Wofford 3, Converse 0
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford volleyball team made the short trip through town for a match against Converse College on Tuesday, and the Terriers were victorious, 3-2 (23-25, 25-20, 25-13, 15-25, 15-8).
The victory makes Wofford (2-4) a perfect 6-0 against Converse (0-5) during the Division I era.
For the Terriers it was senior Amanda Liguori who came up with a match-high 19 kills. The outside hitter hit .244 for the match (19-9-41), also putting down three service aces for a match-high 22 points. Classmate Wendy Burnett had 17 kills and hit .483 (17-3-29), adding an ace, two block solos and three block assists for 21.5 points. Junior Taylor Baird completed the trio of Terriers with 10-plus kills. Baird went for just that and had two aces and five block assists for 14.5 points.
On the defensive, sophomore Jessica Graham had a match-high 17 digs. The libero also added two assists and an ace.
After Converse took a tight opening set, the Terriers rebounded. With the score tied at nine, Wofford went on a 6-0 run for a 15-9 lead and forced the Valkyries into a timeout. Converse later closed the gap to 21-20, before the Terriers scored the final four points for the set victory.
The third set was all Wofford. The Terriers got off to a 10-5 start and pushed the lead to 12-5 on a Burnett kill. Converse used its first timeout with Wofford leading 15-8, but seven was as close as the Valkyries would get as the Terriers won the third by 12.
Converse turned the tables with a 10-point victory in the fourth, but it was all Terriers again in the fifth to close out the match. Baird went for three of her 10 kills and Wofford hit .278 in the final set to put the match to rest.
The Wofford volleyball team will be at Mississippi State this Friday and Saturday for the Bulldog Classic. The Terriers are scheduled for to play four matches split between Mississippi State and Niagara University.
Belmont 3, Chattanooga 0
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Belmont Bruins defeated the Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team Tuesday night in Nashville, Tenn., dropping UTC to an 0-8 overall record. The Bruins improved to 3-6 with the win over Head Coach Travis Filar’s squad, sending the Mocs back to Chattanooga with a 3-0 defeat.
The Mocs were downed 25-16, 25-16 and 25-18 by the in-state opponent, dropping their record against Tennessee teams to 0-3. Chattanooga suffered loss to Tennessee and UT Martin over the past weekend at the Country Inns & Suites Invitational.
Belmont took first blood with an ace to begin the match and soon jumped out to an early lead, forcing UTC to a timeout with an 11-5 showing on the scoreboard. Three Bruin errors and kills from both sophomores Julimar Alvarado (San Juan, Puerto Rico) and Sarah Batterton (Colbert, Wash.) gave UTC its first five points.
Chattanooga cut the lead to four, making the score 14-10, but Belmont pulled away in the end on a eight-point run to defeat UTC 25-16.
The Mocs did not fare any better in the second set, falling with an identical 25-16 score. Belmont again won the first point of the frame to set the tone. The Bruins jumped out to a 9-3 lead to force another early UTC timeout in the frame. Chattanooga went on a four-point rally near the end of the set with Alvarado recording a kill while freshman Kendall Sexton (Orlando, Fla.) and sophomore Briana Reid pitching in points, but an attacking error would end the set and send the Mocs to the locker room in a 2-0 hole.
Filar’s Mocs pulled within two more points in the third set of the match, but a 25-18 defeat would prove to be the deciding frame in the competition.
Alvarado ended the night as the Mocs kills leader with seven followed by Reid with six. Sophomore Kasey Talley (Boiling Springs, S.C.) closed out the match with four while Anne Bachmann (Lincoln, Neb.) was the only other Moc to record double-digit kills.
Both Bachmann and sophomore libero Catherine Chason (Alpharetta, Ga.) collected 10 digs and Sexton led the defense at the net with three blocks. Bachmann totaled 14 assists at setter.
The Mocs continue their 2013 schedule Friday as the team travels to Miami, Fla., to participate in the Florida International Invitational. There, Chattanooga will meet up with FIU, Jacksonville and South Dakota State.
Georgia 3, Georgia Southern 0
STATESBORO, Ga. – Brittany Northcutt led Georgia with 11 kills, and the Bulldogs held Georgia Southern to an .078 hitting percentage to earn a 3-0 (25-18, 25-14, 25-13) volleyball victory over the Eagles Tuesday night in Hanner Fieldhouse.
Kym Coley led Georgia Southern (6-2) with 10 kills, and Jamie DeRatt added eight. Alexandra Beecher collected a match-high 17 digs.
Northcutt had 14 digs for Georgia (5-1), and Stacey Smith recorded eight kills and three blocks. Lauren Teknipp added nine kills.
The Eagles had 20 hitting errors and six serving errors in the game. Meanwhile, Georgia notched 41 kills with just eight hitting errors.
The Eagles fell behind 5-1 early in the first set but trimmed the margin to 13-12 with the help of two kills each from Coley and DeRatt. The Bulldogs won three straight points to push a 15-13 lead to 18-13.
After Eagles Crysten Curry and Katie Bange got a block to make the score 20-17, Georgia went on a 5-1 run to finish the set, with consecutive kills by Teknipp capping the spurt.
The Bulldogs opened a 7-2 lead in the second set and used a 5-1 run to push the margin to 12-6. The lead never dipped below four the rest of the way. The third set saw more of the same as Georgia started with a 7-2 run. A DeRatt kill trimmed the lead to 11-8, but the Bulldogs responded with an 11-3 run to put the set and the match out of reach.
Tonight’s contest began an 11-match homestand for the Eagles, which includes two home tournaments and their first four Southern Conference matches. The Eagles are back in action Friday as they host High Point in the SpringHill Suites Invitational in Hanner Fieldhouse. The match is slated for a 7 p.m. start.
High Point 3, Elon 2
HIGH POINT, N.C. – The Elon volleyball team (2-6) overcame a 2-0 deficit to force a fifth set at High Point (3-4) tonight, Sept. 10, but the Phoenix were not able to close the match out, falling to the Panthers, 3-2 (22-25, 11-25, 25-18, 25-21, 10-15), in the Millis Center.
Sophomore Megan Gravley led the Phoenix with 11 kills, while junior Danielle Smith finished with 10 kills. Sophomore Ana Nicksic recorded her second double-double of the season after leading Elon in assists (34) and digs (21).
With the Phoenix leading by two, 13-11, in the first set, two kills by Cali Estes helped Elon extend its advantage to five and force a Panther timeout. HPU managed to close the gap and take a 23-20 lead before kills by Estes and Kris Harris pulled the Phoenix within one, 23-22. However, the Panthers were able to hold on and claim the set, 25-22.
In the second set, kills by Gravley and Catherine Head kept the score close until HPU managed a 5-0 run to take a 14-7 advantage. The maroon and gold were not able to rally as the Panthers took a 25-11 victory and a 2-0 match lead.
HPU held a two-point edge, 7-5, before kills by Harris, Gravley and a block by Ally Karle and Nicksic helped Elon to a 5-0 run to take a 10-7 lead. Back-to-back kills by D. Smith and one by Kayla Agae put the Phoenix up by eight, 17-9. The Phoenix continued its strong attack as a kill by Gravley capped a 25-18 win and kept the match alive for the maroon and gold.
With the fourth set tied at seven-all, a kill by Gravley sparked a 5-1 run by Elon to take a five-point edge, 13-8, and force an HPU timeout. The Panthers cut the deficit to two, 22-20, but kills by Gravley and D. Smith gave Elon a 25-21 victory to force a fifth and final set.
In the fifth and final set, the Phoenix took an early 3-2 edge after an ace by Maggie Reichard before the Panthers grabbed the lead by five, 12-7. Elon forced several Panther errors to cut the deficit to two, 12-10, but HPU managed to hold on for the 15-10 win.
Elon will return home to Alumni Gym for the annual Elon Phoenix Classic this weekend. The Phoenix will face Gardner-Webb in its first match of the tournament on Friday, Sept. 13, at 7 p.m.
Gardner-Webb 3, Western Carolina 1
Boiling Springs, N.C. – The Western Carolina volleyball team fell 3-1 (22-25, 25-22, 20-25, 20-25) on the road at Gardner-Webb behind an sizzling offensive output for the Runnin’ Bulldogs Tuesday night in Paul Porter Arena in a nonconference match.
GWU broke a tie at 14 with 5-1 run to take a 19-15 lead late in the first set. WCU answered with a run of their own, 3-0, as they rallied from down 21-17 to pull within one point, 21-20. The Catamounts evened the score at 22 following a ball handling error on the Runnin’ Bulldogs, but a WCU service error and attack error handed the lead, 24-22, right back to GWU. Following a Western Carolina timeout, another attack error on a ball that was called long, gave Gardner-Webb the 25-22 set one win. WCU hit .161 in the opening frame compared to .273 for GWU. WCU’s Addy George had three kills on six swings in the set.
Runnin’ Bulldogs flipped a 9-8 deficit in the second set into a 10-9 lead. With the score tied at 11, kills by Jordan Timmermann and Nicole Ford gave WCU the lead back, 13-11. Western Carolina continued to push the lead, 16-12, following an ace by Cristina Nazario and a Gardner-Webb attack error. GWU answered with a 4-1 run to trim the lead to 17-16, but WCU responded with the a 5-2 run as the Catamounts held control of the set with a 22-18 lead. Gardner-Webb cut the lead to two points twice, 22-20 and 23-21, but a big kill by George gave Western Carolina its first set point. After a Gardner-Webb fought off set point, Timmermann gave Western Carolina the 25-22 set two win with a kill. WCU hit .343 compared to GWU’s .174 hitting percentage. George continued her hot hitting with seven kills on eight swings with one error in the second set alone.
Gardner-Webb opened the third set down 5-2, but rallied with a 9-0 run to take an 11-5 lead. Western Carolina used a kill from Ford and an ace by Timmermann to cut the lead to 12-8 as the Catamounts attempted to work their way back into the set. After WCU pulled within two points, 14-12, GWU retook a four-point lead, 16-12. Western Carolina was never able to pull within three points as Gardner-Webb went on to take a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-20 win. GWU hit a sizzling .486 in the third set compared to WCU’s .361.
The Runnin’ Bulldogs exploded out to an 8-2 lead as they attempted to take the Catamounts completely out of the set from the start. However, WCU scrapped back and cut the lead to 13-10 on a GWU attack error. Western Carolina continued to crawl back into the set as a kill from Caitlin Piechota brought the Catamounts within one point, 14-13. WCU finally pulled even at 16 following a kill from Timmermann. After the teams traded the next four points, GWU broke a tie at 18 with four consecutive kills to take a 22-18 lead. Gardner-Webb held on to the lead as they claimed the match with a 24-20 set four win.
Gardner-Webb outhit Western Carolina .316 to .278. GWU had 67 kills compared to 55 for WCU, despite having the same number of attack errors, 18.
WCU was led offensively by Timmermann, who had 16 kills on 39 swings with only two errors for a .359 hitting percentage. George followed with 13 kills tying a career-high. Her 13 kills came on 23 attempts with three errors for a .435 hitting percentage. George also finished with a match-high six total blocks, two solo also tying a career-high and four block assists. Nazario handed out 45 assists, while Cochran picked up 19 digs.