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No. 7 The Citadel, No. 3 Samford advance to SoCon semifinals
Bulldogs advance to first SoCon semifinal in program history, Samford remains perfect at home against SoCon competition
No. 7 The Citadel 3, No. 2 UNCG 2
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – No. 7 The Citadel took down No. 2 UNCG in a five-set thriller in the third quarterfinal match at the Southern Conference Volleyball Championship on Friday, advancing the Bulldogs to the semifinals for the first time in program history. The Citadel will match up with the winner of No. 3 Samford and No. 6 ETSU in the second semifinal on Saturday, Nov. 20, at 7:30 p.m. CT in Samford’s Pete Hanna Center.
Ali Ruffin, the SoCon Freshman of the Year, put The Citadel on the board first to open the match. Neither team led by more than one until Sharlissa De Jesus, a first-team all-conference performer, put The Citadel in front 10-8. The Bulldogs stretched their lead to four at 14-10 and 15-11 before taking a 16-11 lead on a block by Belle Hogan and Gina Delancey. The Bulldogs kept a solid lead for the remainder of the set, leading by as many as nine at 23-14, and held on for a 25-18 win.
A kill by De Jesus got the scoring started to open the second set. UNCG, however, came alive, and after taking a 3-2 lead, the Spartans never looked back. The Citadel pulled within one at 7-6 but from there UNCG extended the lead, leading by at least three and by as many as nine points throughout the set en route to a 25-16 set win.
Momentum shifted to open the third set as The Citadel scored the first point on a UNCG attack error and never trailed, quickly running the score to 9-1. UNCG narrowed the lead to five at 10-5 but The Citadel led by at least six for the remainder of the set and cruised to a 25-12 win to take a 2-1 lead.
The Citadel jumped out to a 5-0 lead to open the fourth set and held onto the lead until UNCG tied it at 20 on a service ace from Grey Breen. The match was tied at 21 before a service error and bad set from The Citadel gave UNCG a 23-21 lead. The Citadel got a kill from De Jesus to pull back within one, but a kill by UNCG’s Elayne Grisbee and an attack error by The Citadel propelled UNCG to a 25-22 set win and tied the match at 2.
The fifth set began with an ace by UNCG’s Breen. Back-to-back attack errors by UNCG and a kill by The Citadel’s Makaya Middleton switched momentum back to The Citadel, which led 3-1. Leading 5-4, The Citadel won two straight points on a kill from Ruffin and an attack error from White. White, however, earned a kill on the next point, but De Jesus answered with a kill of her own to keep the Bulldogs in front 8-5 as the teams took a media timeout. Out of the break, The Citadel won two of the next three to push the lead to 10-6 and UNCG’s Corey Carlin, the SoCon Coach of the Year, called a timeout.
Hogan, an all-freshman selection, came out with a service ace when play resumed. Though White responded with a kill for the Spartans, De Jesus and Maddy Cardenas recorded a block to extend the lead to 12-7 and Carlin used his second timeout of the set. Back-to-back kills by Ruffin and Middleton gave The Citadel set point. Brittany Wood got a kill to help the Spartans side out but a Spartan service error on the next play gave The Citadel a 15-8 win and clinched the match for The Citadel.
De Jesus led all players with 26 kills and was joined in double figures by Ruffin, who finished with 16. UNCG had three with double-digit kills, led by White with 12. Wood added 11, while Grisbee tallied 10 and hit a team-high .308. Libero Kenzie Kellerman led The Citadel with 23 digs, while Ruffin, De Jesus and Hogan, who had 45 assists, all earned double-doubles.
Stephanie Meysembourg led UNCG defensively, totaling 20 digs and was joined in double figures by Mandy Garvens (16), setter Gabriela McHugh (13), who also dished out 38 assists to earn a double-double, and White, who also tallied a double-double. The Citadel hit .144 as a team, while UNCG hit .122 on the match.
No. 3 Samford 3, No. 6 ETSU 0
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – No. 3 seed Samford advanced to the Southern Conference semifinals with a sweep of No. 6 seed ETSU in the final quarterfinal match on Friday night. The Bulldogs will face No. 7 The Citadel in the second semifinal on Saturday, Nov. 20, at 7:30 p.m. CT in Samford’s Pete Hanna Center.
ETSU scored first to open the match on a solo block from Abbey Thomas. The set was tied at 2, 4, 5, and 6 before Samford began to slowly pull away. ETSU pulled within one, 14-13, but Samford won three straight to force ETSU head coach Benavia Jenkins to use a timeout down 17-13. Samford added on a point out of the timeout on a block from Lauren Deaton, a second-team all-conference selection, and Kate Wonus, an all-freshman performer. ETSU narrowed the margin to three, 20-17, but Samford closed the set on a 5-0 run behind the serving of Audrey O’Brien for a 25-17 opening-set victory.
ETSU again earned the first point of the set, starting off the second with a block assist from Asia Mattress and Josannah Vazquez, a second-team all-conference selection. Samford tied it up on a kill from Kenya McQuirter, a first-team all-conference pick. From there, Samford jumped out to a 5-1 lead behind the serving of Wonus. Samford led by at least two for the duration of the match and by as many as 14, cruising to 25-9 victory and taking a 2-0 lead.
Samford started the third set with a block assist from Wonus and Kayla Keshock. Tied at 3, Samford scored the next five and ETSU took a timeout down 8-3. ETSU tied it up at 14 and again at 16, but Samford used a 9-2 run to close out the set, 25-18, and clinch the 3-0 sweep.
Samford remains perfect on its home court against SoCon competition this season and records its ninth sweep over a SoCon opponent this season. McQuirter led all players with 21 kills, hitting .381. Sarah Hayes Farley recorded eight kills without an error and led Samford with a .533 hitting percentage. Deaton led Samford with 13 digs, while Kayla Keshock finished with 10 digs and dished out 33 assists to earn a double-double. Thomas led ETSU with six kills and hit .455 in the contest. Libero Taylor Roberts tallied a team-high 10 digs, while setter Caroline Dykes, an all-freshman pick, tallied 16 assists.
2021 Southern Conference Volleyball Championship
Pete Hanna Center | Birmingham, Ala.
Monday, Nov. 15
First Round
Match 1: #9 Furman 3, #8 Chattanooga 2 in Chattanooga, Tennessee (ESPN+)
Friday, Nov. 19
Quarterfinals
Match 2: #4 Wofford 3, #5 Western Carolina 1 (ESPN+)
Match 3: #9 Furman 3, #1 Mercer 1 (ESPN+)
Match 4: #7 The Citadel 3, #2 UNCG 2 (ESPN+)
Match 5: #3 Samford 3, #6 ETSU 0 (ESPN+)
Saturday, Nov. 20
Semifinals
Match 6: #4 Wofford vs. #9 Furman, 5 p.m. CT (ESPN+)
Match 7: #7 The Citadel vs. #3 Samford, 7:30 p.m. CT (ESPN+)
Sunday, Nov. 21
Championship
Match 8: Match 6 winner vs. Match 7 winner, 4 p.m. CT (ESPN+)
-SoConSports.com-
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – No. 7 The Citadel took down No. 2 UNCG in a five-set thriller in the third quarterfinal match at the Southern Conference Volleyball Championship on Friday, advancing the Bulldogs to the semifinals for the first time in program history. The Citadel will match up with the winner of No. 3 Samford and No. 6 ETSU in the second semifinal on Saturday, Nov. 20, at 7:30 p.m. CT in Samford’s Pete Hanna Center.
Ali Ruffin, the SoCon Freshman of the Year, put The Citadel on the board first to open the match. Neither team led by more than one until Sharlissa De Jesus, a first-team all-conference performer, put The Citadel in front 10-8. The Bulldogs stretched their lead to four at 14-10 and 15-11 before taking a 16-11 lead on a block by Belle Hogan and Gina Delancey. The Bulldogs kept a solid lead for the remainder of the set, leading by as many as nine at 23-14, and held on for a 25-18 win.
A kill by De Jesus got the scoring started to open the second set. UNCG, however, came alive, and after taking a 3-2 lead, the Spartans never looked back. The Citadel pulled within one at 7-6 but from there UNCG extended the lead, leading by at least three and by as many as nine points throughout the set en route to a 25-16 set win.
Momentum shifted to open the third set as The Citadel scored the first point on a UNCG attack error and never trailed, quickly running the score to 9-1. UNCG narrowed the lead to five at 10-5 but The Citadel led by at least six for the remainder of the set and cruised to a 25-12 win to take a 2-1 lead.
The Citadel jumped out to a 5-0 lead to open the fourth set and held onto the lead until UNCG tied it at 20 on a service ace from Grey Breen. The match was tied at 21 before a service error and bad set from The Citadel gave UNCG a 23-21 lead. The Citadel got a kill from De Jesus to pull back within one, but a kill by UNCG’s Elayne Grisbee and an attack error by The Citadel propelled UNCG to a 25-22 set win and tied the match at 2.
The fifth set began with an ace by UNCG’s Breen. Back-to-back attack errors by UNCG and a kill by The Citadel’s Makaya Middleton switched momentum back to The Citadel, which led 3-1. Leading 5-4, The Citadel won two straight points on a kill from Ruffin and an attack error from White. White, however, earned a kill on the next point, but De Jesus answered with a kill of her own to keep the Bulldogs in front 8-5 as the teams took a media timeout. Out of the break, The Citadel won two of the next three to push the lead to 10-6 and UNCG’s Corey Carlin, the SoCon Coach of the Year, called a timeout.
Hogan, an all-freshman selection, came out with a service ace when play resumed. Though White responded with a kill for the Spartans, De Jesus and Maddy Cardenas recorded a block to extend the lead to 12-7 and Carlin used his second timeout of the set. Back-to-back kills by Ruffin and Middleton gave The Citadel set point. Brittany Wood got a kill to help the Spartans side out but a Spartan service error on the next play gave The Citadel a 15-8 win and clinched the match for The Citadel.
De Jesus led all players with 26 kills and was joined in double figures by Ruffin, who finished with 16. UNCG had three with double-digit kills, led by White with 12. Wood added 11, while Grisbee tallied 10 and hit a team-high .308. Libero Kenzie Kellerman led The Citadel with 23 digs, while Ruffin, De Jesus and Hogan, who had 45 assists, all earned double-doubles.
Stephanie Meysembourg led UNCG defensively, totaling 20 digs and was joined in double figures by Mandy Garvens (16), setter Gabriela McHugh (13), who also dished out 38 assists to earn a double-double, and White, who also tallied a double-double. The Citadel hit .144 as a team, while UNCG hit .122 on the match.
No. 3 Samford 3, No. 6 ETSU 0
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – No. 3 seed Samford advanced to the Southern Conference semifinals with a sweep of No. 6 seed ETSU in the final quarterfinal match on Friday night. The Bulldogs will face No. 7 The Citadel in the second semifinal on Saturday, Nov. 20, at 7:30 p.m. CT in Samford’s Pete Hanna Center.
ETSU scored first to open the match on a solo block from Abbey Thomas. The set was tied at 2, 4, 5, and 6 before Samford began to slowly pull away. ETSU pulled within one, 14-13, but Samford won three straight to force ETSU head coach Benavia Jenkins to use a timeout down 17-13. Samford added on a point out of the timeout on a block from Lauren Deaton, a second-team all-conference selection, and Kate Wonus, an all-freshman performer. ETSU narrowed the margin to three, 20-17, but Samford closed the set on a 5-0 run behind the serving of Audrey O’Brien for a 25-17 opening-set victory.
ETSU again earned the first point of the set, starting off the second with a block assist from Asia Mattress and Josannah Vazquez, a second-team all-conference selection. Samford tied it up on a kill from Kenya McQuirter, a first-team all-conference pick. From there, Samford jumped out to a 5-1 lead behind the serving of Wonus. Samford led by at least two for the duration of the match and by as many as 14, cruising to 25-9 victory and taking a 2-0 lead.
Samford started the third set with a block assist from Wonus and Kayla Keshock. Tied at 3, Samford scored the next five and ETSU took a timeout down 8-3. ETSU tied it up at 14 and again at 16, but Samford used a 9-2 run to close out the set, 25-18, and clinch the 3-0 sweep.
Samford remains perfect on its home court against SoCon competition this season and records its ninth sweep over a SoCon opponent this season. McQuirter led all players with 21 kills, hitting .381. Sarah Hayes Farley recorded eight kills without an error and led Samford with a .533 hitting percentage. Deaton led Samford with 13 digs, while Kayla Keshock finished with 10 digs and dished out 33 assists to earn a double-double. Thomas led ETSU with six kills and hit .455 in the contest. Libero Taylor Roberts tallied a team-high 10 digs, while setter Caroline Dykes, an all-freshman pick, tallied 16 assists.
2021 Southern Conference Volleyball Championship
Pete Hanna Center | Birmingham, Ala.
Monday, Nov. 15
First Round
Match 1: #9 Furman 3, #8 Chattanooga 2 in Chattanooga, Tennessee (ESPN+)
Friday, Nov. 19
Quarterfinals
Match 2: #4 Wofford 3, #5 Western Carolina 1 (ESPN+)
Match 3: #9 Furman 3, #1 Mercer 1 (ESPN+)
Match 4: #7 The Citadel 3, #2 UNCG 2 (ESPN+)
Match 5: #3 Samford 3, #6 ETSU 0 (ESPN+)
Saturday, Nov. 20
Semifinals
Match 6: #4 Wofford vs. #9 Furman, 5 p.m. CT (ESPN+)
Match 7: #7 The Citadel vs. #3 Samford, 7:30 p.m. CT (ESPN+)
Sunday, Nov. 21
Championship
Match 8: Match 6 winner vs. Match 7 winner, 4 p.m. CT (ESPN+)
-SoConSports.com-