Furman 3, ETSU 0
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Behind a balanced offensive attack, Furman volleyball downed ETSU, 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-16) on Friday night in Alley Gym. With the win, the Paladins push their winning streak to six matches (12-4) and remain unbeaten in SoCon play (4-0). The loss drops ETSU to 8-12 on the season and 2-2 in SoCon play.
Annie Bierman led the Paladins offensively, with 12 kills, a career-high .550 hitting percentage, nine digs, and two service aces. Ashton Gregory added 12 kills, seven in set three, and a .500 hitting percentage, along with a team-high five blocks, three solo. Jo Wilks added her seventh double-double of the season with 38 assists and a team-high 11 digs, while Andrea Fisher added 11 kills and eight digs.
The teams traded points in set one, until ETSU used three-straight points to open up a 13-12 lead. The Paladins then used a 4-0 run of their own to take a 16-13 lead and force an ETSU timeout. The Buccaneers cut the lead to two at 17-15, but the Paladins continued to stretch the lead, using a 5-1 run to open up a 24-17 advantage. ETSU cut the lead to six at 24-18, but Amelia Bohlander's sixth first-set kill gave Furman the 25-18 set one win.
ETSU jumped out to a 4-1 lead in set two, before two-consecutive Furman points cut the Buccaneer lead to one at 4-3. The teams traded points until a 4-0 Furman run gave the Paladins 12-9 lead, forcing an ETSU timeout. Furman continued to stretch the set two lead, pushing it to five at 18-13. The Buccaneers cut the lead to two at 20-18 before the teams traded points and ETSU call its last timeout with Furman leading 23-20. The Buccaneers again cut the lead to two at 23-21, but an ETSU service error and an Annie Bierman kill gave Furman the 25-21 set two win, and a 2-0 lead in the match.
The teams again traded points in set three, before ETSU opened up a three-lead at 9-6, before Furman again used four-straight points to take a 10-9 lead. The Buccaneers responded with a 4-0 run of their own, before the Paladins bounced back with a 6-0 run to take a 16-13 lead. ETSU cut the lead to two at 16-14, before Furman again rattled off four-straight points to take a 20-14 lead. The teams traded points until, with the score at 21-16, Furman ended the game on a 4-0 run to take set three, 25-16, and the match, 3-0.
Furman is back in action on Wednesday, as the Paladins travel to Cullowhee, N.C. to face Western Carolina in a midweek SoCon match.
Samford 3, UNCG 1
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Samford University volleyball team improved to 5-0 in Southern Conference play and extended its win streak to seven after grinding out a 3-1 victory over UNCG on Friday, Oct. 10.
The Bulldogs (11-7, 5-0 SoCon) and the Spartans (10-8-, 2-3 SoCon) went back-and-forth in the first set until Samford took an 11 – 10 lead after back-to-back aces from senior libero Chelsi Carter.
That's when the Spartans came alive rallied for an 8-3 run to take an 18-14 lead in the first set.
SU didn't fold and weathered brunt of the UNCG rally to mount a comeback and win the set 26-24 on a solo block from redshirt freshman T.J. Russell.
Samford and UNCG continued to battle in the second set but the Bulldogs found a little separation and took a 10-7 lead after an Erika Pifer ace.
That little bit of separation is all that Samford needed as the team poured it on with a combination of service aces and blocks that left UNCG unable to respond with a counter.
The Spartans found an offensive rhythm in the third set and exploited a 6-1 run to take a 13-8 lead.
From there the lead of five was one that the Bulldogs were not able to overcome as the team dropped its first Southern Conference set since Chattanooga back on Sept. 26, 25-18.
The Bulldogs and the Spartans locked up again in the fourth set and UNCG held a 12-9 lead early on. Junior Emily Meitz and company stepped up to the challenge to rally for a 6-1 run to swing the lead into SU's favor 15-12.
UNCG battled back and eventually tied the set 23-23 but dropped the decision 25-23 in the set and the match after two offensive miscues.
Chattanooga 3, Wofford 1
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team began its first Southern Conference road trip with a 3-1 win over Wofford Friday night. The fourth away win of the season for UTC came after Chattanooga fell behind 1-0 early in the contest.
Sophomore Allie Davenport and redshirt freshman Emily Morrison each recorded double-digit kills, totaling 12 and 10, respectively. Morrison hit .333, helping the Mocs to a .230 total hitting percentage.
Chattanooga fell behind 1-0 after on game, falling 26-24 in the first set, but the Mocs stormed back in the following three frames 25-19, 25-20 and 25-22. After hitting just .139 with nine kills in the first, the Mocs hit .259 with 10 kills. Morrison added three kills to her total, including two in the first game, along with a solo block.
The Mocs hit a match-best .310 in the third set, tallying a five-point win. The UTC defense kept the Terriers to a .093 percentage in the set, including two blocks. The defense struck again in the final set, holding Wofford to a match-low .057 hitting percentage. Chattanooga tacked on three more blocks in the set, tying their match-best total from the first.
With nine blocks on the night, the Mocs out-blocked the Terriers by two. Including Morrison’s lone team solo block, 16 assisted blocks followed. Junior Lauren Gainer led the team with five assisted blocks.
Chattanooga improves to 3-2 in the SoCon with the win while Wofford falls to 2-2 in league play. Overall, Chattanooga is 10-10 with the Terriers at 9-11.