Samford 3, Elon 0BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- Samford opened its home weekend strongly, dispatching the Elon Phoenix in three sets at the Pete Hanna Center Friday night.
Samford (13-9, 4-3 SoCon) powered past Elon (12-11, 3-4 SoCon) thanks to a very efficient offense as the Bulldogs hit .371 as a team, the highest total against any SoCon opponent so far this season. Leading that effort was Katie Murphy, with 12 kills and only one error on 15 swings for a sensational .733 hitting percentage. Three Bulldogs earned double-digit kills, with Michaela Reesor leading all players with 15 while Murphy and Greenwald trailed close behind with 12 each. Chelsi Carter led all players with 14 digs while Stephanie Palmer was only two digs shy of a double-double, finishing with eight digs and 39 assists.
The first set was the most lopsided of the match, as the Bulldogs limited the Phoenix to a .031 hitting percentage while earning a .440 clip. Elon would briefly move ahead 2-1, but that would be their last lead of the set as Samford quickly answered with five unanswered to take a 6-2 lead. Samford continued to extend the lead, eventually moving up 11-5 before Elon had to take its first timeout. A 9-5 run gave the Bulldogs a double-digit lead, 20-10, as Elon burned its final timeout. Samford continued to roll out of the break, eventually winning the set 25-14.
The momentum carried into set two, as the Bulldogs charged ahead 7-2 to force an early timeout by Elon. The Phoenix rallied back, closing the gap and eventually tying the set at the midpoint, 12-12. Back-to-back kills by Megan Gravley gave them a 14-12 lead as the Bulldogs took their first timeout of the entire match. The teams would trade the lead back-and-forth until, tied at 20-20, Samford’s offense found a spark as they closed out the set with a 5-1 run to win, 25-21, and take a 2-0 match lead.
Like the previous two sets, Samford opened the third strongly, taking an 8-3 lead as Elon took a frustrated timeout. The lead was short-lived, as the Phoenix answered right back with five-straight points to tie the set at 8-8. Four unanswered by the Bulldogs made it 12-8 and Elon would continue to fight, though the Bulldogs would never relent the lead. Elon would take its final timeout trailing 20-16 but Samford would hold the four-point lead until the end, finishing the set 25-21 to complete the sweep.
Georgia Southern 3, Appalachian State 2
BOONE, N.C. – Katie Bange recorded 14 kills, including three in a late Georgia Southern run, as the Eagles fought back from a 13-9 fifth-set deficit to post a 3-2 (25-23, 15-25, 25-23, 24-26, 15-13) Southern Conference volleyball victory at Appalachian State Friday night.
The Eagles (18-3, 6-1 SoCon) called a timeout after a kill by Emily Corrigan gave Appalachian State (11-10, 2-5) the 13-9 lead in the fifth set. Jamie DeRatt gave GSU a side out, and Katalin Minnerly served out the set as the Eagles scored six straight points. Bange had three kills during the run, and Minnerly added a solo block.
Minnerly finished with 52 assists and seven digs, and Bange added four blocks. DeRatt had 16 kills and 11 digs, while Nicole Jeschelnik posted 13 kills, 11 digs and three blocks. Kym Coley tallied 10 kills and five blocks, and Crysten Curry finished with seven kills and four blocks.
Lindsey Sauls led the way for Appalachian State with 17 kills, and Dalton Tolliver finished with 10 kills and three blocks. Meghan Mahoney had a match-high 26 digs, and Paige Brown collected 52 assists and seven digs.
Four straight kills, with the last two coming from Bange, gave the Eagles a 4-1 lead in the fifth set. The Mountaineers came back behind the serve of Mahoney, who got two aces in a row. The Eagles took an 8-7 lead on a Jeschelnik kill, but the Mountaineers went on a 6-1 run with the aid of three Corrigan kills to open the 13-9 cushion.
Four of the sets in the closely-contested match were decided by two points, and there were 18 ties and seven lead changes in the third set alone. Georgia Southern had a chance to close things out in the fourth set, but the Mountaineers erased a late four-point deficit and took the set 26-24. After the Eagles took a 19-15 lead following a block by Coley and Bange, App went on an 8-1 run to open a 23-20 advantage.
The Apps had two set points, but a setting error followed by a block by GSU’s Christina Vereb tied the score 24-24. Sauls gave Appalachian State another set point with a kill, and Corrigan finished it off with a kill to tie the match.
Western Carolina 3, The Citadel 0
Cullowhee, N.C. – Led by an efficient offensive attack the Western Carolina volleyball team got back to its winning ways with a 3-0 (25-23, 25-9, 25-14) sweep of The Citadel Friday night in a Southern Conference match in the Ramsey Center.
The Catamounts held a .330 hitting percentage – 50 kills with 12 errors on 115 attempts -- tying for the fourth best team hitting percentage in a match. Jordan Timmermann – 19 kills with two errors on 28 attempts – and Addy George – 14 kills with two errors on 20 swings – each set a career-high with Timmermann hitting at a .600 clip and George finishing with a .607 hitting percentage. Timmermann’s 19 kills was a match-high, while George was the only other player in double-digit kills in the match. Christina Nazario directed the WCU offense with 42 assists.
Morgan Cochran continues to inch closer to the all-time WCU dig record as the senior libero collected a match-high 26 digs; she now has 1,958 career digs just 194 short of the record -- 2,152 digs held by Liz Rondone. It was her 95th career match in double-digits and 20th time this season. She has recorded 20 or more digs in three consecutive matches for the second time this season. Paige McConlogue contributed to the defensive effort with 15 digs.
The first set was tightly contested as WCU saw a 12-9 lead evaporate when The Citadel tied the set at 13. The Catamounts retook the lead, 17-15, only to see it disappear again when the Bulldogs pulled even at 18. The Citadel mounted a 4-2 run to take a 22-20 lead late, but WCU rallied with a 5-1 run to earn the 25-23 set win.
The second and third sets were never close as WCU held the Bulldogs to a -.147 hitting percentage en route to a 25-9 set two win and hit a .341 clip aiding in a 25-14 set three win to complete the sweep.
Furman 3, Davidson 0
Greenville, S.C. – The Furman volleyball team used a balanced offensive attack and key blocking to defeat SoCon-rival Davidson, 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-20), on Friday night in Alley Gym. Furman moves to 11-8 on the year (6-1 SoCon), while Davidson falls to 12-9 (3-4 SoCon). With the win, the Paladins maintain their perfect 5-0 record at Alley Gym this season.
Annie Bierman and Christina Dorismond led the Paladins offensively, each putting down 12 kills. Ashton Gregory turned in a .500 hitting percentage, nine kills and eight blocks for the Paladins, while Elle Ross led the team with 18 digs. Jo Wilks had the teams only double-double, dishing out 38 assists and adding 10 digs. As a team, the Paladins held Davidson to a .100 hitting percentage and out-blocked the Wildcats 9-8.
Furman jumped out to a 5-1 lead in set one, before Davidson cut the lead to two at 7-5. Furman used two blocks by Ashton Gregory to take a 13-9 lead, before Davidson cut the lead to one at 13-12. Furman again increased their lead to three at 16-13, before Davidson rallied back again to cut the lead to one at 16-15. The teams traded points until Furman took a 23-21 lead, forcing the second Davidson timeout of the set. The Wildcats tied the set at 23, but Furman got two kills from Christina Dorismond to win set one, 25-23, and take a 1-0 lead in the match. The Paladins out-blocked Davidson, 5-2, and held the Wildcats to a .075 hitting percentage in set one.
The Paladins again took an early lead in set two, this time jumping out to an early 4-0 lead, forcing Davidson to call a timeout. Furman then took a 5-1 lead, before Davidson went on a 4-0 run to tie the score at five. Behind the play of Christina Dorismond, Furman pushed their lead to 10-7, before Davidson was again able to tie the score, this time at 12. Furman capitalized on Davidson errors to take a 15-12 lead, but the Wildcats were able to cut the lead to 15-14. Furman then used a 4-1 run to take a 19-15 lead and force a Davidson timeout. The Wildcats cut into the Furman lead at 20-18, but the teams traded points until the Paladins were able to win set two, 25-22, and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
The teams traded points early in set three, before Furman was able to push their lead to 12-8 and force a Davidson timeout. Furman continued to get consistent play for their middle hitters, pushing their lead to 16-12. Using their blocking, Davidson clawed back into the match at cut the Furman lead to 16-15 to force a Paladin timeout. The Wildcats then tied the match at 16 and then again at 17 before taking an 18-17 lead, their first of the match. Furman bounced back to tie the match at 18 and then again at 19, before taking a 20-19 lead. Davidson tied the set one final time at 20, before Furman closed the match on a 5-0 run to take set three, 25-20, and the match, 3-0.
UNCG 3, Chattanooga 2CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The UNCG volleyball team built a 2-0 lead at Chattanooga Friday night, but had to hold on for a 3-2 (25-11, 25-16, 19-25, 18-25, 15-8) victory inside Maclellan Gym in Southern Conference play. With the triumph, the Spartans improve to 11-9 overall and 4-3 in the SoCon while the Mocs drop to 3-19 and 2-5.
Senior outside hitter Karrian Chambers reached a significant career milestone in the win as she became the ninth player in program history to eclipse the 1,000-kill mark. She finished with 13 kills and hit .290 in the match while senior middle hitter Olivia Humphries led all players with 14 kills to go along with six blocks. Reaching a career high defensively was freshman outside hitter Jessica Brezwyn who produced 19 digs and also chipped in with seven kills and an ace. Freshman setter Sara Hohman posted her third double-double of the season with 27 assists and 14 digs.
Also reaching double figures offensively was junior middle hitter Vicky Harley as she tallied 12 kills and hit .333 while also adding three blocks. Redshirt sophomore middle hitter Julia Westerbur was also active at the net, piling up seven blocks
On the back row, the Spartan libero tandem of senior Kellie Orewiler and sophomore Katherine Santiago racked up 16 and 20 digs respectively as UNCG out-dug the home side 95-73.
The Blue and Gold limited Chattanooga to a .088 hitting performance while firing at .247 themselves. UNCG also held the upper hand in kills (63-45), assists (57-42) and blocks (12.0-7.0).
It was all Spartans at the outset of the match as they netted the first seven points and forced an early UTC timeout. UNCG would only extend its lead from there as a kill by Brezwyn made the score 13-3 and prompted another Chattanooga timeout. The Mocs were never really in the frame as the Blue and Gold was able to close it out 25-11.
The second stanza began much more competitively as neither team held more than a one-point lead until the score settled at 8-8. UNCG benefitted from a pair of Chattanooga errors to move in front 10-8, but the Mocs were able to rally back and knot the score at 13 thanks to a kill by Sarah Batterton. The Spartans dug down and quieted the crowd by scoring four-straight points to take a 17-13 lead. That would be enough for UNCG as it out-scored UTC 8-3 the rest of the way to win the set 25-16 and take a commanding 2-0 advantage in the match.
The squads played to a 9-9 deadlock in the third set before the Mocs, desperate to stay in the match, went on a 6-3 run to establish a 15-12 cushion. A kill by senior middle hitter Morgan Freeman pulled the Spartans within two, but Chattanooga put together two-straight scores to push ahead by four. UNCG got as close as 21-17 late, but the Mocs were able to shut the door and win the third stanza 25-19.
A kill by Humphries kept the Blue and Gold close in the fourth set, trailing just 8-6. However, Chattanooga ran away with the frame from there, scoring nine of the next 12 points to make it 17-9. The Mocs would reach set point at 24-15 via a kill by Kendall Sexton and would eventually win it by a 25-18 score to tie the match at two sets apiece.
Chambers gave UNCG a 1-0 lead in the deciding frame thanks to a kill and the Spartans would build on that to establish a 4-1 cushion. UNCG kept Chattanooga at an arm’s length, forcing the Mocs to call for timeout when a ball-handling error afforded the Blue and Gold a 6-2 lead. An attacking error by Batterton kept the Spartans ahead 8-4 as the teams switched benches before a 3-1 UNCG run ended all of Chattanooga’s comeback hopes. The Blue and Gold netted four of the last seven points to clinch the set 15-8 and the match.