Samford 3, ETSU 2
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - It took five sets and two grueling hours for the Samford University volleyball team to put away East Tennessee State University 3-2 on Friday, Oct. 24, inside the Pete Hanna Center. Senior Michaela Reesor posted 22 kills on 46 attempts (.326) along with 10 digs to will the Bulldogs to a victory.
Samford willed its way to a 15-13 victory in the fifth set to put away a feisty ETSU squad. Reesor notched five of the teams 10 kills in the set to extend the Bulldogs win streak out to 11 games and remain undefeated in SoCon play.
The Bulldogs (15-7, 9-0 SoCon) started the match with complete control over the Buccaneers (11-14, 5-4 SoCon) and took the first set 25-17. SU blasted 17 kills and sported a .464 hitting percentage in the set while ETSU only managed put down six kills of their own.
Samford continued to run its offense effectively in the second set as Reesor notched seven kills of the teams 15 kills.
The Buccaneers turned the tide coming out of the intermission and while they faced a 2-0 deficit to the Bulldogs they didn't back down. ETSU rallied to take the first set outright 25-21; SU managed to tie the set five times but never held the lead.
ETSU continued to build on its momentum from the third set and SU battled hard but the Buccaneers were too much yet again as they took the set 25-18. The Bulldogs managed to tie the set at one point late 17-17 but after an ETSU timeout the Buccaneers rallied on an 8-1 to close out.
Sophomore Erin Bognar stepped up in a big way as she slammed down 18 kills (.325), a service ace, and five digs in the match. Sophomore Erika Pifer tallied 58 assists and senior libero Chelsi Carter zipped three more service aces to go along with a team-high 18 digs.
Junior Emily Meitz contributed 11 kills and a team-high four blocks in the match.
The Bulldogs are back in action Saturday, Oct. 25, at 2 p.m. again UNCG inside the Pete Hanna Center. The match will be available via live video stream on the SoCon Digital Network.
UNCG 3, Chattanooga 0
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG volleyball team put the pressure on Southern Conference third place Chattanooga right from the start Friday evening and did not let up as the Spartans rolled to a 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-15) win inside Maclellan Gym.
UNCG improves to 13-9 overall and 5-4 in conference play while the Mocs drop to 12-12 and 5-4. The Spartans have now won three of the last four meetings and two straight in Chattanooga.
The Blue and Gold was on fire offensively, ending the match with a .388 (40k/7e/85ta) hitting mark while limiting UTC to .116 (31k/20e/95ta) efficiency. UNCG also out-dug the Mocs 39-33 and had the better of the blocking 8.0-1.0. The Spartans made things tough on the home side with their serving, putting Chattanooga out of system offensively for a majority of the match.
Redshirt junior middle hitter Julia Westerbur continued her fine offensive week, picking up 10 kills on 15 attempts with no errors to end up at .667. Freshman outside hitter Ashley Muench also hit for a high percentage, putting down eight kills on 19 swings with just one error for a .368 mark. Sophomore setter Sara Hohman chipped in with 30 assists, six digs, five kills and three blocks. Defensively, junior libero Katherine Santiago finished with a match-high 11 digs.
UNCG jumped out to a 5-2 advantage in the first set after an attacking error by Allie Davenport. The Spartans led by as much as 9-5 before UTC rallied to tie the set at 10 via a Nicole Sumida kill. UNCG would recover, scoring four straight to establish some breathing room before extending the cushion to 16-11 and forcing a Moc timeout. Chattanooga took another timeout trailing the Spartans 19-13 but UNCG would not let the Mocs back in as the Blue and Gold clinched the set 25-18.
Chattanooga scored the first two points of the second stanza and led 5-2 before the Spartans rallied to knot the score at seven. With the teams deadlocked at 10, two Moc errors and block by Westerbur gave UNCG a 13-10 edge. Chattanooga called for timeout at that point but UNCG was not impressed, pushing the lead out to 18-12 after a kill by senior middle hitter Kelsey Sidney. That would do it for the home team in the frame as the Spartans rolled to a 25-16 margin of victory to head into intermission up two sets to none.
Sophomore outside hitter Jessica Brezwyn began the third set with a kill, giving UNCG a lead it would not relinquish the rest of the way. Chattanooga called for timeout with the Spartans leading 10-5 and 16-9 but the Mocs would score just six more points the rest of the evening. UNCG fittingly ended the match on a kill by Westerbur, winning the third set 25-15 and completing the sweep.
The Spartans look to end the weekend on another high note Saturday, facing off against the league’s lone unbeaten team Samford. First serve inside the Pete Hanna Center is scheduled for 3 p.m.
Furman 3, Mercer 1
MACON, Ga. – Furman volleyball grabbed its third Southern Conference road win of 2014 on Friday night, defeating SoCon newcomer Mercer, 3-1 (25-18, 23-25, 25-16, 25-6). Furman hit .375 as a team, while holding the Bears to just a .176 hitting percentage. The win moves the Paladins to 14-6 overall and 7-2 in SoCon play, while the loss drops the Bears’ record to 6-16 overall and 2-7 in conference.
Furman was paced by sophomore Annie Bierman, who tied a season-high with 18 kills and recorded a .386 hitting percentage. The Hamilton, Ohio, native also added 13 digs for her 11th double-double of the year. Taina Joseph put down a career-high 12 kills and a .625 hitting percentage, as well as a team-high six blocks, while freshman Kasey Hohlen also set a career-high in kills (11) and hitting percentage (.769). Ashton Gregory added 11 kills, a .318 hitting percentage and four blocks. Junior Jo Wilks dished out 52 assists and freshman libero Meg DeMaar tallied 10 digs and a team-high three aces.
The Paladins jumped out to an early 5-3 lead in set one, before the teams traded points and Mercer eventually tied the score at 10 and again at 11. Then, with the score tied at 12, the Paladins used a 9-3 run to open up a 21-15 lead. The teams then traded points before an Ashton Gregory kill and a Mercer attack error gave Furman the 25-18 set one win.
Furman opened up a 12-4 lead in set two, forcing an early Mercer timeout. The Bears then cut the Paladin lead to seven at 15-8, then used a 4-0 run to cut the lead to three at 15-12 and force a Furman timeout. Out of the timeout, the Paladins pushed the lead to five at 17-12, but the Bears’ responded with a 3-0 run to cut the lead to two at 17-15. The teams then traded points until Mercer tied the match at 20, then again at 21. A 2-0 run gave the Bears a 23-21 lead, but the Paladins used a Kasey Hohlen kill and a Mercer error to tie the match at 23. Another 2-0 Mercer run gave the Bears a 25-23 set two win to tie the match at one.
The Paladins again opened up an early 6-3 lead in set three, before the teams traded points and Mercer cut the lead to one at 8-7. The Paladins then used a 3-0 run to stretch the lead to four at 11-7. The teams again traded points until Furman used another 3-0 run to push its lead to 16-11. Mercer cut the Furman lead to three at 17-14 before the Paladins used two-straight points to push the lead back to five and force a Bears’ timeout. Out of the timeout, Furman used a 5-1 run to open up a 24-15 lead, eventually taking set three 25-16 for a 2-1 lead in the match.
The teams traded points in set four before Furman used a 6-0 run to take a 12-3 lead over the Bears. After a Mercer kill, the Paladins then used a 12-0 run, behind the serving of Jo Wilks, to take a 24-4 lead and put the match out of reach. A Kasey Hohlen kill finished it off for the Paladins, who took set four, 25-6 and the match, 3-1.
The Paladins are back in action tomorrow as they face The Citadel at 3:00 pm in Charleston.
Western Carolina 3, The Citadel 0
CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Catamounts of the Western Carolina volleyball team steamrolled through Charleston, S.C., Friday evening as they downed The Citadel in a lop-sided 3-0 victory. WCU won 25-12, 25-16 and 25-12 in a match that lasted just over an hour. Western Carolina extended its conference win streak to six matches which matches WCU's six-match winning streak in 2002.
Senior Jordan Timmermann tallied a match-high 12 kills to go along with two service aces and eight digs. Fellow senior Caitlin Piechota added nine kills and six digs while classmate Addy George led the team with six blocks including five solo stops to go along with five kills.
Freshman Jo-Leigh Vervelde turned in a double-double with 11 assists, 12 digs, three kills and one block. Junior setter Cristina Nazario led the team with 16 assists while junior libero Elyssa Mulheron picked up 14 digs.
The Catamounts had their best hitting performance of the season with 37 kills and four errors on 84 swings. The .393 team attack percentage was a season-high and marked only the second .300-plus hitting performance of the season for the Catamounts. For the first time all season the Catamounts made it through a match without having an attack blocked.
WCU's defense held the Bulldogs to a .037 attack percentage while also picking up eight blocks. The Citadel had 25 attack errors to go along with five service errors and four ball-handling errors.
Western Carolina never trailed in the first and third sets. In the second set, The Citadel held the early advantage but an 11-4 run midway through the set gave the Catamounts a lead they would never relinquish.
The victory improves WCU's record to 13-11 overall and 6-4 in conference play. The Citadel fell to 6-19 overall and 0-10 in league play.
The Bulldogs were led by Ise d'Angelo who turned in seven kills and five digs. Megan Sowell and Bailey Kernodle each turned in five kills.
The Catamounts return to action tomorrow, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. as they travel to Wofford College for a Southern Conference match. The Terriers are 10-15 overall and 2-6 in SoCon play. The match will be the first between the Catamounts and Terriers this season.