Furman 3, Western Carolina 1
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Behind a balanced offensive attack, Furman rallied from a 0-1 deficit to defeat Western Carolina, 3-1 (19-25, 25-19, 25-20, 25-21), in the first game in Alley Gym in 2014. With the win, Furman moves to 2-0 in the SoCon and 9-4 on the season.
Ashton Gregory and Andrea Fisher paced the Paladins with 17 kills each. Gregory recorded a season high .483 hitting percentage and led the team with five blocks. Fisher turned in a season-high three service aces and added 13 digs for her first double-double of the season. Annie Bierman put down 16 kills and a season-high .324 hitting percentage, while Amelia Bohlander added 11 kills. Jo Wilks dished out 58 assists, one off her season high, and added a career-high-tying 19 digs. Meg DeMaar turned in double-digit digs again with 18 and added a season high six assists.
Set one was tight from the first serve as the teams traded points until Furman called its first timeout of the day, trailing Western Carolina 19-16. Furman cut the lead to two at 19-17, but Western Carolina went on a 5-2 run to take a 24-19 lead, forcing Furman’s second timeout. A block ended the set for the Catamounts, who took set one, 25-19.
Furman jumped out to an early 6-2 lead in set two, forcing a Western timeout. The teams traded points and Western Carolina rallied to tie the match at 10. The teams traded points until Furman used three-straight points to force the Catamounts’ second timeout of the set. Out of the timeout, Western Carolina cut the lead to two at 18-16, then to one at 20-19. Furman then closed out the set on a 5-0 run to take set two, 25-19, and tie the match at one.
The teams traded points in set three, going back and forth until Furman used three-straight points to take a 21-19 lead and force a Western Carolina timeout. The Paladins used two-straight points to stretch the lead to 23-19, before Western Carolina cut it to three at 23-20. Two-straight Furman kills closed out the set for the Paladins, however, giving Furman the 25-20 set three win and a 2-1 lead in the match.
Like set two, Furman forced an early Western Carolina timeout after jumping out to a 7-3 lead. Western Carolina rallied to cut the lead to two at 8-6, but the Paladins held them off, taking a 14-9 lead. The teams then traded points until two-consecutive kills for the Paladins forced a Catamount timeout, after Furman grabbed a 21-17 lead. Out of the timeout, the teams traded points until Western Carolina again cut the lead to two at 22-20 and 23-21, but an Andrea Fisher kill and Ashton Gregory block put the set away for Furman, 25-21, giving the Paladins a 3-1 match win.
Furman is back in action on October 1, as they travel to nearby Wofford College for a Wednesday night match.
ETSU 3, Chattanooga 1
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Not only did the ETSU volleyball team pick up a key conference road win, but senior Meredith Hardy also made Buccaneer history on Saturday afternoon in Chattanooga.
Hardy became ETSU’s all-time blocks leader after finishing with a match-high 19 kills and eight blocks as the Bucs defeated Chattanooga in four sets (25-18, 25-16, 22-25, 26-24) inside Maclellan Gym.
Hardy, who broke Jennifer Pennington’s (1993-96) record of 537 blocks, moved her career total to 542, which also ranks second among active NCAA Division I players. The Kingsport, Tenn. native broke the record when her block assist in the second set put ETSU ahead, 18-14.
Joining Hardy with double-digit kills were Khadijah Wiley and Ivey Rice, while sophomore setter Kristen Favre quarterbacked the offense by finishing with 31 of ETSU’s 50 assists. Wiley added a season-high 14 kills and totaled three blocks, while Rice ended with 11 kills of her own. Senior libero Katie Muey led all players with 19 digs and tallied a career-high six service aces.
As a team, the Blue and Gold were plus-20 in kills, 57-37, while the Bucs also finished with a season-high 10 service aces, marking the most by an ETSU team since Sept. 4, 2010, when recording 11 against Norfolk State.
Following the win, ETSU snapped its five-match losing streak and improved to 5-11, 1-1 in SoCon play, while Chattanooga – who had won six of its last eight matches entering the weekend – dropped to 7-10, 0-2.
The Bucs came out firing and took control of the match early on, as ETSU hit a blistering .467 (19-5-30) in the first set and won the opener, 25-18. After seeing Chattanooga win the first three points of the match, the Blue and Gold responded with eight unanswered scores to take a five-point lead, 8-3, courtesy of a kill by Hardy. From there, ETSU never trailed for the remainder of the set and secured the seven-point win. Hardy (seven) and Wiley (six) combined for 13 of the Bucs’ 19 kills in the frame, while freshman Rylee Milhorn was a perfect 3-for-3 in her attack attempts.
ETSU used a strong dose of serving and blocking to win the second set, 25-16, while taking a commanding 2-0 lead in the match. Muey posted all six of her aces in the frame, while the Blue and Gold totaled four blocks. The Bucs won eight of the first 10 points of the stanza, but Chattanooga answered with a 12-5 run to regain a 14-13 lead. Fortunately, ETSU stayed focused and rattled off nine straight scores to go up, 22-14, following a bad set by Julimar Alvarado. The run was sparked by Muey’s pin-point serving, while the Bucs eventually won 12 of the final 14 points of the set.
The third and fourth sets were nip and tuck, but after combining for 25 ties and eight lead changes in the frames, ETSU walked away with its first Southern Conference win since knocking off Elon back on Nov. 13, 2004.
The Mocs won the final three points to win the third set, 25-22, but the Bucs returned the favor by finishing the fourth set with a 4-0 run to end the match with a 26-24 victory. Despite leading by six when a service ace by Renzey Rice made it a 17-11 score, the Bucs had to come back to finish off the set. Chattanooga used a 9-2 surge to regain a 20-19 lead, but after the Mocs saw their lead grow to 24-22, ETSU did an outstanding job dodging set point. With the Bucs down two, ETSU went to its senior leaders as Favre found Hardy for three straight kills to go up 25-24, while it was a kill by Ivey Rice that clinched the match. Hardy had six of ETSU’s 15 kills in the fourth, while Rice added three of her own.
Chattanooga was led by Allie Davenport’s 12 kills, while Anne Bachmann finished with 19 assists and seven digs.
ETSU now returns home for three straight home matches, beginning Tuesday night when the Bucs host Radford. First serve is set for 6 p.m. inside Brooks Gym.
UNCG 3, Mercer 1
MACON, Ga. – The UNCG volleyball team spoiled Mercer’s home opener Saturday evening, capturing a 3-1 (17-25, 25-20, 25-14, 26-24) Southern Conference victory inside Hawkins Arena. The win, coupled with last night’s sweep at Western Carolina, completed a perfect opening weekend of conference play for the Spartans as they currently stand in a first-place tie with Furman.
UNCG (9-5, 2-0 SoCon) hit .239 with 54 kills on 142 attempts while the Bears (4-10, 1-1 SoCon) fired at a .188 clip (48k/19e/154ta). The Blue and Gold also held the upper hand in aces (8-7) and digs (74-58) and the teams ended up tied in blocks at eight apiece.
Sophomore outside Jessica Brezwyn (Darien, Ill./Hinsdale South) led four UNCG played in double-digit kills with 12. She was joined in double figures by freshman outside Ashley Muench (Hurdle Mills, N.C./Orange), senior middle Vicky Harley (Columbia, S.C./Blythewood) and senior middle Kelsey Sidney (Chesterfield, Mo./Marquette HS) who all tallied 11, 10 and 10 kills respectively.
Turning in another strong performance was sophomore setter Sara Hohman (Zionsville, Ind./Cathedral) who registered her seventh double-double of the season. She notched 42 kills and 16 digs while also adding four kills and three aces.
Defensively, junior libero Katherine Santiago, who entered the match as the SoCon leader in digs per set, sparkled with a match-high 25 digs.
Buoyed by its home crowd, Mercer came out on fire and scored the first four points of the match. UNCG called for timeouts later in the set when a kill by Cara Tripp made the score 10-5. The Spartans rallied within 14-12 on an ace by Brezwyn and forced Mercer to use a timeout. However, the Bears netted the next four points to establish an 18-12 edge and went on to win the set 25-17.
The Spartans broke a 4-4 deadlock in the second frame with a 3-0 run to build some breathing room. Mercer pulled within 10-8 when Harley committed an attacking error, but UNCG put together a 6-3 run to settle the score at 16-11. The Bears had one last rally in them and crept within 18-17 before the Blue and Gold recovered and scored seven of the final 10 points of the stanza to tie the match with a 25-20 set victory.
With the third set tied at five, a 6-2 run capped by a Mercer attacking error gave UNCG an 11-7 lead. The Spartans had little trouble the rest of the way, taking advantages of 18-11 and 22-13 before closing it out by a 25-14 final score.
The fourth set was a battle the whole way through. An attacking error saw the Spartans grab a 17-14 lead – their biggest of the frame. Mercer called a timeout when a kill by Brezwyn made the score 20-18. The Bears used two kills and an ace to push ahead briefly, 21-20, but a service error and an ace by Brezwyn put the lead back on UNCG’s side at 22-21. The teams traded points until the score sat tied at 24 but the Blue and Gold would not be denied on the road. Muench recorded a kill to put the Spartans at set point once again and Jordan Gollon sent an attack out of bounds to seal the win for UNCG.
The Spartans wrap up their seven-match road swing next weekend, continuing SoCon action at East Tennessee State and Furman.
Wofford 3, The Citadel 0
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Led by 13 kills apiece from senior Taylor Baird and freshman Danni Densford, the Wofford volleyball team got the Southern Conference season started with a three-set victory over The Citadel (25-21, 25-20, 25-16) Saturday afternoon at McAlister Fieldhouse.
Baird and Densford were dominant. The senior-freshman duo went for 26 of Wofford’s 49 kills in the match and combined to hit .522. Densford led all players by hitting .600 (13-1-20) on a career-high 13 kills, while Baird came in at .462 (13-1-26).
Wofford (8-9, 1-0 SoCon) fought off a feisty effort from The Citadel (5-11, 0-2 SoCon) in sets one and two. The Bulldogs led 15-10 in the first before the Terriers took the lead late with a 10-3 run. In the second, The Citadel trailed just 15-14 until the Terriers put together another late run to extend the lead to 22-17 and control the match.
The Terriers hit .367 – five points off their season-high – and outplayed the home team in every statistical category. The largest discrepancy was in blocks. Wofford registered eight and was not blocked once by The Citadel – the first time the Terriers held an opponent without a block since Sept. 11, 2009 against Winston-Salem State. Densford led the way with a career-high seven rejections.
Freshman setter Molly Mayo posted 42 assists – top 10 all-time at Wofford for a three-set match – and was all over the stat sheet with five digs, four kills (.800) and three blocks. Junior Jessica Graham went for a match-high 25 digs – the second-most at Wofford for a three-set match (27, Brittany Thompson, 2008).
The win improved Wofford to 28-5 against The Citadel in the all-time series. The Terriers have won the last six meetings.
Baird got the day started with a set-high five kills in the first set, but it was The Citadel who took the first significant lead. A kill by Moriah Smith started a 7-3 spurt that put the home team in front 15-10. That’s when the Terriers turned it on, beginning with a slam from Baird that sparked a 10-3 run. Baird and Densford had two kills each during the span, which saw The Citadel burn both of its timeouts. Baird’s second kill of the run put Wofford in front 18-17 and freshman Tierney Flaherty closed the set with one of her four kills in the match.
Baird notched five more kills in the second and scored Wofford’s first three points, but it was Densford that led the Terrier offense to a match-high .471 attack percentage. Densford – the reigning Southern Conference Freshman of the Week – punched six kills with no errors on nine attempts. She came up in big spots, leveling the set at 11 and using her fourth kill of the set to put Wofford in front by two for the first time, 14-12, burning The Citadel’s first timeout. Densford’s next blow put the Terriers in front 22-17, forcing another Bulldog timeout, and she finished off the set with her sixth.
The third was all Wofford. After five ties and two lead changes that came very early on, the Terriers scored five straight points on sophomore Ellie Tallman’s serve to go in front 9-5 and never look back. Densford, Baird and Tallman recorded three kills apiece. A second 5-0 Wofford run came midway through the set to make it 18-11 and the Terriers took their largest lead of 10 points at 24-14 on Densford’s final kill of the match.
The Wofford volleyball team returns to Benjamin Johnson Arena for its next match. The Terriers will look for another SoCon victory against conference-rival Furman (8-4, 1-0) on Wednesday at 7 p.m.