UNCG 3, Chattanooga 2
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Chattanooga entered Friday’s match in Greensboro boasting the top record in the league and a confident demeanor. The Mocs left Fleming Gymnasium with their second conference loss though as UNCG bested UTC 3-2 (25-18, 22-25, 26-24, 17-25, 15-12) before a raucous crowd on the Blue and Gold’s annual “Fight Like a Spartan” night.
UNCG’s sixth-straight victory kept a number of streaks intact. The Spartans (16-8, 6-3 SoCon) defeated Chattanooga (18-4, 7-2 SoCon) in Greensboro for the eighth-straight time, improved to 16-0 when winning the first set of a match this season (31-1 under head coach Corey Carlin) and stayed perfect at home this season at 8-0. UNCG is one of two teams in the league that is unbeaten at home. Additionally, the Blue and Gold improved to 3-0 in five-set matches in 2015 (6-2 under Carlin).
In a match fitting two of the best teams in the SoCon, both sides hit over .200 as UTC checked in at .228 and the Spartans finished just behind at .227. UNCG had the advantage in kills (69-64), assists (67-63) and aces (6-4). The Blue and Gold also won the defensive battle in terms of digs (88-82) and blocks (13.0-5.0). The blocking output marked a season high for UNCG. Additionally, the squads finished dead even in sideout percentage at 60 percent.
The Spartans put four players in double figures offensively led by junior Jessica Brezwyn’s match-high 18 kills. Sophomore outside Ashley Muench followed closely with 17 and completed a double-double by adding 14 digs. Freshman middle hitter Jasmine Jones put down a career-high 15 kills while redshirt senior middle Julia Westerbur finished with 12. Freshman setter Allison Penner also enjoyed a career-high mark in assists as she tallied 64 to go along with eight digs and five blocks.
On the defensive side, senior outside hitter Lauren Betlach produced a career-high 17 digs while classmate and the SoCon’s current top libero Katherine Santiago collected 21. Westerbur tied her personal best with eight blocks (seven assists).
Kristy Wieser and Sarah Batterton led the Mocs offensively with 15 kills apiece while Catherine Chason paced the back row with a match-high 22 digs.
UNCG returns to action Saturday hosting Samford at 5 p.m.
Furman 3, Samford 0
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Annie Bierman put down 17 kills and Furman hit .423 as a team and swept Samford, 3-0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-170, on Friday night in Alley Gym. The win moves Furman to 13-6 on the year and 7-2 in SoCon play, while the loss drops the Bulldogs to 8-10 and 3-5 in SoCon play.
Furman held Samford to a .172 hitting percentage and just 29 kills, while the Paladins racked up 48 kills. Bierman hit .351 and added five digs, while Jamila Johnson added eight kills and a team-high .800 hitting percentage. Meg DeMaar added a team-high 15 digs and Jo Wilks dished out 39 assists.
Furman used five kills to jump out to an 11-4 lead in set one, forcing Samford to call a timeout. The Paladins increased their lead to 13-4, before Samford used a 7-4 run to cut the lead to six at 17-11, then again at 19-13. Furman then closed out the set on a 6-2 run to take set one, 25-15, for a 1-0 match lead.
The Paladins again jumped out to an early lead at 6-2, prompting Samford to take an early timeout. Out of the timeout, the Bulldogs cut the lead to one at 13-12, but Furman used three-straight points, including two kills by Jamila Johnson to push the lead back to four at 16-12 and force Samford to use its final timeout of the set. The teams then traded points until Furman used four-straight points, including a kill and two solo blocks by Taina Joseph to take set two, 25-18, for a 2-0 lead in the match.
Furman opened up another big lead early in set three, forcing a Samford timeout at 5-2 and pushing the lead to seven at 9-2. The Bulldogs cut the lead to three at 15-12, forcing a Furman timeout, but the Paladins closed out the set on a 10-5 run to take set three, 25-17, and the match, 3-0.
Furman is back in action Saturday as it plays host to The Citadel at 6 p.m. in a homecoming match.
Wofford 3, Western Carolina 0
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Middles Danni Densford and Colleen Reilly combined to hit .333 with 25 kills to lead the Wofford volleyball team in a sweep of Western Carolina (25-22, 25-20, 25-22), Friday night at Benjamin Johnson Arena. It was the first of two matches the volleyball team has during Wofford’s 2015 Homecoming Weekend.
Densford tallied match-highs in both kills and hitting percentage, posting 14 kills at a .346 clip. Eight of the sophomore’s kills came in the very first set. Reilly, a freshman, powered home 11 and hit .318, adding a team-high four blocks.
The win boosts Wofford’s record to 14-12 overall and 5-4 in Southern Conference play. The Terriers remain in fifth place in the SoCon standings, but gained a game on league-leading Chattanooga (7-2 SoCon), who lost in five sets to UNCG (6-3 SoCon). The Mocs now share the SoCon lead with Furman (7-2), who are just two games in front of the Terriers.
Friday night’s victory also marked Wofford’s seventh in its last nine matches, as well as its fourth straight at home. It’s the program’s first four-game winning streak at home since winning the last two home matches of 2005 and the first two of 2006. It’s the first time Wofford has won four straight at home in the same season since 1992.
The Terriers outhit Western Carolina (7-19, 2-8 SoCon) .208 to .088 on the night, avenging a five-set loss to the Catamounts that opened the conference season on September 25 in Cullowhee, N.C. Part of what contributed to WCU’s low hitting percentage was the play of senior libero Jessica Graham, who went for a match-high 24 digs, the third-most in program history for a three-set match. Freshman Bella Santoro had 14 digs, helping the Terriers out-dig the Catamounts 63-48.
The Wofford volleyball team will look to stay hot on Saturday, welcoming Mercer to Benjamin Johnson Arena. The match starts at 6 p.m.
ETSU 3, The Citadel 0
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – The East Tennessee State University volleyball team snapped a two-match losing skid Friday evening defeating The Citadel, 3-0 (25-19, 25-11, 25-17). The Bucs, now 15-7 overall and 6-3 in conference action, were led by senior Khadijah Wiley, who had 10 kills and 10 total blocks. Wiley’s 10 blocks set a new career-high and were one shy of tying the program record for the most in a three-set match.
The Citadel jumped on ETSU early in the match scoring the set’s first four points. However, the Bucs rallied to take the lead at the 12-11 and held on to the lead for the duration of the match as they won, 25-19. ETSU’s rally was due to its work defensively (six total blocks and 14 digs) and miscues by the Bulldogs (10 attack errors and two service errors).
In the second set, it was all ETSU as it went on to take the set, 25-11. The Bucs’ defense held The Citadel’s offense in check once again holding it to just two kills in the frame. Despite hitting a match-low themselves at .152, the Bucs got a boost from the service line with four aces in the stanza. Freshman AJ Lux notched two of those aces for ETSU, while fellow freshmen Peyton Redmond and Hailey Aguilar accounted for the other two.
The Bucs came out swinging in the third set with their best offensive performance of the match as they hit .419 in 31 attempts. The Citadel, however, countered with its best as well hitting .129. The difference in offensive output proved to be the difference though as the Bucs finished off the sweep with a 25-17 set victory.
ETSU will return to action Saturday afternoon when it hosts Western Carolina at Brooks Gym. Saturday’s match, which is set for a 2 p.m. start time, will serve as a youth day where all children 12 years old and younger will receive free admission. Following the match, the Bucs will hold a clinic for all youth in attendance.