Furman 3, Chattanooga 1Greenville, S.C. – Behind the play of hitters Christina Dorismond, Ashton Gregory and Annie Bierman, the Furman Paladins downed the Chattanooga Mocs, 3-1 (25-16, 17-25, 25-18, 25-18), in the teams’ 2013 Southern Conference opener in Alley Gym on Friday night. Furman moved to 5-7 on the year (1-0 SoCon), while Chattanooga fell to 1-15 overall (0-1 SoCon).
Dorismond led all hitters with 13 kills, while Gregory tallied 12 kills, a .500 hitting percentage, and six blocks. Bierman notched 11 kills, including five in set four, and 14 digs for her second career double-double. Elle Ross led the team with 15 digs, while Jo Wilks dished out 38 assists. As a team, the Paladins out-hit the Mocs, .248-.144, and out-blocked Chattanooga, 7-4.
Furman jumped out to an early 9-5 lead in set one, capitalizing on key Chattanooga errors. Ashton Gregory recorded two consecutive blocks to force a Moc timeout with the score at 12-7 Furman. The Paladins then outscored Chattanooga 7-5 to take a 19-12 lead and for another timeout. Furman then used Chattanooga errors and a block by Gregory and Bohlander to take set one, 25-16. Furman hit .321 and held Chattanooga to a .000 hitting percentage and out-blocked Chattanooga 4-0.
The Mocs took a 5-2 lead in set two, before the Paladins were able to cut the lead to two at 10-8, behind kills from Gregory. The Mocs then used an 8-2 run to push their lead to 18-10, forcing a Furman timeout. The Paladins were never able to get closer than six in the set, as Chattanooga tied the match at one, with a 25-17 set two victory.
Furman behind the play of Christina Dorismon, Furman took a 10-3 lead in set three, before pushing their lead to 15-8, forcing a Chattanooga timeout. The teams then traded points the rest of the match, before the Paladins took set three, 25-18. Furman out-hit Chattanooga .387-161 in set three, and Dorismond led all hitter with seven kills in the set.
Chattanooga led 5-2 in set four before the Paladins were able to tie the match at five. Furman used a balanced offense and the teams traded points until the score was tied at 10. Chattanooga took a 13-11 lead before the Paladins used a 7-1 run, behind the play of Annie Bierman, to regain the lead at 18-14. Furman closed out the match on a 7-4 run to take set four, 25-18, and the match, 3-1. Bierman led all hitters with five kills in set four and the Paladins hit .241 to Chattanooga’s .118.
Samford 3, Wofford 1
SPARTANBURG, S.C. ---- After some early adversity in Friday’s SoCon opener, Samford managed to rebound and defeat Wofford, 3-1, on the road.
Samford (10-6, 1-0 SoCon) fell in the opening set but managed to win the next three in the hard-fought contest. Michaela Reesor led the Bulldogs with 14 kills, further extending her double-digit kill streak to 11-straight matches. Katie Murphy (13) and Erin Bognar (11) also were in double-figures, with Bognar adding 11 digs for her second double-double of the season. The Samford defense earned a season-high 57 digs, led by Chelsi Carter with a career-high 24. Samford held a decided advantage up front as well, with Murphy (1 solo, 3 assisted) and Taylor Palmer (1 solo, 4 assisted) out-blocking the entire Wofford team.
Wofford (5-10, 0-1 SoCon) gutted out a win in set one but faltered in the remainder of the match, hitting .200 as a team with 14 service errors. Amanda Ligouri led all players with 15 kills while Jessica Graham led their defense with 16 digs.
Wofford came out firing early in set one as five unanswered points helped them stretch out to a 9-2 lead, forcing Samford to take a timeout. Down by the same margin later, 11-4, a kill by Murphy started a huge comeback for the Bulldogs as a 7-3 run made it a three-point game, forcing Wofford into a timeout leading 14-11. Samford continued to fight after the break, eventually tying it up at 15-15 off a kill by Reesor. The score remained tight up until the very end, as a late surge by Wofford helped them take set one, 25-23.
After falling in a hard-fought opening set, the Bulldogs came in with the momentum in set two, jumping ahead 9-4 thanks in large part to four kills by Erin Bognar. Wofford remained resilient, fighting back within two points trailing 12-10, but Samford bounced right back with a 4-1 run to extend the lead to 16-11 as Wofford took a timeout. The deficit proved too large for the home team to overcome, as Samford cruised to a 25-18 win to even the match at 1-1.
Samford would fight to hold a slim lead early in set three, staying in front until Wofford scored three in a row to take an 11-10 lead. Later with Wofford up 18-14, back-to-back points by Samford gave the Bulldogs a chance to draw within one but a service error gave Wofford the point and possession, up 19-16 as Samford took a timeout. The Bulldogs weren’t down long as a 4-1 run, including two aces by Chelsi Carter, tied it at 20-20 and kills by Gabbi Greenwald and Reesor made it 22-20 as Wofford took a timeout. The Terriers would score one more point in the remainder of the set as Samford completed the comeback to win 25-21 and take a 2-1 match lead.
Momentum was in the Bulldogs’ favor early in set four, as Samford quickly built a seven-point lead, up 10-3 after scoring four unanswered points. Samford continued to roll, stretching it to a nine-point lead as Wofford took a timeout trailing 15-6. Up by 10 points, 21-11, five unanswered by Wofford cut the lead in half as the Bulldogs took a timeout up 21-16. Wofford would draw as close as three points but a Terrier service error ended it with Samford pulling out a tough 25-21 set victory to win the match, 3-1.
UNCG 3, The Citadel 1
CHARLESTON, S.C. – The UNCG volleyball team began its Southern Conference schedule on a positive note Friday night, winning a 3-1 (25-17, 35-37, 25-10, 25-16) decision over The Citadel inside McAlister Fieldhouse. The Spartans have now captured their league opener four-straight seasons.
The Blue and Gold put on an offensive show in the match as four UNCG players recorded double-doubles – including three Spartan freshmen. Freshman outside hitter Jessica Brezwyn racked up a career-high 18 kills and 16 digs for her first career double-double while also hitting .295 overall. Classmate and outside hitter Sydney Darden also set personal bests in kills and digs with 14 and 20. Senior middle hitter Olivia Humphries also got in on the double-double action, as did freshman setter Sara Hohman as Humphries tallied 12 kills and 11 digs and Hohman contributed a career-high 59 assists to go along with 13 digs.
Defensively, sophomore libero Katherine Santiago was all over the floor, picking up 28 digs for an impressive average of seven per set.
The Spartans produced their third-highest hitting mark of the season with a .324 performance. They also tallied 74 kills, 71 assists, 98 digs and 8.5 blocks. UNCG held The Citadel to low hitting percentages in the third and fourth set, limiting the home team to just .027 and .024 marks while hitting .459 and .316 itself.
The teams traded points for much of the beginning of the first set until UNCG established a 9-7 lead thanks to a block. The Citadel rallied to tie the set at 11 after a kill by Ise D’Angelo, but the Spartans put together a devastating 9-3 run which was capped by another UNCG block and made the score 20-14. The Blue and Gold kept the pressure on, allowing the Bulldogs just three more points and taking the stanza by a 25-17 margin.
UNCG jumped out to an 8-5 advantage in set two but The Citadel scored three-straight points to knot the score. The squads stayed close to each other until the Spartans crept ahead 23-21 after capturing two consecutive rallies. A kill by Harley gave the Blue and Gold set point at 24-22, but UNCG could not close it out. The Spartans wasted a plethora of set points going forward and it the inability to close it down came back to haunt UNCG in the end as the Bulldogs used a kill by Lauren Hurt and an attacking error by freshman outside hitter Jessica Brezwyn to steal the frame 37-35.
It was all Spartans in the third stanza as they raced to an 8-3 advantage and did not relent, recording 18 kills to win the frame 25-10. UNCG would score the first four points of the fourth frame and would extend the advantage to 10-2 when Darden put down a kill. The Citadel drew to within 13-8 on an attacking error by Darden, but a 7-2 run took the life out of the home side as the Spartans closed out the match with a 25-16 victory.
Georgia Southern 3, Elon 1STATESBORO, Ga. – Jamie DeRatt collected career highs of 23 kills and 19 digs to lead Georgia Southern to a 3-1 (25-20, 25-17, 25-27, 25-21) Southern Conference volleyball victory over Elon in the league opener for both teams.
DeRatt hit .291 on 55 swings and added four blocks and an ace for the Eagles (13-2, 1-0 SoCon). Crysten Curry posted 11 kills and eight blocks, while Katie Bange notched 11 kills and two blocks.
Nicole Jeschelnik finished with 11 kills and a career-high 20 digs, and Katalin Minnerly tallied 52 assists, 10 digs and four kills. Alexandra Beecher finished with a match-high 27 digs.
Megan Gravely led Elon (8-8, 0-1 SoCon) with 14 kills, and Ally Karle posted nine kills and five blocks. Kris Harris finished with nine kills, seven digs and three blocks.
The Eagles took a 2-0 lead in the match after hitting .409 in the second set with just two errors and 20 kills. Georgia Southern carried that into the third frame and built an 18-13 lead on a kill by Bange. Elon rallied, using an 8-3 run capped by a Harris kill, to tie the score 21-21. A Karle kill broke a 25-25 tie, and she followed that with a solo block to give the Phoenix a 27-25 victory.
Leading 7-5 in the fourth set, the Eagles used a 7-2 spurt, aided by two Curry kills, to open a 13-7 lead. The margin did not dip below three points until late in the set when an Eagle hitting error made the score 23-21. Georgia Southern responded with consecutive kills by Bange and Christina Vereb to end the match.
Davidson 3, Appalachian State 1BOONE, N.C. – The Davidson volleyball team opened its final season of SoCon action on a high note, taking three of four sets for a 3-1 triumph over in-state foe Appalachian State Friday evening at the Holmes Center. The ‘Cats took the match in set scores of 25-20, 28-26, 15-25, 25-20.
Caroline Brown collected a team-high 17 points with her ninth double-double of the season. Brown led the team with 15 kills and 19 digs, adding in a pair of block assists and a service ace as well. Tindall Sewell, Taylor Pisel and Rachel Earnhardt each had eight kills on the night, while Emily Franklin added seven and led the squad in hitting at .417. The Wildcats hit .155 as a team with 51 kills and 9.0 team blocks.
Mikayla Derochie had 41 assists, marking the eighth time this season she has recorded 40 or more assists in a match. She also contributed four kills, hitting .364, and four block assists to go along with 11 digs. Sewell, who hit .318, had a pair of aces and was the blocking leader with six block assists, while Franklin chipped in a pair of block assists to go along with a solo block.
Anastasia Owen dug a team-high 21 balls and led a quartet of Wildcats finishing in double-figure digs. Morgan Shannon finished just shy of her career-high with 15 digs to join Derochie, Owen and Brown in double figures.
Four Mountaineers finished with double digit kills, led by Lauren Gray’s 14 as App. State finished hitting .150. Megan Mahoney had a team-high 20 digs, while Paige Brown posted 40 assists. Dalton Tolliver had four solo blocks and five block assist to go with 11 digs.
A pair of aces from Sewell helped the Wildcats to a 9-3 lead to start set one, forcing ASU to a timeout. Brown had back-to-back kills then combined with Sewell for a block before Pisel slammed home a kill to stretch the lead to 14-6 in favor of the ‘Cats. Three more kills from Pisel put the Wildcats in position to close out the set at 23-15 but a 5-1 run by the Mountaineers would extend things a bit with Davidson on the brink up 24-20. Hannah Rau would close things out with a kill on a set from Derochie as the ‘Cats took set one 25-20 for the 1-0 lead.
App. State bounced back in set two, battling to a 12-7 lead on a Davidson miscue. The Mountaineers took their advantage to 18-12 before the Wildcats called a timeout to regroup. They came back to score five straight, cutting the App. State lead to three at 20-17. Another five in a row, capped by a kill from Earnhardt, tied the set at 22-22. The team traded points back and forth, knotting things once again at 26-26 before a Brown kill and an ASU error handed the set to the ‘Cats at 28-26 for a 2-0 advantage.
The Mountaineers took another lead to start the third set, but a pair of Earnhardt kills would keep the ‘Cats within one point at 8-7. The teams traded both services aces and service errors as ASU took a 21-15 advantage. Kat Ferrell and Mahoney each had a kill for the Mountaineers, who scored the last four points to take the set 25-15.
Davidson regrouped for the fourth set, capitalizing on four consecutive App. State errors to take a 7-1 advantage. The freshman duo of Franklin and Derochie combined for four kills as the Wildcats made it a 16-6 set, taking another point on an ASU error for a 17-7 lead and forcing App. State to call timeout. Sewell slammed down a pair to give Davidson a 20-9 lead, but the Mountaineers hung around to score five straight and force the Wildcats into a break. ASU scored three more in a row before a pair of kills from Brown ended the set and gave the ‘Cats the 25-20 set win for the 3-1 victory.