ETSU 3, Western Carolina 0
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – The East Tennessee State University volleyball team continued its winning ways Wednesday evening in Cullowhee, N.C., as it knocked off Western Carolina, 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-16), to earn its fifth straight victory. The Buccaneers, who have won 10 of their last 11 matches, improve to 14-5 overall and 5-1 in league action with the sweep of the Catamounts.
Briana Allmon notched her seven consecutive double-digit kill performance with a team-leading 14 kills in 27 attempts. Setter Kristen Favre dished out 35 assists (11.67 assists per set) to power ETSU’s offense and defensively ETSU was paced by Hailey Aguilar who had 12 digs.
The first set was one of runs. ETSU got off to a hot start extending its lead to as many as eight points at 21-13. Despite the hot start by the Bucs, Western Carolina answered with a 7-0 run of its own to close the deficit to 21-20. However, ETSU closed the frame with 4-1 run to close out the Catamounts, 25-21.
After hitting .056 in the first set, the Buccaneer offense started to get on track in the second hitting a collective .353 in the second. ETSU took control from the opening serve in the stanza as it scored nine of the first 10 points en route to a 25-16 set victory. In addition to their work offensively, the Bucs also held
WCU’s offense in check holding them to nine kills in 38 attempts (.079 hitting percentage) in the second.
Western Carolina got out to its first lead of the match at 7-6 in the early going of the third but could not sustain it as the Buccaneers finished off the match, 25-16. ETSU’s defense stepped up with four total blocks in the third after tallying four in the first two sets combined. The Bucs held WCU’s offense to a match-low .000 attack percentage in the final stanza.
The Bucs will close out their three-match road swing Friday when they travel Chattanooga in a matchup of the conference’s top two teams. The first serve is scheduled for 6 p.m.
UNCG 3, The Citadel 0
GREENSBORO, N.C. – UNCG hit just .125 against The Citadel Wednesday evening but held the Bulldogs to .056 efficiency in a 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-20) Southern Conference victory inside Fleming Gymnasium.
The Spartans’ third-straight win puts them at 13-8 overall and 3-3 in SoCon play while The Citadel drops to 6-16 and 0-6 in league play. The Bulldogs have now lost 56 consecutive conference matches.
The Blue and Gold has won every match this season in which it has won the first set and is 28-1 when capturing the first stanza the last two seasons. Additionally, UNCG is now 6-0 at home - the best start at Fleming since the 2010 squad won its first 11 matches in the venue.
Sophomore outside hitter Ashley Muench led all players with 13 kills while racking up a match-high 16 digs to complete a double-double. Senior defensive specialist Katherine Santiago also reached double figures defensively with 13 digs. Freshman setter Allison Penner dished out 38 assists and fell just one dig shy of a double-double herself.
Collectively, UNCG recorded 62 digs as compared to The Citadel’s 51. The Bulldogs had the better of the blocking 7.0 to 4.0 while the Spartans had the upper hand in aces 4-2.
The match got off to an inauspicious start for the Blue and Gold as four-straight attacking errors afforded The Citadel a 4-0 cushion. UNCG was able to quickly tie things at seven though following a Muench kill. The Spartans continued to build on the lead and stretched it to 15-8 after a service ace from senior outside hitter Lauren Betlach. The Bulldogs did not quit and put together a 7-2 run to pull within 17-15. After a UNCG timeout, the Spartans scored four of the next six points before closing out the stanza by four points.
The Blue and Gold settled down in set two and was comfortably ahead for much of the frame. UNCG took leads of 9-5 and 14-8 forcing a timeout from the visitor bench. The lead ballooned to 18-10 after a Penner ace and the Spartans cruised the rest of the way. The Blue and Gold clinched the set by an eight-point margin to take a 2-0 lead into the intermission.
The Citadel came out of the locker room and scored the first five points of the third stanza. The Bulldogs led by as much as 14-10 before UNCG began to push back. A kill by Muench sparked a 7-1 that propelled the Spartans into the lead by a pair. The Citadel used a timeout later trailing 20-16 but could not catch up in the end as UNCG closed it out on a Mourier kill to clinch the sweep.
The Spartans are back in action Friday at home hosting Wofford. First serve is set for 5 p.m.
Mercer 3, Savannah State 0
SAVANNAH, Ga. – The Mercer University volleyball team won for the third time in as many matches on Wednesday evening, as the squad wrapped up its non-conference schedule with an impressive 3-0 victory at Savannah State.
The Orange and Black jumped all over the hosts early, taking the opening set 25-14. The Bears then turned in their best set of the season, overwhelming Savannah State to take the second stanza 25-7. The Tigers fought back in the third and made Mercer earn the victory but the Bears were up to the task and won the final frame 25-23 to complete the three-set sweep.
Sophomore Morgan MacGilvary was ultra-efficient on Wednesday, posting a hitting percentage of .533. The outside hitter tied for the team lead in kills with eight, which came on just 15 attempts. The .533 attack percentage is the highest of MacGilvary’s career in matches she records at least five kills. The sophomore also added six digs, two aces and a block to cap off her evening.
The Bears relinquished just 44 points over the three-set win, the fewest of any match this season. Over half of the points came in the final set of the match, as Mercer held Savannah State to 21 points over the first two sets. The seven points allowed in the second set are the fewest Mercer has given up in a frame since taking a set against Citadel 25-7 on Oct. 31, 2014.
Mercer’s third straight victory pushes its record to 8-11 on the season. The Tigers fall to 0-24 in 2015.
The Orange and Black returns home for two SoCon matches on Friday, against Samford at 6 p.m. and Saturday versus Furman at 1 p.m.