Furman, Western Carolina Advance to SoCon Tourney Semifinals

No. 1 Furman 3, No. 8 Wofford 1

GREENSBORO, N.C. – No. 1 seed Furman (22-6) defeated No. 8 seed Wofford (14-21) in four sets on Saturday afternoon at Fleming Gym to advance to the semifinals of the SoCon Volleyball Championship. The Paladins held off the Terriers a tight match, with set scores of 25-15, 23-25, 25-22, 25-18.

Furman got a strong performance from the SoCon Player of the Year Ashton Gregory, who recorded 17 kills and eight blocks with a .536 hitting percentage. Annie Bierman added 13 kills and 11 digs for the Paladins, while Andrea Fisher (19), Meg DeMaar (18) and Payton Frappier (12) contributed double-figure digs.

Wofford was led by freshmen Danni Densford and Bella Santoro, both members of the SoCon All-Freshman team. Densford totaled 13 kills and a .542 hitting percentage and Santoro recorded 10 kills and 12 digs in the match. Jessica Graham had a match-high 25 digs for the Terriers.

Furman racked up 13.0 blocks as a team, the highest total of any team through three games at the SoCon Tournament.

In set one, Furman got in front early and opened up a 10-6 lead. Wofford cut it to 10-9 but Furman began to pull away, pushing the lead to 16-10 to force a Terrier timeout. The Paladins closed out set one by outscoring the Terriers 9-5 to win the set 25-15. The set marked Furman’s 24th straight set won over its last nine matches, including today’s match.

The second set was a hard fought, as the two teams battled their way to a 10-9 Furman lead. The Paladins then rattled off five straight points before the Terriers came back with four straight of their own. Wofford was able to tie the set at 19-19 and later pull in front at 22-20. The Paladins fought back to tie it at 22-22 and the teams traded points until Wofford finally claimed the frame 25-23.

It was the first set that Wofford had won against Furman in seven sets played this season and ended the Paladins’ streak. The Terriers hit .303 for the set with the Paladins close behind at .290. The two combined for nine tie scores and three lead changes in the frame.

Furman led for the majority of set three with Wofford making a push late. The Paladins got up 4-0 but had the Terriers cut in to the lead at 7-6. Furman then stretched its margin to 16-10 to force a Wofford timeout. The Terriers would rally from there and slowly ease their way back in to the set, forcing a Furman timeout at 24-22. The Paladins closed out the set out of the timeout with Gregory getting the kill to clinch it, 25-22.

In set four, the teams were locked in a 6-6 tie before Furman began to take control. They rattled off the next five points to take a 11-6 lead and then followed with four of the next five points to go ahead 15-7. Furman have another 4-0 run later and looked to poise to win the set in decisive fashion. Wofford had other ideas, though, went on a 5-0 run of its own to cut the margin to 22-17. Furman would rally to take the set 25-18 and the match 3-1.

Furman will now meet Western Carolina in the semifinals of the SoCon Volleyball Championship tomorrow at 2 p.m. The two teams split their two matches during the regular season with each team winning at home.

 

No. 5 Western Carolina 3, No. 4 ETSU 0

GREENSBORO, N.C. – No. 5 seed Western Carolina (17-13) swept No. 4 seed ETSU (17-16) in game two of the SoCon Volleyball Championship at Fleming Gym on the campus of UNCG on Saturday. The Catamounts defeated the Bucs by scores of 25-17, 25-23, 25-23.

Western Carolina was led by senior Caitlin Piechota with 11 kills and 14 digs. Jordan Timmermann added 11 kills, while Elysee Mulheron totaled a team-high 18 digs. Jo-Leigh Vervelde recorded 20 assists and 12 digs in the three-set win.

Freshman Rylee Milhorn paced ETSU with 11 kills. Meredith Hardy and Ivey Rice each contributed eight kills in the losing effort. SoCon Libero of the Year recorded a match-high 21 digs with Renzey Rice adding 12 digs.

Western Carolina earned a sweep over a conference opponent for just the fourth time this season. Both of the previous matches between ETSU and Western Carolina this season went to five sets.

Western Carolina jumped in front early and carried a 13-8 lead to force a ETSU timeout. ETSU was unable to cut it any closer the rest of the set, despite strong play from freshman Rylee Milhorn, who led the Bucs with five kills in the set. The Catamounts went on to take the set 25-17.

The two teams traded points to tie the score at 4-4 before Western Carolina pulled out to a 8-4 lead, forcing an ETSU timeout. ETSU was slowly able to close the gap to just one at 14-13 and force a Western Carolina timeout. From there, the Bucs tied the match at 16-16 and then pulled in front with three straight points to go ahead 19-16. Western Carolina took two straight points out of a timeout to cut the lead to one. The teams traded points from there until Western Carolina eventually pulled back in front at 22-21.

Set three saw ETSU pull in front early at 5-1 but Western Carolina brought the set to a tie at 6-6. The teams traded points Western Carolina was able to take the lead back at 11-10 and take nine of the next 10 points for a 19-11 lead. ETSU responded and cut the lead to 19-16 to force a Catamount timeout. Out of the timeout, the Catamounts took three of the next four points to lead 22-17 and looked poised to close out the frame. The Bucs, though, scored on each of the next four rallies and edged close at 22-21. Western Carolina held on to take the set, 25-23, and the match 3-0.

Western Carolina will play the winner of the Furman/Wofford matchup tomorrow at 2 p.m.

 

No. 8 Wofford 3, No. 9 The Citadel 1

GREENSBORO, N.C. – No. 8 seed Wofford (13-21) defeated No. 9 The Citadel (8-26), 3-1 (22-25, 25-22, 25-15, 25-18), in the opening match of the 2014 Southern Conferernce Volleyball Championship on Saturday morning. The Terriers will now play the No. 1 seed Furman at 2:30 p.m. this afternoon.

Wofford was led by freshman Bella Santoro with a match-high 23 kills and a .333 hitting percentage. Senior Taylor Baird recorded 12 kills for the Terriers and Jessica Graham added 24 digs in the win.

Bailey Kernodle (16), Megan Sowell (12) and Moriah Smith (10) each recorded double-figure kills for the Bulldogs. Smith also totaled 17 digs for one of three double-doubles by the Bulldogs. Rachel Keefer racked up 22 assists and 18 digs, while teammate Samantha Espy contributed 10 assists and 12 digs.

Wofford totaled 12 blocks in the match, its highest single-game mark this season, while The Citadel had six blocks of its own.

The match featured 23 tie scores and nine lead changes. Set two was the tightest with 13 tie scores and five lead changes in that frame alone.

The two teams traded points for much of the first set until Wofford pulled ahead by two at 10-8. The Citadel then rattled off six straight points to take a 14-10 lead and force a Wofford timeout. Out of the timeout, the Bulldogs took the next four points for a streak of 10 straight to take an 18-10 lead. Wofford then responded taking the next four points to force a Citadel timeout. The two then battled to a 23-20 Citadel lead that forced a timeout by Wofford. The Bulldogs were able to close out the set at 25-22 to take a 1-0 lead for the match.

Set two was another back-and-forth affair as neither team held more than a three-point lead for the entire set. Wofford was in front for much of the early going but could never pull away from the Bulldogs. The Citadel was able to tie the set at 19-19 following a Wofford timeout. The two teams would split the next six points, drawing to a 22-22 tie. Wofford claimed the final three points to take the set, 25-22, and tie the match at one set apiece.

The third set proved to be Wofford’s strongest of the match. The Terriers pulled out to an early 8-5 lead in set three, forcing a timeout by The Citadel, and improved their advantage to 11-6 halfway through the set. The Bulldogs cut it to 11-9 but Wofford started to pull away, taking a 16-9 lead to force another Citadel timeout. Wofford would go on to take the set, 25-15, to take the 2-1 advantage for the match. The Terriers recorded a strong .481 hitting percentage for the set while holding The Citadel to just a .143 mark.

The Citadel got out to a hot start in set four, taking a 7-2 lead. As the set progressed, though, Wofford slowly chipped away at the lead until the teams were tied at 14 apiece. The Terriers pulled in front, 17-15, to force a Citadel timeout. Wofford outscored The Citadel 8-3 the rest of the way to take the match 3-1.