Furman 3, Gardner-Webb 2

GREENVILLE, S.C. – Behind the clutch hitting of Annie Bierman and serving of Andrea Fisher, Furman volleyball rallied from being down two sets to one to defeat Gardner-Webb, 3-2 (22-25, 25-23, 16-25, 25-22, 15-8), on Tuesday night in Timmons Arena.

Bierman tied a season high with 18 kills, recording a season-high .317 hitting percentage and adding nine digs. Ashton Gregory put down 16 kills with a .355 hitting percentage and four blocks, while Amelia Bohlander tied a season high with 12 kills. Meg DeMaar turned in her fourth-straight 20-dig match, while Payton Frappier set a new career high with 16. Jo Wilks dished out 58 assists with 13 digs for her second double-double of the year.

The Paladins opened an early led in set one, forcing a Gardner-Webb timeout with a 7-2 lead. The Runnin’ Bulldogs then rallied to tie the set at 10, prompting Furman to take its first timeout of the set. Furman then used a 5-1 run to take a 15-11 lead, before Gardner-Webb used a run of their own to take a 21-20 lead, forcing Furman’s second timeout of the set. Gardner-Webb finished the set on a 4-2 run to close out set one, 25-22.

Furman again jumped out to a lead in set two, opening up a 12-6 advantage. Gardner-Webb cut the Paladin lead to two at 12-10, then used a 7-1 run to take a 17-13 lead. Furman rallied to tie the set at 17, before Gardner-Webb again opened up a two-point advantage at 19-17. The Paladins rallied again, taking a 23-22 lead. Gardner-Webb tied the score at 23 before Furman got a Bohlander kill and a GWU error to take set two, 25-23, and tie the match at one.

Set three was tight from the get-go, with the teams trading points until Furman cut the Gardner-Webb lead to one at 12-11 following a timeout. The Runnin’ Bulldogs then reeled off six-straight points to take an 18-11 lead that the Paladins could not overcome, as Gardner-Webb took set three, 25-16, to take a 2-1 lead in the match.

Gardner-Webb looked like it was on its way to a four-set victory, before Furman used a 6-0 run to take a 17-15 lead and force a Runnin’ Bulldog timeout. Gardner-Webb tied the match at 17, but the Paladins used three Annie Bierman kills to open up a 21-17 lead, eventually taking set four, 25-22, to tie the match at 2. Bierman led the Paladins in the fourth, putting down nine of her 18 total kills.

The Paladins opened up an early 2-1 lead in set five, before Andrea Fisher served six-straight points (including two aces) to give Furman an 8-1 run. The Paladins pushed their lead to 12-4 but Gardner-Webb used two-straight points to cut the lead to 12-6. The teams then traded points allowing the Paladins to take set five 15-8, and the match, 3-2.

Furman is back in action this weekend as it travels to Laramie, Wyo. to participate in the Wyoming Tournament.

 

Western Carolina 3, Charlotte 2

CULLOWHEE, N.C. – For just the 18th time in Western Carolina volleyball program history a Catamount has reached the 1,000 career digs milestone. Senior Caitlin Piechota needed 19 digs heading into Tuesday night’s home opener against Charlotte to reach 1,000 digs. Piechota not only hit the mark but turned in a career-high 29 digs to lead the Catamount back line.

Piechota’s 1,000th dig came during a critical third set which gave the Catamounts a 2-1 lead in the match. Piechota now needs just 93 kills to join an elite group of nine Catamounts who have 1,000 digs and 1,000 kills.

The Catamounts have now won three-straight matches including back-to-back five-set affairs. Western is now 3-3 on the year while Charlotte fell to 5-4 overall.

Senior Jordan Timmermann, who was honored prior to the match for reaching the 1,000 career kills milestone, led the offensive side of the ball with 15 kills. She also turned in 13 digs for another double-double. Sophomore Courtney Ireland hit a career-high with 12 kills while Piechota had nine kills to go along with a team-high 29 digs.

Defensively, junior Elyssa Mulheron added 24 digs to the effort. Freshman Jo-Leigh Vervelde and junior Cristina Nazario once again split the setting duties turning in 23 and 22 assists, respectively. Nazario added a team-high five service aces to the mix as well.

The Catamounts won the first, third and fifth sets by scores of 25-13, 25-22 and 15-8 while the 49ers won the second and fourth sets, 25-14 and 25-16.
The match was eerily similar to Sunday’s showdown against High Point with the momentum changing every set. WCU dominated the opening set while Charlotte struggled to find its rhythm offensively. The 49ers hit just .023 as a team while also turning in three service errors.

The roles would reverse in the second set as Charlotte hit .424 and blew by the Catamounts, 25-14. The most competitive set of the match came in the third as the score was tied nine times and the lead changed hands four times. Both teams hit in the mid-200s but it was Western who jumped out to a 5-0 lead. The 49ers battled back to tie the set at seven and the back-and-forth action would continue from there. Down 21-20, the Catamounts rattled off five of the next six points to take a 2-1 lead in the match.

The fourth set was a struggle for the Cats as they suffered five service errors and hit just .182 as a team as the 49ers took a 25-16 victory to tie the match.
With their backs against the wall, the Catamounts came out swinging in the fifth set and took an early 6-3 lead. The 49ers cut the lead to one before a service error by Charlotte and a kill by Piechota sent the score to 8-5 and forced the teams to switch sides of the court. The 49ers responded with a short 2-0 run but five-straight points by the Cats gave Western match-point at 14-7. The 49ers fought off one match point but a kill by Timmermann finished the match at 15-8.

The Catamounts will be back in action this weekend as they travel to the Skyhawk Invitational hosted by Tennessee-Martin. The Cats will face Valparaiso, Drake and host Tennessee-Martin.

 

Chattanooga 3, UAB 2

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team defeated UAB Tuesday night in Birmingham, Ala., to claim its second win of the season. UTC returned from a 2-1 deficit to down the Blazers 3-2.

Chattanooga claimed a 25-21 victory in a close first set to open up the match. The Mocs hit .333 in the frame – their best percentage in the competition – to pull off the four-point win. UAB took the second and third stanzas to put Chattanooga on the ropes going into the fourth. The home team won 26-24 in the second with the teams forcing extra points, and the third 25-21 to mirror the Mocs winning score in the premier.

The Mocs turned the tables at Bartow Arena in the following set with a convincing 25-14 triumph. While UTC hit .240 in the frame, the Blazers were held to just a .094 percentage – their lowest of the match. Chattanooga then took the match with a three-point win in the deciding set.

Three Mocs registered double-digit kills, with Kristy Wieser continuing her dominance with 12 kills and Sarah Batterton, tying the sophomore’s high.

Sophomore Nicole Sumida ended the match with 11 kills. Setters Anne Bachmann and Lauren Greenspoon split time at the position, posting 27 and 22 assists, respectively.

On defense, UAB totaled 11.0 blocks to continue their dominance at the net, while Chattanooga collected 7.0 blocks of its own. Juniors Batterton and Lauren Gainer ended the match with two blocks each. Batterton’s came solo while Gainer’s were assisted.

The back line’s performance was solid, as well, with four totaling double-digit digs. Libero Catherine Chason led the team with 21 digs. Wieser (19), Bachmann (10) and senior Brianna Guzinski (15) were the remaining three.

The Mocs now take momentum into their home tournament, the Chattanooga Classic, Friday and Saturday. UTC is set to play three matches over the upcoming weekend in its first of two tournament at Maclellan Gym.