GREENSBORO, NC Senior Lauren Richards had 15 kills to lead UNC Greensboro to a 3-0 win over city-rival North Carolina A&T in a non-league women's volleyball match Tuesday evening at Fleming Gym. Freshman Kaitlyn Nortz put away 10 kills to aid the victory for the Spartans, who snapped 10-game losing streak in the process.
Richards, who hails from Hagerstown, MD, posted a .700 hitting percentage with the aforementioned 15 kills against only one attack error on 20 attempts. In addition, junior Hilary Overby and sophomore Lauren Keiser had nine and eight kills respectively for UNCG (3-19).
Darlene Mitchell led the Aggies (15-14) with a match-best 17 kills. Ashley Marsh added eight kills of her own on a .412 hitting percentage. Krystal Cooper paced three players in double figure dig totals with 15. Lauren Walker and Arlene Mitchell had 14 and 11 apiece.
In the opening game, UNCG broke a 4-4 tie by scoring three points in a row to take a 7-4 lead on a kill by senior Adrian Hicks. The Spartans would hold that lead until A&T tied the score, 14-14, on a kill by Shea Stark. UNCG responded with a 7-3 run to up its lead to 21-17 on a Richard's kill, but the game tightened from their and featured 11 ties until the Spartans closed out the game, 35-33, on an attack error by the Aggies.
Game two saw UNCG connect for a .317 hitting percentage. The Spartans put away 18 kills and committed only five errors in 41 total attempts. UNCG broke open a tight 12-11 score by going on an 18-10 run to close out the game 30-21.
In game three with the core tied early 4-4, UNCG ran off three straight points and never relinquished the lead the remainder of the game. Darlene Mitchell's kill cut the Spartans lead to 21-19, but an Aggie service error and a ball handling error on the ensuing play gave UNCG the cushion it needed and went on to the 30-24 win, giving the Spartans their first win since a 3-0 victory over The Citadel on September 20.
Hicks doled out 39 assists and had nine digs. Sophomore Alysia Rosvold came up with a match-high 17 digs, while Keiser added 13 digs. Nortz had four blocks to add to her team-leading total of 75.
Richards holds the school-record for hitting percentage in a three-game match. She set the mark last October 26 against Gardner-Webb when she had 12 kills, zero errors on 14 attempts for a .857 percentage.
UNCG returns to Southern Conference action Saturday afternoon when Appalachian State arrives for a 2 pm contest at Fleming Gym.
AGATE
UNC Greensboro def. North Carolina A&T 3-0 (35-33, 30-21, 30-24)
North Carolina A&T (15-14) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Darlene Mitchell 17-0-5; Ashley Marsh 8-0-7; Krystal Cooper 5-0-4; Brenden Chatman 5-0-0; Arlene Mitchell 4-0-0; Shea Stark 2-0-2; Avignon Williams 1-0-5; Aundia Gray 1-0-0; Ebony Turner 0-1-0; Totals 43-1-13.0. (Assists) - Brenden Chatman 29. (Dig leaders) - Krystal Cooper 15; Lauren Walker 14; Arlene Mitchell 11
UNC Greensboro (3-19) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Lauren Richards 15-0-1; Kaitlyn Nortz 10-0-4; Hilary Overby 9-0-2; Lauren Keiser 8-1-1; Adrian Hicks 4-0-2; Ashley Smith 2-1-1; Liz Benzschawel 2-0-0; Totals 50-2-6.0. (Assists) - Adrian Hicks 39. (Dig leaders) - Alysia Rosvold 17; Lauren Keiser 13; Adrian Hicks 9; Hilary Overby 8.
- UNCG -
