Furman 3, UNC Greensboro 2

GREENSBORO, N.C. - UNC Greensboro went to a fifth set for the third-straight match, but Furman rallied in the fifth set to overcome the Spartans, 3-2, on Friday evening in Fleming Gymnasium. The match marked Senior Day for three special seniors, Catherine Hanners, Kayleigh Knerr and Emily Lindborg.

The Spartans fell to 16-13 on the year and 8-6 in Southern Conference play, while the Paladins improved to 21-3 this season and a perfect 13-0 in league action.

"I'm beyond proud of the way the team gutted it out for five games," said head coach Patrick Nicholas. "We had people who were sick and others with nagging injuries and the women stuck with it and showed a lot of heart for five games with the best team in the conference. Also, the fans tonight were huge and their support meant a lot to our team"

Luciana Shafer led the Spartans offensively with 14 kills and Caley Redden and Billi Baker each added 10 kills. Redden also had a career-high 24 digs to record her team-leading 13^th double-double of the season. Ari Lysacek also had a double-double as she had 44 assists and 17 digs.

After UNCG took the fourth set, the two teams settled in for a fifth and final set. The Spartans took an early 2-0 lead in the set on a kill by Lindborg, but the Paladins came back to tie it and the two teams traded points for the first half. UNCG went ahead 8-7 at the crossover, but Furman responded by using an 8-2 run to finish off the match and take the final set, 15-10.

The Spartans came out sluggish in the first set and the Paladins capitalized. UNCG took an early 3-1 lead, but Furman went on a 15-5 run, capped off by Natalie Braun's kill, to take control of the set at 16-8. The Paladins continued to cruise as Carolyn Nicoletti delivered an ace to give Furman the set, 25-12.

UNCG came right back in the second to take an early 7-6 lead. The Spartans built upon their lead by going on a 10-4 run to take a 17-10 lead on one of 12 attack errors by the Paladins in the set. Furman pulled within 21-17, but the Spartans ran off the final four points to win the set, 25-17, and knot the team score at one at the break.

Furman came out in the third set and used a 4-0 run to take a 9-5 lead. The Spartans fought back to within 9-10, but the Paladins went on another 4-0 to force UNCG to use a timeout. UNCG was never able to overcome the deficit as Furman took the third set, 25-20.

With their backs against the wall, the Spartans responded by winning the fourth set. The two teams traded points until midway through the set with UNCG holding a narrow 15-14 lead. The Spartans went on an 8-1 run to take a commanding 23-15 lead in the set on a kill by Shafer. UNCG went on to win the set, 25-17, to force the fifth set.

The Spartans return to the floor on Wednesday as they travel up the mountain to Boone, N.C. to take on Appalachian State at 7 p.m. in the Holmes Center.

College of Charleston 3, Georgia Southern 2

CHARLESTON, S.C. - Junior setter Cole Dawley (Charleston, S.C.) recorded a triple double with 49 assists, 13 digs and 10 kills, with the last ending the match, as the College of Charleston (14-11, 10-3) came from down 0-2 to defeat Georgia Southern (18-10, 8-5) 3-2 in a key Southern Conference match at the Carolina First Arena on Friday, November 6. The Cougars earned the victory by scores of 22-25, 23-25, 25-23, 27-25 and 15-10.

Trailing 0-2 in the match after surrendering 25-22 and 25-23 decisions, the College of Charleston rallied from an early deficit in Game 3 for a 25-23 victory before racing out to a 12-7 lead and hanging on for a 27-25 win to force a decisive fifth set.

In that frame, the Cougars took a 3-0 lead before the Eagles tied the set at 4-4 behind three kills from sophomore outside hitter Bethany Sanford. A 5-1 run then gave the College of Charleston a commanding 10-6 lead. Georgia Southern pulled to within 12-9 behind three CofC errors but that would be as close as they would get.

A kill by sophomore middle blocker Elyse Chubb (Peachtree City, Ga.) and a GSU error and kill by freshman setter Kate Van Dyke made it 14-10 before Dawley locked up her triple-double and put the match away with her tenth kill for a 15-10 fifth set victory.

Early in the match, Georgia Southern played well and battled through nine ties and four and seven lead changes, respectively, in Games 1 and 2 as they notched 25-22 and 25-23 victories. Tied at 22-22 in the second set, Sanford drilled three straight kills to secure the win and put the Eagles up 2-0.

The College of Charleston rallied from a 9-3 deficit in the third set, eventually pulling even at 13-13 before taking the lead on a Georgia Southern error. Eight ties and five lead changes later left the score tied at 23-23. Chubb tied the set with one kill and then gave the Cougars the lead with a second consecutive before sophomore outside hitter Katie Robinson (Gainesville, Fla.) put the set away with a service ace for a 25-23 victory.

That set the stage for a tremendous battle in Game 4 as CofC took leads of 12-7 and 16-9 before the Eagles rallied to tie the score at 23-23 behind a 14-7 run. An attack error gave GSU a chance to close it out at 24-23 but the Cougars responded with back-to-back scores on kills by Chubb and sophomore middle blocker Sarah Havel (Carmel, Ind.) to take a 25-24 lead.

A kill by freshman outside hitter Kirby Monson retied the score at 25-25 but Cole Dawley connected on consecutive kills to seal the set with a 27-25 score and pave the way for the College of Charleston's fifth set heroics.

Sanford led the way for Georgia Southern with a match-high 21 kills and 13 digs while sophomore right side hitter Lauren Claybaugh reversed those numbers with 13 kills and a match-best 21 digs. Monson and freshman middle hitter Danielle Graham each added 10 kills apiece while Van Dyke setup the offense with a match-high 50 assists. She added seven digs and five kills to that performance while senior libero Cristin Haines finished with 18 digs.

On a night of tremendous individual accomplishments and a terrific team effort, Cole Dawley's second career triple-double led the way for the College of Charleston. Dawley finished with 49 assists, 13 digs and 10 kills to reach the mark and hit an impressive .529 to match her feat in the 2008 Southern Conference Championship match against Furman. In that contest, she recorded 44 assists, 15 digs and 10 kills for her first career triple-double.

Elyse Chubb joined her with career marks as she once again broke her career-high with 19 kills and hit .516 to go along with a match-high six blocks. Junior right side hitter Ginny Phillips (Raleigh, N.C.) connected for 16 kills along with seven digs, six assists and a .400 hitting percentage while Katie Robinson broke her career-high with 15 digs along with five kills. She passes her previous mark of 14 set against Appalachian State on October 31 of this year. Havel added 11 kills and six digs and senior middle blocker Jennifer Darty (Orlando, Fla.) finished with six kills and four blocks.

As a team, the College of Charleston hit .301 and held the Eagles to a -.045 hitting percentage in the decisive fifth set.

The victory gives the Cougars a two game lead over Georgia Southern in the battle for the second spot, and the last qualifier for the 2009 Southern Conference Tournament, in the South Division.

The College of Charleston wraps up weekend action tomorrow with Senior Day against Davidson. The festivities honoring seniors Emily Sawin, Brooke Truxillo and Jennifer Darty will take place just prior to the 2 p.m. start at the Carolina First Arena.

NOTES
The triple-double is the second of Dawley's career ... her first came on November 23 against Furman in the Southern Conference Championship match.