GREENSBORO, N.C. - Luciana Shafer had 17 kills and Caley Redden delivered 4 of her 16 kills in the critical fifth set as UNC Greensboro defeated backyard rival Elon, 3-2, on Wednesday evening in Alumni Gym. With the win, the Spartans moved into a tie for second place in the North Division with Elon, although UNCG holds the tiebreaker by sweeping the Phoenix in their two meetings this season.

The Spartans improved to 16-12 on the year and 8-5 in the Southern Conference. Elon fell to 21-6 this season and 8-5 on the year.

"Tonight was another hard fought war with Elon, the second time this season that we have gone to the limit with them," said head coach Patrick Nicholas. "We really cut down on our errors tonight and I was real happy with the way we stayed together as a team. Tonight was a real team win."

In addition to their kills, Shafer and Redden both had double-doubles as they recorded 12 and 14 digs, respectively. It was Redden's team-leading 12th double-double of the year. Catherine Hanners also had a double-double with 20 assists and 18 digs and Kayren Finney had a match-high nine blocks.

After the Phoenix forced a fifth set, the Spartans came out in the final set on fire as Shafer delivered back-to-back kills to give UNCG an early 2-0 lead. The Spartans extended their lead to 5-1, which forced Elon to call a timeout. Coming out of the timeout, UNCG picked up where it left off and Redden scored three consecutive kills to extend the Spartan lead to 9-3. UNCG had match point at 14-8 on a kill by Shafer and she then delivered a service ace to give the Spartans the set, 15-8, and the victory.

The two sides opened the match by trading points early in the first set. Trailing 12-11, UNCG went on a 7-0 run capped off by a Shafer kill to take a commanding 18-12 lead. The Phoenix fought back to within 24-21, but Redden delivered her fourth kill of the set to give the Spartans the first set, 25-21.

The second set saw the two teams once again in a tight battle as neither side had more than a two point until the very end of the set. With the score knotted at 19, Lauren Copenhagen delivered a kill to give the Phoenix the late lead. The Spartans pulled within 22-21 on a block by Finney and Billi Baker, but a kill by Traci Stewart and back-to-back kills by Jessica Barrow gave Elon the set, 25-21, and knotted the team score at 1 going into the break.

The Spartans made a switch at the setter position during the break and Hanners moved from libero to setter. UNCG used its defense and serving in the set to make the transition easier. The Spartans had five team blocks in the set and four service aces, all by Hanners during an 8-0 run midway through the set that gave UNCG a 19-13 lead. Shafer's fourth kill of the set gave the Spartans the set, 25-17, and a 2-1 lead heading into the fourth set.

The Phoenix responded by taking an early 6-1 lead in the fourth set on a kill by Mandy Wilson. The Spartans pulled within 11-10 on another kill by Redden, but pulled ahead 15-11 on Copenhagen's kill by take control of the set. UNCG was never able to regain the lead as Elon won the set, 25-19.

Next up for UNCG will be a match against South Division leader Furman on Friday at 7 p.m. in Fleming Gymnasium. The match marks Senior Day for three special seniors, Catherine Hanners, Kayleigh Knerr and Emily Lindborg.

College of Charleston, 3, The Citadel 0

CHARLESTON, S.C. - Junior right side hitter Ginny Phillips (Raleigh, N.C.) posted eight kills, five digs and five blocks and junior setter Cole Dawley (Charleston, S.C.) notched a match-high 29 assists and added nine digs as the College of Charleston (13-11, 9-3) defeated The Citadel (7-21, 2-9) in a Southern Conference match at McAlister Field House in Charleston, S.C. on Wednesday, November 4, 2009. The Cougars took the match by scores of 25-18, 25-16 and 25-14.

The Citadel challenged the defending regular season champions early in Game 1 as they raced out to an 8-3 lead behind four kills. That lead would be short lived as the Cougars responded with a 10-1 run, fueled by a pair of kills by Ginny Phillips and senior outside hitter Emily Sawin (New Lenox, Ill.), that gave them a 13-9 advantage. The Bulldogs clawed back to even at 14-14 with a 5-1 rally before a 9-4 run by the Cougars gave them a 25-18 victory.

The second set mirrored the first as The Citadel once again opened with a 3-0 lead and CofC rallied to tie the frame, this time at 9-9. An 8-1 run then staked the Cougars to a 17-10 advantage but the Bulldogs would not go quietly, mounting a 6-2 run that narrowed the gap to 19-16. Those would be the last points that they would get in the set as the College of Charleston rattled off the last six points, five coming on Bulldog errors, for a 25-16 decision and a 2-0 match lead.

With a chance for a commanding victory, the Cougars opened the third set by taking a 10-4 lead. Leading 13-7, the College of Charleston took firm control of the set with a 9-3 run that pushed the score to 22-10. From there, CofC closed out the set, and the match, at 25-15 for a 3-0 victory.

Junior outside hitter Tatum Jestila led all hitters with 10 kills for The Citadel and added three blocks while sophomore setter Alyssa Holum dished out 25 assists. Junior outside hitter Blaine McAllister added six kills and junior middle blocker Jessica Maas finished with five kills and five digs. Freshman outside hitter Rachael Farrell and sophomore outside hitter Kathryn Johnston each added five digs defensively while freshman middle blocker Jessica Maxwell led the team with four blocks.

Ginny Phillips all-around night of eight kills, five digs and five blocks led the way for the College of Charleston while Cole Dawley's 29 assists setup a balanced offensive attack. She added nine digs while sophomore middle blocker Sarah Havel (Carmel, Ind.) finished with seven kills and a pair of service aces.

Senior outside hitter Emily Sawin (New Lenox, Ill.) finished with six kills, six digs and two aces and senior middle blocker Jennifer Darty (Orlando, Fla.) contributed six kills and a match-high tying five blocks. Sophomore middle blocker Elyse Chubb (Peachtree City, Ga.) rounded out the offensive attack with six kills.

The Cougars return to the Carolina First Arena this weekend for a pair of matches as they host Georgia Southern at 7 p.m. on Friday, November 6 and Davidson at 2 p.m. on Saturday, November 7. That match will be the College of Charleston's senior day.

NOTES
The 3-0 victory is the College of Charleston's 23rd straight over The Citadel ... CofC holds a 23-0 all-time advantage in the series and has won all 69 sets the two teams have played.

Appalachian State 3, Western Carolina 1

CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Despite dropping the first set of the contest by two points, Appalachian State University picked up its pace and rallied for a 3-1 defeat of SoCon North Division rival Western Carolina Wednesday evening at the Ramsey Center. With the win, ASU improves to 11-15 on the season and 7-5 in league play while WCU drops to 3-23 overall and remains winless in SoCon action, falling to 0-12.

ASU struggled in the first set as Western Carolina knotched the early 5-2 lead. The Apps continued to trail the Catamounts, as the Mountaineers found themselves in 14-8 hole, with Rebecca Stoltz and Kara Lynzee Brooks pacing the WCU attack.

Sophomore Maggie Seeds helped the Apps get back into the match, pulling within two points at the 16-14 mark, but ASU was unable to get over the hump.

Despite the match being tied at both the 20 all and 23 all mark, with Kelsey Kuehner and Lauren Swecker leading the attack, WCU was able to eek out the narrow two point victory, winning 25-23.

In a tale of two sets, it was all Appalachian in second set play, jumping out to a commanding 20-9 advantage. Back to back kills by Kasey Sauls and kills by Caroline Sedon and Kuehner gave ASU the 11 point lead.

Two final points by Seeds and Swecker led the Black and Gold to the impressive 25-14 second set win to tie the match at one apiece.

Appalachiain continued its dominate play in the early goings of third set action as well, grabbing a 13-6 lead, thanks in part to strong play by Becca Norris and Kuehner. However, the Catamounts would not back down easily, cutting their deficit to just two points at the 13-11 mark.

The two points would be the closest of margins for WCU, with Seeds giving ASU a 20-15 advantage. A solo block by Kuehner and a kill by Sedon helped the Apps cruise to a 25-19 third set victory.

The two squads battled in the fourth set, with ASU posting a 15-8 lead. Appalachian was able to take advantage of WCU errors and was paced on the offensive front by both Sedon and Seeds.

Western Carolina pulled within one point at the 19-18 mark off a kill by Brittany Lysik. ASU proved to be too much as block assists by Seeds and Sedon, a solo block by Seeds and another block assist by Seeds and Norris gave ASU a 25-20 fourth set win and 3-1 match win.

Four Mountaineers finished the contest in double-figures kills with Seeds and Sedon tying for a team-high 11. Sauls was also strong on the offensive front, tallying 42 assists.

WCU's Lynzee Brooks had a match-high 15 kills.

The Black and Gold continues with its grueling road swing, as the Mountaineers head to Birmingham, Ala. to take on SoCon North Division leader Samford, Saturday November 7 at 8 p.m.