No. 1 Samford, No. 2 ETSU to meet in championship

Samford escapes Furman, will play for championship

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Despite fifth-seeded Furman giving top-seeded Samford all it could handle, the Bulldogs edged the Paladins in five sets on Saturday afternoon in the 2019 Southern Conference Volleyball Championship semifinals. With the win (19-25, 25-22, 20-25, 28-25, 15-12), Samford advances to its sixth championship final appearance and second in a row, looking to defend its 2018 title. The Bulldogs will face the winner of No. 2 seed ETSU and No. 6 seed Mercer in the final on Sunday, Nov 24 at 2 p.m.

Furman came out firing, scoring the first six points and forcing Samford head coach Keylor Chan to call an early timeout. A kill by Lauren Deaton, a SoCon all-conference first-team selection, stopped the rally and got the Bulldogs on the board. Samford began to chip away at the Furman lead, cutting the lead to one at 8-7 before Courtney Hoffman put down a kill for Furman to push the lead back to two. Leading 9-7, the Paladins scored four in a row to run the lead to 13-7 before a service error halted the rally. Furman kept the attack on and scored four of the next six to go up 17-10 and Chan called another timeout. Mack had a kill out of the timeout that added another point for the Paladins but the Bulldogs sided out on the next play.

An attack error by Furman and a kill by the Bulldogs pulled Samford within five, 18-13, but Neci Harris, sent home a kill that pushed it back to six. Samford pulled within four at 19-15, but Furman won six of the next 10 to keep Samford at bay and take the opening set 25-19.

The second set was even to start. Tied at 3, Samford began to pull away a little and quickly led 10-5 before an attack error stopped the rally. The Paladins pulled within three at 12-9 and then again at 14-11 before Samford scored back-to-back points to run the lead to 16-11. Furman head coach Michelle Young called a timeout to regroup but the Bulldogs added another two points out of the timeout before Furman sided out down six, 18-12. The Paladins pulled within four at 21-17 and Young took another timeout, igniting two quick Furman points out of it. Samford called a timeout leading 21-19 and Furman scored the next two out of it as well, tying the match off of a Samford attack error and a kill by Harris. Knotted at 21, Samford won three in a row to have set point. Harris threw down another kill to fend off the first set point but Kelsi Hobbs, the 2019 SoCon Player of the Year, finished off the set 25-22 and evened the match 1-1.

Tied at 3 in the third set, Furman scored the next four and Chan called a timeout. Trailing 7-4, the Bulldogs tied it at 7 before Furman sided out to regain the lead. The match was even from there, with neither team leading by more than two until, tied at 17, Furman won three straight to take a 20-17 advantage and Chan called timeout. Harris extended the lead to four with a kill out of the timeout but Sierra Rayzor sided out for the Bulldogs. Leading 21-18, Furman scored three straight to have set point. Samford fended off the first two to make it 24-20 but a Bulldog service error gave Furman the 25-20 win and a 2-1 advantage heading into set four.

Samford took a 2-0 lead to begin the fourth set. Furman tied it at 2 but Samford rattled off four straight points to jump in front 6-2, capped off by an ace by senior Courtney Johnson. The Bulldogs held on to the lead until a kill by Mack tied the match at 13, but Samford responded to jump back out in front. Furman took its first lead of the set at 15-14 and teams traded points from there. Samford took a lead of its own at 19-18 before Furman scored back-to-back points to go up 20-19 and force a Samford timeout. After winning three of the next four points, Furman went up 23-20 and Samford used a timeout. The Bulldogs rallied to win four of the next five and tie it at 24, forcing a Furman timeout. Samford took the lead 25-24 before Furman tied it. The Bulldogs took a 26-25 lead on a kill by Rayzor but an attack error by Samford tied it at 25. The Bulldogs tacked on another point before Rayzor ended the set with a kill off the block.

The fifth set was even to start, with both teams coming out hot and emotions high. Tied at 3, Samford took a 7-3 lead and Furman called a timeout. Furman pulled within one at 9-8, 10-9, and 11-10 but Samford closed on a 4-3 run to win 15-12 and clinch a spot in the finals.

The match featured 30 ties and eight lead changes, 21 of which came in the third and fourth sets. Despite the loss, Furman hit .253 to Samford’s .209,

Hobbs led all players with 23 kills. The senior had just four errors on a match-high 51 swings and hit .373. Deaton had 17 kills and 16 digs to earn a double-double and was joined in double-digit kills by Rayzor (13), who hit .667 with just one error on 18 swings. Setter Corinne Meglic also earned a double-double, finishing with a match-high 53 assists and adding 16 digs. Libero Emily Naubert had a team-high 19 digs and Grace Tiesman added 18.

For Furman, Mack tallied 21 kills and 20 digs. Harris hit a team-best .457 with 19 kills, while Courtney Hoffman finished with 12 and hit .324 in the loss. Aceveda led the Paladins with 26 digs.

ETSU advances to championship with 3-1 win over Mercer

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The ETSU Bucs, the No. 2 seed, rallied after losing the first set and downed sixth-seeded Mercer 3-1 in Saturday’s second semifinal of the 2019 Southern Conference Volleyball Championship, held at Wofford’s Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. With the win (22-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-21), ETSU advances to its third straight championship match and will take on top-seed Samford, looking to avenge a loss to the Bulldogs in the 2018 championship. The championship is slated for Sunday, Nov. 24 at 2 p.m.

The first set was even start. Mercer took the lead at 4-3 and didn’t relinquish it the rest of the match. ETSU was within a point multiple times but Mercer always responded to keep the Bucs at bay. Up 18-15, ETSU head coach Benavia Jenkins called a timeout. Kaela Massey responded with a kill and Olivia Cunningham, the 2019 SoCon Freshman of the Year, followed with one of her own, pulling the Bucs within one. Mercer’s Alexia Morey sent home a kill to side out and keep the Bears in front by two before SoCon all-freshman performer Lauren Hatch had a kill to pull the Bucs within one. ETSU pulled within one again at 23-22 but a kill by Brittany Major gave the Bears set point and Jenkins called another timeout. Morey and Major combined for a block on the next play to give Mercer the 25-22 opening set win.

Hatch started set two with a kill and put the Bucs on the board first in set two. Mercer answered with four straight to take a 4-1 lead and held it until ETSU took a 17-16 lead. Mercer head coach Derek Schroeder called a timeout ­­the Bucs added another point out of the timeout to push the lead to two. Trailing by three, 21-18, Schroeder called another timeout. ETSU led 23-19 and was on the verge of set point but an ETSU service error and a kill by SoCon all-freshman performer Jaida Howell pulled the Bears within two, 23-21. Jenkins called another timeout to regroup and her squad responded to score back-to-back points and take the set 25-21, evening the match.

Mercer came out firing in set three and quickly jumped out to a 3-0 lead. Trailing 5-1, ETSU answered to win three straight points and pull within one. The Bucs took the lead at 9-8 on an attack error by Mercer’s Annie Karle. The set was close until ETSU’s lead stretched to four, 19-15, and Schroeder called timeout. Mercer responded and won five of the next six to cut ETSU’s lead to one, 20-19, and Jenkins called timeout.  The Bears kept fighting but it wasn’t enough as the Bucs closed the set 5-4 and held on for a 25-23 win and a 2-1 advantage in the match.

The Bucs scored first in the fourth set on an attack error by the Bears. Though Mercer tied it multiple times and pulled within one many others, Mercer was unable to take the lead. Trailing 13-10, Schroeder called a timeout to stop the ETSU attack. ETSU tacked on three more to extend the lead to 16-10 before Mercer sided out. However, the margin was too much to overcome and ETSU held on for a 25-21 set win.

Sara Esposito hit .600 and led all players with 19 kills. Massey hit .480 with 14 kills and eight digs. Hatch finished with 13 kills, while Marija Popovic led all players with 18 digs and Emily Arnold dished out a match-high 49 assists. Major led the Bears offensively, hitting .467 with 15 kills, while Roberta Todd hit .370 with 13 kills.

The teams had nearly identical hitting percentages, with ETSU hitting .323 and Mercer hitting .322.

Sunday’s championship will air on ESPN+.

2019 Southern Conference Volleyball Championship
Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium ▪ Spartanburg, S.C.

Tuesday, Nov. 19
First Round
Match 1: #8 The Citadel 3, #9 Chattanooga 0 in Charleston, South Carolina (SDN/Roku)

Friday, Nov. 22
Quarterfinals
Match 2: #5 Furman 3, #4 Wofford 1 (SDN/Roku)
Match 3: #1 Samford 3, #8 The Citadel 0 (SDN/Roku)
Match 4: #2 ETSU 3, #7 UNCG 1 (SDN/Roku)
Match 5: #6 Mercer 3, #3 Western Carolina 2(SDN/Roku)

Saturday, Nov. 23
Semifinals
Match 6: #1 Samford 3, #5 Furman 2 (SDN/Roku)
Match 7: #2 ETSU 3, #6 Mercer 1 (SDN/Roku)

Sunday, Nov. 24
Championship
Match 8: #1 Samford vs. #2 ETSU, 2 p.m. (ESPN+)

All times Eastern.

 

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