ETSU 3, Middle Tennessee State 1
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – On a night when the ETSU volleyball team got off to a slow start, the Bucs made sure to finish with authority.
After dropping the first set, the Blue and Gold never trailed for the remainder of the match as ETSU rallied for a 3-1 win (20-25, 25-14, 25-14, 25-15) over MTSU on Tuesday night inside Brooks Gym.
Senior Meredith Hardy and junior Khadijah Wiley combined for 27 kills and nine blocks, while senior Ivey Rice hit a blistering .450 (9-0-20) to record her 1,000th career kill. Hardy, who was named Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Month earlier on Tuesday, tallied a match-high 18 kills and six blocks, and Wiley hit .467 (9-2-15) and totaled three blocks. In addition to the strong offensive numbers, sophomore Renzey Rice and senior Katie Muey accounted for seven of the Bucs’ 10 service aces. Rice finished with a career-high four aces and added four digs, while Muey totaled three aces and led all players with 28 digs. Freshman Rylee Milhorn pitched in with 12 digs, to go with eight kills and sophomore Kristen Favre had 42 of ETSU’s 48 assists.
As a team, the Bucs hit a season-best .271 (53-17-133) and tied a season high with their 10 service aces.
With the victory, ETSU extended its win streak to four straight, while also sweeping its three-match homestand and improved to 8-11 on the year. MTSU fell to 6-12 with the setback.
Despite seeing the Blue Raiders win five of the final seven points of the first set to take the opener, 25-20, ETSU responded and took care of business.
In the second set, the Blue and Gold jumped out to a quick 5-2 start and quickly pushed their lead into double figures when Hardy and Bethany Gesell combined for a block, making it a 17-7 score. From there, ETSU’s lead hovered around the 10-point threshold and claimed the set when an attack error by Miri Shade gave the Bucs a 25-14 win. Wiley was a perfect 4-for-4 with her attack attempts in the stanza, while Rice was 3-for-5 with zero errors.
Things continued to heat up after intermission as the Blue and Gold hit an impressive .484 (15-0-31) and went ahead 2-1 in the match following another 25-14 win. Again, ETSU got off to an explosive start, as the Bucs won five of the first seven points and used Renzey Rice’s strong serving to extend their lead to nine, 15-6. With ETSU ahead, 11-6, Rice served the Bucs to five straight points with the sophomore defensive specialist picking up three service aces during the surge. MTSU never had an answer for ETSU’s run as the Blue and Gold eventually led by 12, 20-8, when Hardy and Favre stuffed Maya Miller at the net. Like Wiley did in the second, Hardy followed suit in the third as she finished 4-of-4 in attack attempts in the third, while ETSU registered four of its 10 aces in the frame.
The same theme carried over to the fourth set as the Bucs won the first seven points behind Muey’s pinpoint serving – and after MTSU inched within three (9-6) – ETSU mounted a 12-5 run to go up 22-11. Six different Buccaneers earned points during the surge and Rice put the finishing touches on the night when Favre found the senior outside hitter for the kill to end the match. Six of Hardy’s 18 kills came in the fourth set, while Rice added four of her own. Muey’s three aces also occurred in the fourth and Milhorn bagged seven digs in the stanza.
MTSU was led by Chelsea Ross’ 18-kill effort and Ailime de Freitas totaled a double-double (18 assists/10 digs).
Tuesday night was “Middle School Recognition Night” and the ETSU volleyball team held a free postgame clinic following the match.
The Bucs hit the road for a critical SoCon weekend beginning Friday night at Furman. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
UNCG 3, Elon 0
GREENSBORO, N.C. – After winning a close first set Tuesday evening, the UNCG volleyball team eventually pulled away from Elon to post a 3-0 (25-23, 25-13, 25-19) victory over its former Southern Conference rival inside Fleming Gymnasium. The win puts a lid on the Spartans’ non-conference record at 8-5.
The Spartans improved to 10-7 with the victory, also improving to 4-0 at home, while Elon drops to 5-15 with its fifth-straight setback. UNCG has not dropped a set in four home matches this season.
The Blue and Gold hit just .159 in the first frame but rebounded to fire at .345 and .471 clips in the final two sets to end up at .308 (46k/13e/107ta). Conversely, a .000 performance in the middle stanza left the Phoenix at .139 (31k/16e/108ta) for the match. The Spartans also accrued more aces (6-3) and digs (57-44) while Elon edged the home team in the blocking column (7.0-6.0). The Phoenix came into the match averaging well over two blocks per set.
Sophomore outside hitter Jessica Brezwyn turned in her fifth double-double of the season, tallying 10 kills and 14 digs. Senior middle hitter Kelsey Sidney also reached double figures in kills at 10. Defensively, junior libero Katherine Santiago racked up 16 digs.
Also notching a double-double, her ninth of the campaign, was sophomore setter Sara Hohman who accounted for 35 assists and 10 digs. She added four kills on seven attempts with no errors to hit .571.
The evening began on the right note for UNCG as Sidney and redshirt junior middle hitter Julia Westerbur teamed up for a block on the first rally of the contest. The Spartans fell behind 4-1 but rallied to tie it at four on a service ace by Brezwyn. The Blue and Gold called for timeout trailing 6-4, but UNCG fell further behind as a service error by Hohman extended the Phoenix lead to 14-9.
Elon led by as much as 15-10 before the Spartans started to make a comeback. A kill from Brezwyn jumpstarted a 4-0 run that pulled UNCG within 15-14. It was a fight until the end as the teams tied each other at 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23 points before kills by senior middle hitter Vicky Harley and freshman outside hitter Ashley Muench sealed the set for the Blue and Gold 25-23.
UNCG had no such trouble in the second stanza, ringing up leads of 7-2 and 12-3 and forcing Elon to burn both of its timeouts. An attacking error by Sydney Busa made the score 21-6 in favor of the Spartans before the Blue and Gold closed it out 25-13 to head into intermission with a 2-0 advantage.
The third set saw the sides struggle to seize control all the way to the middle of the frame. With the score knotted at 16, a kill by Harley and another attacking error from Busa pushed UNCG ahead 18-16 and prompted a timeout by the Phoenix. The Spartans would then score three of the next four points to put the set and match away. Elon called its last timeout trailing 21-17 but the damage was already done. A kill by Sidney clinched the sweep for the Blue and Gold by a 25-19 margin.
UNCG continues its five-match homestand and resumes SoCon play this weekend, welcoming Samford to Fleming Gymnasium. First serve is slated for 7 p.m.
The Citadel 3, Savannah State 0
CHARLESTON, S.C. - A match-high nine kills by Bailey Kernodle led The Citadel's to its first three-game sweep of the season as the Bulldogs downed Savannah State (25-16, 25-18, 25-14) in their Dig Pink match on Tuesday evening.
The Citadel (6-13) snapped its season-long five-match losing streak behind a team effort that included 34 kills and 14 assisted blocks. Joining Kernodle among the individual offensive leaders were Dominique Williams (six kills) and Ise d'Angelo (five). On defense The Citadel was anchored by the play of Lauren Hurt (five assisted blocks) and Samantha Espy (12 digs).
Savannah State (4-16) was unable to get in sync offensively, committing 25 errors in 93 total attacks. The duo of Zariya Thomas and Justice Dilworth led the Tigers with six kills apiece. The bright spot on defense was Alexis Washington, who posted 17 digs.
The Citadel broke a 4-all tie early in the first set, following a kill by d'Angelo, and outscored the Tigers 15-3 during a run that was highlighted by eight kills. After Savannah State burned its second timeout, trailing 19-8, the Bulldogs capitalized on timely kills by d'Angelo, Williams and Megan Sowell down the stretch to complete the nine-point win.
The Citadel raced out to an early 10-2 lead in the second set behind the service games of Espy, Logan Smith and Gracie Barnes. Those servers forced Savannah State to commit eight errors in the first 12 points. The Dogs dominated throughout, allowing the lead to slip to less than seven points only twice over the remainder of the game.
Much like the second set, The Citadel opened up an early lead on the Tigers, scoring 11 of the game's first 17 points. A brief run by Savannah State trimmed the deficit to four, but timely kills by Moriah Smith, Kernodle and Williams along with a pair of service aces gave the Bulldogs their second win at McAlister Field House this season.
The Citadel returns to SoCon action this weekend when it heads to the Tar Heel State to face UNCG (Friday, 7 p.m.) and Western Carolina (Saturday, 2 p.m.).