DAVIDSON, NC– The UNC Greensboro volleyball team recorded its 10th shutout win of the season with a 3-0 win over Davidson in Southern Conference volleyball action at Belk Arena on Sunday afternoon. UNCG defeated the Wildcats by scores of 30-24, 30-22, 30-28.
UNCG (16-14, 9-7 SoCon) had three players with double digit kills and was led by Kaitlyn Nortz who tallied a match-high 16 kills in the win. Catherine Hanners led the way on the defensive end and recorded 12 digs for the Spartans while teammate Lisa Fawell dished out 43 assists on the afternoon.
Katie Pierucci led the way for Davidson (10-19, 5-11 SoCon) with a team-high eight kills and eight digs. Hayley Lawson recorded 20 assists while Jorden Benedict tallied four blocks in the loss.
Game one was close from the outset and featured eight ties before the Spartans could pull ahead. With the score notched at 21-21, UNCG used kills from Branagan Fuller and Emily Lindborg to take a two-point lead. The Spartans picked up additional points on two Davidson attack errors to extend their lead to 25-21. Davidson would get as close as, 26-24 but UNCG closed the match with four unanswered points to take game one, 30-24.
In the second game Davidson went up early behind kills from Alison Dwyer and Sarabeth Peele but UNCG used a 10-4 run to take a 10-6 lead and cruised from that point. Davidson tried a comeback late in the match and cut UNCG's lead to 18-22 but kills from Fuller and Nortz coupled with several untimely Davidson errors gave UNCG the game, 30-22 and gave them a 2-0 match lead.
Davidson came out refreshed after the intermission and gave the Spartans all they could handle in the opening minutes of the third match. The Wildcats were able to take a 20-15 lead midway through the game behind the hitting of Pierucci and several UNCG miscues but the Spartans were able to mount a comeback down the stretch.
With Davidson holding a 26-20 lead, the Spartans went on a 10-2 run behind kills from Nortz and Fuller to put the game out of reach, taking the game 30-28. UNCG dominated in the statistics, including holding the Wildcats to a 0.51 hitting percentage for the match. UNCG hit .272 for the match and recorded 21 blocks.
The Spartans return home to close out the regular-season when they host Chattanooga and Western Carolina next weekend. UNCG will honor seniors Katherine Hart and Lauren Keiser prior to Sunday's match against Western Carolina.
AGATE
UNCG def. Davidson 30-24,30-22,30-28
UNCG (16-14, 9-7) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Kaitlyn Nortz 16-1-5; Lauren Keiser 10-1-2; Branagan Fuller 10-0-3; Emily Lindborg 9-0-5; Katherine Hart 6-0-4; Lisa Fawell 1-0-2; Catherine Hanners 0-3-0; Totals 52-5-11.0. (Assists) - Lisa Fawell 43. (Dig leaders) – Catherine Hanners 12; Lisa Fawell 9
Davidson (10-19, 5-11) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Katie Pierucci 8-2-1; Alison Dwyer 6-0-2; Sarabeth Peele 6-0-2; Jorden Benedict 5-0-4; Hayley Lawson 3-1-2; Courtney Cron 3-1-0; Jennifer Chamblee 1-0-0; Tierney Hodge 1-0-0; Anna Bradbury 0-1-1; Totals 33-5-9.0. (Assists) - Hayley Lawson 20. (Dig leaders) - Katie Pierucci 8; Courtney Cron 6
- UNCG -
