Furman 3, UNCG 2

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Senior Chandler Ambrester recorded a double-double with a career-high 24 kills and 14 digs as the Furman volleyball team extended its winning streak to six matches with a spectacular 3-2 (25-23, 21-25, 25-20, 23-25, 16-14) come-from-behind win over UNC Greensboro Friday at Fleming Gymnasium in Greensboro, N.C.

Down 8-2 in the decisive fifth set, the Paladins rallied to tie the score at 10-apiece.  With the teams still knotted at 14-all, Furman senior Caroline Adams notched a key solo block to give the Paladins match point then connected for a kill to complete the victory.

Following a close beginning to set one, the Paladins were down 16-10 before a 7-1 Furman run tied the score at 17.  The teams battled through four ties, but the Paladins put together back-to-back points off a Spartan error and a kill from Ambrester for a 23-21 lead.  UNCG answered with consecutive points to tie the match at 23, then a kill from Adams, followed by a block from senior Christina Curry and Adams, gave Furman the 25-23 set victory.

Furman jumped out to a quick 7-4 lead in the second set, but UNCG rallied to tie the match at 11-all.  The teams remained tied at 20-20 before the Spartans won five out of the set’s last six points for a 25-21 win, tying the match at one set apiece at the break.

The teams fought through eight ties at the beginning of set three before Furman put together an 8-3 run to build a 19-14 advantage.  The Spartans won three out of four points to cut the lead to 20-17, but the Paladins answered with winners in four of the next five points to establish match point at 24-18.  UNCG’s Olivia Humphries kept the Spartans in the match with a kill, then UNCG took advantage of a Paladin attack error, but a final kill from Ambrester pushed Furman ahead, 25-20.

Set four also opened with eight ties before the Paladins began to pull away, scoring on consecutive points to take an 11-9 lead.  The Spartans rallied to tie the score at 15-all, and the teams again battled through five ties before UNCG put together a 5-0 run to take a 24-20 lead.  Furman scored three-straight off a kill and service ace by freshman setter Jo Wilks then a block from Ambrester and Adams, but Humphries again notched a crucial kill to give the Spartans the 25-23 victory, forcing the decisive fifth set.

Wilks recorded her eighth double-double of the season, tallying a team-high 54 assists and a season-high 14 digs in the match-up.  Curry led the Paladins with a .429 attack percentage, recording eight kills, while Adams hit .312 with 13 kills and five blocks.  Junior Christina Dorismond collected 12 kills, and fellow junior Amanda Komisarow added 13 digs in the victory.  Libero Elle Ross notched 12 digs for the Paladins.

Humphries tallied a double-double for UNCG (10-11, 4-5 SoCon) after recording 27 kills and 11 digs in the loss, while Karrian Chambers also notched a double-double with 25 kills and 18 digs.  Kellie Orewiler paced the Spartans with 23 digs, while Ari Lysacek posted a team-high 51 assists. Katherine Santiago also collected 18 digs in the loss.

Elon 3, Wofford 2

ELON, N.C. – The Elon volleyball team picked up an exciting five-set victory, 3-2 (23-25, 25-19, 25-23, 20-25, 18-16), over Wofford tonight, Oct. 19, in Alumni Gym. The win puts the Phoenix at 11-13 on the season (4-5 SoCon) and drops the Terriers to 12-9 (3-6 SoCon).

Sophomore Chanelle Smith led all players with 17 kills and recorded a double-double with 14 digs. Freshman Megan Gravley finished with 16 kills, while sophomore Kris Harris tallied 11.

On defense, senior Ali Deatsch recorded 19 digs and junior Maggie Reichard finished with 16. Both Harris and senior Celia Rose Eddy tallied five blocks on the night.

In the first set, Elon found itself down by five, 15-10, before an ace by Harris, a block by Gravley and Eddy and a kill by Gravley helped the Phoenix to five straight to tie the score at 15-all. The teams traded points until Wofford took a three-point advantage, 21-18. The Terriers would hold on for the close first-set win, 25-23.

Up by one in the second, 7-6, Elon went on a 9-5 run to open an 18-11 lead on Wofford and force the Terriers to call its first timeout of the set. A block by Harris and Cali Estes pushed the maroon and gold advantage to eight, 22-14, as Elon went on to tie the match with a 25-19 win.

The third set was close with eight ties by the time the score reached 14-all. Miscues by the Terriers helped Elon to a two-point lead, 16-14, but Wofford matched Elon at 17-all and the back-and-forth continued until the set was tied at 23. The maroon and gold claimed the final two points off a kill by Gravley and an ace by Ana Nicksic to take a 25-23 victory.

Down by five in the fourth, 10-5, Elon went on a 5-2 run off kills by Gravley and C. Smith to pull within two, 12-10. The Terriers maintained the slight advantage and held a five-point edge with set point, 24-19. Elon used a kill by Eddy to hold Wofford, but the Terriers would keep the match alive with a 25-20 win.

With the fifth and final set tied at five-all, Elon scored three straight off a kill by C. Smith and an ace by Deatsch to take an 8-5 advantage. Wofford tied the set at 10-all and took match point first at 15-14. The Phoenix stopped the Terriers from claiming the win twice and pulled even at 16-all. From there, a kill by Chelsea Rafetto and another by C. Smith sealed the 18-16 final-set win and the 3-2 match victory.

College of Charleston 3, Appalachian State 1

BOONE, N.C. – Sloane White tied a season high with 18 kills and the Cougars recorded 17 blocks in a 3-1 (25-18, 25-14, 23-25, 25-19) win over Appalachian State in road SoCon action on Friday night.

The Cougars (17-6, 8-1) lost just their fourth set in all of SoCon play this season, but were able to hold off the Mountaineers (5-18, 1-8) in the fourth game after ASU eked out a third set win.

White performed admirably for CofC, registering her season best totals in blocks (7), hitting percentage (.471) and kills (18). Kerstin Koehler set a new career high with 10 blocks, pacing a Cougar defense that put up a season-best 17 rejections.

Darcy Dorton finished with 15 kills for Charleston and Melissa Morello made nine kills and 12 digs. Emily Neideffer tallied seven kills and seven blocks, while Taeler Davis notched 44 assists. Emily Shelton posted 27 digs as the Cougars outdug the Mountaineers, 63-56.

College of Charleston hit .275 as a team and held Appalachian State to .098. The SoCon’s leader in blocks heading into the night, ASU only managed four blocks against CofC’s 17.

Lindsey Sauls and Dalton Tolliver were the offensive leaders for the Mountaineers with 15 and 14 kills, respectively.

The Cougars got off to a slow start in the first set, trading swings and points with the Mountaineers before the CofC defense took charge. CofC broke open a 12-12 deadlock with a 5-0 run punctuated by a kill from Morello, making the margin 17-12. With the Cougars leading 23-18, Dorton powered through a kill and Davis ended the first on a service ace, 25-18. CofC finished with eight blocks in the first set with Koehler having a hand in six rejections.

CofC came out with a crisp and focused approach in the second set, immediately going up 6-2 after three consecutive blocks. The Apps pulled as close as 14-9 after a Tolliver kill, but the Cougars reeled off six points in a row to put the set out of reach at 20-9. A dump from Davis fell in for the kill at the end to give the Cougars a 25-14 victory. The CofC defense held the Mountaineers to .027 hitting and the Cougars sided out at a clip of 81 percent in the set.

Appalachian State refused to go quietly in the third set, trading points with CofC throughout most of the set and tying the score at 17 after a Jacqui Spurgeon kill. The Cougars seemed to take control with a 4-1 run, but Appalachian rallied to take a 24-21 lead and force set point. A kill from White and a block from Koehler brought the Cougars to 24-23 but an Appalachian State kill from Lindsey Sauls gave ASU a 25-23 set three victory.

The Mountaineers battled into a 16-16 tie in the fourth set after a Cougar attack error. However, the Cougars were able finish off the set with a 4-0 run with kills from Koehler and Dorton and two blocks from White and Koehler.

Western Carolina 3, The Citadel 0

Cullowhee, N.C. – A trio of double-digit kill matches by Caitlin Piechota, Abbey Scroggins and Jordan Timmerman proved to be the difference in Western Carolina's 25-15, 26-24, 25-14 downing of The Citadel in Friday night SoCon volleyball action.

The Bulldogs tallied 32 kills as a team, led by a team-high nine from Rachel Farrell and eight by fellow outside hitter Ise d'Angelo. Meanwhile, Erin Bucherl anchored The Citadel defensive efforts with 21 digs, while Farrell tacked on 10 digs, narrowly missing the double-double. The Dogs posted 14 assisted blocks, including five by Lauren Hurt and four by Farrell. The loss drops the Cadets to 4-21 overall and 0-9 in conference action.

Western Carolina's offense was keyed by the performance of Piechota (12 kills), Scroggins (11 kills) and Timmerman (10 kills). That combination was instrumental in guiding the Catamounts to 48 total kills and a .206 hitting percentage. Piechota and Timmerman not only made their marks offensively, but also came through with 14 and 11 digs, respectively, on the defensive end. WCU recorded 66 digs as a team, led by Morgan Cochran's 21. The Catamounts improved to 8-16 and 4-5 in the North Division of the SoCon.

The host Catamounts established home court advantage early in the first set, jumping out to a 13-5 behind three kills each by Scroggins and Nicole Ford. The Bulldogs answered with strikes by d'Angelo, Farrell and Jessica Maxwell, but WCU took advantage of unforced Citadel errors en route to a 21-12 lead. Four Western Carolina kills among the final seven points of the set proved to be the difference in the 25-15 victory.

The Citadel bounced back strong in the second set, using three kills by Farrell and two each by Hurt, d'Angelo and Maxwell to assume a 13-9 lead in the early going. Piechota drove home a kill for the Catamounts and following a series of points by Timmerman and Paige McConlogue the game reached a 15-15 tie. The Bulldogs regained their composure and scored six of the next nine points to assume a 21-18 advantage. WCU retaliated with kills by Timmerman, Scroggins and Leah Butler and used four unforced errors to complete the 26-24 rally.

That momentum carried over into the third set as the Catamounts moved in front 13-9 due in large part to four Timmerman kills. The four-point lead quickly ballooned to 19-12, where with McConlogue in serve Western Carolina scored four straight points to take command of the decisive set. Two kills by d'Angelo down the stretch were not enough to deter Western Carolina from completing the 25-14 win.