Samford 3, Furman 1BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- With Samford celebrating the careers of its four seniors, the Bulldogs battled for four sets with Furman for a crucial 3-1 win Friday night at the Pete Hanna Center.
Samford (20-10, 11-4 SoCon) limited a potent Furman (15-11, 11-4 SoCon) offense to a .199 hitting percentage with key plays after the 20-point mark ultimately making the difference. The Bulldogs had three players with double-digit kills, led by Michaela Reesor with 19 while Katie Murphy (15) and Erin Bognar (14) were close behind. Bognar added a season-high 11 digs for her second-straight double-double and her fourth overall this season. Stephanie Palmer finished with 53 assists, more than the entire Furman team, and Chelsi Carter led all players with 28 digs.
The Paladins also had three players with at least 10 kills, led by Christina Dorismond with 12. Annie Bierman earned a double-double with 10 kills and 13 digs while 2012 SoCon Freshman of the Year Jo Wilks led the team with 38 assists and three aces.
Furman’s only lead in the opening set would happen on the first point, as they moved up 1-0 before Samford came back to lead 2-1 and would not give up the lead for the remainder of the set. Samford would extend it to four points, 9-5, before Furman rallied to draw within one, down 9-8. Four-straight points would give the Bulldogs back a five-point lead, which they would hold until the 20-point mark, leading 20-15. A 5-1 run down the closing stretch would give Samford the 25-16 set win and an early 1-0 match lead.
Despite four tie scores, set two would remain in the Bulldogs’ favor for its entirety. After the second tie score of the match, 6-6, Samford would battle to hold a two-point lead over Furman, 12-10, before adding some cushion with a 4-0 run to make it 16-10. Furman called a timeout trailing 19-13 and the momentum shifted back into their favor following the break, as the Paladins used a 7-1 run to tie the set back up at 20-20. Later, tied at 21-21, Samford would use another late run to seal the set, winning 25-22 thanks to a pair of kills by Murphy and two Paladin attack errors as the Bulldogs took a 2-0 match lead into the locker room.
Eyeing a senior day sweep, Samford looked to close out the match in set three. A long early run by Samford was answered by an equally long run by Furman, ending with the Bulldogs out in front by two, 13-11, at the midway point. A kill by Furman’s Andrea Fisher sparked a huge run for the Paladins, as they scored six unanswered points to pull ahead 18-13 for their first lead in the match since the opening point of set one. A 3-1 Samford run would draw the Bulldogs back within three, trailing 19-16, but Furman shut the door with a 6-1 run to win the set, 25-17, and avoid the sweep.
Set four was the most tightly-contested of the match, seeing 13 tie scores and five lead changes. Neither team could build anything more than a two-point lead in the opening half of the set with Samford finally pulling ahead 17-14 thanks to a kill by Reesor to force a Furman timeout. The lead didn’t last long, as it was quickly tied back up at 19-19. A Furman error gave Samford the point and possession and quick kills by Murphy and Stephanie Palmer put the Bulldogs up 22-19 as Furman burned its last timeout. The teams traded points and a kill by Murphy set up match point with the Bulldogs serving up 24-20. With her fourth kill past the 20-point mark in set four, Murphy sealed it as the Bulldogs held on to win the set, 25-20, and the match, 3-1.
UNCG 3, Davidson 1GREENSBORO, N.C. – In a fitting end to the regular season, the UNCG volleyball team received a pair of stellar performances from its seniors to defeat Davidson 3-1 (25-15, 25-21, 19-25, 25-11) Friday night in front of a huge crowd at Fleming Gymnasium. The Spartans head into next week’s Southern Conference Tournament with a great deal of momentum having won eight of their last 11 matches.
UNCG (17-12, 10-6 SoCon) picked up its 10th conference victory, marking the first time it has reached double digits in league wins since 2008 and the first time since the league went to a 16-match conference schedule. The Spartans also went 6-2 at home in league matches. Davidson (15-14, 6-9 SoCon) was eliminated from tournament contention with the loss, giving Wofford the final berth into the event.
Senior outside hitter Karrian Chambers led all players with 17 kills and racked up her 10th double-double of the season. Senior middle hitter Olivia Humphries posted 13 kills on 29 attempts and hit .276 while also adding six digs. Senior middle hitter Morgan Freeman hit .500 in the match on the strength of eight kills and no errors and junior middle hitter Kelsey Sidney tallied 11 kills and hit .412 with just four errors.
Flirting with a triple-double was freshman setter Sara Hohman as she continued her run of solid play with 51 assists, seven kills, eight digs, three solo blocks and a hitting percentage of .700.
Defensively, sophomore libero Katherine Santiago recorded a match-high 18 digs while senior libero Kellie Orewiler chipped in with 12 of her own.
The Spartans hit a stout .324 in the match and finished the regular season with a .252 team percentage in SoCon matches. UNCG limited Davidson to .169 in the match while also holding the upper hand in kills (67-36), assists (62-34), aces (6-1) and digs (67-40). The Wildcats won the battle at the net, picking up nine blocks to the Spartans’ six.
After the teams played to a 4-4 tie to begin the first set, Davidson scored the next two points via a Chambers attacking error and Caroline Brown kill. The score was tied at seven before UNCG went off on a 7-3 run to establish a 14-10 advantage and force a Wildcat timeout. The Spartans scored four of the next five points and did not look back as a Chambers kill ended the stanza 25-15 in UNCG’s favor.
A kill by Freeman helped the Blue and Gold break open a 7-7 deadlock in the second frame as UNCG pushed in front 12-8 and prompted a Davidson timeout. The lead grew to 16-10 after a Humphries kill before the Wildcats rallied to within 17-14 on a Humphries attacking error. The Spartans settled and took a 20-15 edge after a kill by Sidney. It would be enough to help UNCG hang on down the stretch as they captured the set 25-21 and seized control of the match two sets to none.
After intermission, Davidson scored the first three points and eventually took an 8-3 lead after an attacking error by Chambers. The Wildcats were ahead 11-5 later in the set before the Spartans exploded to capture six of the next seven rallies and draw within 12-11. UNCG owned a couple of one point leads after a Davidson timeout, but with the score knotted at 15, the Wildcats went on a 5-1 run to seize control 20-16. The Spartans could not answer as the visitors extended the match with a 25-19 set three victory.
The fourth stanza was all UNCG as the Blue and Gold raced out to a 10-4 lead. Davidson called timeout to try to quell the run, but an ace by Hohman made the score 12-5 before the Spartans moved even further ahead at 16-7 after a ball-handling error by Mikayla Derochie. The Wildcats did not threaten again as UNCG ran away from Davidson and clinched the match with the 25-11 win.
Wofford 3, Chattanooga 0CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The Wofford volleyball team needed a victory against Chattanooga and for UNCG to defeat Davidson Friday night to clinch its first Southern Conference Tournament berth since 2006.
The Terriers got both, first defeating Chattanooga (4-25, 3-12 SoCon) in straight sets (25-23, 25-17, 25-18) on the road inside Maclellan Gym. About 90 minutes later, they celebrated on the bus as head coach Ron Sweet delivered the news of Wofford advancing to the Southern Conference Tournament.
Adding to the night, with her father watching along on his birthday, senior Amanda Liguori became the school’s all-time leader in kills, finishing with a match-high 17 to surpass the record of 1,237 set by Andrea Duke (2001, 2003-04). The record breaker came as the first kill of the third set and Coach Sweet called a timeout to let the senior outside hitter take in the moment.
The special night continued as the Terriers (13-17, 7-8 SoCon) learned they would be competing in the postseason. For Liguori and Wofford’s group of five seniors, it is something they have wanted for four years.
After a 0-3 start to the SoCon season, the Terriers have posted a 7-5 league record. The seven SoCon wins are the most by the program since 2005, when 18 matches were played and Wofford went 7-11.
All five seniors on the Terrier squad were part of the win. Along with Liguori’s 17 kills, Wendy Burnett hit .450 on the evening with 10 kills and setter Bekah Dorsey had 39 assists, seven digs, three aces and three blocks. Tara Gough had eight digs and an assist, while Lucy Reser got on the stat sheet with a block.
The first set was the closest of the night with eight ties and three lead changes. Burnett was a perfect on her six attack attempts, slamming home six kills to help Wofford edge it by two. A 15-15 tie saw Wofford go on the first big run, scoring four of the next five points to take the first three-point lead by either side, 19-16. Following a Chattanooga timeout, Liguori put down one of her four first-set kills, extending the lead to 20-16. The Mocs fought back, cutting the deficit to a point at 22-21 and again at 23-22, but an Allie Davenport attack error gave the Terriers two chances at the set. They converted on the second, as Baird knocked down her third kill of the set to earn Wofford a 25-23 set win.
The second was Wofford’s best attacking set of the night. The Terriers hit .429 with 17 kills to just two errors, outhitting Chattanooga’s nine kills and .207 attack percentage. Freshman Ellie Tallman led the way with five kills on six attempts, and Liguori had four kills as Wofford cruised to an eight-point win. After Chattanooga took the opening point, the Terriers took the next six with Tallman putting down three kills. It was all Wofford needed, taking its biggest lead of eight points at 16-8, and going on to lead by as many on three more occasions.
The third belonged to Liguori, securing the Wofford all-time kills record on her first swing of the set and going on to tally nine.
The Terriers found themselves in a battle through the rest of the set. The third saw eight ties and Chattanooga taking a 16-14 lead, but Liguori carried the Terriers with three consecutive kills to spark a 6-0 run and put Wofford ahead 20-16. UTC scored just two points the rest of the way and a Dorsey ace ended the night, ultimately sending the Terriers back to the Southern Conference Tournament for the first time in seven years.
Appalachian State 3, The Citadel 0CHARLESTON, N.C. - Appalachian State University volleyball cruised past The Citadel at McAlister Fieldhouse on Friday night, winning in three sets with scores of 25-17, 25-18 and 25-13.
The Mountaineers took an early 2-0 lead in the first set, before The Citadel would recover to tie the score at 5-5. With the score tied again at nine, The Mountaineers would find four straight-points to take the lead for good. The Apps would take the first set with a score of 25-17.
Appalachian would once again score the first two points of the set, but the Bulldogs would find a way to tie the score at 8-8. The Mountaineers would rally and pull ahead to make the score 17-12. From there the Apps would stay in charge, taking the second 25-18.
The Mountaineers came out on fire in the third, leading early on with a score of 9-5. The Apps would not fall behind once for the rest of the set and would score eight-straight points to end the set with a score of 25-13 and take the match 3-0.
Lauren Gray led the Mountaineers in kills on the match, only making two errors for an impressive .440 hitting percentage. Emily Corrigan also added ten kills for the Apps.
Meghan Mahoney led the team in digs, tallying 18 on the night, while Paige Brown assisted 39 kills in the match.
Lauren Hurt and Amanda Rudnik converted on 6 kills each for the Bulldogs.
The Mountaineers hit .361 on the night, while holding The Citadel to just a .109 hitting percentage.
Georgia Southern 3, Western Carolina 1STATESBORO, Ga. – Jamie DeRatt hammered down 20 kills and added 13 digs and three blocks to lead Georgia Southern to a 3-1 (25-20, 18-25, 25-23, 25-19) Southern Conference volleyball victory over Western Carolina Friday night in Hanner Fieldhouse.
The win keeps the Eagles (24-5, 12-3 SoCon) in the hunt for the regular-season SoCon title. Katie Bange posted 15 kills, and Kym Coley added 13 kills and two blocks. Crysten Curry finished with seven blocks, while Katalin Minnerly logged 50 assists and 12 digs. Alexandra Beecher finished with a match-high 26 digs.
Addy George led Western Carolina (17-12, 7-8 SoCon) with 15 kills to go along with four blocks. Jordan Timmerman and Caitlin Piechota each tallied 10 kills, and Morgan Cochran recorded 23 digs.
With the match tied 1-1 and the Catamounts leading the third set 21-18, a DeRatt kill sparked a 4-1 run. Western Carolina tied the score 23-23 on a Cristina Nazario kill, but Bange answered with a kill for the Eagles and Christina Vereb blocked another Nazario attempt to end the set.
The Eagles jumped out to an 8-3 lead in the fourth set and pushed the margin to 18-11 on a Bange kill. The Catamounts trimmed the margin to 21-17 on an Eagle hitting error but that was as close as they would get. Two DeRatt kills sparked a 4-2 Georgia Southern run to end the match.
The Eagles will close out the regular season by taking on Appalachian State Saturday at 3 p.m. as part of a tripleheader with men’s and women’s basketball. It’s Senior Day, Junior Eagle Club Day and fans who bring two canned goods to the game will gain $2 admission to the contest.
Regardless of their final standing or tomorrow’s result, the Eagles have qualified for the SoCon Tournament, which we be held at Furman Nov. 22-24.