Clemson 3, ETSU 1
ETSU 3, USC Upstate 0
CLEMSON, S.C. – The East Tennessee State University volleyball team went 1-1 in the first day of the Clemson Classic Friday at Jervey Gymnaisum. The Bucs lost a close match to Clemson, 3-1 (23-25, 25-20, 27-29, 22-25) but swept previously unbeaten USC Upstate (25-19, 25-23, 25-20). With the split, ETSU moves its record to 4-4.
Despite receiving several standout performances, the Buccaneers dropped the opening match of the day to Clemson, 3-1. Briana Allmon had a career-high 23 kills to go along with 11 digs to notch her second consecutive double-double, while sophomore Rylee Milhorn also put together her second straight double-double with 16 kills and 15 digs to lead the Bucs.
The Bucs used the momentum they gained against Clemson in their first match to their advantage in the second match against the Spartans. Allmon led the team with 17 kills and Milhorn notched another double-double with 13 kills and 16 digs. In addition to Allmon and Milhorn, Kristen Favre tallied 43 assists (14.33 assists per set) and Hailey Aguilar notched 19 digs, which was one shy of a career-high.
The two teams exchanged points for the majority of the first frame until the Bucs rattled off a 10-4 run to take the first set, 25-19. Senior Khadijah Wiley tallied three of her seven kills in the first frame during the Bucs’ run.
ETSU struggled offensively in the second not only with errors not only on the attack but also on the serve. Despite hitting a match-low .170, the Bucs won the second 25-23 thanks to their defense holding the Spartans to a .026 hitting percentage.
The Bucs got the first point in the third via Spartan attack error and did not give the lead back as it rode it to the set victory, 25-20. ETSU led by as many as nine points in the final frame.
The Bucs will conclude play at the Clemson Classic Saturday morning when they face Presbyterian College at 11 a.m.
The Citadel 3, Alabama A&M 1
UNC Asheville 3, The Citadel 1
CHARLESTON S.C. – The Citadel volleyball team defeated Alabama A&M in four sets on Friday at the first day of the UNC Asheville Invitational before falling 3-1 to UNC Asheville in the nightcap.
The Bulldogs (3-6) claimed their first match of the tournament in four sets, winning 23-25, 25-17, 25-15, 25-11.
Senior Bailey Kernodle led the attack against Alabama A&M, placing 14 kills and 12 digs for her second consecutive double-double.
Sophomore Moriah Smith earned her fourth consecutive double-double against A&M with 10 kills and 15 digs. The outside hitter also hit three services aces, and went on to earn yet another double-double against UNC Asheville.
After falling to UNC Asheville in the first set, The Citadel responded, taking the second set 25-23. Asheville regained the lead, defeating The Citadel 3-1 to claim the second match of the day.
Junior Megan Sowell posted a match-high 20 kills against UNC Asheville, earning a .500 attack percentage. Sophomore Logan Smith also recorded a match-high 42 assists.
The Citadel will close out the tournament Saturday against South Carolina State at 11:30 a.m. and New Orleans at 4:30 p.m.
Northwestern 3, Furman 0
Annie Bierman and Christen Sikora each recorded double-digit kills, but Furman was unable to hold off Northwestern and fell to the Huskies, 3-0 (14-25, 22-25, 20-25), on Friday night in the Paladins’ first game of the Holiday Inn University Plaza Invitational, hosted by Western Kentucky.
Bierman put down 13 kills and 12 digs for her fourth double-double of the year, while Sikora added 10 kills and nine digs. Jo Wilks dished out 27 assists and 12 digs, while Meg DeMaar added 11 digs. Amelia Bohlander and Cynthia Ley each turned in a team-high two blocks for the Paladins.
After Northwestern finished the first set on a 7-2 to win 25-14 and take a 1-0 lead in the match, the teams traded points in set two until the Huskies opened up a 12-10 lead and forced the Paladins to take a timeout. The teams continued to trade points until, with the score tied at 16, Furman used a 5-0 run to take a 21-16 lead in the set.
The Huskies would not go away quietly, however, using a 4-1 run to cut Furman’s lead to 22-20. The Paladins pushed the lead to three at 23-20, but Northwestern finished the set on a 5-0 run to win 25-23 and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Four-straight Northwestern points prompted Furman’s first timeout of set three trailing 13-8, before the Paladins used a 5-0 run to tie the match at 13. The teams traded points until Northwestern grabbed a 21-17 lead and forced Furman’s final timeout of the set. The teams traded points the rest of the set and the Huskies held off the Paladins, 25-20, for the 3-0 match win.
Furman is back in action tomorrow, taking on tournament-host Western Kentucky in a noon contest.
Tennessee 3, Wofford 1
CHARLESTON, S.C. -- The Wofford volleyball team opened the College of Charleston Invitational with a four-set loss to Tennessee (25-22, 21-25, 17-25, 17-25) on Friday afternoon at TD Arena.. The
Wofford (5-4) came from 6-0 down in the first set to take on 18-16 lead. After the undefeated Lady Vols (10-0) retook a 21-20 advantage, the Terriers scored five of the last six points to take the set.
The Terriers and Tennessee played a highly competitive second set that also came down to the wire. However, tied at 20, UT rolled off five of the last six points to tie the match at a set apiece.
Tennessee gained momentum from there, going in front 13-9 and 22-15 to win the third by eight, and taking an 18-8 lead in set four before closing the match.
The Terriers have two more to play at the CofC Invitational on Saturday, taking on host College of Charleston at 1 p.m., followed by Jacksonville at 4:30 p.m.
Samford 3, McNeese State 2
MOBILE, Ala. - For the second consecutive week the Samford University volleyball team climbed back from the depths of defeat to win a match in thrilling fashion. The Bulldogs rebounded from a 2-0 deficit to McNeese State University to win 3-2 at the Jaguar Invitational on Friday, Sept. 11th, inside Jag Gym.
The Samford offense was held to a negative attack percentage (-.037) where it had more errors (8) than kills (7) in the first set which allowed the Cowgirls to cruise to a 25-11 victory to open the match.
Held without a service ace in the first two sets, Samford finally picked up its first of the match in the third set at a critical moment. Sophomore Kate Neisler drove the ball deep in the seam to give the Bulldogs a 16-15 lead in the set, which turned the momentum completely. Neisler was one of four players who finished the match with double-digit kills as she tallied 13 (.370) and seven digs.
Junior middle Kiahna Wicks finished the match with 12 kills (.647) and three blocks while redshirt sophomore T.J. Russell ripped off 11 kills (.308) and freshman Krista Boesing tied Neisler's team-high 13 kills (.219) to round out the performance.
Samford will continue play in the Jaguar Invitation on Saturday, Sept. 12, when the team faces Houston Baptist University at 10:30 a.m.
Chattanooga 3, UAB 1
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team beat out the UAB Blazers 3-1 in their first match of the Scenic City Showdown in downtown Chattanooga.
The first two sets were neck-to-neck, neither team finishing below 21 points. The Mocs claimed the first set 25-21 but lost the second set in a nail-biter 28-26. UTC then dominated in the third and fourth sets, not allowing the Blazers to win more than 16 points in either.
Sarah Batterton dominated on offense by marking a team-high of 19 kills, while posting a .643 attack percentage. Catherine Chason led the back-court with 12 digs, while recording three service aces. Allie Davenport also hit two aces, adding to the Mocs aggressiveness from the service line.
Austin Peay edged Gardner-Webb 3-2 in the opening match of the tournament Friday afternoon.
The Mocs face the Gardner-Webb Bulldogs Saturday at 12:30 p.m., followed by the Austin Peay Governors at 7 p.m. to close out their last home tournament of the season in Maclellan Gym.
UNCG 3, Norfolk State 0
GREENSBORO, N.C. – UNCG extended its win streak to four matches Friday night in a 3-0 (25-14, 25-19, 25-14) sweep of Norfolk State in the Spartan-Aggie Invitational opener for both squads at Fleming Gymnasium. The Spartans improve to 7-2 while NSU remains winless at 0-7.
UNCG hit over .200 as a team for the fourth-straight match checking in with a .308 mark off of 47 kills on 107 swings and 14 errors. Conversely, the Blue and Gold limited Norfolk State to .038 efficiency (23k/19e/105ta). The homestanding Spartans also held the edge in assists (44-22), digs (55-41) and total blocks (5.0 to 2.0).
Sophomore outside hitter Jessica Brezwyn posted her second double-double of the season finishing the match with 11 kills and 11 digs while freshman setter Allison Penner checked in with 40 assists, seven digs, two block assists and a service ace. Defensively, senior libero Katherine Santiago racked up a match-high 17 digs. Redshirt freshman middle hitter Jasmine Jones continued her strong play at the net with four blocks while also hitting .417 with six kills on 12 swings.
UNCG was the first to 10 in the third frame and held a four-point lead at that point after a kill by Ashley Muench. The teams split the next eight rallies to make the score 14-10 but the serve of Brezwyn helped the Blue and Gold push out to an insurmountable 18-10 lead. Sophomore outside hitter Katie Wagner would later finish the sweep off with a kill as UNCG captured the third set 25-14.
The Spartans return to action tomorrow with a pair of matches to close out the Spartan-Aggie Invitational. UNCG faces off with North Carolina A&T across town inside Moore Gym at 11 a.m. before hosting Alabama State at 7 p.m. back in Fleming Gymnasium. The Hornets defeated the Aggies 3-1 earlier this evening over at A&T.
Stetson 3, Mercer 2
DELAND, Fla. – The Mercer University volleyball team dropped a heartbreaking five-set thriller to hosts Stetson on Friday evening by a final of 3-2.
Mercer had its chances in each of the first two sets but was unable to pull out either one and quickly fell behind 2-0. In the opener the Bears fought off four straight match points and knotted the score at 24-24 before Stetson claimed the final two points to win 26-24. Mercer led the second set late, holding a 22-20 advantage. The Hatters went on another late run and won the last five points to take the second 25-22.
Mercer rallied in the third and fourth set, jumping out to early leads and shutting the door in each stanza. The Bears cruised to a 25-16 win in the third and followed it up with an impressive 25-18 fourth-set victory to even the match score at two sets apiece. Unfortunately for Mercer, the Bears were unable to carry the momentum into the fifth frame, as Stetson built an early lead and went on to win 15-7 and earn a hard-fought 3-2 victory.
Freshman middle blocker Paige Alsten was a force at the net on the defensive side against the Hatters. Alsten recorded nine blocks, all block assists, to notch a career high in the category. The nine blocks are the most by any Mercer player this season and are tied for the most by any SoCon player in 2015. Alsten also added eight kills, the second most by a Bear on the evening, and one dig.
Mercer recorded 18.0 blocks against Stetson, the most by a Mercer squad since also totaling 18.0 against Florida A&M on October 30, 2007. The 18.0 blocks are the most blocks by any team in the SoCon thus far in 2015, as Western Carolina had the previous best mark with 15.5 at Penn on September 6. Alsten led the way with nine blocks and Emily Krogman, Ellie James, Jordan Gollon and Morgan MacGilvary each added three or more for the Bears.
William & Mary 3, Western Carolina 2
GREENVILLE, N.C. – The Western Carolina volleyball team fell behind 2-0 to William & Mary in its first match of the East Carolina Invitational Friday night. The Catamounts battled back to tie the match at two but the Tribe used a late run in the fifth set to claim a 3-2 victory in the match.
The loss drops WCU’s record to 3-6 on the year while the Tribe improved to 4-4.
Sophomore Katie O’Connor was the lone Catamount to reach double figure kills with 11 while also leading the team with five blocks. Freshman Savannah Kohlhagen chipped in nine kills and 11 digs while freshman Alyssa Zupan and sophomore Jo-Leigh Vervelde each had eight kills. Zupan added four blocks while Vervelde led the team in assists with 20, added 13 digs and also contributed three blocks.
Reigning Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Week senior Elyssa Mulheron led the way in digs with 18 while senior setter Cristina Nazario added 19 assists and nine digs.
Overall the Tribe had 10 service aces in the match including three in the final four points of the match. William & Mary was led by Heather Pippus who had 14 kills and eight digs. Dessi Koleva added 11 kills and 14 digs. Katie Kemp played just the final set for the Tribe and she proved to be the difference as she accounted for all three service aces.
The Catamounts will return to action tomorrow, Sept. 12 as they face the hosts, East Carolina, at 12:30 pm before taking on Hampton at 3 p.m.