CHATTANOOGA, TN The UNC Greensboro volleyball team fell to SoCon regular season champion, College of Charleston, 3-1 in the finals of the 2007 Southern Conference Tournament. College of Charleston will receive the Southern Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Kaitlyn Nortz and Branagan Fuller were named to the All-Tournament team for their efforts throughout the weekend.
UNCG (20-15) had three players with double-digit kills and was led by freshman Kayren Finney who tallied 14 in the loss. Kaitlyn Nortz and Branagan Fuller contributed 11 and 10 kills, respectfully. Catherine Hanners led the way on the defensive side of the ball with 24 digs while Lisa Fawell dished out 39 assists.
College of Charleston (25-7) was led by the tournament Most Outstanding Player, Tiffany Blum who recorded a match-high 22 kills on 46 attempts with only five errors, good for a .370 hitting percentage. Emily Swain also contributed 19 kills and a .350 hitting percentage.
In game one, Blum tallied six kills and Annie Uthe five to pace the Cougar offense. UNCG jumped out to a 9-4 advantage with the help of five College of Charleston errors and kills from Nortz and Emily Lindborg. The Cougars used an 8-2 run to get back in the game and took a 12-11 lead and never looked back. College of Charleston closed the game with kills from Uthe and Blum to take the 30-21 victory.
The Cougars got off to a quick start in game tow and jumped out to a 7-4 lead but the Spartans would counter with an 8-5 run to tie the game at 12-12. UNCG was able to take a 21-19 lead but couldn't counter a 9-2 Cougar run to close the game as College of Charleston took the game, 30-27 and a 2-0 match lead.
UNCG was able to cut the Cougar lead to 2-1 with a 30-28 win in the third game. The Spartans rolled to a 13-7 lead behind kills from Katherine Hart, Finney and Fuller. The Cougars were able to tie the game at 17-17 with a kill from Lindsey Kane but from that point the two teams battled with neither team gaining a big advantage. UNCG was able to come away victorious after a kill from Fuller.
Game four was a battle form the outset but the Cougars were able to take a 15-10 lead midway through the match and didn't give it up. The Spartans were able to get as close as 20-18 but College of Charleston closed the match with a 10-5 run to earn their fifth consecutive Southern Conference Tournament title.
AGATE
College of Charleston def. UNCG
Coll. of Charleston def. UNCG 30-21, 30-27, 28-30, 30-23
UNCG (20-15) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Kaitlyn Nortz 11-0-8; Branagan Fuller 10-0-2; Katherine Hart 8-0-4; Lauren Keiser 8-0-0; Emily Lindborg 2-0-1; Lisa Fawell 0-0-1; Alissa Beaudway 1-0-2; Kayren Finney 14-0-6; Catherine Hanners 0-3-0; Kimiko Naito 0-1-0; Billi Baker 3-0-2; Totals 57-4-26.0. (Assists) - Lisa Fawell 39. (Dig leaders) - Catherine Hanners 24; Lauren Keiser 19
Coll. of Charleston (20-7) (Kills-aces-blocks) Deanna Patrick 14-0-0; Whitney Russell 0-0-0; Emily Sawin 19-0-1; Tiffany Blum 22-2-7; Annie Uthe 9-0-2; Cole Dawley 4-1-3; Ginny Phillips 0-0-0;Paige Johnson 0-0-0; Megan Parkerson 0-0-0' Brooke Truxillo 0-1-0;Lindsey Kane-6-1-6 Totals 74-5-19.0. (Assists) Lindsey Kane 54. (Dig leaders) Cole Dwley 23; Megan Parkerson 16; Emily Sawin 14; Lindsey Kane 12
All Tournament Team
Lara Newberry- Chattanooga
Lorelle Rau- Appalachian State
Kaitlyn Nortz- UNC Greensboro
Branagan Fuller-UNC Greensboro
Lindsey Kane-College of Charleston
Emily Sawin- College of Charleston
Most Outstanding Player
Tiffany Blum- College of Charleston
- UNCG -
