UNCG 3, Wofford 1GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG volleyball team continued its historical dominance over Wofford Friday evening inside Fleming Gymnasium, downing the Terriers 3-1 (25-17, 21-25, 25-10, 25-17) to kickoff Homecoming Weekend. The victory marked the Spartans’ 10th straight in series.
Senior middle hitter Olivia Humphries became the 10th player in program history, and second this season, to record her 1,000th career kill as she needed just two coming into the match to reach the milestone. She ended the match with a team-best 12 kills on 22 swings with just four errors to hit .364 while also adding four blocks and falling just short of a double-double with nine digs. Senior middle hitter Morgan Freeman also flirted with a double-double, posting nine kills and seven blocks.
The Spartans did, however, have one player notch a double-double as freshman setter Sara Hohman dished out 37 assists and racked up 10 digs – her fourth such performance of the season. Junior middle hitter Vicky Harley also came up big for the home side in the match as she tallied five kills, six blocks and a .556 hitting mark.
Defensively, sophomore libero Katherine Santiago led all players with 20 digs while senior libero Kellie Orewiler was next in line for UNCG with 11.
Coming into the match, Wofford was the top serving team in the league averaging 1.71 aces per set. The Blue and Gold turned the tables on the visitors in that statistic, however, notching four aces and limiting the Terriers to just two. UNCG also out-hit its guest .241-.069 and held the upper hand in digs at 59-47. Wofford suffered from an error-filled performance, committing 28 offensive miscues and 11 serving errors.
The Terriers got on the board first in the initial frame with a kill by Elizabeth Buterbaugh, but a kill by Freeman ignited a 6-0 run which put UNCG in front 6-1. The Terriers would eventually draw within 11-9 on a bad set by Hohman, but the Spartans scored seven of the next 10 points and established an 18-12 advantage. A pair of service aces by Freeman capped the run and prompted Wofford’s first timeout of the match. The Blue and Gold would cruise the rest of the way, out-scoring the Terriers 7-5 as a kill by Freeman ended the stanza at 25-17.
The second set began much more competitively as the teams forged a deadlock at seven points each. A Wofford service error sparked a 4-1 run by UNCG which forced the Terriers to call for timeout, but the Spartans needed one of their own after Wofford tied the set at 14 on a Freeman attacking error. The teams went back and forth until the score settled at 19, but the Terriers dug down and scored the next four points to eventually put UNCG away 25-21.
UNCG left no doubt in the third set as the Spartans blitzed Wofford to the tune of 12-1 to begin the proceedings. The Blue and Gold kept the pedal down, rolling to a 25-10 victory and a 2-1 lead in the match.
After splitting the first eight points of the fourth frame, UNCG netted six of the next seven rallies as a block by senior outside hitter Karrian Chambers and Harley made the score 10-5. The Terriers scored three straight to pull within 10-8, but a kill by Humphries helped the Spartans go on a 5-1 run to establish a 15-9 lead. Wofford would only come as close as four the remainder of the match as UNCG closed the Terriers out 25-17 to complete the victory.
Georgia Southern 3, Chattanooga 1STATESBORO, Ga. – Kym Coley and Jamie DeRatt each collected 15 kills in leading Georgia Southern to its 20th volleyball victory of the season, a 3-1 (25-14, 25-18, 23-25, 25-23) Southern Conference win over Chattanooga Friday night in Hanner Fieldhouse.
The Eagles (20-3, 8-1 SoCon) have now won 20 matches in four of the last five seasons.
Coley hit .636 and added three blocks, while DeRatt contributed 13 digs and two blocks. Katie Bange finished with 13 kills and two blocks, and Nicole Jeschelnik added nine kills and 13 digs.
Katalin Minnerly recorded 47 assists and 12 digs, and Crysten Curry posted six kills and six blocks, including three solo. Alexandra Beecher notched 22 digs, and Lauren LaRocque had a season-high 15 digs.
Briana Reid led Chattanooga (3-20, 2-6 SoCon) with 13 kills and 18 digs, and Lauren Gainer posted 11 kills and two solo blocks. Melissa Green finished with a match-high 23 digs.
The Eagles hit .333 in the first set and .364 in the second to stake themselves to a 2-0 lead in the match. Georgia Southern took a quick 6-1 lead in the third set, but Chattanooga roared back with a 10-3 run, capped by a pair of aces by Kasey Talley. The Mocs took a 20-17 advantage on a GSU hitting error, but the Eagles rallied with a 5-1 run, capped by a DeRatt kill to regain a 22-21 lead.
After an Eagle serving error, Gainer got a kill for the Mocs, and a GSU hitting error made it set point. The Eagles drew within one point on a block by Coley and Christina Vereb, but Reid got a kill to give the Mocs the set.
Georgia Southern responded by scoring the first seven points of the fourth set, all on Minnerly’s serve, but the Mocs rallied once again. A 9-1 run behind the serving of Anne Bachmann and Hannah Merkle gave the Mocs a 16-14 lead.
There were seven ties and three lead changes from there with the last tie coming on a Callie Hildebrand kill for the Mocs that made the score 23-23. DeRatt responded with a kill for the Eagles, and Bange followed with a kill to end the match.
Samford 3, The Citadel 0CHARLESTON, S.C. ---- Samford got the second half of the SoCon season off to a great start, earning their third-straight sweep, defeating The Citadel 3-0 on Friday night.
Samford (15-9, 6-3 SoCon) outpaced The Citadel (5-20, 0-9 SoCon) in nearly every statistical category, earning over twice as many assists (47-18) and kills (48-20) with ten more digs, 43-33. Katie Murphy led all players with 15 kills and a .480 attack percentage, marking her fourth-straight match with at least a .400 hitting percentage and double-digit kills. Michaela Reesor trailed close behind with 14 kills, finishing one dig shy of a double-double with nine digs. Reesor’s .407 hitting percentage is her highest in SoCon play so far this season.
Samford jumped ahead to an early 6-2 lead in set one before The Citadel scored three in a row to draw within one, down 6-5. Samford answered right back with three unanswered points, moving ahead 9-5 as The Citadel burned its first timeout. Later, up 15-11, Samford looked to put the set out of reach with eight unanswered points, leading 23-11 before The Citadel would score a point. Samford would reach set point, 24-12, and The Citadel would score four before a kill by Murphy finally shut the door, giving Samford a 25-16 victory.
The Citadel scored the opening point of set two and held a slim lead until a kill by Gabbi Greenwald tied it at 8-8 and Murphy gave Samford the 9-8 lead with a kill of her own. Samford held the lead but The Citadel kept it close, as Samford hit the 20-point mark with a five-point lead, 20-15, as The Citadel took a timeout. The visiting Bulldogs kept the momentum out of the break, scoring three more points to move up 23-15 before the home Bulldogs would break the streak with a point to make it 23-16. A bad set by The Citadel gave Samford set point and a line drive down the line by Greenwald sealed it as Samford won, 25-16, to build a 2-0 match lead.
The Citadel tied the third frame three different times early on, but Samford would not give up its lead, eventually stretching ahead 13-8 thanks to a 5-1 run. Samford would hold the five-point lead when, up 18-13, a 4-0 run would give the Bulldogs considerable cushion leading 22-13. A kill by Emily Meitz set up match point, 24-16, and a Citadel attack error sealed it as Samford won set three, 25-16, to complete the sweep.
Western Carolina 3, Davidson 1Davidson, N.C. – Junior outside hitter Jordan Timmermann recorded a career-high 23 kills to lead the Western Carolina volleyball team to a 3-1 (25-21, 28-26, 25-23, 25-16) win on the road at Davidson Friday night in a Southern Conference match inside the Belk Arena.
Timmermann surpassed her previous mark of 21 kills set back on September 8, 2012 against Campbell. In Friday’s match, her 23 kills came on 52 attempts with six errors for a sizzling .327 hitting percentage from the outside. With her 52 attempts on the night, she moves into sixth place on the all-time on the career attack attempt list with 3,045 – becoming the sixth Catamount over 3,000 attacks.
Following Timmermann was classmate and fellow outside hitter, Caitlin Piechota, with 12 kills on 41 attempts with only two errors for a .244 hitting percentage. Piechota had five aces for a career-high. Cristina Nazario ran the offense with 45 assists.
Defensively, senior libero Morgan Cochran picked up a team-high 26 digs, while Paige McConlogue followed with 23 digs. Nazario had 12 digs to earn her seventh double-double of the season.
Cochran became remains in second place with 2,004 career digs, and became only the second Catamount to surpass the 2,000 dig mark. She needs just 149 digs to surpass Liz Rondone atop the list with her 2,152 digs.
The win improves WCU to 16-7 overall and 6-3 in SoCon play and gives the Catamounts the season sweep over the Wildcats. It is the second straight match WCU has won on the road at Davidson, but only the sixth time in 18 attempts in the all-time series. With the win, WCU has surpassed the 15-win mark for the first time since 2003 and the first time since the 2002 season WCU is guaranteed a winning season.
WCU took control of the opening set with a 13-8 lead and held the slim margin en route to a 25-21 win.
In the second set, Davidson broke a tie at 13 with a 3-0 run to take a 16-13 lead. The Catamounts came back and took a 22-18 lead following a 9-2 run. The Wildcats stayed in the set and pulled even at 24. WCU fought off set points at 25-24 and 26-25 before eventually falling 28-26 as Davidson evened the match at one set apiece.
The third set saw WCU take a 16-11 lead and hold the lead until Davidson tied the set at 23. The Catamounts took a 2-1 advantage in the match with back-to-back kills from Timmermann for the 25-23 win.
Western Carolina ended the match in the fourth set as they jumped out to a 13-9 lead on its way to a 25-16 win.
Elon 3, Furman 2
ELON, N.C. – Led by senior Cali Estes’ triple-double, the Elon University volleyball team rallied from a 2-1 deficit to earn a thrilling 3-2 (25-19, 19-25, 29-31, 25-23, 16-14) victory over Furman tonight, Oct. 25, at Alumni Gym. The Phoenix improved to 14-11 overall and 5-4 in the Southern Conference, while the Paladins are 11-9 and 7-2 during league play.
Estes had 21 kills to lead the Phoenix attack offensively and also had 26 assists and 12 digs. Megan Gravely established a new season-high in kills with 19, followed by Kayla Agae’s 14. Maggie Reichard helped set the tone defensively with her season-best 27 digs, while Chanelle Smith joined Estes and Reichard in double-digit digs with 10.
In the first set with the match tied at 10-all, Elon went on a 7-3 run thanks to a pair of kills by Estes and another by Gravely. The Paladins would pull back within two, 17-15, but kills by Estes, Agae, Danielle Smith and Catherine Head sparked a 4-1 run to give the Phoenix a 21-16 cushion and eventually a 25-19 win in the opening game.
The Paladins held a four-point lead in the second set, 19-15, before a few miscues and a kill by Estes brought the maroon and gold within two, 20-18. Elon managed one more point before the Paladins went on and claimed the 25-19 victory and tied the match at 1-1.
The third set went down to the wire, as neither team could break free of another. The Phoenix jumped out to an early 9-5 advantage behind four kills from Estes and another from Gravely, D. Smith and Agae. After Furman battled back to tie the game at 13-13, Elon went on a 5-2 run to hold an 18-15 lead, but the Paladins quickly erased that cushion and the game was again knotted at 19-all and forced the Phoenix to call a timeout. Elon answered with two kills by Gravely that forced the Paladins to a timeout down 21-19, but the Phoenix could not maintain its advantage and was tied again with Furman at 22-22. Furman would outlast Elon to earn a 31-29 win in the third set and moved ahead 2-1 in the match.
Elon and Furman played another tight game in the fourth set, as the Phoenix could not break free of the Paladins. The maroon and gold went up by four, 15-11, after a kill by Gravely, but the Paladins responded with a 3-0 run that forced another Elon timeout. Both squads continued to go back and forth with Elon clinging to a one-point lead, 20-19, but the Phoenix went on a 4-1 run to move ahead 24-20 and hung on to win 25-23 to move on to a fifth and deciding set.
In the fifth and final set, both teams continue to play evenly before the Paladins took a 9-8, one-point lead and forced the Phoenix to a timeout. Another kill by Furman pushed its advantage to two, 10-8, but kills by Agae and Estes tied the set at 10-10. Furman would briefly gain a 11-10 lead, but a pair of kills by Estes put the Phoenix in front for good and eventually earn a 16-14 victory for its second-straight regular-season win against the Paladins. It was also the third-straight home win for the Phoenix over Furman.