Samford 3, Georgia State 0
Samford 3, Jacksonville State 0
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University volleyball team opened the 2014 season in exciting fashion as they picked up two quality wins over Georgia State University and Jacksonville State University on the first day of the Samford-UAB Volleyball Challenge at the Pete Hanna Center on Friday, August 29.
The Samford offense acted like a smooth running machine thanks in part to the play of sophomore Erika Pifer. The DeLand, Florida native picked up 57 assists through the two matches with 43 coming in the second contest against JSU.
SU hit the .239 mark in the hitting percentage category against Georgia State but vastly improved in the second match against Jacksonville State as the team tallied a .391 hitting percentage. Senior Michaela Reesor led the way individually with 18 kills on 29 total attacks (.586) against the Gamecocks.
The Bulldogs opened competition and took the first two sets against the Panthers in convincing fashion as they cruised to a 25-13 and 25-12 decision.
The GSU responded in the third set and gave SU a fight but Samford rallied to take the set and the match on a 25-20 win.
Sophomore Erin Bognar paced the SU offense with seven kills in the match while senior libero Chelsi Carter notched 10 digs.
In match two of the day the Bulldogs Reesor came alive as the Caledon, Ontario, Canada posted 18 kills. Bognar followed up her offensive performance from match one with a 10 kill effort.
Defensively both Carter and senior Selina Shirmer picked up 12 digs each that allowed Pifer to make multiple option passes.
SU took the first set in a back-and-forth affair 25-22 then cruised to a 25-7 decision before heading into intermission.
Jacksonville State put the pressure on in the third set and held the lead for a majority of the time before the Bulldogs rallied to close out the match 25-22.
Samford returns to action on Saturday, August 30, against No. 16 Michigan State University on the last day of the Samford - UAB Volleyball Challenge inside the Pete Hanna Center located on the campus of Samford University.
ETSU 3, Morgan State 0
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Six Buccaneer players had multiple kills, while setters Jamie Rutledge and Kristen Favre both recorded double-digit assists, as the ETSU volleyball team picked up a season-opening sweep (25-14, 25-20, 25-20) over Morgan State on Friday morning at the Charlotte Invitational.
Seniors Bethany Gesell and Ivey Rice led the attack for the Blue and Gold as they both registered eight kills each, while fellow senior Meredith Hardy was nearly flawless in the middle. Hardy hit .600 (6-0-10) and finished with seven blocks as the Blue and Gold picked up their first season-opening sweep since defeating Campbell in straight sets exactly 11 years ago today. With her seven blocks, Hardy has now recorded at least one in 94 straight matches.
Defensively, the Bucs out-blocked the Lady Bears, 9.5-1.0, while Rice added four of her own. Senior Katie Muey led all players with a match-high 15 digs and freshman local product Rylee Milhorn tallied three kills, 12 digs, an ace and one block in her collegiate debut.
The early stages of each set were tightly contested, but once the Bucs got things rolling Morgan State had no answer for the Blue and Gold.
In the first set, both teams traded scores until ETSU used a 17-4 surge to turn a 4-all tie into a 13-point lead, 21-8. The Bucs had three of their six service aces during the run as Muey picked up two and Milhorn added the other, while Rice, Gesell, Milhorn and Jessica Schafer all added kills. ETSU’s lead remained in double figures for the rest of the set as the Bucs secured the 11-point win. Rice totaled three of her kills in the opener, while junior Khadijah Wiley slammed home two of her five kills in the first set.
The theme continued in the second as the Bucs broke play open with a 7-0 run and never trailed again en route to taking a commanding 2-0 match lead with a 25-20 victory. With the score knotted at six, the Blue and Gold opened a 13-6 advantage following their run and held off a late rally by Morgan State. The Lady Bears clipped their deficit down to two, 17-15, but the Buccaneers didn’t budge and ETSU kept its composure down the stretch run as Favre found Gesell for the set-clinching kill. The High Point, N.C. native fueled the offensive attack in the second as Gesell ended with five kills, while the Bucs posted their highest attack percentage in the frame as well at .276 (12-5-29).
The third set saw five ties in the stanza, but ETSU never trailed as the Blue and Gold capped off the match with another 25-20 win. Following the fifth and final tie at 11-all, the Bucs mounted another 7-0 spurt to take control as ETSU led, 18-11, following a kill by Gesell. Again, the Lady Bears made one final run as they pulled within two, 22-20, but ETSU forced Morgan State into three consecutive attack errors resulting in the final points of the match for the Blue and Gold. Hardy exploded in the third as she hit .800 (4-0-5) and Milhorn had nine of her 12 digs in the final frame.
As a team, the Bucs won every statistical category as ETSU hit .244 (33-11-90), while finishing with six service aces, 32 assists, 50 digs, and 9.5 blocks. Meanwhile, ETSU held Morgan State to a .065 clip (30-23-108) and the Lady Bears ended with two aces, 29 assists, 42 digs and one block.
Sacramento State 3, ETSU 1
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The ETSU volleyball team was unable to make it a clean sweep on day one of the Charlotte Invitational.
After opening the season with a win over Morgan State in straight sets earlier Friday morning, the Bucs couldn’t keep their positive momentum going later in the day as Sacramento State defeated the Blue and Gold, 3-1 (10-25, 21-25, 25-21, 13-25), inside Halton Arena.
Miscues and Sacramento State’s defense haunted ETSU (1-1) from the get-go. The Bucs committed 27 attack errors, six service errors, three blocking errors and one ball handling error for the match. In the end, the Bucs only hit .075 (39-27-160), while Sacramento State’s back line caused fits for the Blue and Gold. The Hornets finished the match plus-23 in digs, 81-58, as Sacramento State (1-1) had four players reach double figures in the statistical category.
The Bucs were led by junior Khadijah Wiley as she recorded 12 kills and five blocks, while senior Ivey Rice pitched in with 10 kills, six digs and three blocks. Fellow senior Katie Muey finished with a career-high 24 digs.
Sacramento State got off to a fast start as they never trailed in the opening set and pulled away, 25-10. The Bucs couldn’t get anything going offensively as the Blue and Gold hit -.088 (6-9-34) in the opener, compared to the Hornets’ .259 clip (9-2-27).
In the second, ETSU fell behind early as the Hornets won the first four points of the frame, but the Bucs finally grabbed their first lead of the match when Jamie Rutledge found Meredith Hardy for a kill, making it a 9-8 score. Again, ETSU was clinging to a one-point lead later in the match, 18-17, but Sacramento State used an 8-3 run to win its second straight set, 25-21.
The third set went back-and-forth as the teams combined for nine ties and four lead changes, but with the Bucs trailing 15-13 midway through, ETSU stepped up and closed out play on a 12-6 run to take the frame, 25-21. The surge was ignited by consecutive kills from sophomore Briana Allmon and Wiley provided two key kills late in the set to secure the four-point win.
Unfortunately, the Bucs were unable to build off their third-set win as the Hornets led wire-to-wire in the fourth and closed out the match with a convincing 25-13 win.
Kennedy Kurtz and Morgan Stanley finished with double-doubles for Sacramento State. Kurtz finished with 42 assists and 17 digs, while Stanley added 13 kills and 13 digs. Sloan Lovett tied a match high with 13 kills and Lexie Skalbeck led the Hornets with 20 digs.
The Bucs wrap up play at the Charlotte Invitational on Saturday as ETSU takes on the host 49ers at noon inside Halton Arena.
High Point 3, Furman 2
DURHAM, N.C. – After falling behind 2 sets to none, Furman volleyball clawed back to force a fifth set before dropping their season opener to High Point, 3-2 (20-25, 21-25, 25-21, 25-22, 11-15) on Friday morning in the first game of the Duke Invitational in Durham, N.C. The Panthers out-hit the Paladins .241-.167 and High Point's 11 blocks to Furman’s seven were the difference in the match.
Sophomore Ashton Gregory picked up right where she left off as the SoCon 2013 Freshman of the Year, turning in 17 kills, a .324 hitting percentage and a team-high six blocks. Annie Bierman recorded the first double-double of the season, tallying 14 kills and 14 digs. Jo Wilks dished out 44 assists and freshman Meg DeMaar amassed 22 digs in her first collegiate game.
Chelsea Davis led High Point offensively with 19 kills and Camryn Freiberg turned in 10 blocks. Wavie Chin tallied a season high 25 digs.
The teams traded runs in set one, before Furman called their first timeout after High Point grabbed a 14-8 lead. A kill from Annie Bierman out of the timeout cut the lead to 14-9, but the Panthers then used a 6-3 run to push their lead to 20-12 and force another Furman timeout. The Paladins then used a 8-3 run of their own to cut the HPU lead to 23-20, but the Panthers came out of their own timeout with two-straight points to take set one, 25-20.
It was Furman who took the early 11-7 lead in set two, but after a High Point timeout, the teams traded points until Furman called a timeout of their own with the scored tied at 16. The panthers then used an 8-1 run to take a 23-17 lead. Furman used another late-set run to cut the lead to 24-21, but the Panthers took set two, 25-21, to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Furman got off to a blazing start in set four, jumping out to a 6-0 lead. The Paladins continued to keep their foot on the gas, stretching the lead to 14-8, forcing High Point’s second TO of the set. Then, with Furman leading 17-10, High Point used a 7-0 run to tied the match at 17. The teams traded points before Furman closed out the set on a 6-2 run to take set three, 25-21.
Set four was back and forth from the first sere, with the teams trading points until Furman took a 14-10 lead, forcing a High Point timeout. The teams continued to trade points until High Point was able to cut the Paladins lead to three at 20-17. High Point inched closer to Furman’s lead at 23-22, but a kill by Annie Bierman and a service ace for Jo Wilks won set three for Furman, 25-23, to force a deciding fifth set.
The teams traded points in set five, until High Point grabbed a 13-10 lead. A block by Kasey Hohlen and Casey Wells pulled the Paladins to within two at 13-11, but the Panthers finished off the match with a 15-11 set five victory, to win the opener, 3-2.
Furman 3, North Florida 1
DURHAM, N.C. – Three players registered double-digit kills and the Paladins hit .339 as a team en route to a 3-1 (20-25, 25-18, 25-15, 25-14) victory over North Florida in Furman’s second game of the Duke Invitational on Friday. Furman held North Florida to a .146 hitting percentage and out-blocked the Ospreys, 10-6.
Andrea Fisher led the Paladins offensively, registering 12 kills and a .423 hitting percentage. Ashton Gregory recorded double-digit kills for the second time, putting down 10 kills in 18 attempts for a .444 hitting percentage, with four blocks. Annie Bierman also recorded double-digit kills with 11, and freshman Kasey Hohlen put down eight kills and added a team-high six blocks. Jo Wilks dished out 39 assists and Meg DeMaar recorded a team-high 14 digs.
The teams traded points in the first set, until Furman cut the North Florida lead to one at 12-11. The Ospreys then stretched their lead to 19-14, forcing a Paladin timeout. The Paladins then cut the lead to 20-17, but three straight North Florida points forced a second Furman timeout, with the Ospreys eventually taking set one, 25-20. North Florida out-hit the Paladins .390-.250 in set one, while Furman recorded three service aces.
With the score tied at seven in set two, Furman used a 10-4 run, including two consecutive Amelia Bohlander/Ashton Gregory blocks, to take a 17-11 lead and force a North Florida timeout. Furman then outscored the Ospreys 8-7 to close out set two, 25-18, and tie the match at one. The Paladins held North Florida to just a .059 hitting percentage, recording four blocks.
The Paladins opened set three on a tear, jumping out to a 6-1 lead to force a North Florida timeout. Furman continued its strong play, pushing the lead to 16-7 to force a second UNF timeout and eventually took set three, 25-15. Furman hit .344 in the set, compared to just .056 for UNF. Ashton Gregory led the Paladins with four kills and a solo block.
With the score tied at three in set four, Furman used an 8-2 run to take an 11-5 lead, again forcing a North Florida timeout. The Ospreys could not capitalize after the TO, after a kill and block by Andrea Fisher pushed Furman’s lead to 13-5. With The score at 19-13, the Paladins continued their offensive power in the set, closing on a 6-1 run to take set four, 25-14, and the match, 3-1. Fisher and Bierman combined for eight kills and five digs in the set.
FUVB is back in action tomorrow as they take on tournament-host and 21st-ranked Duke at 3:00 p.m. in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
UNCG 3, Sacramento State 0
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The UNCG volleyball team began its season on a positive note Friday afternoon, sweeping Sacramento State (33-31, 25-14, 25-18) in its first match of the Charlotte Invitational at Halton Arena.
The win is the first for head coach Corey Carlin at UNCG and he becomes the first head coach in program history to win his or her coaching debut. The Spartans also captured their season opener for the third-straight season.
Defense was a big key to victory for the Blue and Gold as UNCG racked up 64 digs in the three sets – an average of 21.33 per set. Junior libero Katherine Santiago accounted for 20 of those digs while freshman outside hitter Anna Romaniszyn turned in 16 in her collegiate debut.
Romaniszyn was one of three Spartans to make their first start in a UNCG uniform with junior defensive specialist Leah Wells and freshman outside hitter Ashley Muench the other two.
Offensively, senior middle hitter Kelsey Sidney led the way with 13 kills on 27 swings. She made just three errors to end up with a .370 hitting percentage. Sophomore outside hitter Jessica Brezwyn also reached double figures with 12 kills of her own. She hit .278 with just two errors in 36 attempts. Redshirt junior middle hitter Julia Westerbur also hit for a high percentage as she checked in at .412 (9k/2e/17ta).
Sophomore setter Sarah Hohman enjoyed a solid season opener as she dished out 40 assists and tallied nine digs falling just short of a double-double. She also added two aces.
As a team, UNCG out-hit the Hornets .236 to .116 and recorded more aces (7-2), kills (45-34) and digs (64-56). The Spartans also made just 16 errors on 123 attempts.
The first set started out tightly as a kill by Sidney gave the Spartans an early 4-2 edge. A kill by senior middle hitter Vicky Harley kept the Blue and Gold ahead 14-12 later in the set before a 4-2 run afforded UNCG an 18-14 advantage and forced a Sacramento State timeout. The Spartans worked the lead all the way up to 21-16 and had set point at 24-22 after an ace by Wells. The Hornets were able to fight back, however, and knot the score at 24.
The teams fought back and forth all the way to a 30-30 deadlock before UNCG pulled away by scoring three of the final four points. A big kill by Westerbur off a slide sealed the set for the Blue and Gold.
Both squads hit poorly in the frame with the Hornets firing at a .150 clip and the Spartans at .130. Westerbur tallied six kills in the set to lead the offense while Santiago picked up seven digs.
UNCG raced out to an 8-2 lead in the second set and kept the pressure on its opposition. Sacramento State called timeouts with the Spartans leading 14-8 and 20-11 but the Blue and Gold cruised by a 25-14 margin to move two sets ahead in the match.
The Hornets came out in the third set looking to avoid the sweep and took an early 7-5 lead after an attacking error by Muench. A kill by Brezwyn forged a tie at 10 later in the frame before a 7-4 run, capped by another Brezwyn kill, allowed UNCG to assume a 17-14 edge. A block pulled Sacramento State within 17-16, but the Spartans put the match away with a 5-0 run that gave them an insurmountable lead. The Blue and Gold went on to take the third set 25-18.
Charlotte 3, UNCG 1
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The UNCG volleyball team hit just .088 Friday night as the Spartans dropped a tightly-contested 3-0 (21-25, 23-25, 24-26) decision to Charlotte in the final day one match of the Charlotte Invitational at Halton Arena.
The 49ers (2-0) were able to terminate the ball to tune of 42 kills while the Spartans (1-1) mustered just 32 of their own. Charlotte also hit .192 and out-dug the Blue and Gold, 55-49.
Freshman outside hitter Ashley Muench (Hurdle Mills, N.C./Orange) led the offense with 11 kills and hit .250. Sophomore outside hitter Jessica Brezwyn (Darien, Ill./Hinsdale South) was next with eight kills and a .231 hitting mark. Defensively, junior libero Katherine Santiago (San Juan, Puerto Rico/Colegio Adianez) racked up 18 digs to anchor the back row. She finished the day with 38 digs in six sets to average over six per frame.
UNCG fell behind 4-2 in the first frame but took its first lead of the match when a bad set by Charlotte made the score 6-5. The teams battled to a 17-17 deadlock late in the set, but the 49ers scored three-straight points to edge in front. A kill by Brezwyn pulled the Spartans within 20-19, but Charlotte ended the stanza on a 5-2 run to win it 25-21.
A kill by Muench afforded the Blue and Gold an 8-4 lead in the second set before an ace by freshman outside hitter Anna Romaniszyn made the score 12-7 and prompted a 49er timeout. UNCG ran its advantage all the way to 19-13 and led 23-21 late but Charlotte scored the final four points of the frame to take it 25-23 and snatch a 2-0 lead in the match.
After a tie at 10 in the third, the home team went on a 7-0 run to race ahead 17-10. Charlotte looked like it would cruise to the end but, with the 49ers leading 24-20, Charlotte made four-straight errors to keep the Spartans in the set. However, the 49ers recovered and used two-straight kills to seal the match 26-24.
UNCG closes out its portion of the Charlotte Invitational Saturday, facing off against Morgan State at 3:30 p.m. The Bears were swept by East Tennessee State and dropped a four-set affair to Charlotte in their matches Friday.
Mercer 3, Kent State 1
CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Mercer volleyball team got its 2014 campaign off to a strong start with a convincing 3-1 (22-25, 25-23, 25-20, 26-24) win over Kent State in the opening match of the College of Charleston Invite on Friday afternoon.
Mercer (1-0) benefitted from a 13-kill, 20-dig double-double performance for junior Molly Lock while newcomer Claire Waliczek was impressive with a 25-assist, 14-dig double-double of her own.
A tight first set saw the Golden Flashes pull away from a slim 21-19 edge with three-straight points. In the next frame, the teams were tied at five apiece before the Bears exploded for four-straight points and never looked back.
The third set had the teams knotted at 7-7 before the Bears once again went on a charge, registering five consecutive scores to take the lead for good. The final frame was the most competitive, as the squad battled to a 24-24 tie before junior Monica Johnson hammered her final kill of the night and a Kent State attacking error ended the proceedings.
Johnson joined Locke in double-figure kills with 11 on 30 total attempts. The Liberty transfer also posted four block-assists and a block-solo in her Mercer debut.
Sophomore Tori Penrod tallied a match-high 26 digs to go along with five assists and a service ace, while her classmate Ellie James posted 16 digs and five service aces.
Mercer continues the College of Charleston Classic on Saturday, facing off against the host Cougars at noon and then challenging Davidson at 4:30 p.m.
Southern Utah 3, The Citadel 0
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Ann Clappier and Madi Forsythe finished with match-high nine kills to lead Southern Utah to a 25-18, 25-12, 25-14 victory over The Citadel in the Kristen Dickmann Invitational at Navy on Friday afternoon.
Southern Utah (1-0) hit a solid .360 for the match, while the Bulldogs were unable to maintain offensive consistency due to 16 errors. Clappier finished with a .429 attack percentage, while Forsythe capped off the match by hitting .333. Sariah Pelaez led the way for Southern Utah's defense with a match-high nine digs and Faith Ma'afala handed out 33 assists.
Bailey Kernodle drove home four kills to lead the way for The Citadel. Kernodle was just one of four Bulldogs (0-1) to finish with multiple kills, joined by Samantha Espy (three), Moriah Smith (two) and Rachel Keefer (two). Senior Amanda Rudnik was the bright spot defensively with seven digs.
The Cadets got off to a quick 2-0 lead to open the match before falling into a 13-4 hole due in large part to 10 unforced errors. A series of kills by Kernodle and Lauren Hurt allowed The Citadel to trim the deficit to 13-7, but Southern Utah answered with kills by Remo Gagago, Annie Stradling and Clappier to stretch its margin to eight. Forsythe accounted for the final two points of Thunderbirds' 25-18 opening set victory, following a kill and service ace.
Southern Utah took control early in the second set, jumping out to an 11-1 lead behind five service aces by Gaogao. The Citadel ended the scoreless drought with an ace by Keefer and followed with a series of kills by Smith, Kernodle and Megan Sowell to make for a 15-8 contest. The Thunderbirds took advantage of five kills and two services aces in the final 14 points of the set to complete the 25-12 win.
Separated by one point in the early stages of the third set, Southern Utah used two kills by Forsythe and two points from Taylor Heine to assume a 10-5 lead. A kill by The Citadel's Dominique Williams briefly pulled the margin to four, before back-to-back kills by Gaogao helped push the Thunderbird lead to 14-6. The Dogs took forced Southern Utah to commit three errors, trimming the lead to 14-9. However, the Thunderbirds managed to complete the sweep by forcing the Dogs into five unforced errors among the final 11 points of the set.
The Citadel returns to action on Saturday afternoon when it takes on Providence (1 p.m.) before wrapping up the tournament against the host Mids at 6 p.m.
Valparaiso 3, Wofford 1
DURHAM, N.C. – The Wofford College volleyball team opened the 2014 season on Friday night against Valparaiso as part of the NCCU Invitational, and was edged by the Crusaders in four sets (23-25, 16-25, 28-26, 20-25), inside McDougald-McLendon Gym.
The young Terriers – a team consisting of 10 freshmen – battled toe-to-toe with Valpo the whole way. Wofford topped the Crusaders by 12 in the kill column and played fairly even on the ground and on the block, but were not as consistent. Valparaiso had just nine attack errors in the match to Wofford’s 24, and the Terriers also suffered from 20 serving errors to Valpo’s 10.
Serving errors proved costly. Tied at 23 in the first set, Wofford handed Valpo set point with its fifth unsuccessful serve. The Crusaders converted with a block to take a one-set lead.
After Valpo – picked to finish second in the Horizon League in the preseason coaches’ poll – ran away with the second, the Terriers regrouped and fought out the third. Facing match point down 24-22, Wofford rattled off three straight to take a 25-24 lead. Valpo never regained the lead and freshman Danni Densford put down the kill to win the set.
Wofford used the momentum and built a 13-11 lead in the fourth, only to see Valpo finish the set on a 15-8 run to win the match.
Junior Taylor Baird picked up right where she left off last season. The 2013 All-Southern Conference selection hit .425 with a match-high 20 kills. She added an ace and two block assists to also walk away with a match-high 22 points.
Freshman Bella Santoro went for a double-double in her collegiate debut. The Riverside High product had 15 kills on a match-high 49 attack attempts, along with 10 digs.
Junior Jessica Graham led the defense with a match-high 29 digs. Baird, junior Liz Buterbaugh and freshmen Molly Mayo and Alex Holland each had two blocks. Mayo went for 44 assists in her collegiate debut as the team’s setter.
For Valpo, Emily Campbell had a team-high 13 kills to finish just ahead of Kelsey Victor’s 12. Morganne Longoria went for 23 digs, while Kelsey Berrington had 11 and 35 assists for a double-double.
The first set of the 2014 season played very close. The Terriers took the first two points on back-to-back kills from Baird and led 4-2 before Valpo went on a 6-0 run. The Crusaders held the lead until Baird put down two more kills to make it 13 all. The set then saw ties at 14, 15, 16 and 17, until two Valpo points gave the Crusaders just a little space. Again, Wofford responded and scored two straight, capped by a Densford kill, to tie the set at 23. Wofford’s fifth service error of the set followed and the more experienced Crusaders capitalized to take the first. Baird finished the opener with six kills.
Wofford cut down on the serving errors in the second, but had its worst attacking set of the match. The Terriers hit just .083 while Valpo came in at .314. The lead changed hands just once when Valparaiso scored consecutive points to go up 2-1, and it never looked back. An 8-3 run gave the Crusaders a 14-7 lead, and four straight later on made it 18-9. Campbell and Victor each went for five kills.
The third saw the Terriers commit nine serving errors, but they compensated with their best attacking set of the night of .346 (22-4-52). There were 10 ties, five lead changes and lots of momentum swings. One of Santoro’s set-high eight kills put Wofford in front 12-9, only to see Valpo respond with seven of the next eight for a 16-13 advantage. The Terriers traded points and slowly dug into the lead, but faced match point down 24-22. This time, the Crusaders made the mistakes, committing two straight errors to put Wofford back level. Valpo took a timeout after the Terriers made it three straight points for its first attempt at a set, but Wofford prevailed on one of Densford’s seven kills in the match.
The Terriers used the momentum to jump ahead 13-11 in the fourth, but the rally stalled. The Crusaders went on a 10-1 run which saw Coach Sweet burn both of his timeouts. The run reached its peak when Valpo scored its seventh straight point for a 21-14 stranglehold.
The Wofford volleyball team continues the NCCU Invitational tomorrow, playing back-to-back matches against Campbell and NC Central. The Terriers take on the Camels at 10 a.m., followed by the host Eagles around 1 p.m.
FIU 3, Western Carolina 1
UCF 3, Western Carolina 0
ORLANDO, Fla. – Western Carolina dropped a pair of matches on Friday on the opening day of competition at the Radisson UCF Invitational held at The Venue at UCF. The Catamounts forced a fourth set in a 3-1 neutral court loss in the season-opener against Florida International before falling in straight sets against the tournament host in the night cap.
WCU (0-2) concludes play in the tournament on Saturday afternoon, facing the Eastern Kentucky Colonels (1-1) at 5:00 p.m. EKU, which defeated Northeastern on Friday morning before being swept by UCF, faces Florida International at 11:00 a.m. before the early evening match against the Catamounts.
Senior Jordan Timmermann, a preseason All-Southern Conference selection, tallied 21 kills on a .351 attack percentage in the season-opener to pace the Catamounts. The Florissant, Mo., native finished just two kills shy of her career-best. Junior Nicole Ford posted seven kills while seniors Addy George, Caitlin Piechota and Brandi Anderson each posted six kills apiece.
WCU finished with 13 total team blocks against the Panthers with Ford recording two solo stuffs and six block assists to lead the way. The Catamounts used both setters with junior Cristina Nazario posting 19 assists and eight digs while freshman Jo-Leigh Vervelde handed out 23 helpers in her collegiate debut.
The season’s first set saw eight ties and four lead changes between the Catamounts and Panthers with Florida International pulling out a 25-20 victory to take early advantage. FIU led start-to-finish to win the second set, using consecutive scoring runs of six and seven points to grab the 2-0 lead with a 25-15 set win.
The Catamounts rallied to take the third set as FIU managed just one tie at 2-2 before Nazario’s serve pushed the Purple & Gold to a lead it would not relinquish, claiming the set, 25-20. The fourth set saw 10 ties and four lead changes with FIU pulling out a hard-fought, 29-27, win to claim the match.
Florida International had four players record double-digit kills with three posting double-doubles. Lucia Castro finished with a match-high 22 kills and 15 digs, joined by Martyna Gluchowicz (16 kills, 11 digs) and Lea Montavon (13 kills, 17 digs).
Against Central Florida, the home squad put four players into double figure kills while amassing a collective .371 attack percentage for the straight-set victory over WCU (16-25, 17-25, 17-25). As hot as UCF was offensively, the Catamounts were unable to find rhythm on the other side of the net, hitting just .130 (27 kills in 115 attacks with 12 errors) in the 3-0 loss.
Most of the offense funneled through Timmermann and Piechota as the duo combined for 66 total attacks, though just eight kills found the court. Ford and George paced the squad with seven and six kills, respectively, with Ford finishing with five (1 solo, four assists) and George with four block assists.
Defensively, Mulheron finished with a team-high 17 digs along the back line. Nazario had 14 assists against UCF.
UCF rattled off eight-straight points in the opening set to take the early lead in the match. The Catamounts jumped out to a 5-1 edge in the second set behind the serve of Nazario. Deadlocked at 13, the Knights outscored WCU 12-to-4 to win 25-17 and take a 2-to-1 advantage.
In the final frame, UCF raced out to 12-4 advantage, prompting both timeouts by the Catamounts to try and stem the tide. WCU was only able to claw back to within six points the remainder of the match – recording five-straight points behind Mulheron’s serve – before dropping the third set, 25-17.
Jale Hervey led UCF with 17 kills while Dana Faught posted a double-double with 28 assists and 10 digs.
Tulsa 3, Chattanooga 1
HOUSTON, Texas – The Chattanooga Mocs volleyball lost a hard-fought match to Tulsa Friday afternoon to open up the 2014 season. A 3-1 loss to the Hurricane, UTC forced extra points to claim the second set 26-24, but fell 25-19, 25-14 and 25-22 in the first, third and final frames.
Junior Briana Reid starred in her collegiate return to her home city. The Lone Star State native collected a double-double with 11 kills and 11 digs, while fellow Houston resident Lauren Greenspoon made her first college start at setter. The freshman boasted 35 assists along with eight digs to kick off her career.
Also posting a double-double was newcomer Kristy Wieser with 10 kills, 11 digs. The sophomore led the Mocs scoring effort with 12 points.
Chattanooga’s second-set victory came with the Mocs trailing 24-20 with the Hurricane serving for set-point. With Allie Davenport back to serve, UTC’s defense forced Tulsa to commit six consecutive attacking errors to fall in the frame.
Despite tying the match 1-1 after the second set, Tulsa dominated in the third set and just edged the Mocs by three points in the final stanza.
Chattanooga is back in action tomorrow to wrap up its Texas swing with a 1 p.m. match against Northern Arizona and an 8 p.m. date with hosting Houston Baptist.
Both games are available free to follow via live stats. Video is provided courtesy of HBU for the Mocs’ match against the Huskies.
UTC returns to Maclellan Gym to open its home schedule Tuesday at 6 p.m. as the Scenic City hosts Kennesaw State.