Wofford 3, ULM 1
Wofford 3, Jacksonville State 0
CENTRE, Ala. – Led by the play of sophomore middle Danni Densford and freshman middle Colleen Reilly, the Wofford volleyball team came away with two victories on Friday at the JSU Gamecock Invitational, defeating UL-Monroe in four sets and host Jacksonville State in three.
After combining for 24 kills and hitting .500 in the early match, Wofford’s starting middles went for a combined 20 kills at another impressive pace of .349 in the nightcap. For the day, Densford and Reilly picked up 44 of the team’s 96 kills while hitting a scorching.420.
The pair of wins makes it three straight for Wofford (3-3), also defeating Presbyterian on Wednesday in Clinton.
Sophomore Bella Santoro and senior libero Jessica Graham posted double-figure digs in each match. Graham totaled 16 against both ULM and JSU, eclipsing 1,400 for her career to move her into sole possession of third in Wofford’s record book.
Sophomore setter Molly Mayo led all players in assists in each match. The Oak Lawn, Illinois native had 41 in the four-setter, followed by 37 in the three-setter, averaging 11.1 assists per set on the day.
The Terriers play two more on Saturday at the Gamecock Invitational, beginning with Alcorn State at 10 a.m. ET and ending with Alabama A&M at 5:30 p.m. ET.
UNCG 3, Eastern Kentucky 2
Tennessee 3, UNCG 0
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – UNCG opened up a two-set lead over Eastern Kentucky Friday morning before eventually downing the Colonels 3-2 (25-18, 25-18, 19-25, 17-25, 15-12) in both teams’ opening match of the DISH Tennessee Volleyball Classic inside Thompson Boling Arena. In the nightcap, UNCG matched up with SEC member Tennessee and fell in three sets (13-25, 23-25, 15-25) to end day two of the DISH Tennessee Volleyball Classic. The Spartans drop to 3-2 overall while the Vols stay unbeaten at 6-0
Against Eastern Kentucky, UNCG put three players in double figures offensively and was led by senior middle hitter Julia Westerbur’s match-high 15 kills. Junior outside hitter Alexis Mourier turned in a fantastic performance as she tallied 14 kills and made just two errors in 25 attempts to finish with a .480 hitting percentage. Freshman middle hitter Jasmine Jones checked in with a career-high 11 kills to go along with three blocks (one solo).
Senior middle hitter Julia Westerbur led the UNCG offense in the match versus the Vols with eight kills, while sophomore outside hitter Ashley Muench and redshirt freshman middle hitter Jasmine Jones checked in with seven apiece. Defensively, senior defensive specialist Katherine Santiago paced all players in the match with 21 digs. Erica Trieber recorded 11 kills for Tennessee to complement an 18-dig performance by Bridgette Villano.
UNCG plays two more matches in Knoxville Saturday facing Tennessee Tech at 12:30 p.m. and squaring off against North Florida at 4:30 p.m.
Georgia 3, Mercer 0
Kennesaw State 3, Mercer 0
ATHENS, Ga. – The Mercer University volleyball team lost a pair of matches against Georgia and Kennesaw State on the final day of the Georgia Challenge in Athens, Ga.
The Bears opened the day against the Bulldogs, the hosts of the Georgia Challenge, and fell behind quickly, dropping the opening set 25-17. After trailing for much of the second stanza, Mercer put together an 11-3 run to earn a set point at 24-23. However, Georgia reeled off the next three points to take the set 26-24. The Bulldogs closed out the match with a 25-16 victory in the third to earn a 3-0 match win.
Kennesaw State controlled the match from the beginning, winning the first set 25-14. The Owls then captured the second by a score of 25-16 before finishing the match with another 25-16 win in the third to claim a 3-0 victory.
The day's best performance from a Bear was turned in by sophomore Morgan MacGilvary in the first match against Georgia. The sophomore recorded 11 kills, the only player on Mercer or Georgia to reach double figures, and added eight digs and two solo blocks to cap off her performance.
With 12 kills on the day MacGilvary now has 56 on the season through just six matches. The 56 kills more than doubles her entire output from the 2014 season in which the outside hitter totaled 27 kills in her debut season.
The Bears head south next weekend for a pair of matches in DeLand, Fla. Mercer starts the weekend with a match at Stetson on Friday, Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. ET and then wraps up its stay in the Sunshine State on Saturday, Sept. 12 at noon with a match against Florida International.
ETSU 3, Alabama State 1
TROY, Ala. – The East Tennessee State University volleyball team knocked off Alabama State 3-1 (25-21, 21-25, 25-13, 25-8), Friday afternoon at Trojan Arena in Troy, Ala. The victory is ETSU’s second consecutive win, and it evens the Bucs’ record this season at 2-2.
ETSU used a strong collective effort defensively to take the first frame from Alabama State, 25-21. The Bucs held the Lady Hornets to a .030 attacking percentage in 33 attempts and five players tallied at least two digs.
Despite being out-blocked six to two, the Bucs were able to prevail thanks in part to the offensive production of Rylee Milhorn. Milhorn notched six kills in 13 attack attempts, while committing just two errors (.308 hitting percentage). The six kills were just one shy of her season-high in that category.
In the second set, ETSU struggled with errors. The Buccaneers committed 14 total miscues in the frame, including four service errors and 10 attack errors. Alabama State took advantage of ETSU’s mistakes and evened the match with a 25-21 win.
The Bucs put together their best offensive set of the season in the third, as they hit .480 with just one error to regain the lead, 25-13. ETSU received a spark off the bench from Allison Humes. Humes tallied three kills in five attempts to go along with two blocks in the stanza.
ETSU’s offense kept rolling in the fourth, which proved to be enough to finish off Alabama State, 25-8. The Bucs hit .408 with 15 kills in 32 attempts, while holding the Lady Hornets to a match-low -.074 hitting percentage. Over the final two sets, ETSU outscored Alabama State 50-21 and hit a collective .441 with 29 kills in 59 attempts.
ETSU will compete in a pair of matches Saturday to conclude play at the Troy Invitational. The Bucs will take on CSU Bakersfield at 10:30 a.m. and will close out the invite with a matchup against Troy at 3:30 p.m.
USC Upstate 3, The Citadel 0
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Despite a win in the first set, The Citadel volleyball team fell to USC Upstate on Friday at the Runnin’ Bulldogs Classic hosted by Gardner-Webb inside Paul Porter Arena.
The Bulldogs (1-4) hit a hot streak in the first set, taking a quick 8-1 advantage over the Spartans. USC Upstate (5-0) responded, knotting the score at 15-15 before The Citadel edged them in a 27-25 win.
Sophomore Moriah Smith posted her fourth double-double of the season, with a match-high 17 kills and 13 digs.
Senior captain Rachel Keefer recorded a match-high 38 assists and four blocks while earning a hitting percentage of .400.
Junior Megan Sowell hit a match-high five service aces along with eight kills, while junior captain Samantha Espy earned a match-high 27 digs.
The Bulldogs will wrap up tournament play Saturday against Gardner-Webb at 12:30 p.m. and Southeast Missouri State at 4:30 p.m.
Chattanooga 3, Mississippi Valley State 0
STARKVILLE, Miss. – The Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team posted a convincing 3-0 win against the Mississippi Valley State Devilettes in the first match of the Maroon Classic in Starkville, Miss. on Friday.
Chattanooga improves to 3-1 on the season, winning the last three matches.
The match featured notable results by the Mocs, including a collective 45 kills, in comparison to the Devilettes 19. Additionally, Chattanooga posted an impressive .500 team hitting percentage. Throughout the 2014 season, a .489 attack percentage against Mississippi Valley State was the best as a team.
Miranda Elpers tallied the most digs on the team with 11, while recording seven kills and a .545 hitting percentage.
Allie Davenport hit four service aces, the second highest recorded in any UTC match last season. Additionally, she also led the team with 10 kills.
Kristy Wieser, Lauren Greenspoon and Briana Reid all posted two blocks each. Greenspoon also racked up 29 assists.
UTC takes on Stetson Saturday at noon and host-team Mississippi State at 8 p.m.
Furman 3, Winthrop 1
GREENVILLE, S.C. – With the match tied 1-1, Furman volleyball responded with back-to-back set wins to down Winthrop, 3-1 (25-19, 18-25, 25-20, 25-14), in the second game of the Carolina Classic in Alley Gym on Friday night. The Paladins held the Eagles to a .121 hitting percentage in set three, before shutting them down offensively in set four, when Winthrop hit -.057.
Annie Bierman paced Furman offensively, putting down 17 kills, while Amelia Bohlander and Taina Joseph each added 10. The trio combined to add 11 digs and 8 blocks on the night, while libero Meg DeMaar added 21 digs. Jo Wilks picked up her second double-double of the year with 49 assists and 11 digs, but it was Christen Sikora who was the difference in the match. The sophomore from Southlake, Texas came off the bench and added nine kills, including seven in set three.
Winthrop cut Furman’s early lead to one at 6-5 in set four, before the Paladins caught fire and used a 10-2 run to take a 16-7 lead and swing the momentum entirely in their favor. Winthrop cut Furman’s lead to seven at 18-11, but the Paladins rattled off five-straight points to push the lead to 23-11 and closed out the match with kills from Bohlander and Joseph to take set four, 25-14, and the match, 3-1.
Earlier on Friday, South Carolina downed Clemson 3-1, after the Tigers led 1-0 early in the match. The four teams continue play in the Carolina Classic tomorrow, beginning at 10 a.m.