Western Carolina 3, Mercer 0
Wilmington, N.C. – Led by Cristina Nazario’s double-double the Western Carolina volleyball team swept Mercer 3-0 (25-12, 25-20, 25-19) in the Catamount’s opening match of the Hilton Garden Inn Mayfaire UNCW Volleyball Classic Friday night in Hanover Hall.
Nazario earned her third double-double of the season and seventh of her career with 24 assists and a team-high 12 digs. It was only the second time in her career the junior setter paced the team in digs in a match. Her first match as dig leader came in her first collegiate match on August 24, 2012 against Northern Kentucky when she picked up 19 digs.
WCU’s middle blockers where a force at the net for the Catamounts. Junior Addy George had five total blocks, three solo and two block assists. Her three solo blocks were a career-high for the junior. Nicole Ford followed with seven total blocks, one solo and six blocks assists. WCU held a 12-4 blocking advantage. The Catamounts have held a blocking advantage in seven of their nine matches.
Offensively, junior Jordan Timmermann paved the way with 11 kills and a .286 hitting percentage. Classmate Brandi Anderson followed with seven kills, and George tallied six kills. Ford and Nazario each had five kills.
Senior Morgan Cochran continued her double-digit streak dating back to the 2012 season with 10 digs in the match. She has collected 10 or more digs 84 times her in career including all nine matches in 2013. With her ten digs Friday, Cochran, 1,671 career digs, needs just 11 digs to move into second place on the WCU career list. Recent Hall of Fame inductee Christy Attebery, sits in second with 1,682 career digs, while Liz Rondone is atop the list with 2,152 digs.
WCU broke a tie at seven in the first set with a 5-0 run to take an 11-7 lead. The Catamounts never looked back as they cruised to a 25-12 win.
With the second set tied at 10, Mercer went on a 4-1 run to take 14-11 lead, but WCU responded with 7-0 to take an 18-11 lead as the Catamounts used two blocks from Ford and Timmermann during the stretch. WCU kept control of the set en route to a 25-20 win.
WCU led wire-to-wire in a 25-19 set three win and claimed the three-set sweep.
With the win, Western Carolina improves to 7-2 on the season. The Catamounts return to the court for day two of the Hilton Garden Inn Mayfaire UNCW Volleyball Classic Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m. with North Carolina A&T. WCU plays host UNC-Wilmington in the tournament’s final match Saturday night at 7:30 p.m.
Furman 3, Sacred Heart 1
Newark, Del. – The Furman volleyball team downed Sacred Heart, 3-1 (25-20, 18-25, 25-22, 25-15), on Friday afternoon in the first game of the Delaware Invitational. The Paladins move to 2-6 on the year, while the Pioneers fall to 4-3.
Ashton Gregory and Christina Dorismond again paced the Paladin offense, recording 11 and 10 kills, respectively. Gregory hit a team-high .421 and added nine blocks, while Dorismond hit .333 and added seven blocks of her own. Elle Ross recorded a team-high 21 digs, while Jo Wilks dished out 35 assists and added four blocks. Furman out-blocked Sacred Heart 16-7, including 26 block assists.
The first set was close from the start, with the teams trading points until Furman took a 19-16 lead. The Paladins took advantage of Sacred Heart attack errors to take a 23-17 lead, and finished out the match on a kill by Gregory. Gregory and Dorismond led the Paladin offense in set one, tallying five kills each. Furman hit a blistering .407 in set one, with only two attack errors.
Sacred Heart jumped out to an 8-4 lead in set two, before pushing their lead to six at 15-9, forcing a Furman timeout. A kill by Annie Bierman cut the lead to 15-10, but the teams traded points before the Pioneers pushed their lead to six at 21-15, forcing a second Furman timeout. The Paladins again went to Bierman out of a timeout to make the score 21-16, but Sacred Heart outscored Furman 4-2 to close out the set, 25-18, and tie the match at one set each.
Set three was tight from the first serve as the teams went back and forth until Furman was able to pull out to a 14-11 lead on a Gregory/Martha Robinson block and force a Sacred Heart timeout. The Pioneers cut the Paladin lead to two after the timeout and the teams traded points until the score was tied at 18. Furman pushed the lead to three at 21-18, but Sacred Heart again battled back to tie the score at 21. The Paladins, however, capitalized on crucial Pioneer errors to take set three, 25-22, and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Furman took a 4-0 lead early in set four behind a block by Amelia Bohlander and Ashton Gregory and kills by Bierman and Gregory. The Paladins kept the pressure on the Pioneers and stretched their lead out to seven at 17-10 after a 7-2 run. Sacred Heart was able to cut the Furman lead to six at 21-15, but Furman finished the match on a 4-0 run, highlighted by two aces by Jo Wilks, to win 25-15 and take the match, 3-1. The Paladins outhit the Pioneers .303 to .128 in set four, and out-blocked Sacred Heart, 5-0.
Furman returns to action tomorrow as they face Rutgers at 11:00 a.m. and tournament-host Delaware at 7:00 p.m. Live stat and video links can be found on FurmanPaladins.com
Georgia Southern 3, High Point 0
STATESBORO, Ga. – Jamie DeRatt (Wilson, N.C./J.H. Rose) collected 13 kills and 10 digs, and Georgia Southern held High Point to an .098 hitting percentage to earn a 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-20) volleyball victory over the Panthers Friday night in Hanner Fieldhouse.
Kym Coley finished with nine kills, and Katie Bange recorded seven for the Eagles (7-2). Alexandra Beecher led the way with a match-high 16 digs, and Lauren LaRocque tallied 10. Crysten Curry added seven blocks.
Kristin Heldt had seven kills to lead High Point (4-5), and Chelsea Davis registered six kills and 12 digs.
The Panthers managed just 28 kills in 112 swings as a team and had 17 hitting errors to go along with 11 serving errors. Georgia Southern had its own struggles offensively and hit .131 in the match but used 59 team digs and 7.5 blocks to help earn the win.
The first set was back and forth from the beginning, and High Point took a late 22-21 lead on an Eagle hitting error. Georgia Southern came back with two straight DeRatt kills, and Heldt tied the score 23-23 with a kill. After Curry got a kill for the Eagles, Katalin Minnerly’s serve tipped the net and fell over for an ace to give the Eagles the first set, 25-23.
The Eagles scored five straight points during DeRatt’s serve early in the second set to open a 6-1 cushion. High Point rallied back and tied the score 17-17 on a GSU hitting error. DeRatt responded with a kill, and Georgia Southern scored four straight points on Beecher’s serve to open a 22-17 advantage. DeRatt finished off the set with consecutive kills, giving the Eagles a 2-0 lead in the match.
The score was tied 10-10 in the third set, when consecutive Bange kills ignited a 7-0 run for GSU. Six points came during DeRatt’s serve, and Georgia Southern went on to open a 19-12 lead en route to winning the set 25-20.
The Eagles play two matches in Hanner Fieldhouse Saturday as part of their home tournament. Georgia Southern will take on North Dakota State at noon and face Oral Roberts at 7 p.m.
Charleston Southern 3, Citadel 1Citadel 3, South Carolina State 0
Charleston, S.C. – Katrina Houston drove home a match-high 17 kills and lead four Charleston Southern players with double-digit kills as the Buccaneers earned a 24-26, 25-18, 25-17, 25-20 victory over The Citadel on Friday evening.
Houston was joined on the front row by the trio of Meredith Parrott (14 kills), Siraya Windsor (11) and Erin Lavenice (11), who guided CSU to 64 team kills and a .307 hitting percentage. The Buccaneers (3-7) earned a split at the Sticky Fingers Citadel Invitational due in large part to the play of setter Cassidy Greer who notched 52 assists. Also instrumental was the backrow set of Maggie Murphy (19 digs), Klinger (13) and Windsor (13).
Sophomore Bailey Kernodle was the dominate force for The Citadel with her second career double-double (15 kills, 14 digs), and first since Radford (Sept. 1, 2012), amassing a .414 hitting percentage in the process. Kernodle was the only Bulldog to top the double-digit kill mark in the match, despite solid outings by Katie Briggs (nine kills) and Amanda Rudnik (eight). Rachel Keefer's 38 assists were instrumental in the Dogs finishing with 52 team kills and a .232 hitting percentage. Defensively, Erin Bucherl posted a match-high 21 digs, while Briggs, Lauren Hurt and Rudnik had two assisted blocks each for the Dogs. The Citadel slipped to 1-7 overall following the loss.
The first set witnessed six ties before reaching an eventual 11-11 score, following an attack error by CSU's Kayla Klinger. The Citadel took advantage of that miscue by putting Rachel Keefer in serve, who along with Hurt and Moore pushed the Dogs to their its first lead, 14-11. That three-point differential would not hold as the Bucs used four straight unforced Citadel errors to draw the game even at 19-19. After four straight points by the Cadets, including two by Briggs, the score stood in The Citadel's favor, 23-19. CSU retaliated with a 5-1 run to make for a final tie, 24-24. Hurt responded by driving a kill past the Bucs defense before teammate Mallory Moore drove home a strike to give the Dogs a 26-24 win.
The neck-and-neck battle continued in the early stages of the second set with eight ties in the first 20 points. Knotted at 10-10 a series of points by Kayla Houston and Siraya Windsor opened the door for a 14-11 Charleston Southern lead. Despite five kills from five different Citadel players the Bucs would not relinquish their advantage. CSU took advantage of two kills apiece from the duo of Lavenice and Parrott in that stretch for the 25-18 victory.
The Charleston Southern offense continued to gain steam in the third set as it climbed out to a 9-3 lead keyed by three kills from Klinger. A Citadel timeout got the Bulldogs' offense back on track with kills by Briggs and Keefer, making for a 14-8 score. With Rachel Keefer in serve that deficit was cut in half, following three consecutive CSU attack errors, forcing a break in the action. The Bucs regained their previous form and used three kills by Lavenice and three Bulldog errors to extend the score to 21-14. The Citadel got two kills from Kernodle and one from Keefer down the stretch, but CSU took a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-17 victory.
The Bucs led the decisive fourth set wire-to-wire after streaking out to a 7-3 lead behind three kills from Houston. The Citadel made a push for the lead, trimming the deficit to 9-7 after capitalizing on a kill by Kernodle and a series of unforced errors, only to see CSU crawl back in front 14-11 on another Houston strike. With the teams deadlocked at 15-15, Charleston Southern used kills by Windsor to push its lead to 21-17 late in the set. The Bucs maintained that advantage with a kill by Parrott and a Windsor service ace to complete the 25-20 victory.
In the second game of the day, Bailey Kernodle led a well-balanced Citadel lineup with a team-high nine kills as the Bulldogs downed South Carolina State by scores of 25-17, 25-20 and 25-14 to earn their first victory of the season.
Kernodle was joined up front by Katie Briggs (eight kills), Lauren Hurt (seven) and Mallory Moore (six) as The Citadel tallied 38 team kills and a .206 hitting percentage. Providing sound defense for the Cadets was Erin Bucherl who recorded 14 digs. Teammate Amanda Rudnik also made an impact for The Citadel with nine digs, while the front row of Briggs, Hurt and Rachel Keefer led the Dogs to 14 assisted blocks.
South Carolina State's offensive attack was highlighted by the performance of Desire Waller, who notched 11 kills. The Lady Bulldogs struggled to find continuity, finishing with 25 kills in 101 attempts and a .020 attack percentage. Defensively Waller completed the double-double with 15 digs, earning high marks on the match, while Victoria Ferguson added 13 digs.
Bucherl steered The Citadel to an early 4-0 lead in the first set keyed by a pair of kills by Amanda Rudnik. South Carolina State scored four of the next seven points and in the process trimmed the deficit to three, 7-4, only to see a Citadel flurry of points that included kills by Briggs, Hurt and Kernodle that pushed the score to 15-10. S.C. State took advantage of a series of unforced errors by the Cadets to again trim the deficit, 18-15, before Hurt provided breathing room with her service game. With Hurt in serve The Citadel witnessed strikes by Kernodle and Moore to move in front 22-15. A Bucherl kill among the final five points of the set completed the Bulldogs 25-17 victory.
The momentum established in the first set carried over into the second for The Citadel, who endured three ties in the first 10 points, to move ahead 10-7 on a series of SCSU attack errors. The Bulldogs surrendered five of the next seven points as the two teams reached a 12-12 deadlock. After splitting the next four points of the set, the Cadets turned to Hurt who forced consecutive attack errors and made for a 17-15 lead. Three Citadel kills, including two off the hand of Briggs, along with five unforced South Carolina State errors made for the 25-20 Citadel winner.
The Citadel's confidence continued to build as it established a 9-4 lead following a series of kills by Kernodle and Briggs. With Bucherl in serve the Cadets extended the five-point advantage to 11, 19-8, as the senior libero accounted for three service aces and forced South Carolina State into three unforced errors in that span to move within six points of a win. S.C. State made one final push, which included two service aces by Taylor Bailey, but The Citadel used kills by Briggs and Kernodle to secure the 25-14 sweep.
COASTAL CAROLINA 3, SAMFORD 2SAMFORD 3, STONY BROOK 0
KENNESAW, Ga. ---- Samford opened up action at the KSU Owls Invite with a pair of matches Friday, falling to Coastal Carolina in five sets before sweeping Stony Brook in the second match.
Samford (6-4) was not particularly efficient on offense, hitting .182 as a team, but they managed to out-hit Coastal Carolina (3-4) and Stony Brook (4-5), who combined for a .157 clip, as well as edging them out in kills (91-83), assists (82-74) and digs (96-81).
Michaela Reesor led the team with 27 kills while Erin Bognar was close behind with 24. Katie Murphy hit .371 on the day with 17 kills, which moves her to 10th all-time at Samford with 986 career kills. This puts her only 14 away from 1,000 and 21 away from ninth place. Stephanie Palmer totaled 69 assists while Chelsi Carter earned 34 digs.
Samford opened action with an early morning nail-biter against Coastal Carolina, as the Bulldogs came back from a 2-0 match deficit to even it and force a fifth game, but the Chanticleers prevailed to win 3-2. Samford’s attack was led by Bognar who tied a career high with 17 kills while Reesor was just behind with 16. Murphy earned six of the team’s 14 blocks while Carter led the defense with 14 digs.
Samford trailed early in the opening frame, but the Bulldogs eventually fought back to take their first lead of the set, up 6-5, off a solo block by Murphy. The Chanticleers would steal the momentum back quickly however, scoring nine unanswered points to move up 14-6. The lead began to dwindle as the Bulldogs charged back, with the Chanticleers taking a timeout up 18-16. Coastal Carolina reached set point, up 24-20, but an attack error gave the Bulldogs possession as some good serves by Chelsi Carter drew Samford within one, down 24-23 with the Chanticleers taking their last timeout. A service error ended it as Coastal Carolina narrowly won the opening frame, 25-23.
In the second, neither team would build more than a two-point lead as they battled back and forth with Samford eventually taking a timeout trailing 14-13, looking to take some momentum. A kill by Erin Bognar evened things up and an ace by Taylor Chao and a Coastal Carolina attack error gave Samford a 16-14 lead, which forced a Chanticleer timeout. Samford would remain in front until Coastal Carolina charged back, tying things at 21-21 before closing out the frame with a 4-1 run to win, 25-22, and take a 2-0 match lead.
Game three played out no differently than the previous two, as the teams were in a heated back-and-forth battle. After tying the match three times, Samford finally took its first lead to move up 15-14. Coastal scored back-to-back points to move up 16-15 but Samford answered immediately, scoring two of their own to move up 17-16 as Coastal Carolina took a timeout. Samford began to pull away, building its largest lead of the game up 22-18, as the Bulldogs eventually won 25-22 to force a fourth game.
Samford took its first lead in game four off a kill by Reesor to make it 6-5 and the Bulldogs maintained the lead through the halfway point, leading 13-10. The Chanticleers fought back to even the match and with it knotted up at 16-16 Samford would score four unanswered points to pull ahead 20-16. The lead didn’t remain comfortable for long, as the Chanticleers narrowed it to a one-point lead with the Bulldogs taking a timeout up 21-20. Samford would close out the set on a 4-2 run, capped by back-to-back blocks by Stephanie Palmer and Emily Meitz, to win 25-22 and force a fifth game.
The largest lead in the first half of game five would only be one point, with the Chanticleers holding an 8-7 lead at the switch. A Samford attack error and a Coastal Carolina kill pushed their lead to 10-7 as the Bulldogs took a timeout. Coastal Carolina maintained the momentum in the closing stages of the game, as the Chanticleers won 15-10 to stop the Bulldogs’ comeback bid.
Samford bounced back from its earlier loss to sweep the Stony Brook Seawolves in the Bulldogs’ second match of the day. Murphy and Gabbi Greenwald were a formidable force at the middle and right side with Murphy hitting .643 and Greenwald at .429 with 17 combined kills and five combined block assists. Reesor led all players with 11 kills while Carter matched her career high with 20 digs.
Samford set the pace early in set one with a balanced offensive attack, as five different Bulldogs had at least one kill en route to a 10-5 lead. Stony Brook narrowed it to a one-point lead with the Bulldogs up 16-15 but Samford rebuilt the lead with four unanswered points, including kills by Murphy and Reesor, to make it 20-15. Samford held steady to close out the game as they continued to a 25-21 win.
With game two tied at 7-7, a Stony Brook attack error would make it 8-7 and Samford would hold the lead for the rest of the game. Up 14-11, Samford extended their lead to six points with a kill by Reesor and a pair of errors by Stony Brook bringing the score to 17-11. The Seawolves would make it back within two, 21-19, thanks to a pair of blocks but a 4-0 closing run with two kills and a block by Gabbi Greenwald secured the 25-19 win.
Game three was the most lopsided of the three, as Samford continued to roll towards a sweep. Stony Brook only held possession on consecutive rallies twice in the opening half, fighting alongside the Bulldogs but trailing 15-10 as they took a timeout. Later, up 16-13, a kill by Murphy gave Samford possession up 17-13 and Bognar kept the momentum going with a service ace and a kill with an additional Stony Brook attack error making it a 20-13 game. Stony Brook would only earn three more points in the remainder of the game, as the Bulldogs cruised to a 25-16 victory to seal the sweep.
Samford finishes its weekend at the KSU Owls Invite tomorrow with a pair of matches, facing Tennessee Tech at 2:30 p.m. ET and Kennesaw State 7:30 p.m.
Louisiana-Lafayette 3, UNCG 0
ATHENS, Ga. – The UNCG volleyball team never found its rhythm Friday, losing 3-0 (25-17, 25-13, 25-12) to Louisiana to begin the Benson’s Group Invitational. The Spartans fall to 4-3 overall while the Ragin Cajuns improve to 7-2.
The Blue and Gold struggled all afternoon, hitting in the negative for the first time this season at -.069. UNCG made 27 errors while tallying only 20 kills. Louisiana also outdug the Spartans 46-42 while ending up hitting .227.
Senior outside hitter Karrian Chambers (College Station, Texas/A&M Consolidated) and freshman outside hitter Jessica Brezwyn (Darien, Ill./Hinsdale South) led UNCG with five kills each. Freshman setter Sara Hohman (Zionsville, Ind./Cathedral) finished with her second double-double of the season, dishing out 10 assists and recording 10 digs.
The teams traded 2-0 runs to begin the game before UNCG was able to edge out to a 13-10 lead and force Louisiana to call for timeout. The Ragin Cajuns stole the momentum away after the break, netting seven-straight point to seize control of the set at 17-14. The Spartans would score just three more points in the frame as a ball-handling error on Hohman ended it at 25-17.
An attack error by senior middle hitter Olivia Humphries (Charlotte, N.C./Myers Park) gave Louisiana a 5-2 advantage early in the second stanza, but a kill by Chambers brought UNCG to within 6-5. With the score at 10-7 in favor of the Cajuns, ULL ripped off four straight points and assumed a 14-7 cushion on a service ace. The Blue and Gold would not recover, dropping the second set 25-13.
Louisiana took all the drama out of the third set early, racing out to a 9-2 lead. The Spartans drew to within 12-7 on an ace by junior middle hitter Kelsey Sidney (Chesterfield, Mo./Marquette HS), but the Cajuns ripped off a 7-3 run to put the match away and eventually win the third set 25-12.
Florida International 3, Chattanooga 0Jacksonville 3, Chattanooga 0
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team (0-9) was dealt a 3-0 loss at the hands of Florida International (4-4) in Miami, Fla., Friday afternoon at the Florida International Invitational. UTC fell 25-18, 25-19 and 25-23 despite limiting the Panthers to 37 kills.
Florida International took a 1-0 lead in the first set with a 25-18 win over the Mocs. The Panthers and Chattanooga saw the set’s score tied six times – a match high – before FIU was able to come out on top.
With UTC leading 14-11, the Panthers stormed back to take an 18-14 lead on a seven-point run that cost the Mocs two timeouts. A kill from junior Kasey Talley halted the scoring, but three service errors within the final 10 points of the match sealed a win for FIU in the first set.
Freshman Allie Davenport was responsible for four Chattanooga points on four kills while fellow freshman Anne Bachmann tacked on four kills as well. Talley and sophomores Briana Reid and Julimar Alvarado each contributed a kill. Alvarado also recorded a block.
The Mocs pulled closer with 19 points in the second set, putting up seven quick points near the end of the stanza. Down 18-11 and coming off a timeout, UTC scored eight of the next 14 points to pull the set within six points. Two errors and a service ace resulted in three FIU points, giving the Panthers the set point despite back-to-back points on a bad set and an Alvarado kill.
Chattanooga pushed its scoring to 23 points in the final set and saw itself take a lead on one occasion after tying the Panthers in the frame five different times. Four-straight UTC points tied the set 23-23 late, but two Florida International points ended the set and the match.
Davenport led Chattanooga with 10 kills and Alvarado finished second with right under her belt. Bachmann recorded a career high with seven kills.
Sophomore Catherine Chason topped the defense with seven digs while sophomore Lauren Gainer added in five blocks in her return to the floor.
Chattanooga dropped its second match of the day to Jacksonville 3-0 with a 5 p.m. start.
Talley led the Mocs with nine kills while junior defensive specialist Melissa Green collected 18 digs through the three sets.
The Dolphins took the first set 25-22 from the Mocs and 25-20 in the second, but Chattanooga would struggle in the third set with a 25-10 final.
The Mocs are back in action Sunday as UTC takes on South Dakota State at 10 a.m.
Buffalo 3, Davidson 1
ATLANTA, Ga. – Unable to capitalize on Buffalo’s 33 errors, the Davidson volleyball team dropped a 3-1 match to the University at Buffalo by set scores of 21-25, 25-23, 16-25 and 20-25 in their opening game of the Georgia State Invitational at the GSU Sports Arena Friday evening.
The Wildcats (5-2) put up 31 kills and hit a season-low .135 against the Bulls, posting 8.0 team blocks and four service aces. Taylor Pisel was the lone ‘Cat in double digit kills with 10, while Hannah Rau just missed with nine in the match. Rachel Earnhardt put home three kills to hit .429, while freshman Emily Franklin continued her solid work with five kills to hit .308.
Anastasia Owen had 12 digs and an ace; also adding in a pair of assists while Caroline Brown also had double-digit digs with 10. Mikayla Derochie had a team-high 33 assists, also going for four digs and four block assists. Rau was one of the more solid payers all around with a team-high five block assists and two aces to go along with six digs.
The Bulls hit .185 with 10 team blocks, led by Christine Fritsche’s 18 kills and 11 digs. Tahleia Bishop posted 15 kills while Taylor Pritchett had 26 assists and a team-high five service aces. Kelly Svoboda grabbed 19 digs while Carissa McKenna led the blocking effort with five.
The ‘Cats capitalized on early Buffalo miscues to take a 6-3 lead before the Bulls got back into the set with a pair of points. More attacking errors by Buffalo put Davidson in front 10-5, and a pair of kills from Rau and Pisel helped to make it a 14-7 Wildcat advantage. Buffalo took four of the next six points to cut its deficit to four before a six-point outburst gave the Bulls the 19-17 lead. The Wildcats could not come from behind, dropping the set 25-21.
A pair of kills from Rau gave Davidson a slim 8-5 lead to start set two, but more miscues between the two teams would cut the Wildcat advantage to one at 8-7. The teams traded points to knot the set first at 8-8 and continued to an 18-18 tie. After Buffalo took a 21-18 lead, the ‘Cats came up with three straight points to tie the game at 21-21. They went on to take four of the next five points to win the set 25-23 and even the match score at 1-1.
Buffalo took an early 8-4 lead in set three and continued on to make it 15-10. The Wildcats struggled to come up with points, as Buffalo came up with four straight scores to take a 21-13 advantage. The Bulls rattled off the final three points of the set to take a 25-16 win and lead the match at 2-1.
The Bulls again took an 8-4 lead in the fourth set, but this time the Wildcats were able to cut the lead down to one at 12-11 on a block from Franklin and Pisel. However, the ‘Cats couldn’t capitalize and Buffalo poured on a few more points to make it an 18-12 lead. Davidson got a kill from Pisel and an ace from Owen, but the Bulls battled back to take a 20-14 advantage. Davidson came up with six more points to once again cut the deficit to 22-20, but a pair of aces from the Bulls would put the set away at 25-20.
The Wildcats will look to rebound with a pair of matches on Saturday. First up for the ‘Cats is a 2 p.m. tilt with host Georgia State, followed by a 5:30 p.m. finale vs. Central Florida.
Wofford 3, Niagra 0
Mississippi State 3, Wofford 1
STARKVILLE, Miss. – The Wofford College volleyball team began the Mississippi State Bulldog Classic on Friday inside MSU’s Newell-Grissom Building, defeating Niagara University, 3-0 (25-13, 25-19, 25-21), and falling to the Bulldogs, 3-1 (23-25, 25-13, 25-21, 25-8).
Wofford (3-5) earned its first sweep of the season in the defeat of Niagara (0-8), while Mississippi State (5-4) went a perfect 2-0 on the day by beating both the Terriers and the Purple Eagles.
On defense, Jessica Graham had a career day. Graham went for 20-plus digs in both matches, setting her new career high with 24 against MSU. The sophomore averaged 6.29 in her seven sets played throughout the day.
Junior Taylor Baird was the leader on offense, totaling 26 kills for the pair of matches and averaging 3.71 per set. Baird also hit at a solid .298 (26-9-57), including a team-high 14 kills against Mississippi State. Senior Amanda Liguori had 21 kills combined while hitting .136 (21-10-81), recording a double-digit dig match with 12 against MSU. Sophomore Liz Buterbaugh hit a team-best .417 (11-1-24) on the day, including a .583 (7-0-12) showing against the Bulldogs.
Senior setter Bekah Dorsey came away with 71 assists, earning 34 in the three-set win over Niagara and 37 in four sets against Mississippi State.
The Wofford volleyball team faces both Niagara and Mississippi State again on Saturday, beginning the day at 1:30 p.m., ET against MSU and closing out the Bulldog Classic at 4:30 p.m., versus Niagara.
A dominating start set the tone and Wofford cruised to a sweep of Niagara, 3-0. The Terriers outhit the Purple Eagles .279 to .073 for the match, winning the first ever meeting between the two squads.
Liguori and Baird got it going on offense, putting down four kills each in the opening set. Wofford took seven consecutive points with the score 5-5, ending the run on two of Baird’s three opening set aces to take a commanding 12-5 lead. The biggest lead of the set was 12, which the Terriers took at 23-11 before winning it, 25-13.
Set two was never in doubt either. Just like the first, Wofford never trailed and kept the Purple Eagles at an arm’s length most of the set. Three straight points at 5-5 gave Wofford its initial separation and the Terriers led by as many as seven before taking the set by six.
The third set saw the Terriers play from behind most of the way, but come back and start the Bulldog Classic with a win. Niagara led 15-10 and Wofford went on an 8-2 run to take an 18-17 advantage, its first lead since 1-0. The Purple Eagles stayed competitive and retook the lead at 21-20, but a pair of aces by Bekah Dorsey helped Wofford take the final five points of the set and its first sweep of the season.
In the second match, a close first set was won by the Terriers, but Mississippi State made some adjustments and won sets two, three and four to come out victorious.
Though the first set was close, Wofford took a lead at 3-2 and held on the rest of the way. Baird went for five of her team-high 14 kills in the match and Liguori put down four while the Terriers hit .382 as a team in the opening set.
The second set played close until Mississippi State went on an 11-0 run to close it out and win 25-13. The run came with the score 14-13 and Mississippi State used the momentum to take a big 23-14 lead in set three. Wofford fought back by scoring six straight points and getting to within three, but it was too late for a comeback and the Bulldogs took a 2-1 lead.
Set four was all Bulldogs, 25-8, scoring 12 of the first 15 points and the final eight of the set.
Elon 3, Gardner Webb 2ELON, N.C. – Friday, Sept. 13, was not bad luck for the Elon volleyball team as the Phoenix dominated in a final fifth set to claim a 3-2 (25-22, 19-25, 25-23, 17-25, 15-2) victory over Gardner-Webb in the first night of the Elon Phoenix Classic.
Sophomore Megan Gravley posted a match-high 13 kills, while junior Danielle Smith finished with eight. Both junior Kris Harris and senior Cali Estes recorded seven kills on the night.
On defense, Harris tallied five blocks with Estes finishing with four. Freshman Morgan Maner tallied 12 digs to lead the team in passing.
A kill by Estes in the first set sparked a 6-0 run for the Phoenix to take a seven-point lead, 14-7.
The Runnin’ Bulldogs closed the gap to one, 20-19, before an ace and kill by Chanelle Smith helped close out the set for a 25-22 Elon win.
Gardner-Webb claimed a 12-7 advantage in the second set, but the serve of Harris helped the maroon and gold tie the score and take the lead by one, 15-14. The Runnin’ Bulldogs managed a 10-1 run to take set point and then won the set, 25-19, to tie the match at one-all.
Elon found itself in a 6-2 hole early in the third set, forcing an early timeout, before rallying to tie the score at 10-all off kills by D. Smith and Kayla Agae. The Phoenix then grabbed a three-point lead, 15-12, after a kill by Catherine Head. The set remained close with Elon never claiming more than a two-point edge, yet, the Phoenix never gave up the lead and used a kill by Gravley to take a 25-23 victory.
In the fourth set, Gardnr-Webb took control early and did not let the lead slip. Elon cut the deficit to three, 14-11, after a block by Harris, but the Runnin’ Bulldogs quickly extended its advantage to five. GWU would claim a 25-17 win and force a fifth and final set.
It was all Elon in the fifth set as the Phoenix hit .438 while holding the Runnin’ Bulldogs to a -.294 attack percentage. Off the serve of Agae, the maroon and gold took a 10-0 lead after kills by Harris, Gravley, Ana Nicksic and two by Estes. The Phoenix closed out the set on a 5-1 run, forcing four GWU errors, to win 15-2 and the match, 3-2.
The Elon Phoenix Classic will continue tomorrow, Sept. 14, as the maroon and gold take on North Carolina Central at 12:30 p.m. and East Carolina in the finale at 7 p.m.
Colorado 3, Appalachian State 2
Baylor 3, Appalachian State 0
WACO, TEXAS — Appalachian State University volleyball lost, 3-0, in straight sets to tournament host Baylor Friday evening at the Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas.
The Mountaineers recorded their second loss of the tournament, falling to 6-3 overall after Baylor (4-6) won 29-27, 25-20 and 25-15.
Sophomore outside hitter Emily Corrigan tallied 18 kills and 18 of the team’s 45 points to pace the Mountaineers.
Baylor took the lead early in the first set, but Appalachian managed to battle back. With the game tied at 20, the Mountaineers were able to take their first lead of the set, 21-20, but the Bears were able to escape with a 29-27 victory.
The Mountaineers fought back in the second set, not allowing BU to build a large lead as Paige Brown and Corrigan combined to pull the Mountaineers within two (21-19). Baylor pulled together a four-point run to win the set 25-20.
With a 2-0 lead, the Bears used their momentum to blow past the Mountaineers in the third and final set.
The Apps were able to pull within four points (19-15) of the Bears until Baylor scored eight-straight points en route to a 25-15 third-set win and a 3-0 match victory. Baylor shot an amazing .636 percentage on the attack to close the third match.
The Mountaineers were unable to find their hitting touch against BU, shooting a .178 percentage on the attack compared to Baylor’s .345 percentage.
Paige Brown tallied 33 assists to lead the Mountaineers, while Meghan Mahoney, Brown and Corrigan tallied double-digit dig numbers with 17, 12 and 12, respectively.
Baylor grabbed 12 blocks on the night, while Appalachian was only held to one. The Bears saw five players score double-digit points and only committed 11 attack errors on 119 total attacks.
In the first day of the tournament, after a hard-fought three-set rally Appalachian State University volleyball allowed Colorado to come back in back-to-back sets to a 3-2 victory Friday morning in the first match of the Baylor Tournament at the Ferrell Center.
The match marks just the second loss for Appalachian (6-2), while Colorado improves to 6-1 overall.
Offensively, Emily Corrigan’s 20 kills led the Mountaineers with Jess Keller adding 19 kills and a .244 hitting percentage, good for a team-high 23.5 points. Lauren Gray added 8 kills apiece.
Paige Brown picked up her second double-double of the season with 48 assists and 21 digs, while Meghan Mahoney registered two service aces and 21 digs. Corrigan added 13 digs for Appalachian.
The Mountaineers finished with a .192 hitting percentage, while Colorado hit .211 in the match.
Taylor Simpson led the Buffaloe attack with 15 kills, and Kelsey English contributed 13 to go along with her four service aces. Freshman Cierra Simpson put up 44 digs, while Simpson added 18 and Nicole Edelman, Kerra Schroeder, and Elysse Richardson tallied 10 apiece.
Continuing the action, Appalachian will face tournament host Baylor at 7 p.m. tonight. Fans can follow along via live stats on the volleyball homepage.
The Apps will look to bounce back tomorrow against Northwestern State in their last game of the Baylor Tournament at 3 p.m. at the Ferrell Center.