No. 5 ETSU 3, No. 4 Samford 2
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Fifth-seeded ETSU edged No. 4 seed Samford 3-2 (22-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-27, 15-13) in a dramatic Southern Conference Championship quarterfinal match on Saturday at the Ramsey Center on the campus of Western Carolina. With the win, the Bucs (19-11) will move on to the semifinal round on Sunday and face No. 1 seed Chattanooga.
Junior Briana Allmon and sophomore Rylee Milhorn led the ETSU attack with 23 kills and 17 kills, respectively. Junior setter Kristen Favre registered 50 assists for the Bucs, while freshman middle blocker Mariah McPartland and senior middle blocker Khadijah Wiley both chipped in five blocks. Freshman libero Hailey Aguilar tallied 28 digs for the Bucs.
Junior outside hitter Erin Bognar starred for Samford in the loss, racking up 28 kills to go along with 26 digs.
A fast-paced first set was close the whole way, as Samford ultimately took a 19-17 lead and forced ETSU head coach Lindsey Devine to call a timeout. The Bulldogs came out of the timeout and won two consecutive points, and not long after, redshirt-sophomore provided the set-clinching kill to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead in the match. Bognar paced the Samford with seven kills in the first frame.
Samford took control early in the second set, grabbing a 7-4 thanks in part to two T.J. Russell kills. The Bucs then rattled off a 4-1 run to take a 9-8 lead in the set. A kill from Bognar, an attack error from Allmon and an ace from sophomore libero Morgan St. German helped the Bulldogs fight back to take a 16-12 lead. ETSU was not done, though. Milhorn put down two kills, and an attack error from Russell allowed the Bucs to creep within one at 20-19. Freshman Mariah McPartland powered the ETSU late in the set, putting down a kill and then teaming with Allmon on a block to give the Bucs a 23-22 lead. Allmon then notched a kill before closing out the second set, 25-22, by teaming with McPartland for another block.
The Bucs jumped out to an 8-5 lead in the third frame, but Samford closed the gap with the help of kills from Taylor Anderton and Krista Boesing. Both teams went back and forth until Milhorn took control, putting down a kill to force a Samford timeout with the Bucs up 18-15. Milhorn added two more kills and an ace to keep the Bucs ahead at 21-18. Freshman outside hitter A.J. Lux punctuated a 25-19 third-set win for ETSU, placing a kill in the left corner on an assist from Favre.
In the fourth set, Samford opened up a 13-10 lead and pushed it out to 18-13. ETSU was able to cut into the advantage, and a kill from Lux followed by a Favre ace drew the Bucs within one point at 20-19. From there, it turned into a duel between Bognar and Allmon. Bognar put down a kill to give the Bulldogs a 23-22 advantage, but Allmon contributed three kills to give ETSU a 25-24 lead. Samford was able to fend off match point after a long rally, and two points later Bognar delivered an ace to give the Bulldogs the set, 27-25.
Neither team was able to separate from the other in the decisive fifth set that featured 11 ties and four lead changes. That changed at the very end, when the Bucs took a 14-12 lead on a block from Favre and Wiley. Boesing kept Samford alive with a kill, but Milhorn finished off the marathon match with her 17th kill to lift ETSU to a 3-2 triumph.
ETSU’s semifinal match against Chattanooga is set for a 2 p.m. start on Sunday.
No. 1 Chattanooga 3, No. 8 Western Carolina 0
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Top-seeded Chattanooga swept eighth-seeded Western Carolina (25-22, 29-27, 25-19) on Saturday in the quarterfinal round of the Southern Conference Volleyball Championship on the campus of Western Carolina in Cullowhee, N.C. The win sets the stage for a semifinal clash between the Mocs (25-5) and No. 5 seed ETSU on Sunday.
Junior outside hitter Allie Davenport had a match-high 19 kills for the Mocs, and senior outside hitter Briana Reid joined her in double-figure kills with 12. Sophomore setter Madison Bergren tallied 44 assists, while senior libero Catherine Chason posted 30 digs. The Alpharetta, Ga., native was one of four UTC players with double-digit digs.
The Mocs hit .209 for the match on 153 total attempts.
Western Carolina featured a balanced attack with no player registering more than eight kills. Sophomore setter Jo-Leigh Vervelde had 19 assists and 15 digs for WCU, but the Catamounts were limited to just a .136 hitting percentage for the match.
WCU was the first to create separation in the first set, putting together a 3-0 run to take a 19-16 lead. Davenport and senior middle blocker Lauren Gainer responded for the Mocs will two kills to knot the set at 21-21. It was Davenport and senior right side hitter Sarah Batterton who closed out the set for UTC, posting kills between a block from WCU’s Nicole Ford to take the set, 25-22.
In set two, the Catamounts were able to again jump out to a lead on the strength of a 5-0 run, which included kills from sophomore Katie O’Connor, Ford and freshman Alyssa Zupan, along with a service ace from senior libero Elyssa Mulheron. UTC climbed back into the set, however, with a 5-1 run to pull within 20-19. Gainer punched home a kill to cut the WCU lead to 22-21, and then back-to-back attack errors from both side left the Catamounts with a 23-22 lead. Wieser helped UTC rally and take a 25-24 lead, but WCU stayed alive courtesy a Vervelde kill. The set continued to swing back and forth until Davenport and Batterton ended the set, 29-27, with consecutive kills to give UTC a 2-0 lead in the match.
The Mocs cruised for most of set three, opening up an early 8-4 lead. They extended the lead to six points at 13-7 behind a kill from Davenport, a block from Gainer and then a kill from Batterton. UTC kept going, pushing its lead to 21-12, but the Catamounts did not go quietly. O’Connor recorded a kill and a block, and Vervelde found room for an ace to trim the Mocs’ lead to 22-16. The two teams swapped points until a Gainer block clinched the set, 25-19, and the match, 3-0.
UTC’s semifinal match against ETSU is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Sunday.
No. 8 Western Carolina 3, No. 9 The Citadel 1
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Eighth-seeded Western Carolina defeated No. 9 seed The Citadel 3-1 (25-22, 25-23, 21-25, 25-21) on Saturday in the first round of the Southern Conference Volleyball Championship on the campus of Western Carolina in Cullowhee, N.C. The Catamounts (12-21) were led by sophomore middle blocker Katie O’Connor. She posted 12 kills on .429 hitting percentage in addition to six blocks.
WCU’s Jo-Leigh Vervelde, a sophomore setter, was active for the Catamounts offensively and defensively. She tallied 26 assists and 18 digs in the victory. Senior middle blocker Nicole Ford added 10 kills and three blocks for WCU.
The Citadel’s Bailey Kernodle, a senior outside hitter, notched a match-high 19 kills on a .390 hitting percentage in a losing effort. Sophomore outside hitter Moriah Smith was also a big contributor offensively, putting down 17 kills for the Bulldogs, and senior setter Rachel Keefer dished out 51 assists.
In the first set, the Catamounts pushed out to an early 9-4 lead, but Smith and Kernodle prevented the Catamounts from running away with the set, as they helped the Bulldogs tie the match at 16-all. A timeout from WCU head coach Karen Glover sparked the Catamounts, who rattled off four points in a row to take a 20-16 lead. WCU was then able to hold off a late rally from The Citadel to take the first set, 25-22, courtesy a kill from Vervelde and a Megan Sowell attack error.
Both teams exchanged points early in set two before WCU was able to gain separation with a 4-0 run to go up 13-9. The Citadel countered with a 7-2 run that featured kills from Zuri Fenderson and Smith, giving the Bulldogs a 16-15 advantage. The set was neck-and-neck until the very end. The Citadel was able to save set point and pull within two points at 24-22, but a tip from Vervelde on the next point split three Bulldogs players and gave the Catamounts the second set, 25-23.
The third set looked like it might turn into a one-sided affair after WCU took a 13-8 lead, but The Citadel battled back with a kill from Fenderson, two consecutive blocks and then an attack error from Ford. The Bulldogs continued to hang tough, pulling ahead 19-18 before Vervelde found room for another tip-winner. A kill from O’Connor then tied the match at 20-all, but The Citadel forced a WCU timeout after running off two consecutive points. The Citadel closed out the third set, 25-21, with a kill from Sowell sandwiched between two kills from Kernodle.
In the fourth set, The Citadel was able to rally to gain a 13-12 advantage, which was quickly erased by an O’Connor kill and a Ford block. WCU was able to push ahead late, 24-21, and freshman Alyssa Zupan teamed with Nicole Ford for the match-winning block.
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