Chattanooga 3, Southern Miss 2OXFORD, Miss. – The Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team claimed a 3-2 win Friday afternoon over the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles in its first match of the Ole Miss Rebel Classic. The win is Chattanooga’s first victory of the season and puts the Mocs at 1-0 in the tournament.
The Mocs took the first set of the match convincingly 25-13. Sophomore Briana Reid downed four kills and an ace, while freshman Allie Davenport collected two aces, a kill and two blocks. Sophomore Catherine Chason assisted in six kills for the Mocs in the set.
Chattanooga claimed the second set with a 25-21 score, taking a 2-0 lead in the match at the break. Davenport added five more kills to her total and freshman setter Anne Bachmann totaled eight assists and an ace.
Southern Miss turned the tide with a 25-19 win in the third set. Kristen Fleming collected 13 assists and attacker Elise Ames spiked five kills against the Mocs.
The Golden Eagles stormed back in the fourth set 25-22 to even the match at 2-2. Despite tallying more attacks (37), UTC was outscored by the Eagles with 14 kills as the Mocs committed eight errors.
Chattanooga outscored Southern Miss 17-15 in the deciding set. Forcing the match to extra points, the Mocs played catch-up with the Eagles at the midway point. UTC fought off two Southern Miss match points with back-to-back points tying the frame at 14-14.
Davenport emerged as the offensive leader with 16 kills as freshman Kendall Sexton found a groove with 11 points. Junior Melissa Green led the defense with 23 digs and sophomore Lauren Gainer registered seven blocks – including two solo.
Chattanooga's luck ran out in the next matchup though as the Mocs fell 3-1 to Louisiana-Lafayette 26-24, 19-25, 18-25, 19-25.
The Mocs won the first set 26-24 after recording a match-best 16 kills but fell in the following three sets. Reid led the Mocs with 14 kills while Davenport ended the match with 11 kills and sophomore Julimar Alvarado collected 10 kills.
Chason totaled 29 assists and Reid led the defense with 16 kills. Sexton recorded the match's only block.
The Mocs wrap up the Rebel Classic Saturday at Noon against Ole Miss. Live stats and a live video feed are both available for the match.
Elon 3, Tennessee State 1CHARLOTTE, N.C. – After dropping the first set, the Elon volleyball team (6-7) claimed the next three sets to post a 3-1 (18-25, 25-23, 27-25, 25-22) win over Tennessee State (2-6) today, Sept. 20, in the 49er Invitational.
Sophomore Megan Gravley recorded a match and season-high 22 kills, while freshman Kayla Agae posted a new career-high with 11. Senior Cali Estes finished with a new career-high 36 assists to average nine per set.
On defense, junior Kris Harris matched a career-high eight blocks to help Elon to a team total of 12.5. Junior Danielle Smith, sophomore Catherine Head and Agae each contributed four blocks on the night. Senior Maggie Reichard posted another season-high for Elon with 26 digs.
The Tigers took an early lead in the first set before kills by Chanelle Smith, Estes and Harris helped the Phoenix tie the score several times. With TSU leading, 23-16, back-to-back kills by Gravley cut the deficit to five. But the Tigers were able to close out the set, 25-18.
Trailing by four, 9-5, two kills by Agae and an ace by Morgan Maner helped Elon to a 3-0 run to pull within one, 9-8. Three kills by Gravley helped the Phoenix keep the score close before Elon scored five straight off another kill by Agae and ace by Maner, along with a block by Head and D. Smith, to take its first lead, 19-16. TSU came back to tie the set at 23-all, but a kill by Gravley and an ace by Harris won Elon the final two points and the set, 25-23.
In the third set, kills by Harris, Maner and Gravley, an ace by D. Smith and a block by Gravley, Harris and Estes helped the Phoenix to a 7-1 run to claim a four-point advantage, 14-10. The Tigers managed to tie the score at 21-all but the maroon and gold claimed set point first, 24-23, after a block by Gravley and Head. Elon went on to earn three of the final five points off kills by Gravley and Agae to win the set, 27-25.
Kills by Estes and Gravley helped Elon to a six-point lead, 15-9, early on in the fourth set. TSU came back to take the lead by three, 21-18, before blocks by Harris, Agae and D. Smith evened the score at 21-all. With the maroon and gold up by one, 23-22, back-to-back blocks by Harris, Agae and Estes sealed a 25-22 win for the Phoenix. The Phoenix tallied a total of five team blocks in the final set thanks in part to an impressive five blocks from Harris.
Elon will continue the 49er Invitational tomorrow, Sept. 21, when it takes on South Carolina State at 10 a.m. and host Charlotte at 7 p.m.
UNCG 3, George Mason 0
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG volleyball team set the tone early against George Mason Friday night, sweeping the Patriots (25-16, 25-19, 25-20) to begin the Spartan Spiketacular inside Fleming Gymnasium. In the first match of the tournament, TCU won a 3-0 (25-9, 25-16, 25-21) contest against North Carolina Central.
The Spartans (6-4) hit .321 in the match – their second-high mark of the season – while holding the Patriots to a .153 showing. UNCG racked up 51 kills, 47 assists and 49 digs in dominating the stat sheet. George Mason got the better of the blocking, 7.0-4.0, but it was not enough to keep up with the Blue and Gold’s high-powered attack. In terms of sideout percentage, UNCG was able to sideout on 64 percent of its chances and limited the visitors to just 47 percent.
Senior outside hitter Karrian Chambers picked up her second double-double of the season, tallying 14 kills and 11 digs while also making just four errors to hit .346 for the match. Joining Chambers in double figures offensively was senior middle hitter Olivia Humphries who led all players with 14 kills. She fell just short of her fourth double-double of the season, adding nine digs to her kill output.
Running the offense was junior setter Emily McMurtrey as she recorded 38 assists to go along with five digs. She also picked up two kills on three attempts without making an error. Additionally, sophomore libero Katherine Santiago paced the defensive effort with a match-high 12 digs.
The first set proved to be tight early on as neither team had more than a one-point advantage. With the score knotted at 10, the Spartans netted two-straight points to edge out to a 12-10 lead. A kill by junior middle hitter Morgan Freeman then made it a 14-11 score, forcing George Mason to call for timeout.
UNCG kept the pressure on and scored five of the next eight points to put the set out of reach. Ahead 19-14, the Blue and Gold kept the visitors at an arm’s length and consecutive kills by Humphries ended the stanza with a 25-16 scoreline.
The Patriots were the first to 10 points in the second frame, leading 10-8 after a kill from Morghan Martin. The Spartans pushed back, scoring four-straight points to establish a two-point cushion of their own. GMU took a timeout trailing UNCG 15-13, but a devastating 7-3 run – capped off by a bad set by Tori Price – saw UNCG take an insurmountable 22-16 advantage. George Mason pulled to within 22-19, but the Spartans posted the final three points of the stanza to take it 25-19.
After a kill and an ace by Chambers opened the scoring in the third set, UNCG was able to extend its lead to 7-3 on an attack error by Martin. The Patriots were able to rally, eventually tying the score at 10 thanks to a block. A kill by Meredith Bush gave GMU a slight 11-10 advantage, but the Spartans went on an 8-4 run which put them in front 18-15 and forced a Patriot timeout. George Mason tried to rally on a number of occasions, but UNCG did not budge. After a kill by junior middle hitter Kelsey Sidney gave the Blue and Gold set point at 24-19, she ended the match two points later with a thunderous kill into the middle of the Patriot defense.
The Spartan Spiketacular will conclude with four matches Saturday, beginning with George Mason taking on TCU at 11 a.m. UNCG will face NC Central at 1 p.m. before battling the Patriots at 5 p.m. The Spartans will then challenge the Horned Frogs in the tournament finale at 7 p.m.
Georgia Southern 3, Central Michigan 0STATESBORO, Ga. – Nicole Jeschelnik tallied a match-high 13 kills, and Jamie DeRatt added 11 kills and nine digs to lead Georgia Southern to a 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 26-24) volleyball victory over Central Michigan in the Bash in the Boro Tournament in Hanner Fieldhouse Friday night.
Katalin Minnerly had 28 assists to go along with nine digs for the Eagles (10-2), and Alexandra Beecher finished with 13 digs.
Kaitlyn McIntyre recorded nine kills and seven digs to lead Central Michigan (5-6), and Jenna Coates posted a match-high 14 digs.
With Central Michigan setting blocks on the Eagle middles most of the night, Minnerly was forced to go to the outside hitters. Right side Katie Bange also put down six balls, giving the GSU outside attack 30 of its 41 kills.
The Eagles were also solid defensively, holding CMU to .104 hitting as a team, including -.043 in the second set.
After a kill by DeRatt broke a 6-6 tie in the first set, GSU won three straight points on Beecher’s serve to open a 10-6 lead. The Chippewas worked back within a point at 22-21 on a Hallie Enderle kill, but Jeschelnik got a sideout with a kill and Lauren LaRocque served up consecutive aces as the Eagles took a 1-0 lead in the match.
Meghan Morillo proved to be the hot server for Georgia Southern in the second set as the Eagles scored six consecutive points on the sophomore’s serve to open a 9-3 cushion. The margin never dipped below four points from there, and four Jeschelnik kills in the frame helped the Eagles open a 2-0 lead in the match.
After Georgia Southern gained an 18-12 cushion following a Crysten Curry kill in the third set, the Chippewas used a 10-3 run to take a 22-21 lead. Back and forth the score went from there, and an Enderle kill knotted things up at 24-24. DeRatt answered with a kill, and Curry and Jeschelnik combined for a block to give the Eagles the win.
The Bash in the Boro continues Saturday, and the Eagles will take on Jackson State at noon and Charleston Southern at 7 p.m. The noon match will be the Faculty/Staff Appreciation game, and all faculty and staff can get a free ticket with their Georgia Southern ID and will be honored at halftime. The night contest is Residence Hall Night, and the dorm with the most people in attendance gets free pizza.
UNC Wilmington 3, The Citadel 0Rock Hill, S.C. – Behind a match-high 13 kills from Nicole Lott, UNC Wilmington completed a 25-12, 25-13, 25-23 win over The Citadel to open this weekend's Winthrop Invitational on Friday afternoon.
Lott was the lone Seahawk to finish with double-digit kills, but the trio of Morgan Kline (eight kills), Courtney Porter (seven) and Leah Gagliardi (six) helped the team amass 45 kills and a .295 attack percentage. Defensively, UNCW (9-3) was led by Lindsay Hartmann (16 digs) and Porter, who finished with four assisted blocks.
The Citadel was led offensively by the tandem of Ise d'Angelo and Megan Sowell, who posted eight kills apiece. Senior Erin Bucherl recorded a team-best 14 digs and was joined in double figures by Rachel Keefer, who had 11 digs to go along with 25 assists. The Bulldogs slipped to 2-10 overall on the season.
Trailing in the early stages of the first set, Katie Briggs drove a kill past the UNC Wilmington defense to trim the deficit to 8-5. The Seahawks pushed the lead back to six, thanks to a series of Citadel points by d'Angelo and Bucherl that made for an 11-8 margin. That ignited a timely 14-4 Seahawk run that included three kills by Lott to close out the set 25-12.
UNCW got off to a hot start to open the second set as it took the early 12-5 lead following a Porter kill. The Citadel answered with four of strikes by d'Angelo, but UNCW built an eight-point advantage. A late push behind the service game of Samantha Espy cut the Seahawk margin to 19-14, but UNCW allowed just one Citadel point in the final seven for the 25-15 victory.
A resilient Citadel squad used timely kills by d'Angelo and Amanda Rudnik to pull within 9-8 early in the third set. However, The Citadel quickly evened things up, 12-12, after a kill by Sowell. Five ties later with the set deadlocked at 22-22, UNCW came through with strikes by Kline and Gagliardi to complete the sweep 25-23.
The Bulldogs return to action on Saturday morning when they take on Bethune-Cookman at 10 a.m. That match will be followed by a meeting with host Winthrop, set to begin at 7:00 p.m.
South Carolina 3, Western Carolina 0
Columbia, S.C. – Behind a high-powered, efficient offense South Carolina handed the Western Carolina volleyball team a 3-0 loss Friday night in the Catamounts’ opening match of the Carolina Classic hosted by the Gamecocks.
South Carolina ended the match with a .316 hitting percentage tying the highest attack percentage by a WCU opponent. They had 53 kills on 117 attempts and 16 errors in the match. The Gamecocks limited the Catamounts to a .142 hitting percentage – 30 kills, 120 attempts and 13 errors. South Carolina also out blocked Western Carolina with six total team blocks compared to three.
South Carolina was the first team to take a lead of more than a point, 9-7, in the first set but Western Carolina fought back and tied the set at 10 on a South Carolina attack error. However, South Carolina retook control of the set with a 3-0 run as the Gamecocks took a 13-10 lead. The Gamecocks went on to extend the lead and win the opening set 25-18. South Carolina hit .308 compared to .158 for WCU.
Senior Addy George led WCU offensively with nine kills and .381 hitting percentage. Junior Timmermann followed with eight kills. George also had two solo blocks to lead the Catamounts at the net. Sophomore Cristina Nazario handed out 20 assists playing in front of her hometown crowd.
Junior Caitlin Piechota picked up a team-high 11 digs, while junior Paige McConlogue followed with 10 digs. Morgan Cochran, who leads the NCAA with 6.38 digs per set, saw personal best streak of 19 consecutive matches came to a close Friday. The senior had nine digs. WCU had 43 digs in the match its lowest total of the season.
In the second set, the Gamecocks jumped out to an early 12-4 lead, but the Catamounts weathered the early storm and battled back to cut the South Carolina lead down to two points, 16-14. South Carolina responded with a 5-0 run to take a six point lead, 21-14, en route to a 25-18 set win. The Gamecocks again held a considerable margin in hitting percentage, .359 to .098. South Carolina also had four team blocks in the set.
South Carolina broke a tie at six in the third set with a 4-0 run as the Gamecocks took a 10-6 lead. WCU used a kill by Jordan Timmermann, a kill by Hailey Cook, who made her collegiate debut, and a solo block by Addy George to pull within one point, 10-9, but South Carolina extended its lead to five points, 17-12, with a 7-3 run. Trailing 19-13, the Catamounts fought back with a 3-0 run to trim the Gamecock lead to 19-16, and eventually cut the lead down to two points, 21-19, following a South Carolina attack error. However, the Gamecocks closed out the set, 25-19, with the final four points to earn the match sweep.
Western Carolina (8-4) finishes the Carolina Classic Saturday with two matches. WCU starts the day with Presbyterian at 10 a.m. before concluding the tournament with Robert Morris at 4 p.m.
UCSB 3, Wofford 0TUCSON, Ariz. – The Wofford College volleyball team kicked off the Wildcat Classic Friday afternoon from the University of Arizona’s McKale Center, dropping its first ever meeting against the University of California, Santa Barbara, 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-20).
Wofford (5-7) did not have its best night on offense and was outhit .271 (36-13-85) to .110 (31-20-100) by UCSB (3-6), The Terriers added 15 serve errors, helping the Gauchos – a team which took a set earlier in the year from No. 1 USC and has faced three nationally ranked opponents – escape close second and third sets. UC Santa Barbara won the battle on defense as well with 40 digs to Wofford’s 34 and seven team blocks to four for the Terriers.
For the second time this season, no Terrier reached 10 kills. Senior Amanda Liguori put down the most with nine, hitting .161 (9-4-31), also adding a match-high 11 digs on defense. Sophomore Liz Buterbaugh had the best night on the attack, hitting .500 with eight kills and a single error on 14 attempts. Buterbaugh’s eight kills tied her career high which she set in the season opener versus Iowa.
Sophomore libero Jessica Graham was limited to less than 10 digs for only the second time on the 2013 campaign. Graham finished with nine against the Gauchos along with one service ace.
For the Gauchos, Ali Spindt had a match-high 12 kills, hitting .556 with only two errors on 18 total attempts. Allie Sullberg was a key part on offense hitting .545 (6-0-11) and Leah Sully was the defensive threat with 10 digs and three total blocks.
A first set tied 4-4 turned in favor of UCSB when the Gauchos went on a 6-0 run that included five attack errors by the Terriers. Wofford fought to get within three at 17-14, but Santa Barbara took eight of the set’s final 11 points, capped by one of Katey Thompson’s six kills.
The second set was the most competitive of the match. With the score 4-4, this time around it was Wofford that went on a run, using kills by Wendy Burnett, Liguori and Buterbaugh to score eight of 11 points and take a 12-7 lead. UCSB came storming back and went on a 5-0 run to take an 18-16 advantage, leading the rest of the way to take a two-set lead into the intermission.
Wofford trailed the whole way in set three, but kept it close throughout. UCSB led 7-5 and the two sides split the next 28 points to make it 21-19 in favor of the Gauchos. Unfortunately, the Terriers managed just one point the rest of the way and UCSB walked away with the three-set victory.
The Wofford volleyball team has two matches remaining in Tucson, both of which come Saturday against host Arizona and the University of Loyola Maryland. The Terriers square off with the Wildcats at 1:30 p.m., ET, and close out the west coast trip against the Greyhounds at 7:30 p.m. ET. Live video and live stats will be provided for all matches of the Wildcat Classic courtesy of ArizonaWildcats.com and Pac-12.com.
East Carolina 3, Appalachian State 2
BOONE, N.C. – Appalachian State University volleyball lost a five-game match to East Carolina on Friday night at Varsity Gym.
The Mountaineers drop to 7-5 overall following the loss to the Pirates, who match in the wins-losses column with a 7-5 record themselves.
The Apps took an early lead in the first set and never fell behind, taking a 25-18 victory.
The second set would set the tone for the rest of the night giving way to a back-and-forth battle early in the frame. The set was tied at 19 all before the Pirates scored six straight points successfully taking the second set, 25-19.
The Mountaineers would regain composure in the third go-round, serving the Pirates a 25-14 victory, but an intense fourth set would ensue as the two teams rallied to the last point, eventually leading to an East Carolina victory (23-21).
The fifth set would highlight the match, yielding a knotted score on seven occasions. The Black and Gold would fall behind 7-10, before rallying back to tie the game at 14 off of a kill from sophomore Jess Keller. Though it would not be enough as ECU took the lead and never looked back, taking the final set, 17-15.
Outside hitter Keller netted a team-high 20 kills while sophomore Emily Corrigan finished with 17. Junior middle hitter Lauren Gray made the difference in game five, finishing with 12 total kills.
On the back row, sophomore Meghan Mahoney tallied 20 digs. Sophomore setter Paige Brown led all players with 57 assists.
ECU was paced by Nicole Willis’ 20 kills while Zarah Cecich led the team with 55 assists. Shelby Beasley (26) and Whitney Campbell (23) both eclipsed the 20-dig mark.
The Apps tallied 22 blocks on the night to ECU’s 25. Gray led the Mountaineers with six block assists as Appalachian hit .188 for the match to the Pirates .215 hitting percentage.
Appalachian returns to action tomorrow when it hosts UT Arlington at Varsity Gym at 12:30 p.m.
Murray State 3, Davidson 2
HIGH POINT, N.C. – The Davidson volleyball team held a 2-1 lead going into the fourth set, but the Murray State Racers would rally to a 3-2 win in the Wildcats’ first appearance at the High Point Invitational at the Millis Center Friday evening. The Racers claimed the match with set scores of 25-15, 21-25, 21-25, 26-24 and 15-13.
Missing the services of one of their top hitters in Tindall Sewell, the Wildcats hit .236 as a team with 13.0 blocks. Caroline Brown and Taylor Pisel led the squad at 17 kills apiece, with Brown grabbing a team-high 24 digs as well. Pisel led the team with 19.0 points on the night.
However it was the freshman duo of Emily Franklin and Mikayla Derochie, both with career nights, that was a highlight for Davidson. Franklin finished the night with a career high 12 kills and also posted a career-best ten blocks with one solo and nine block assists. She also hit a team-best .579 on the night. The reigning SoCon Freshman of the Week, Derochie posted a career-high 51 assists and six kills on the night, hitting .333 in the match. Derochie also picked up a career-high 13 digs and added I four block assists.
Rachel Earnhardt also had a solid outing with nine kills, an assist and three block assists. She was one of five players in double-digit digs on the night with 18, as Anastasia Owen posted 21 and Morgan Shannon finished with 11.
For the Racers, it was Alyssa Lelm that led the offense with 23 kills and an attacking percentage of .525. Sam Bedard had 65 assists and a team-high 25 digs as Murray State hit .255 with five blocks.
Murray State saw the Wildcats overcome a 6-2 lead in the first set to tie things up at 9-9. But the ‘Cats couldn’t come up with enough to take a lead as five straight by MSU put them in front once again at 20-12. Kamille Jones came up with three straight kills as the Racers scored the final four points to win the set 25-15.
The Wildcats returned the favor in set two, shooting out to a 10-5 advantage on an ace by Hannah Rau. Back-to-back kills from Pisel made it 15-9; she then added two more as the Racers were making up ground to keep it a 17-12 lead. It was then Derochie’s turn for consecutive scores before a pair of Murray State errors closed the set out in favor of the ‘Cats at 25-21 to even the match score at one game apiece.
Davidson once again grabbed a 10-5 lead on an MSU error to start the third set. The Racers knotted the score at 14-14 on a kill by Lelm, but couldn’t take the lead. Murray State then scored three straight times to come within a point of tying the set once again at 22-21, but a key ace by Brown combined with a pair of MSU errors once again allowed the Wildcats the 25-21 triumph to take a 2-1 overall lead.
The Racers came to the fourth set ready to battle and struck first, moving to an early 10-2 lead on an ace by Taylor Olden. The ‘Cats chipped away at the deficit until kills from Brown and Pisel evened the score at 15-15. Pisel then gave Davidson a 17-16 advantage, leaving the two squads in a close battle. An MSU error put the ‘Cats in a position to clinch at 24-23, but the Racers scored three in a row to take the set 26-24 and force a fifth set.
The team traded points in the extra set before a pair of errors put MSU in front 10-7. Kills from Franklin and Pisel cut it own to a one-point Murray State advantage at 11-10, but the Racers scored back-to-back points to make it a 13-10 game. A pair of kills by Pisel kept the ‘Cats within two before a Murray State miscue slimmed the Davidson deficit to just a point. The Racers came back from a timeout with a big kill by Lelm to earn the 15-13 win and take the match 3-2.
Davidson will look to rebound in a pair of matches tomorrow. The ‘Cats will face North Carolina A&T at 11 a.m. before finishing up with host High Point at 7 p.m. Saturday evening.
Missouri 3, Samford 0
COLUMBIA, Mo. ---- Samford Volleyball opened its weekend at the Mizzou Classic on Friday afternoon, falling to the host Missouri Tigers in straight sets.
Samford (7-6) was stymied up front as the Missouri (12-0) front line posted 12.0 team blocks (3 solo, 18 assisted) to limit the Bulldogs’ attack percentage to .126. Michaela Reesor’s double-digit kill streak was extended to eight games as she led the Bulldogs with 12 kills. Katie Murphy did not commit any errors on 13 swings, scoring six kills to hit .462 in the match and raise her season total to .409. Chelsi Carter led all players with 11 digs, making it her sixth-straight match with at least 10 digs.
Missouri didn’t waste time jumping ahead in the opening frame, pulling ahead 12-5 behind a 4-0 run as the home team took a timeout with the big lead. Samford wasn’t down for the count that quickly however, as the Bulldogs bounced back with their own 8-5 run to make it a four-point game, trailing 17-13 as the home team burned their second timeout of the game. Samford kept it within five points for the remainder of the set, but the Tigers managed to hold on and win, 25-20, to take the early 1-0 match lead.
Tied at 2-2 early in set two, the Tigers scored four unanswered to move ahead 6-2, but a kill by Erin Bognar stopped the momentum as the Bulldogs eventually fought back to tie it at 8-8. A service error gave Missouri possession and a 9-8 lead, which began a 5-0 run by the Tigers as the Bulldogs took a timeout, trailing 13-8. Leading by five points, up 18-13, another quick four-point run by Missouri further stretched the lead to 22-13. Each team would score two points and a kill by Emily Thater would seal Missouri’s largest win of the match, 25-15, in set two.
Samford scored the first point of the third set off a kill by Bognar, but the Tigers quickly regained the lead and would hold it for the remainder of the game. The Tigers moved ahead 9-4 and held the five-point lead, eventually leading 15-10 as a kill by Regan Peltier made it 16-10, forcing a Bulldog timeout. Missouri reached match point, 24-17, and a kill by Murphy briefly staved off the end but a Samford attack error was the final point as the Tigers won 25-18 to complete the sweep.
Samford continues play at the Mizzou Classic tomorrow, facing SEMO at 10 a.m. and Towson at 4 p.m.