Wofford 3, ETSU 1
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Behind freshman Colleen Reilly’s school-record-tying 12 blocks, the Wofford volleyball team defeated ETSU, 3-1 (25-22, 23-25, 30-28, 25-21), in Southern Conference action Saturday night at Brooks Gym.
Reilly became the first Terrier to post 12 blocks since 2011, when Arden Anderson (2009-12) went for a dozen in a four-set win at Stetson. The freshman middle is the third different Terrier to reach the mark, joining Anderson, who did it twice, and all-time career blocks leader Currie Gossett (1999-2002).
Wofford (12-12, 4-4 SoCon) blocked ETSU (14-7, 5-3 SoCon) a total of 18 times Saturday night, the sixth-most in a single match in program history. It helped the Terriers win a crucial third set in which they gave up a 19-13 lead and were faced with double-set point down 24-22. Redshirt freshman Lauren Miller combined with Reilly on a block to put Wofford in front 28-27 and sophomores Danni Densford and Bella Santoro blocked Mariah McPartland for a momentum-shifting 30-28 set victory.
Reilly added six kills, hitting .300 on 20 swings. She left the majority of the offensive work to sophomore trio Bella Santoro, Alex Holland and Danni Densford, who all notched a team-high 14 kills. Densford hit .379 to lead all players.
Sophomore Molly Mayo set for a match-high 49 assists. Thirty-one of them came in the final two sets, including 19 in the third set alone.
For ETSU, Briana Allmon had a match-high 15 kills, but it came alongside 10 errors to hit just .111. Senior middle Khadijah Wiley had 13 kills and hit .258. Ashleigh Shain put together a match-high 18 digs.
Wofford returns home for its next three matches, all of which will be played next week. The Terriers welcome Presbyterian for a non-conference battle on Wednesday at 7 p.m., followed by a pair of Southern Conference matches Friday and Saturday against Western Carolina and Mercer.
Furman 3, Mercer 1
MACON, Ga. – Annie Bierman put down 22 kills, while Christen Sikora added 16 and Furman volleyball downed Mercer, 3-1 (25-22, 15-25, 25-22, 25-22) on Saturday. The win moves Furman to 12-6 on the year at 6-2 in SoCon play, while the loss drops Mercer to 9-12 and 4-5 in SoCon play. The loss also marks the Bears’ first home loss of 2015.
Bierman added a team-high 15 digs for her 12th double-double of the season, while also hitting .333. Sikora added 14 digs, her third double-double of the season, and tallied three blocks. Carris Campbell notced a team-high five blocks and Jo Wilks dished out 50 assists with 11 digs for her 10th double-double of the season. Furman out-hit Mercer .277 to .201 and put down 62 kills, while limiting the bears to 43.
After the Bears used a 17-3 run to propel them to a 25-15 set two win and 1-1 match tie, it was Furman that jumped out to a 12-10 lead in set three. The teams then traded points the rest of the set until Furman used a 4-1 run to close out the set and win it 25-22, for a 2-1 match lead.
The Paladins again grabbed an early lead in set four, this time at 11-7, forcing a Mercer timeout. Furman pushed the lead to five at 17-12, but Mercer rallied to cut the lead to one at 17-16 and force Furman to call a timeout of its own. Out of the timeout, the teams traded points until a 3-1 run by the Paladins prompted Mercer to take its final timeout. The Bears cut the lead to one at 22-21, but Furman finished the match on a 3-1 run, including two kills by Sikora, to take it 25-22, and the match, 3-1.
Furman is back in action on Friday, Oct. 23, as the Paladins play host to Samford in a 6 p.m. match in Alley Gym.
Chattanooga 3, Samford 0
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team swept Samford Saturday to wrap up the first half of Southern Conference play. UTC is now 18-3 and leading the league at 7-1.
Chattanooga has swept 11 teams and is on a 10-match winning streak at home.
Despite being down for the majority of the first two frames, UTC clinched both, 25-20 and 25-22.
In the first, the Mocs were down 19-14. After a UTC timeout, the squad won six points in a row to take its first lead. Chattanooga followed with winning five of the last six points of the frame.
During the second, sophomore Madison Bergren posted two aces in a row to put UTC up 23-20. The Bulldogs won the next two points, but junior Allie Davenport finished off the set with a kill.
The third started neck-and-neck until Chattanooga broke away after a kill from Davenport and a service ace by sophomore Lauren Greenspoon, making the score 12-7. UTC clinched the third set 25-19.
The Mocs racked up 12 service aces and 40 kills against Samford.
Davenport had a big presence offensively after marking 17 kills and a .412 hitting percentage.
Senior Catherine Chason paced the squad in digs, recording 11, while senior Sarah Batterton led blocking efforts with one solo and three assisted.
The Mocs hit the road Friday to square off against UNCG in Greensboro, N.C., at 6 p.m.