Samford 3, Wofford 0
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Samford University volleyball team rolled its way to a 3-0 victory over Wofford College to remain unblemished in Southern Conference play. The Bulldogs tallied 11 total team blocks en route to the victory.
Samford (11-7, 5-0 SoCon) junior Emily Meitz and redshirt freshman T. J. Russell spearheaded an 8-2 run to kick-start the Bulldogs offense in the first set but stalled out shortly afterwards. Wofford (9-11, 2-3, SoCon) took advantage and responded to rally their way to a 14-11 lead.
From there WC and SU battled it out all the way to 22-22 before Samford put the set away with three-straight points.
Sophmore Erin Bognar led the late surge and finished the set with five kills and a block assist.
After a quiet first set senior Michaela Reesor came alive for the Bulldogs and posted six kills to lead SU to a comfortable 25-17 win. That victory gave Samford a 2-0 lead going into the intermission.
Samford also utilized four team blocks to secure the second set decision.
It was all SU in the third set as the Bulldogs continued to improve its blocking at the net and it forced WC to alter the Terriers attack strategy in a convincing 25-15 win.
Reesor and Bognar paced the offensive attack with 10 kills a piece while Russell and sophomore Gabbi Greenwald notched six and five blocks respectively.
Senior Chelsi Carter continued to use her serve as a weapon as she added two more service aces to her season tally along with 15 digs in the match.
The Bulldogs continue SoCon play on the road next weekend as the team travels to The Citadel on Friday, Oct. 17, and Furman University on Saturday, Oct. 18.
Western Carolina 3, ETSU 2
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - The Western Carolina volleyball team earned its first Southern Conference victory of the season Saturday afternoon but it was not easy as the Buccaneers of East Tennessee State University gave the Catamounts all they could handle in a five set extravaganza. The Catamounts won the first two set and looked to be on their way to victory but the Buccaneers had other plans as they took the third and fourth sets to force a decisive fifth set. WCU trailed early in the fifth set but a 12-5 run capped off the match giving the Catamounts their third five set victory of the season.
The Catamounts were led by a pair of seniors as Jordan Timmermann and Caitlin Piechota combined for 41 of WCU's 58 kills. Timmermann had 21 kills, 19 digs, two service aces and a solo block. Piechota added 20 kills, 27 digs, two service aces and three blocks.
Freshman Jo-Leigh Vervelde had another solid game picking up seven kills, 27 assists, 21 digs and two blocks. Junior setter Cristina Nazario added 21 assists, 13 digs and a block. Senior Addy George led all blockers with nine stops including two solo. Junior libero Elyssa Mulheron added 17 digs to the effort while senior right-side Brandi Anderson had five kills and six blocks.
WCU won the opening two sets 25-20 and 25-15 before ETSU took the third and fourth sets 25-20 and 32-30. The final set went to the Catamounts 15-11.
Western Carolina improves to 8-11 overall and 1-4 in SoCon play while the Buccaneers fall to 8-13 overall and 2-3 in conference play.
The first set was a see-saw battle until Western Carolina broke a 16-16 tie and won nine of the final 13 points to take the opener, 25-20. Neither team led by more than two points prior to the Catamounts' late run, but with the score knotted at 16, Western Carolina won two straight scores and never turned back from there. The Bucs pulled within a point at 21-20, but Western Carolina won the final four points to complete the win.
Western Carolina led wire-to-wire in the second and captured a 10-point win, 25-15, to take a 2-0 lead in the match. The Catamounts won the first three points and eventually pushed their lead into double-digits when a service ace put Western Carolina ahead, 15-5. ETSU couldn't dig itself out of the deep hole and went into intermission down two sets.
In the third, the Bucs jumped out to a fast start by winning seven of the first 10 points and cruised to the five-point win, 25-20. After leading 7-3, ETSU extended its advantage to five, 12-7, forcing Western Carolina to call a timeout following one of nine kills by Khadijah Wiley. The Catamounts had one last spurt in them as Western Carolina inched within a point (12-11), but the Bucs used a 9-3 run to take a seven-point lead, 21-14. The surge helped push ETSU over the top as the Bucs secured the victory.
The fourth set was a marathon as it featured 12 ties and four lead changes, but after battling back from a four-point deficit and dodging four match points, the Bucs won the final three scores to capture the 32-30 comeback victory. After trailing 18-14 late in the frame, the Bucs were forced to call timeout to regroup. Following the timeout, ETSU slowly chipped away at its deficit and eventually tied it at 24. From there, the closing stages of the set consisted of five ties and three lead changes.
In the fifth set, ETSU controlled the tempo early as the Bucs led 7-4, but Western Carolina didn't fold as the Catamounts rattled off three unanswered points to even the set at seven. The Bucs managed to go up 8-7, but the Catamounts won eight of the final 11 points to hang on for the win.
ETSU was led by Meredith Hardy and Ivey Rice. Hardy had 21 kills and eight blocks while Rice had 20 kills and eight digs.
The Catamounts will not have much time to celebrate as they return to action tomorrow, Oct. 12 at 2 p.m. WCU will host The Citadel inside the Ramsey Center. All fans are encouraged to wear pink in support of Dig Pink.
Chattanooga 3, Mercer 1
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team claimed its fourth consecutive Southern Conference win Saturday afternoon over Mercer 3-1, pushing its league record to 4-2. It is the first time since 2012 the Mocs have won four matches in a row. The win comes on the heels of a 3-1 come-from-behind win over Wofford the night before.
Chattanooga took the first set 25-20 before falling by the same score in the second. A 25-23 win in the third put UTC back on top, and a marathon fourth eventually saw the Mocs prevail 30-28 in extra points.
Sophomore Allie Davenport followed up her 12-kill performance at Wofford with 17 kills against the Bears, leading UTC in the category. The outside hitter hit .300 while freshman Eden Murray paced the team with a .667 hitting percentage on nine attacks.
The Mocs defense out-blocked Mercer 11.0-6.0m led by junior Lauren Gainer. The middle blocker totaled six block assists with two solo blocks. Sophomore Nicole Sumida followed up with four solo blocks and three assisted blocks. Davenport and Catherine Chason each recorded double-digit digs at 13 and 16, respectively.
Chattanooga hitters dominated the first set, hitting a match-best .464 in the frame. Davenport and Julimar Alvarado each recorded five kills each, while three more Mocs tallied kills. Sophomore Kristy Wieser matched the set-leaders with five kills of her own in the second set. Five kills from Sumida in the third steered Chattanooga to a two-point victory in the stanza, but a set-best six kills in the fourth from Davenport proved to be key to claiming the extra-point contest.
It looked as though the Mocs were in trouble in the late minutes of the fourth, running out of substitutions near the 20-point mark, but the six-person rotation of Davenport, Murray, Gainer, Chason, Anne Bachmann and Brianna Guzinski pulled together and hung on for the win. Tied 28-28, Davenport’s sixth kill of the set and a service ace from Bachmann sealed the deal.
Chattanooga is back on the road next weekend as it travels to Furman and The Citadel to continue the SoCon schedule. It will be the season’s first meeting against Furman while UTC is 1-0 this year against the Bulldogs.
UNCG 3, The Citadel 0
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG volleyball team hit a season-high .404 Saturday evening in a 3-0 (25-17, 25-15, 25-20) sweep of The Citadel in a Southern Conference match inside Fleming Gymnasium. The Spartans improve to 11-8 overall and 3-3 in conference action while the Bulldogs drop to 6-14 and 0-5.
The victory lifted UNCG’s home record to 5-1 as the Spartans have now recorded five sweeps in the friendly confines.
The Blue and Gold was very low error in the match, racking up 50 kills on 94 attempts with just 12 miscues. Conversely, The Citadel notched 35 kills on 99 swings with 19 errors to finish at .162. UNCG also held the upper hand in assists (49-35) and digs (42-29) while the Bulldogs had the better of the blocking, 5.0-2.0.
Senior middle hitter Kelsey Sidney paced the offensive efforts for the Spartans with a match-high 12 kills. She made just one error to finish with a .524 hitting mark. Sophomore outside hitter Jessica Brezwyn and senior middle hitter Vicky Harley checked in with 10 kills apiece while redshirt junior middle hitter Julia Westerbur was error free with eight kills on 11 attempts and no errors (.727). In the back row, junior libero Katherine Santiago picked up a match-best 15 digs.
UNCG used four kills to build a 5-1 lead in the first set. A service ace by Amanda Rudnik pulled The Citadel within 7-5 but the Spartans settled down, scoring seven of the next nine points to push in front 14-7. After a Bulldog timeout, an attacking error by freshman outside hitter Ashley Muench made the score 16-13. UNCG would go on to seal the set with a 5-0 run which led to a 25-17 margin of victory.
The Blue and Gold raced out to a 7-2 advantage in the second stanza, forcing The Citadel to call for timeout. A kill by Dominique Williams helped the Bulldogs come within 12-8, but consecutive kills by Westerbur and Brezwyn put an end to The Citadel’s momentum. UNCG allowed the visitors just five more points the rest of the frame, taking it 25-15 for a 2-0 intermission lead.
The third set was a battle throughout with the Bulldogs jumping out to a 7-3 lead before the Spartans eventually tied it at 10. UNCG was forced to burn a timeout when a kill by Bailey Kernodle afforded The Citadel a 17-15 edge. The Blue and Gold regrouped out of the break, netting four-straight points to turn the deficit into a two-point advantage. UNCG capitalized from there, going on a 3-1 run to take a 22-18 lead. The Spartans reached match point at 24-20 and Muench ended it with a kill off a diving Bulldog player.
UNCG returns to action in a week, hosting Wofford Saturday, Oct. 18, at 7 p.m. The match will serve as the Blue and Gold’s Fight Like a Spartan contest as the team helps raise breast cancer awareness.