GREENSBORO, NC – UNC Greensboro defeated Davidson, 3-2, for the first time in eight years in Southern Conference women's volleyball action Sunday afternoon at Fleming Gym. Senior Lauren Richards and junior Hilary Overby combined for 34 kills in the winning effort for the Spartans.
UNCG (4-20, 2-11 SoCon) had not beat Davidson since a home victory on October 22, 1997, which was the first year the Spartans became a member of the SoCon. The win also snapped a 15-match losing streak to the Wildcats and avenged a 3-0 loss at Davidson back on October 2.
“This win certainly validates all the hard work that this team has put in,” first-year head coach Shawn Garus said. “We have been playing better lately but just wasn't able to pull it all together until today. We played a flawless fifth game and that was the difference.”
The Spartans posted a .667 hitting percentage with 12 kills, no attack errors, on 16 attempts in the decisive fifth game. Kills by sophomore Lauren Keiser, Overby and senior Adrian Hicks quickly gave UNCG a 3-0 lead. The home team would not relinquish the lead and would extend its advantage to 12-8 on Overby's final kill of the match. Keiser would ultimately finish things off with her ninth put away of the contest.
Richards, a native of Hagerstown, MD, had a match-best 18 kills on a .429 hitting percentage. Overby, who hails for Spring, TX, added 12 digs to her 16 kills for a double-double effort. Sophomore Ashley Smith came up with 20 digs to lead six Spartans to double digit dig totals. Sophomore Alysia Rosvold had 19 digs, while junior Kristin Heverly, Overby and Keiser each had 12 digs. Hicks rounded out the defensive effort with 11 digs, to go with her 49 assists.
Katie Pierucci and Liz Williamson each had 15 kills to lead Davidson (12-16, 8-6 SoCon). Williamson had a team-high 19 digs, while Lindsey Woeste and Jenna Dykstra had 15 and 13 digs respectively.
The two clubs traded wins in the first four games of the match. Davidson went ahead early in game one and led throughout in a 30-22 victory. UNCG answered right back with a 30-26 win in game two.
After the intermission, Davidson snapped a 15-15 tie by outscoring UNCG 15-4 the rest of the way in game three, including 10 straight to close out the win. Overby decreased the Spartans deficit to 20-19, but Tierney Neale jump started the Wildcats with one of her seven kills and Dykstra capped the 10-point spurt with the game's final point for a 30-19 win.
UNCG once again had an answer for its visitors, this time in dominating fashion. The Spartans led by as much as 12 points, 19-7, before closing out game four with a 30-19 win, setting up the nearly perfect fifth game for the Spartans.
The win marks UNCG's first 3-2 league win since beating East Tennessee State on November 15, 2002. The Spartans had lost their last five five-game matches.
UNCG gets back to action on Tuesday when the Spartans travel to local and SoCon rival Elon for a 7 pm contest at Alumni Gym. Meanwhile, Davidson will visit first-place College of Charleston on Saturday, November 5 at 2 pm in Charleston, SC.
AGATE
UNC Greensboro def. Davidson 3-2 (22-30, 30-26, 19-30, 30-19, 15-10)
Davidson (12-16, 8-6 SoCon) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Liz Williamson 15-2-5; Katie Pierucci 15-1-4; Tierney Hodge 10-2-2; Kittery Neale 7-0-4; Jenna Dykstra 6-3-2; Lindsay Paroczai 2-0-0; Erin Balak 1-0-0; Alison Dwyer 1-0-0; Lindsey Woeste 0-2-0; Lisa Cuellar 0-1-0; Brittany Narr 0-0-5; Totals 57-11-12.5. (Assists) - Jenna Dykstra 39. (Dig leaders) - Liz Williamson 19; Lindsey Woeste 15; Jenna Dykstra 13; Tierney Hodge 8; Katie Pierucci 8.
UNC Greensboro (4-20, 2-11 SoCon) (Kills-aces-blocks) – Lauren Richards 18-0-7; Hilary Overby 16-1-1; Lauren Keiser 9-0-2; Kaitlyn Nortz 8-1-3; Adrian Hicks 7-2-1; Lori Collins 3-1-2; Ashley Smith 2-0-1; Liz Benzschawel 2-0-1; Alysia Rosvold 0-1-0; Totals 65-6-10.0. (Assists) - Adrian Hicks 49. (Dig leaders) - Ashley Smith 20; Alysia Rosvold 19; Hilary Overby 12; Christin Heverly 12; Lauren Keiser 12; Adrian Hicks 11.
- UNCG -
