in comparison to Furman's .209. Appalachian led the match in blocks with six, led by Dalton Tolliver, who tallied three.

 

Wofford 3, Western Carolina 2
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – With the help of four different Terriers setting career-highs, the Wofford volleyball team took down formerly undefeated Western Carolina, 3-2 (25-17, 27-25, 15-25, 21-25, 15-13), Friday night in Southern Conference action from the Ramsey Center.
 
Wofford (7-12, 2-3 SoCon) rallied from 16-10 down in the second set to grab a two-set lead. Western Carolina (14-5, 4-1 SoCon) came back to win sets three and four by a combined 14 points, but the Terriers pulled through by taking the final two points of a 13-all final set to hand the Catamounts their first Southern Conference defeat.
 
The Terriers won just their second five-set match of the season and their first against a Division I opponent. The other came in early September at Converse College, as Wofford improved to 2-5 in five setters.
 
Wofford was outhit .235 to .201, but bested the Catamounts in kills, 71-57. The dig battle was very close, favoring Western 84-83, and the Catamounts outblocked Wofford 14-5. Wofford used eight aces to make up for it and four big performances for its second SoCon victory.
 
The attack was led by junior Taylor Baird who put down a career-high 27 kills while hitting at a blistering .339 (27-6-62) pace. Baird also racked up two blocks and two aces, helping her match a career-high 30 points, which she set three matches ago versus Chattanooga. Baird's 27 kills rank fourth all-time at Wofford for a single match and are the most since Andrea Duke set the Terrier record with 35 over 10 years ago on Aug. 30, 2003 against UNC Wilmington.
 
Senior setter Bekah Dorsey followed up last weekend's match, in which she tallied her 3,000th assist, by posting a career-high 67 assists. That amount ranks tied for fourth all-time in Terrier history with Rhea DeJesus (Oct .19, 2003 at ETSU) and is the most in a match since Joanna Suddath had 68 in November of 2007 against The Citadel. Dorsey added 11 digs to notch her eighth double-double of the season and 38th of her career.
 
Sophomore libero Jessica Graham continued her fantastic season, digging out a career-high 34 attacks to tie for fifth all-time in Wofford's single-match records. The 30-plus dig match marked Graham's second of the season and the 34 digs is the most since Caroline Rivers had 35 at USC Upstate in August of 2007.
 
Senior middle blocker Wendy Burnett rounded out the record night, matching a career-high 17 kills which she posted earlier this season at Converse College. Burnett hit .261 on the evening (17-5-46) and put away the most important ace of the night, clinching the close second set.
 
Senior outside hitter Amanda Liguori went for 16 kills and 12 digs, marking her seventh double-double of the season and 28th of her career. Liguori hit .163 (16-8-49), adding one ace.
 
The Terriers began the five-set thriller with an eight-point opening-set victory. A Burnett kill gave Wofford its first lead at 5-4, and Western Carolina would never see the lead the remainder of the set. A 5-2 run gave Wofford an 18-14 advantage and the Terriers closed out the set on a 7-3 run. Burnett led the way in the opener with four kills on eight swings while Dorsey assisted 10 of 13 team kills.
 
The second set saw Wofford trail by six points on two separate occasions, but come all the way back to take a two-set lead. Western Carolina raced out to take four of the first five points and rode that momentum to a 14-8 advantage. Behind 16-10, Liguori put down one of her five kills in the set and the rally was on. Freshman Elizabeth Ouzts served the next six points and used one of her four aces in the match to get the Terriers back within one. It wasn't until 23-22 that Wofford saw its first lead. Ahead 24-22, the Terriers had two set points, but Western scored the next two to even the set at 24. The set then saw its sixth and final tie at 25-all and Burnett took the Terriers the rest of the way with a kill to take a lead and an ace to win the set.
 
Western came out of the locker room hot, hitting .233 and .390 in sets three and four to even the match. Wofford never saw a lead or a tie in the third set, dropping it by 10, and the fourth set saw the Catamounts take a lead at 3-2 and never surrender it. Baird led the Terriers with four kills in the third set and had 10 kills, hitting .450 (10-1-20), in the fourth.
 
The Terriers composed themselves to take the match in a very competitive fifth set. The tiebreak saw the most ties and lead changes of any set of nine ties and five lead changes, and Wofford pulled it out thanks to 10 kills. After struggling all season in five-setters, Wofford jumped out to a 5-1 lead, but WCU rallied to tie the match at seven. The set then saw ties at all points up to 13-13, until a Catamount attack error gave Wofford set-and-match point. WCU took a timeout, but Wofford fended off an attack and Baird sealed the match with her 27th and final kill.

 

Georgia Southern 3, UNCG 0
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Kym Coley recorded 11 kills and four blocks to lead Georgia Southern to a 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-23) Southern Conference volleyball victory over UNCG Friday night in Fleming Gymnasium.

Coley led three Eagles in double-figure kills and hit .348 in the match. Jamie DeRatt posted 10 kills and 16 digs, and Nicole Jeschelnik added 10 kills and eight digs. Katie Bange collected nine kills and three blocks, while Katalin Minnerly finished with 36 assists and 11 digs.

Olivia Humphries led UNCG (9-9, 2-3 SoCon) with a match-high 16 kills, and Kellie Orewiler finished with 15 digs.

Though the Eagles managed to get the sweep, the final two sets came down to the wire. The Spartans erased a 19-14 deficit in the second set and tied the score on consecutive hitting errors by the Eagles (16-4, 4-1 SoCon). Crysten Curry started a three-point run with a kill for GSU, and a Jeschelnik kill later made the margin 24-21. The Spartans scored the next two points, but Jeschelnik put the set away with a kill.

UNCG opened an early 9-5 lead in the third set, but the Eagles rallied to tie things up at 16-16. With the score tied 19-19, Coley got two kills, and Jeschelnik added another as the Eagles opened a three-point cushion. Coley and DeRatt tallied kills for the Eagles to make the score 24-21, but Humphries and Julia Westerbur answered with kills, drawing the Spartans to within one at 24-23. Bange ended any Spartan hopes of a fourth set with a kill.

 

Elon 3, The Citadel 0
ELON, N.C. – The Elon volleyball team recorded its third straight match sweep with a 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-21) win over The Citadel tonight, Oct. 11, in Alumni Gym. The Phoenix improves to 12-9 on the season and 3-2 in the Southern Conference, while the Bulldogs fall to 4-16 (0-4 SoCon).

Freshman Kayla Agae led all players with 10 kills, while freshman Ally Karle, senior Cali Estes, sophomore Megan Gravley and junior Danielle Smith all recorded eight kills. Estes and sophomore Ana Nicksic combined for 40 assists as Estes tallied 21 and Nicksic finished with 19. On defense both senior Maggie Reichard and freshman Morgan Maner each recorded 11 digs.

With the first set tied at four-all, kills by Gravley, Karle and two by Agae helped Elon to four straight to take an 8-4 lead. The Phoenix extended its advantage to six, 14-8, after kills by Estes and Agae and a block by Estes and Catherine Head. The maroon and gold would maintain its edge and win the set, 25-19.

 The Bulldogs opened the second set on a 3-0 run before Elon pulled even at four. With the set still tied at seven-all, a kill by Gravley sparked a 6-0 run to go up 13-7. The Phoenix extended its lead to eight, 18-10, after a kill by Estes and an ace by Chanelle Smith. The Citadel managed to close the gap to four, 20-16, but back-to-back kills by D. Smith put Elon back to a six-point edge before a kill by Head closed out the set by a final of 25-20.

 Elon held a slight edge, 10-8, early in the third before a kill by Karle started a 6-2 run, which extended the maroon and gold advantage to six, 16-10. Back-to-back aces by Maner kept the Phoenix up by six, 23-17, forcing The Citadel to call its final timeout. The Bulldogs managed the next two points to pull within four, 23-19, but Elon’s advantage was strong enough to give the maroon and gold a 25-21 win.