Western Carolina 3, Presbyterian 0Western Carolina 3, Robert Morris 0
Columbia, S.C. – Addy George recorded 18 total blocks, including a Western Carolina single-match record 15 block assists, to lead the Catamounts to sweeps of Presbyterian 3-0 (25-13, 25-22, 25-14) and Robert Morris 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 28-26) Saturday, day two, of the Carolina Classic presented by Courtyard Marriott.
George, a junior who was named to the all-tournament team, had 22 total blocks, 2.22 blocks per set, in the tournament’s three matches. On day two, alone, she compiled 18 total blocks, all block assists, and set a WCU school record with 15 block assists the win over Robert Morris. Her number is just two off the Southern Conference record. Her 15 total blocks ranks her second for total blocks in a single-match. She is now listed five times on the block assists single-match list and four times on the total blocks single-match list. It was the 28th time in her career and 11th time this season she has led the team in blocks.
Behind George’s performance in the Robert Morris match, WCU set a new team record with 34 blocks assists in a single-match. The Catamounts 17 total team blocks was the fifth highest team blocking performance in match. Sophomore Christina Nazario got in on the block party as collected a career-high eight block assists – tying her for seventh for block assists in a single-match. Junior Jordan Timmermann also turned in a career-high six block assists.
Offensively in the match, George was the top kills leader with nine kills; Timmermann and fellow junior Caitlin Piechota each tallied eight kills. Junior Brandi Anderson had six kills and a .357 hitting percentage. Her six kills came on 14 swings with only one error. Nazario handed out 30 assists, as the sophomore setter came within two blocks and one dig of a triple-double while playing in front of her hometown crowd.
Senior libero Morgan Cochran, the nation’s leader in digs per set entering the weekend at 6.36, collected a match-high 19 digs and was the only Catamount with double-digit digs.
WCU broke a back and forth opening set at 19 with the final six points for the 25-19 win. In a similarly played second set, the Catamounts broke a tie at 12 with an 8-0 run to vault Western Carolina to a 25-19 set win. The third set went down to the wire as a kill by Piechota and a Colonials’ attack error with the score tied at 26 to complete the sweep with a 28-26 win.
WCU hit .186 in the win, while limiting RMU to .071. Robert Morris only had six blocks in the match compared to WCU’s record breaking blocking performance.
In the first match of the day against Presbyterian, WCU had 10 total team blocks behind five total blocks – block assists – from sophomore Nicole Ford. It was Ford fourth time this season leading the Catamounts in blocks and 11th time in her early career. Nazario, George, and Timmermann all record three total blocks. Nazario had one solo block and two block assists, while George and Timmermann each had three block assists.
Four Catamounts collected double-digit digs for the third time this season. Cochran collected a match-high 24 digs. It was the 40th time her in four-year career she had collected 20 plus digs in a match. Nazario and Paige McConlogue followed with 11 digs, and Timmermann picked up 10 digs.
Offensively, Timmermann had seven kills, while George and Ford trailed with six kills and five kills respectively. McConlogue had a career-high with four kills on four attempts. Nazario added 28 assists to go along with her 11 digs to earn her fourth double-double of the season and eighth of her career.
WCU led from the start in the first set after jumping to an 11-2 lead. The Catamounts went on to claim the set 25-13.
Set two was a closely contested set, with WCU breaking a tie at 14 with a 6-1 run to take a 20-15 lead. The Blue Hose pulled within one point, 20-19, but the Catamounts won five of the final eight points to 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-22 set win.
The third set was all WCU again as the Catamounts again control of the set from the first serve with an 11-4 lead. Western Carolina went on to complete the sweep with a 25-14 set win.
Western Carolina hit .171, while holding Presbyterian to .017 clip.
With the two wins Saturday, Western Carolina improves to 10-4 on the season and eclipsed its win total from the 2012 season.
WCU opens Southern Conference play Thursday when it host conference rival Appalachian State at 7 p.m. in the Ramsey Center. The match against App State will be 15th match of the season – the midway point on the schedule. The Catamounts stay at home with Davidson Saturday at 5 p.m. to close out the month of September.
Samford 3, SEMO 0Samford 3, Towson 0
COLUMBIA, Mo. ---- Samford bounced back from its Friday loss with a pair of sweeps on Saturday, downing SEMO and Towson to close out action at the Mizzou Classic.
Samford (9-6) wrapped up the pre-conference portion of the schedule with some close matches against SEMO (7-6) and Towson (5-12). Samford hit a combined .307 on the day while their opponents only hit .159. Michaela Reesor led the Bulldog attack with double-digit kills in each match, totaling 28 on the day, while Katie Murphy anchored the middle with a phenomenal .524 hitting percentage and nine blocks. Erin Bognar showed her versatility at the outside, as she was second on the team in kills (19) while also leading the team in digs (20). Stephanie Palmer guided the offense with 71 assists on the day, which is more than the Bulldogs’ two opponents combined.
Saturday’s opener was a close contest between the Bulldogs and the Redhawks, but an efficient Samford offense and balanced defense made the difference as the Bulldogs earned the 3-0 win. Reesor led the Bulldogs with 16 kills, tying her season high though this is the first time she has done so in three sets. Backing her up was Bognar, who hit a stellar .464 with 14 kills to go along with 10 digs for her first career double-double. Murphy hit above .400 for the fifth-straight match, hitting .467 with eight kills and three blocks.
The teams battled back and forth early, with SEMO slowly building a lead to move up 10-6. The Bulldogs fought back multiple times within one point but could not tie the game back up, eventually taking a timeout trailing 17-15. The break gave the Bulldogs a chance to regroup, as they came right out to tie it at 17-17 and take the lead, forcing SEMO to take a timeout with the Bulldogs in front 21-19. The Redhawks would burn another timeout with the Bulldogs nearing the finish line, up 23-21. Samford reached set point, 24-21, and SEMO managed to grab a point but a kill by Murphy sealed it for the Bulldogs as they won, 25-22.
SEMO had the early momentum in set two, leading 8-3. The lead was short-lived however, as the Bulldogs retook the lead off a dominant 7-1 run, including a pair of aces by Bognar, to move up 10-9 with the Redhawks taking a timeout. Samford continued to build on their lead, forcing SEMO to burn their second timeout with the Bulldogs in front, 18-13. The five-point lead would hold for the remainder of the game, as Samford went on to win 25-20 and take a 2-0 match lead.
Samford gained as much as a four-point lead early in set three, leading 10-6, but the Redhawks quickly tied it with four unanswered to knot things up at 10-10. The remainder of the set was a nail-biter, with neither team able to build a lead larger than two points. After a pair of Samford attack errors and a SEMO ace gave the Redhawks a 17-15 lead, the Bulldogs regrouped with a timeout. Soon after, a pair of kills by Reesor and a SEMO attack error gave the Bulldogs the slim 19-18 lead with SEMO taking a timeout. The Redhawks would briefly take the lead late, 22-21, but that would be the last point they scored as Samford fired back to win 25-22 and secure the sweep.
Samford closed out its weekend playing the Towson Tigers, as Samford took advantage of multiple Towson errors and forced a few more with 9.0 team blocks en route to a 3-0 sweep. Towson actually held the slight edge in kills, 38-37, but 26 attack errors helped by Samford’s formidable front line made the difference. Murphy led that effort with one solo block and five assisted blocks while Reesor further extended her double-digit kill streak to 10 matches as she led the Bulldogs with 12 kills.
Mistakes by the Tigers helped propel Samford to an early lead in the opening frame, as the Bulldogs extended it to 11-6 with Towson taking its first timeout. Helped by four kills by Reesor, Samford hit the 20-point mark with the lead intact but Towson had narrowed it to a two-point game as the Bulldogs took a timeout leading 20-18. With Reesor serving up 23-20, a kill by Gabbi Greenwald would give the Bulldogs set point and a Towson attack error ended it with Samford earning a 25-20 win.
The momentum shifted towards the Tigers in the early stages of game two, as they jumped out in front 7-4. A Towson service error gave Samford possession down 7-5 and back-to-back Towson attack errors and an ace by Bognar gave the Bulldogs an 8-7 lead. The teams would trade points back and forth with six tie scores until, tied at 13-13, three consecutive blocks by Samford gave the Bulldogs a 16-13 lead with Towson taking a timeout. Samford stretched the lead even further with a 5-2 run out of the break as the Tigers quickly burned their second timeout. The lead would prove too large to overcome as Samford went on to win, 25-19.
A quick kill by setter Stephanie Palmer would give the Bulldogs the 1-0 lead to open the third set and Samford would not relinquish the lead from that point on. Towson would tie it three times in the early stages but, tied at 4-4, the Bulldogs started to pull away. A kill by Reesor gave the Bulldogs a 12-8 lead, their largest of the set, but Towson began to fight back. A long 9-5 run by the Tigers let them claw back into the game, tying it up at 17-17 as the Bulldogs took a timeout. A Towson attack error on the next possession gave Samford the 18-17 lead and it would stay in the Bulldogs’ favor for the remainder of the match, as Samford won 25-21 to secure the sweep.
Next week, Samford opens conference play with road matches at Wofford and Furman. The Bulldogs open on Friday, Sept. 27 against the Terriers at 6 p.m. ET and turn right around to play the Paladins on Saturday, Sept. 28 at 2 p.m. ET.
Georgia Southern 3, Charleston Southern 0Georgia Southern 3, Jackson State 0
STATESBORO, Ga. – Jamie DeRatt (Wilson, N.C./J.H. Rose) had a career-high 20 kills and added six digs to lead Georgia Southern to a 3-0 (25-13, 25-21, 25-22) volleyball victory over Charleston Southern in the final match of the Bash in the Boro in Hanner Fieldhouse Saturday night.
It was the Eagles’ second victory of the day after defeating Jackson State 3-0 (25-16, 25-11, 25-20) in the afternoon and gave Georgia Southern its fourth tournament title of the season. The Eagles have now won 25 of their last 28 matches, dating back to last season.
DeRatt hit .395 with just five errors in 38 swings, and Katalin Minnerly finished with 41 assists and five digs. Nicole Jeschelnik posted nine kills, three aces and nine digs, and the senior’s jump serve proved very difficult to handle as the Eagles scored 13 points on it, including eight in the second set.
Jeschelnik was named to the all-tournament team along with Crysten Curry (six kills tonight) and Katie Bange, who was named MVP. Bange had 15 kills in the two matches today and hit .366 for the tournament.
Meredith Parrott led Charleston Southern (5-9) with eight kills and all-tournament selection Kayla Klinger posted six kills and five digs. The Eagles hit .327 as a team against the Buccaneers, including .485 in the first set.
Christina Vereb notched 15 kills, five digs and two blocks to lead Georgia Southern to the win over Jackson State. Bange had nine kills and two blocks, and Minnerly collected 27 assists. Alexandra Beecher notched a match-high eight digs. Kennede Banks led Jackson State (1-14) with eight kills.
The Eagles open Southern Conference play with a pair of matches at home next weekend, and Jeschelnik along with the other Eagles are pretty happy with where they are.
Elon makes its trip to Hanner Fieldhouse Friday, Sept. 27, at 6 p.m., and the Eagles welcome UNCG Saturday at 2 p.m. on Alumni Day.
Appalachian State 3, Denver 2Appalachian State 3, UT Arlington 1
BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State University volleyball captured its final regular-season tournament victory after back-to-back wins over Denver and UT Arlington on Saturday night at Varsity Gym.
The Mountaineers (9-5) hosted the Black & Gold Challenge in its final round of competition before heading into conference play. Despite dropping a 3-2 loss to East Carolina on Friday, Appalachian earned victories over Denver (6-7) and UT Arlington (6-6) on day two to grab the tournament title.
Emily Corrigan’s 28 kills helped Appalachian State University volleyball cap off day two of the Black & Gold Challenge with a 3-2 (23-25, 27-25, 25-23, 20-25, 15-13) win over Denver in one if its most thrilling and tightly contested matches to-date.
Corrigan registered a double-double, her third straight, collecting 28 kills and 12 digs, along with Paige Brown , who nabbed a double-double off of her 54 assists and 13 digs. Two other App players recorded 10-plus digs, led by libero Meghan Mahoney’s 25 to go along with Lauren Brown’s 12.
The Pioneers (6-7) would lead by as many as six in the first set before four straight terminations from Corrigan would tie the frame at 23. Following a Denver timeout, Brea Muhle and Moni Corrujedo would lay a pair of kills to take the first set (25-23).
The Mountaineers (9-5) trailed late into the second set, again, by as many as six points with Corrigan rallying the comeback to 24 all. The two squads would trade scores (25-25) before two Nola Beasley attack errors cost Denver the set and gave Appalachian the 27-25 win.
Following a tightly contested third frame, the Black and Gold would own a 25-23 victory and head into the fourth run with a 2-1 advantage.
Set four remained tight until a trio of Appalachian errors would build Denver’s lead to five (20-15). Despite back-to-back kills from Jess Keller (23-20), a pair of Pioneer kills would seal DU’s fourth frame victory (25-20).
The Apps maintained the momentum heading into the final set, which proved to be toe-to-toe all the way. A service ace, courtesy of Corrigan, would put Appalachian at a 13-11 advantage, forcing Denver to call a timeout. A kill from Muhle would keep the Pioneers in the game (13-12), but ultimately a pair of errors would cost them the match, giving Appalachian the 15-13 set and the overall victory.
The Mountaineers shot .163 as a team, led by Corrigan’s team-high .270 hitting percentage, and dished out 85 total digs. Starters Corrigan and Keller both recorded two service aces, while Keller and Lauren Gray each grabbed a block solo.
Beasley notched a team-high 17 kills for the Pioneers, who shot .265 combined, while Kate Acker recorded a match-high 33 digs. DU put up 11 blocks to Appalachian’s nine to go along with 85 points to Appalachian’s 76.
In a thrilling four-set spar, Appalachian State University volleyball came out swinging to a 3-1 victory over future Sun Belt foe UT Arlington to open day two of the Black & Gold Challenge.
The Mountaineers improved to 8-5 overall with the win and 1-1 in tournament action, while the Mavericks dropped to 6-6 overall following a match that saw 38 knotted scores and 19 lead changes across four sets.
Three Mountaineers recorded double-digit kills, including Jess Keller (16), Emily Corrigan (14), and Lauren Gray (11). Paige Brown’s 45 helpers led the Mountaineers to a .192 team hitting percentage. The Apps’ primary setter also put up 8 digs against UTA.
Gray’s 11 kills yielded her a team-high .579 on the attack, while Sauls and Corrigan shot .267 and .200 apiece, respectively.
Frosh Kati Stammen led the defensive front with 15 digs and Meghan Mahoney added 14 to go along with a pair of assists. Corrigan registered 10 digs to finish with her eighth double-double of the season.
Lindsey Sauls and Gray both recorded block solos.
As a team, UTA finished with a .180 hitting percentage and 56 total kills, led by Charmaine Whitmore, who tallied 13 in addition to six total blocks, including two block solos. Amanda Welsh dished out a team-high 27 assists for the Mavericks, while Cassidy Wheeler added 19.
Megan Casey managed the back row with 19 digs, followed by Shelby Dickson and Welsh with 13 and 11, respectively.
Up next, the Mountaineers open league play as they travel to Cullowhee, N.C. to face Southern Conference foe Western Carolina Thursday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. followed by a home match against Davidson on Sept. 27.
UNCG 3, North Carolina Central 0
TCU 3, UNCG 1
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Another quick start and the squad’s highest hitting percentage of the season was key Saturday afternoon as the UNCG volleyball team cruised to a 3-0 (25-6, 25-16, 25-14) victory over North Carolina Central to continue the Spartan Spiketacular inside Fleming Gymnasium. The Spartans will face TCU for the championship this evening at 7 p.m. The Horned Frogs took care of George Mason 3-0 (25-12, 25-19, 25-19) in the morning match.
All 14 players on UNCG’s roster experienced playing time as the squad hit .434 in the match. The Spartans tallied 44 kills, 43 assists, 36 digs, six aces and four blocks in the contest. Statistically, the Blue and Gold was nearly perfect offensively in the first set, pounding out 16 kills on 20 attempts with a just a single error to hit .750. UNCG also accounted for 54 of its 75 points while limiting the Eagles to just 20 earned points of their own.
Freshman outside hitter Jessica Brezwyn (Darien, Ill./Hinsdale South) was the offensive leader for UNCG, picking up 10 kills on 17 attempts while making just a single error to end up at .529. She was the high point scorer for the Spartans, checking in with 10.0 points. The Blue and Gold also received a nice all-around performance from senior outside hitter Karrian Chambers (College Station, Texas/A&M Consolidated) who recorded six kills on nine attempts with no errors to hit .667. Chambers also tied for the match high with eight digs. Falling just short of a double-double was freshman setter Sara Hohman (Zionsville, Ind./Cathedral) as she checked in with 22 assists and eight digs.
The Spartans netted the first six points of the first set and would extend the lead to 9-1 on a kill by junior middle hitter Kelsey Sidney (Chesterfield, Mo./Marquette HS). After a timeout by NC Central, a 7-3 run by UNCG, which included three kills by Brezwyn, made the score 16-3 and drew another timeout from the visiting sideline. The Spartans rolled to the end of the stanza as a kill by freshman outside hitter Sydney Darden (Virginia Beach, Va./Kellam) put the final score at 25-6.
With the score knotted at four points apiece in the second frame, UNCG put together a 4-0 run which prompted the Eagles to call for timeout. Refusing to let up, the Spartans out-scored NCCU 11-6 to move in front 19-10 after a block by Humphries and senior middle hitter Morgan Freeman (Virginia Beach, Va./University of Connecticut). The teams would match points the rest of the set, allowing UNCG to win it by a score of 25-16.
A trio of kills and a pair of attacking errors afforded the Blue and Gold a quick 5-0 lead in the third stanza. The Spartans were able to stretch the advantage to 11-4 before NC Central called for timeout. The Eagles responded out of the break, pulling to within 13-8 after consecutive kills by Da’Sha Brown. UNCG took back the momentum from there, scoring three of the next four points to move in front 16-9. The Eagles motioned for timeout once more trailing 21-12 but it was too late as a kill by junior middle hitter Vicky Harley (Blythewood, S.C./Blythewood) ended the match at 25-14.
In the second match of the day, the UNCG volleyball team went toe to toe with Big 12 member TCU Saturday night in the championship game of the Spartan Spiketacular inside Fleming Gymnasium, but the Horned Frogs won out in the end, capturing a 3-1 (34-32, 23-25, 25-18, 25-18) decision to cap the weekend. The Spartans fall to 7-5 overall while TCU improves to 11-3.
Senior middle hitter Olivia Humphries put on a show for the raucous Fleming Gym crowd, racking up 24 kills on 48 attempts while making seven errors to hit .354. Classmate and outside hitter Karrian Chambers put down 18 kills of her own while tallying 18 digs for her third double-double of the campaign.
Defensively, the Blue and Gold out-dug its counterparts 69-61 and received a match-high 20 digs from sophomore libero Katherine Santiago. TCU arguably won the match at the net, out-blocking the Spartans 12.0-2.0 while also playing very low-error volleyball with only 11 offensive miscues. The Horned Frogs out-hit UNCG .369-.272 while both squads piled up 69 kills. Junior setter Emily McMurtrey dished out 46 assists in the four sets and also chipped in with five digs.
A pair of kills put UNCG on top in the first set and the Blue and Gold would extend the advantage to 8-3 when Yvonne Igodan hit the ball wide. That would draw a timeout from the Horned Frog sideline. The Spartans kept their lead until TCU eventually caught up at 15 points apiece. The visitors would score two-straight points at that juncture, edging in front 17-15 and prompting a UNCG timeout. An attacking error by Ashley Smith afforded the Spartans a 21-20 lead, but two-straight points gave the momentum back to the Horned Frogs.
Determined to take the upper hand back, UNCG scored three of the next four points as a Humphries kill gave the Spartans their first set point. The teams traded off control of the frame in the late stages as the Blue and Gold had additional set points at 28, 29 and 30. TCU forged a set point at 31-30 with a block, but an attacking error by Stephanie Holland knotted the score once more. After a Humphries service error and a kill by freshman outside hitter Jessica Brezwyn (Darien, Ill./Hinsdale South) made the score 32-32, a kill and a block finally gave the Horned Frogs the set.
TCU took control of the second stanza 12-7, but UNCG pulled to within 15-12 on a Brezwyn kill. After two-straight points extended the Horned Frog lead to five, the Spartans called for timeout. UNCG did not back down, going on a 6-2 run to draw to within 19-18 – forcing a timeout from the visitor bench. TCU would build a 22-20 advantage on a kill by Smith, but the Blue and Gold would rebound to tie the frame at 23 on a kill by senior middle hitter Morgan Freeman (Virginia Beach, Va./University of Connecticut). The Spartans rode the momentum all the way to the end, putting down two more kills to escape the second stanza as 25-23 victors.
With the match all tied up, UNCG put forth a strong start to the third frame. Leading 10-7 after a kill by Chambers, the Horned Frogs would respond and knot the score at 12 thanks to a kill by Macy Capen. Things went awry for the Spartans with the score deadlocked at 16 as TCU would put the set away with a 5-0 run and eventually win it 25-18.
The Horned Frogs asserted themselves in the fourth set, jumping out to a 12-4 lead and did not look back. They would take advantages of 17-9 and 22-12 before closing the match out 25-18.
For their efforts this weekend, Humphries, Chambers and Santiago were named to the all-tournament team while Santiago earned Top Libero accolades.
UNCG closes out non-conference play Wednesday, Sept. 25, welcoming Triad rival High Point to Fleming Gymnasium. First serve for that contest is set for 7 p.m.
Elon 3, South Carolina State 0Elon 3, Charlotte 1
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Elon volleyball team (8-7) claimed the 2013 49er Invitational after wins over South Carolina State (0-12) and Charlotte (9-5) today, Sept. 21, in Halton Arena. The Phoenix earned a sweep over the Bulldogs, 3-0 (25-19, 25-11, 25-18), early in the day and finished with 3-1 win (22-25, 25-17, 27-25, 25-19) over the 49ers in the final match. At the conclusion of the tournament junior Kris Harris, senior Cali Estes and sophomore Megan Gravley were all named to the 49er Invitational team with Harris being named the MVP.
In the first game of the day, with Elon trailing 6-5 in the first set, the Bulldogs managed seven straight to extend its lead to eight. From there, a kill by Danielle Smith sparked a 10-2 run, capped by an ace by Chanelle Smith, to give the Phoenix the edge. The maroon and gold continued its streak by claiming the next three points to move its advantage to four, 19-15. Two kills by Kayla Agae helped close out the set and give the Phoenix a 25-19 win.
A block by Estes and Harris capped a 4-0 run early for the Phoenix in the second set to put Elon up 6-2. After SCSU closed the gap to one, 6-5, a block by Estes and Ally Karle, ace by Morgan Maner and a kill by Harris helped the maroon and gold to five straight for a lead of six, 11-5. Kills by Gravley kept Elon ahead of the Bulldogs and extended its advantage to 12, 21-9. A kill by Harris, ace by C. Smith and a block by Gravley and Harris sealed a 25-11 victory to give the Phoenix a 2-0 match lead.
Two kills by Harris and two aces by D. Smith in the third set gave the maroon and gold a 6-2 lead. The Bulldogs would later cut its deficit to one, 18-17, forcing Elon to call a timeout. Two kills by C. Smith and one by Gravley helped Elon back to a lead of three, 21-18, causing SCST to call a timeout of its own. The Phoenix scored the final four points of the set off a block by Harris and D. Smith, two kills by D. Smith and one by C. Smith to take the win, 25-18.
Harris hit .579 after a match-high 12 kills off 19 attempts and only one error. D. Smith and Gravley both finished with nine kills. Estes recorded 31 assists to average 10.3 per set and posted a career-high six blocks. Harris also posted six blocks in the match.
In the second match of the day, with the 49ers holding a three-point lead in the first set, kills by Harris, Agae and an ace by D. Smith pulled the Phoenix within one, 8-7. Two more kills and an ace by Harris kept Elon within two until Charlotte managed to score six straight to extend its advantage to eight, 18-10. Two kills and a block by Gravley, a kill by Head and a combined block by the two sophomores gave the maroon and gold the next five points to pull within three. A kill by D. Smith put the Phoenix within two, 19-17, but the 49ers would hold on to win 25-22.
In the second set, kills by Gravley, Head and D. Smith put Elon up early, 6-3. With the score tied at 10-all, a kill by Gravley and a block by Harris and Gravley gave the Phoenix a three-point edge once again, 13-10, forcing a Charlotte timeout. Still leading by three, the Phoenix used a kill by D. Smith and Agae, a block by Head and Agae and an ace by Maner to extend the advantage to seven, 20-13. A kill by Harris followed by a block by Harris and Agae helped close out the set to give Elon a 25-17 win and even the match.
Kills by Harris and Gravley and a block by Head and Estes put the maroon and gold ahead early in the fourth, 4-1. With the scored tied at 11-all, both teams traded points back and forth until Charlotte went up by two, 19-17. Elon answered with three straight with the help of kills by Agae and Estes to take the advantage, 20-19. The 49ers would reach set point first, 24-22, but kills by C. Smith, Harris and Gravley put Elon in position to win, 25-24. A block by Harris and Estes and then a kill by Gravley would give the Phoenix a 27-25 victory and the match lead, 2-1.
In the fourth set, a kill by Agae and an ace by D. Smith gave Elon a quick 4-0 lead to force a Charlotte timeout. Leading by three, 9-6, kills by Gravley, D. Smith and Agae extended the Phoenix edge to seven, 13-6. Back-to-back kills by Harris gave Elon as much as an eight-point lead, 16-8. The 49ers closed the gap to three, 20-17, but that was as close as Charlotte would get as the Phoenix claimed a 25-19 win and the match.
Harris led all players with 16 kills after 24 attempts and only two errors. Agae finished with a new career-high 13 kills, while Gravley also tallied 13 kills. Estes also marked a new career high with 48 assists.
On defense, Head recorded a match-high five blocks, while Harris and Gravley each contributed three.
Elon will begin Southern Conference play on Friday, Sept. 27, at Georgia Southern in a 6 p.m. match in Statesboro, Ga.
Davidson 3, North Carolina A&T 0Davidson 3, High Point 0
HIGH POINT, N.C. –The Davidson volleyball team rebounded from yesterday's 3-2 loss to open the tournament with a 3-0 sweep of North Carolina A&T in their second game of the High Point Invitational at the Millis Center Saturday afternoon. The 'Cats claimed the match by set scores of 25-18, 24-18 and 25-19.
Taylor Pisel led all Wildcat players with 14 kills, but it was Hannah Rau who was the day's most accurate hitter putting up seven kills for an impressive .727 attacking percentage. Pisel was no slouch either; hitting .462 while Caroline Brown posted nine kills hitting .348 on the day. Davidson finished the match hitting .291 as a team.
Anastasia Owen led the squad with 17 digs as a trio of 'Cats finished in double figures in that category. Brown recorded 14 digs while Rachel Earnhardt posted 10 to go along with seven kills. Freshman Mikayla Derochie dished up 32 assists, while Morgan Shannon recorded the team's only ace of the day.
Pisel and Rau led the blocking effort with two block assists apiece as the squad came up with four team blocks in the game.
Three Aggies tied for the team lead with seven kills each, while Ashley Johnson came up with a team-high 14 digs. Liz Martino and Chelsea Fox had 14 and 10 assists, respectively, and the Aggies matched the Wildcats with four blocks. They hit .111 in the match.
The team traded points to keep the set even early on before consecutive kills from Emily Franklin and Earnhardt put the Wildcats in front 14-11. Pisel and Franklin each added a kill on a 4-0 spurt by Davidson, pushing the lead to 18-12. Rau posted back-to-back kills to increase the advantage to 22-13 before the 'Cats used Shannon's ace and an Aggie error to close out the set with the 25-14 win.
Davidson jumped on the Aggies early in the second set, using an early 10-0 run with Derochie serving to take a 14-4 advantage. The 'Cats didn't look back from there, capitalizing on several NC A&T errors before an Earnhardt kill handed them the set at 24-18 for a 2-0 lead in the match.
It was a 5-0 run that pushed the 'Cats in front 6-2 at the start of set three. Pisel and Franklin each came up with a pair of kills to stretch the lead to 14-8 before Earnhardt served up four straight points to keep Davidson in front 17-8 on a kill from Brown. Earnhardt added another kill, but it was a service error that set up set point for the 'Cats at 24-18. Aleena McDaniel came up with a kill for the Aggies to extend the set one more play but an Aggie miscue ended the set in favor of the 'Cats at 25-19 for the 3-0 match win.
Davidson will finish out play at the High Point Invitational Saturday evening with a 7 p.m. contest against the host Panthers. Finishing the tournament on a high note, the Davidson volleyball team earned a 3-0 sweep over the host High Point Panthers in the final match of the High Point Invitational at the Millis Center Saturday evening. The Wildcats earned the victory with set scores of 25-23, 25-22 and 25-20 to move to 8-4 on the season.
Caroline Brown and Hannah Rau earned all-tournament honors for their performances as the squad posted a 2-1 record at the event.
Rau recorded her first career double-double, notching a team-high 13 kills and a career-high 16 digs while hitting .294. She also chipped in a pair of block assists and a pair of assists. Brown finished with her eight double-double of the season with 11 kills and 14 digs to go along with a pair of aces and a block. The duo finished with a team-high 14.0 points each.
Mikayla Derochie led the squad in both assists with 31 and digs with 16 in addition to a trio of block assists and five kills. She also led the team in hitting at .300. Taylor Pisel put up nine kills to go along with four block assists, while Tindall Sewell made her return with a team-high six block assists and four kills. Anastasia Owen recorded 12 digs as four Wildcats finished in double figures in the match.
The Wildcats finished the night with 10.0 team blocks and hitting .153 with 45 kills. High Point hit .149 with nine team blocks and was lead by Chelsea Davis, who posted 21 kills.
Set one started as a tight battle for both squads, who exchanged points to a 14-14 tie. A 6-0 run midway through the set, spurred by three kills from Rau, pushed the Wildcats in front at 21-17. Rau slammed down two more kills to set up set point for the Wildcats before a Davidson error and a kill by Davis extended the life of the Panthers. In the end, the freshman duo combined for the point as Emily Franklin came up with a kill on a set by Derochie to ensure the Wildcats the 25-23 win.
Davidson took a tentative lead in the second set, going up 7-3 on a kill from Derochie. Consecutive kills from Pisel kept the advantage in favor of the Wildcats at 13-8, and several Panther miscues, combined with a block from Rau and Sewell, extended the ‘Cats’ lead to eight at 18-10. High Point came together for a late rally that featured three straight kills by Davis, but the damage was done and Davidson took the set 25-22 on a kill from Sewell to lead the match 2-0.
High Point took the first three points of the third set, but the Wildcats quickly overcame them to take an 11-8 lead on a kill from Brown. The Panthers used several Davidson errors to make it a one-point set at 15-14, but Davidson remained a step ahead. Davis and Pisel traded kills as the ‘Cats lead 20-18 before 4-0 points, all served up by Brown, set Davidson up for the win. They would then claim the set 25-20 on an attacking error to win the match 3-0.
The Wildcats open their final slate of SoCon action on Friday when they travel to Boone, N.C., to take on in-state foe Appalachian State. That match is tentatively set for 7 p.m.
The Citadel 3, Bethune-Cookman 0Winthrop 3, The Citadel 1
Rock Hill, S.C. – For the second time in as many weeks The Citadel volleyball team completed a 3-0 sweep of its opponent. This time it came as a result of a 25-20, 25-14, 25-17 victory over Bethune-Cookman at the Winthrop Invitational.
Behind a pair of eight-kill efforts from the front row tandem of Ise d'Angelo and Bailey Kernodle, the Bulldogs finished with 38 team kills and a .248 attack percentage. Junior Mallory Moore (seven kills) and senior Katie Briggs (six) rounded out the well-balanced effort.
The defense was again anchored by Erin Bucherl, who finished with a match-high 13 digs, as well as Rachel Keefer who added nine digs to go along with 32 assists. Lauren Hurt came through with four assisted blocks, giving her 35 on the season, as the Dogs out-blocked the Wildcats 12-4.
Rhea Simon led Bethune-Cookman with a team-high eight kills to go along with 10 digs. She was joined on offense by Phylecia Armstrong (seven kills), Delicia Pierra (six) and Destiny Hudson (six) as the Wildcats finished with 30 kills and a .053 attack percentage. Defensively, Bethune-Cookman was led by Alexas Thomas' 13 digs.
After falling into a six-point hole early in the opening set, the Bulldogs used a series of kills by Briggs, Hurt and d'Angelo to spark a 10-4 run and knot the game at 13-13. A second kill by Moore gave The Citadel its first lead, 14-13, which quickly turned into a 19-14 advantage following three unforced Wildcat errors. Bethune-Cookman called a timeout to regroup, trimming the deficit to three, but strikes by Moore, Kernodle and Keefer down the stretch completed the 25-20 victory.
The two teams battled to three ties among the first eight points of the second set before four consecutive Bethune-Cookman errors opened the door for a 9-4 Citadel lead. The Bulldogs improved on that five-point advantage with kills from Kernodle and Briggs, stretching the advantage to 14-7 and forcing a Wildcat timeout. However, Bethune-Cookman's struggles continued as they committed two attack errors among the next eight points as The Citadel maintained its seven-point lead, 18-11. Five kills among the final seven points, including two by Moore, gave the Cadets the 25-14 win.
In a tight third set that featured 10 ties the teams reached an 11-11 deadlock following a kill by Hurt. With the junior middle blocker in serve, The Citadel used a series of kills by Megan Sowell and Kernodle to provide breathing room, 15-11, as part of a 4-0 run. Bethune-Cookman rallied to pull within two, 16-14, but the Cadets answered with a 9-3 run that included strikes by Briggs, d'Angelo, Moore and Hurt to complete the sweep, 25-17.
In the second match of the day, Alina Sopizhuk finished with a match-high 20 kills to lead Winthrop to a 25-22, 23-25, 25-14, 25-13 victory over The Citadel in the final match of the Winthrop Invitational.
Sopizhuk was one of three players to reach double figures in kills, along with Rachel Lenz (12) and Irene Ojukwu (12) as the Eagles hit a solid .243 for the match. Kasse-Ann Dela Cruz led the way for Winthrop defensively with 20 digs, while teammate Jessie Vicic added 14. Winthrop improved to 10-4 following the victory.
The Citadel (3-11) was led offensively by the play of junior Lauren Hurt who recorded a season-high 11 kills. Hurt was joined on the front row by Mallory Moore (eight kills) and Amanda Rudnik (six) as the Dogs tallied 40 as a team. Hurt also made her presence felt defensively with five assisted blocks, tying a season-best, complementing the efforts of Erin Bucherl, who had a team-high 13 digs.
Winthrop got off to quick 2-0 lead to open the match before a series of kills by Hurt and Briggs combined with six Eagle errors to force nine ties and an eventual 10-10 deadlock. An Eagle attack error opened the door for The Citadel who put together a 6-2 run to assume a 16-12 lead. That four-point advantage quickly evaporated following kills by Ojukwu, Lenz and six unforced Cadet errors. Leading 21-18, following a Citadel timeout, Winthrop closed out the set, 25-22, with two kills down the stretch by Sopizhuk.
The opening stages of the second game mirrored that of the first as the two teams reached a 6-6 tie following a kill by Lenz. The Citadel regained the lead with an 8-4 run sparked by kills from a host of front row players including Moore, Rudnik, Katie Briggs and Ise d'Angelo, Hurt and Rudnik to move in front 14-10. Winthrop was unaffected by the deficit it rallied behind the play of Hjordis Eiriksdottir, Lenz and Sopizhuk to make for a 16-16 tie. The Eagles twice moved in front by three points, but The Citadel pushed back and forced an eventual 22-22 tie as Keefer earned three points in serve. Key kills down the stretch by Hurt and Rudnik made the difference as The Citadel won the second set 25-22.
The Eagles were much more efficient in the third set as they hit a solid .355 to take a quick 25-14 victory over The Citadel. Winthrop's front row trio of Sopizhuk, Lenz and Ojukwu each recorded four kills in the set as the Eagles finished with a 16-8 advantage in that category.
Sparked by a pair of kills from Hurt, The Citadel responded to challenge by taking an early 7-3 lead in the fourth set. That was answered by five Winthrop kills among the next 10 points as the two teams reached a 10-10 tie. Unable to limit their unforced errors, the Eagles allowed the Bulldogs to remain within striking distance as the game reached a 15-15 deadlock. Winthrop again took a slight lead, but the service game of Rudnik drew the Cadets even at 22-22 in the final stages of the set. It was there that Kelsey McCormick drove pair of kills past The Citadel defense to provide Winthrop with a 25-22 win.
The Citadel returns to action on Wednesday, Sept. 25 when they head to Savannah State to take on the Tigers at 6 p.m.
Ole Miss 3, Chattanooga 0
OXFORD, Miss. -- The Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team rounded out the Rebel Classic and pre-SoCon schedule Saturday afternoon in Oxford, Miss. The hosting Rebels outlasted UTC 3-0 over three sets at Ole Miss.
Ole Miss took the first set of the match 25-18 and recorded 17 kills in the frame. Chattanooga was limited to 10 kills while freshman Allie Davenport led with three kills on 10 attacks. Junior Melissa Green collected four digs and both sophomore Callie Hildebrand and freshman Kendall Sexton blocked an attack.
The Mocs edged a bit closer with a 25-20 effort and totaled a match-best 12 kills. Sophomore Briana Reid took the bulk of points with three kills while sophomore Lauren Gainer Sexton and Davenport each recorded two kills each. Hildebrand was UTC’s defensive leader in the set with six digs.
The third and final set of the match would resemble the first set closely with Chattanooga falling 25-18. The Mocs were held to seven kills with Davenport recording four of them. Sexton stood tall at the net against the Ole Miss offense, blocking three Rebel attacks.
The Mocs enter Southern Conference play Friday in Greenville, S.C., as Chattanooga takes on Furman at 6 p.m. Saturday’s match begins at 6 p.m. as well with UTC visiting Spartanburg, S.C., for a match with Wofford.
Arizona 3, Wofford 0
Loyola 3, Wofford 0
TUCSON, Ariz. – The Wofford volleyball team took on Arizona and Loyola Maryland on the final day of the Wildcat Classic, hosted by UofA at the McKale Center, falling in both matches to end the West Coast trip 0-3.
Wofford (5-9) began the day taking on Arizona (9-2) at 10:30 a.m., Pacific Time, and was defeated in three sets (25-16, 25-12, 25-17). The Terriers ended the tournament with a late afternoon match versus Loyola Maryland (3-9), but could not pull out a win in three close sets (25-19, 25-20, 25-21).
A bright spot for the Terriers was sophomore Liz Buterbaugh, who hit .382 for the tournament with a combined 18 kills and just five errors on 33 total attempts. The middle blocker added five total blocks and was named to the Wildcat Classic All-Tournament Team.
Senior middle blocker Lucy Reser came on to play versus Loyola and wound up with five kills on just eight attempts with a lone error (.500). Sophomore Jessica Graham went for 10-plus digs in both Saturday matches, tallying 13 against Arizona and 10 against Loyola. Graham completed the tournament with 32 total digs. Senior outside hitter Amanda Liguori ended the weekend with 20 kills, the most of any Terrier.
The Wofford volleyball team is back on the court Friday, Sept. 27, in its home and Southern Conference opener against Samford. Match time is set for 6 p.m., inside Benjamin Johnson Arena.
Arizona junior Madi Kingdon showed why she was a Preseason All-Pac-12 selection, tallying a match-high 13 kills and 15.5 points to help the Wildcats run by the Terriers, 3-0.
For Wofford, Baird went for a team-high 10 kills and hit .143 (10-6-28), along with an ace and five digs. Buterbaugh had the best match on offense, hitting .600 with seven kills and a single error on 10 attempts, adding two block assists. Liguori had just three kills but played well on defense with 10 digs, while Graham had 13 digs to come up one short of Arizona’s Candace Nicholson who had a match-high 14.
The Terriers held an early 4-3 lead in the first set, but UofA showed its prowess by responding with an 11-0 run to quickly turn the set in its favor, 14-4. The run included a pair of kills from Kingdon and Rachel Rhoades, helping the Wildcats pull out the first set by seven.
Again, Wofford took an early 4-3 lead in set two and Arizona went on a big run to turn the set around. The Wildcats used three kills, an ace and four Wofford attack errors to go on a 9-1 run and lead. 12-5. Wofford closed the gap to five at 15-10, but UofA used another big run and scored 10 of the set’s final 12 points to win, 25-12, and lead by two sets at the intermission.
Set three was the most competitive before Arizona pulled away late for the sweep. The Terriers came out of the locker room by scoring four of the first five points for a 4-1 lead and held the Wildcats in check through the first half of the set. With the score 13-13, the fifth tie score of the set, Arizona scored four straight to force Wofford into a timeout. The Terriers scored out of the timeout to close the gap to three, but the comeback was not to be as Arizona ended the set on an 8-3 run and took the match.
The Terriers battled from behind most of the way and Loyola Maryland hung on in each set for its third win of the season, 3-0.
Liguori had a team-high eight kills, hitting .148 (8-4-27), and was outdueled by the Greyhounds who saw Faye and Jane Lukas go for 13 and 11 kills, respectively. Jane was the more effective Lukas, hitting .450 (11-2-20) to Faye’s .194 (13-6-36), and Simone Reid hit .400 (6-2-10) to help the Greyhounds outhit Wofford .242 (38-16-91) to .093 (31-22-97).
Buterbaugh had her only ineffective match of the tournament, leveling out with three kills and three errors on nine attempts. Freshman Moorea Dippel saw quality playing time and wound up with a season-high eight digs, while Graham had a match-high 10 digs.
Loyola got it going in set one, getting to the 10-point plateau and doubling up Wofford for a 10-5 advantage. Wofford remained about five points back the remainder of the set, and with the score 23-18 the Greyhounds scored two of three points to take the first.
Set two was close the whole way, but Wofford saw the lead just twice at 2-1 and 3-2. The Greyhounds took the lead for good at 4-3 with the Terriers making it a one-point set on six different occasions. The last of those came at 15-14 and Loyola went on a 6-2 run to extend the lead to 21-16. The five-point margin would stay intact the remainder of the set and Loyola took a two-set advantage into the break.
Loyola came out of the locker room hot, jumping on Wofford for a 17-9 lead. The Terriers did not give in and scored 10 of the next 14 points, capped by a Wendy Burnett kill to make it a two-point set. One of Bekah Dorsey’s six kills in the match brought the score back to two at 23-21, but back-to-back attack errors on the Terriers ended any hope of a comeback.