Samford 3, Furman 2

BIRMINGHAM, ALA. – Michaela Reesor posted a double-double with 25 kills and 12 digs to lead the Samford volleyball team to a 3-2 (22-25, 25-17, 25-20, 23-25, 17-15) victory over Furman in a thrilling Southern Conference match-up in Birmingham on Saturday.

The teams battled through 15 ties in the opening set, settling at 22-22, before Furman reeled off three-straight points off kills from seniors Caroline Adams and Natalie Braun, coupled with a Bulldog attack error, to end the set at 25-22.

Samford evened the score in set two, putting together an 8-2 run in the middle of the set to claim a 19-10 advantage.  The Paladins scored three consecutive points to cut the deficit to six, but the Bulldogs kept control of the set for a 25-17 victory.

The Bulldogs led wire-to-wire in the third set after building a quick 9-4 lead.  Furman came within three points of Samford at 21-18 following a kill by senior Chandler Ambrester, but the Bulldogs won four of the set’s last six points to take a 2-1 set advantage.

Down 16-15 in set four, the Paladins came alive, notching four straight points sparked by Braun’s serves.  Samford tied the match at 22-apiece before back-to-back kills from Adams and Braun gave the Paladins match-point.  Katie Murphy’s kill kept the Bulldogs in the match, but a final Samford service error gave Furman a 25-23 set victory to force a decisive fifth set. 

The Paladins built a quick 6-3 lead in set five, but the Bulldogs went on a 6-0 run to seemingly gain control of the match.  Furman answered with a 3-0 run of its own to tie the match at nine, and the teams battled back-and-forth before the Paladins took a 14-12 lead off a kill by Braun.  Samford took advantage of a Paladin service error and hitting error to tie the score at 14-all, then Furman tied the match at 15 following a Bulldog service error.  Reesor’s kill put Samford ahead, before a block by Elizabeth Neisler and Lauren Hutchinson sealed the 17-15 win.

Three Paladins recorded double-doubles in the match-up, as Ambrester notched a team-high 18 kills and 15 digs, while Braun tallied 20 digs and 11 kills.  Freshman Jo Wilks paced the team with 50 assists and added 13 digs.  Junior Elle Ross also collected 20 digs for Furman.  Adams hit .423 with 13 kills and five blocks, while junior Christina Dorismond had 12 kills and six blocks for the evening. 

Murphy hit .405 and added 19 kills for Samford (12-6, 4-0 SoCon), while Casey Garvey notched a team-high 61 assists.  Alexis Bauer paced the Bulldog defense with 32 digs. 

College of Charleston 3, Georgia Southern 0

STATESBORO, Ga. – Melissa Morello and Darcy Dorton each recorded 12 kills, and the College of Charleston ended Georgia Southern’s five-match win streak with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-22) Southern Conference volleyball win over the Eagles Saturday afternoon in Hanner Fieldhouse.

It was the first time the Eagles (12-6, 3-1 SoCon) have been swept all season and gives the Cougars sole possession of first place in the SoCon South Division.

Moriah Bellissimo led GSU with 11 kills and eight digs, and Kate Van Dyke recorded 36 assists. Kym Coley, Jamie DeRatt and Meredith Paskert each collected 10 kills.

Sloan White had 10 kills for College of Charleston (10-5, 3-0 SoCon), and Taeler Davis posted 30 assists. Dorton added 10 digs, and Emily Shelton posted 11.

The Cougars recorded eight team blocks and allowed the Eagles to hit just .142 in the match.

The key point in the match came late in the second set as C of C overcame a five-point deficit with a 9-2 run with White and Lizzie Theesfeld serving for eight of the points during the stretch. After a Davis kill gave the Cougars a 23-21 lead, C of C had a serving error, and a block by Bellissimo and Crysten Curry made the score 23-23. But Dorton got a kill for the Cougars for set point, and Bellissimo’s attack went out of bounds on the next play to give the Cougars the25-23 win.

After falling behind by five points in the first set, the Eagles got to within two at 24-22 on a Bellissimo kill and a Cougar hitting error, but Dorton ended the set with a kill. With the score tied 19-19 in the third, White got a kill and assisted on a block to ignite a 6-3 Cougar run to finish the set and end the match.

The Eagles travel North for a pair of SoCon matches next weekend. GSU meets Appalachian State Saturday at 7 p.m. before taking on Davidson Monday at 6 p.m.

Davidson 3, The Citadel 0

September 29, 2012

Davidson, N.C. – Cassie Uribe led all Citadel hitters with eight kills, while Amanda Rudnik and Jessica Maxwell each finished with seven, but Davidson emerged with a sweep of the Dogs by scores of 25-20, 25-21 and 27-25.

Uribe highlighted a Citadel offensive unit that totaled 35 kills, while senior classmate Rachael Farrell tacked on 14 digs. Also with solid defensive outings for the Cadets were Mikaela Tracy (12 digs) and Lauren Hurt (10 digs). Hurt also made her presence felt with two solo blocks and a pair of assisted blocks. The Bulldogs fell to 2-16 overall and 0-4 in conference play.

Davidson (6-7, 2-1 SoCon) was highlighted by the tandem of Caroline Brown and Tindall Sewell, who finished with 14 kills apiece. The Wildcats accrued 52 kills and hit .218 as a unit, keyed by 40 assists from Ariel Ley. The back row trio of Molly Crenshaw and Ariel Ley paced the team with 18 and 11 digs, respectively.

The Citadel took an early 4-1 lead in the closely contested first set, behind Maxwell's service game, but Davidson retaliated to knot the game at 5-5. After five ties, making for a 14-14 score, the Cats scored six of the next eight points to move in front 20-16 on a Megan Chamberlin service ace. Uribe answered with a pair of kills, but two kills down the stretch by Brown proved to make the difference, 25-20.

Davidson carried over that momentum into the second set, assuming a 12-6 lead in the early going. Two kills by Maxwell and one off the hand of Rudnik kept the margin at six, 14-8, but the Cats took advantage of a series of unforced errors to move in from 20-13. A late surge by the Cadets, highlighted by four Wildcat errors, made for a 25-21 Davidson final.

The intermission followed with The Citadel jumping out to a 12-7 lead on consecutive kills by Uribe and Bailey Kernodle. The Dogs maintained the healthy five-point advantage, 17-12, before four kills by Brown sparked a 6-1 run by Davidson to draw the game even at 18-18. Six more ties made for a 25-25 tie before an error opened the door for a Davidson match-point. The Wildcats completed 27-25 win with a bad set to conclude the match.

Western Carolina 3, UNCG 0

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG volleyball team could not find a rhythm Saturday, falling to Western Carolina 3-0 inside the Ramsey Center. The Spartans fall to 7-7 overall and 2-1 in Southern Conference play while the Catamounts improve to 6-13 and 2-1.

The Spartans were plagued by a poor hitting performance, firing at just .173 in the match while Western Carolina played one of its best contests of the year – hitting .225 and out-digging UNCG 86-74. The Spartans got the better of the blocking 6.0-1.0.

Freshman Lauren Betlach led the way for UNCG, tallying her second career double-double with 11 kills and a career-high 16 digs. Also posting a personal best was freshman Julia Westerbur who racked up five kills. Defensively, freshman Katherine Santiago reached the 20-dig plateau for the sixth time this season with 21 while junior Kellie Orewiler also recorded double figures with 11.

Western Carolina took control from the outset, taking leads of 9-4 and 18-10 before the Spartans rallied to within 23-19 on a Kelsey Sidney kill. UNCG could not sustain the momentum as the Catamounts scored the last two points of the frame. The Spartans hit just .143 in the set while allowing WCU to fire at a .220 clip.

UNCG captured the first two rallies in the second interval, but Western Carolina scored seven-straight points to push ahead by five. A block by junior Morgan Freeman and sophomore Emily McMurtrey made the score 11-10, but Sidney committed an attack error a few points later, allowing the home side to build a 16-11 cushion. The Spartans would answer, going on a 4-0 run capped off by another UNCG block. However, WCU scored the next two points and kept the Spartans at an arm’s length – taking the set by a 25-22 score.

The Blue and Gold struggled again offensively, hitting just .102, but did get its block going, owning a 5.0-1.0 advantage in the set.

The Catamounts pushed in front 3-1 in the third interval before a solo block by Freeman capped an 8-3 run and put UNCG ahead 9-6. The Spartans led by a 13-11 score but could not keep the advantage as an attack error by redshirt junior Olivia Humphries allowed WCU to finish a rally and lead 19-16. UNCG tied the frame at 22 on a Westerbur kill and had two set points at 24-23 and 25-24, but the Catamounts scored the final three to capture the match.

Chattanooga 3, Wofford 2

CHATTANOOGA, TENN. – Despite a career-high performance from Tara Gough with 32 assists and 27 digs, the Wofford volleyball team dropped a fifth set match at Chattanooga Saturday night in Maclellan Gym.

Gough recorded her third career-double and first 20-20 in her career.  Her 27 digs is the second highest dig performance by a Terrier this season.

The Mocs jumped out in control of the first set early as they took a 12-6 lead and pulled out to a 19-9 lead.  Chattanooga went on to take the opening set 25-13.

Set two saw the Mocs opened up a ten point lead, 12-2, from the start as Chattanooga led wire-to-wire and took a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-14 win.

In set three, the two teams traded points early before Wofford went out to a 9-6 only to see Chattanooga tie the set at ten.  The Terriers responded with a 7-1 run to pull out to a 17-11 lead control of the set.  Wofford held on to win the set 25-19.

Wofford again took an early 9-6 lead in the fourth set, but again Chattanooga tied the set this time at nine.  Wofford pulled out 17-14, but the Mocs again battled back to force a tie at 19.  Wofford went on a 3-1 run to take a 22-20 lead, but Chattanooga rallied to force a tie 22 and take a 24-23 lead.  The Terriers answered with the final three points to claim the set, 26-24, and force a decisive fifth set.

The Mocs started the fifth set with a 7-3 run to pull ahead.  Wofford was able to cut the lead to two points, 8-6, but Chattanooga used a 7-1 run to claim the set, 15-7, and the match.

Chattanooga had 130 digs in the match, while Wofford had 101 digs.  The Mocs outhit the Terriers .202 to .093 in the match.

Amanda Liguori led Wofford offensively with 17 kills, while Rachel Woodlee added ten kills.  Kelsey Bagwell picked up 19 digs, while Jessica Graham followed with 17 digs.  Reagan Styles had ten digs and trails the all-time Wofford record by just 30 digs.

Chattanooga was led by Lauren Gainer with 17 kills and .556 hitting percentage.  Julimar Alvarado followed with 13 kills, while Briana Reid and Kasey Talley had 11 and ten kills respectively.  Bridget Camacho passed out 52 assists and collected 23 digs.  Pauala Passmore had a match-high 42 digs, while Melissa Green had 32 digs.

Wofford falls to 9-6 overall and 0-3 Southern Conference action.  Chattanooga improves to 8-11 and 2-2 in the SoCon.

Appalachian 3, Elon 1

BOONE, N.C. – The Elon volleyball team was not able to pull out a win after a tight and hard fought match at Appalachian State tonight, Sept. 29, in the Holmes Center. The Phoenix (8-10, 1-2 SoCon) fell to the Mountaineers (5-12, 1-2 SoCon) by a final of 3-1 (22-25, 25-23, 24-26, 17-25).

Sophomore Chanelle Smith claimed a double-double after leading Elon with 10 kills and recording 15 digs. Sophomores Danielle Smith and Kris Harris both finished the night wit eight kills. On defense, freshman Catherine Head tallied a career-high nine blocks, while D. Smith recorded five. The Phoenix out blocked the Mountaineers 13-10.

Elon jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the first set off two kills from Harris, one by Megan Gravley and a block by Harris and Ana Nicksic to force an early Mountaineer timeout. With the Phoenix up by six, 12-6, ASU managed to score eight unanswered to take a 14-12 advantage. After the Mountaineers extended its lead to seven, 23-16, a kill by D. Smith and two aces by Allison Johnson helped Elon to a 5-0 run to cut the deficit to two, 23-21. However, ASU was able to hold on to the lead and won the set, 25-22.

A kill by Celia Rose Eddy helped the Phoenix take a four-point advantage, 8-4, in the second set. After the Mountaineers tied the score at eight-all, both squads traded points back and forth before the maroon and gold took a two-point lead, 14-12. Kills by C. Smith and D. Smith helped Elon maintain its advantage and extend the lead to three, 18-15. ASU pulled within two, 21-19, but a block by Head and Eddy and an ace by Nicksic put the Phoenix up by four, 23-19. With the set tied at 23-all, a block by Head and D. Smith and a kill by Head won the set for the Phoenix, 25-23, to even the match.

With the maroon and gold holding an 8-7 lead in the third, kills by Harris and Gravley and a block by Eddy and Head helped the Phoenix score three straight to go up by four, 11-7. After a block by Gravley and Head put Elon up by five, 13-8, the Mountaineers managed to knot the set at 13. Several strong blocks by the Phoenix helped the maroon and gold score six of the next nine points to lead 19-16. ASU evened the score again at 19-all as the teams traded points back and forth before Elon grabbed the first set point, 24-22. The Mountaineers were able to keep the Phoenix from taking the set and pulled out the win, 26-24.

A kill by C. Smith gave Elon a slight lead to start the fourth set, 5-3. ASU took the lead and held a five-point edge, 14-9, before a kill by D. Smith broke a 4-0 run by the Mountaineers to make it 14-10. A block by Head and D. Smith kept the Phoenix within four, 16-12, but three straight by ASU left the maroon and gold down by seven, 19-12. The Mountaineers held on for the set, 25-17, and the match win, 3-1.

Elon will return home for a pair of matches next weekend. The Phoenix faces Chattanooga on Friday, Oct. 5, at 6 p.m. and Samford on Saturday, Oct. 6, at 7 p.m.