CHARLESTON, S.C. – Despite playing without two starters Saturday, the UNCG volleyball team took care of business and picked up a 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-19) Southern Conference victory at The Citadel in the regular season finale for both teams. The Spartans' fourth-straight win improves their record to 19-10 overall and 11-5 in SoCon play while the Bulldogs drop to 8-25 and 0-16. 

The 11 league wins mark the most in a single season in program history in a 16-match Southern Conference format while the 19 triumphs are the most during the regular season since the 2010 campaign. UNCG ensured itself a second-place finish in the league standings and will share it with Samford and East Tennessee State. Samford will take the No. 2 seed into the upcoming conference tournament that will be hosted by the Spartans. UNCG will serve as the No. 3 seed thanks to having a superior RPI ranking over ETSU. 

Junior outside hitter Lauren Betlach led the way offensive for the Spartans with 12 kills and a .346 hitting percentage. Sophomore outside hitter Jessica Brezwyn also tallied double-digit kills with 11 on the way to hitting .233 in the match and turned in a double-double by adding 11 digs.

Notching her 17th double-double of the season was sophomore setter Sara Hohman as she recorded 42 assists and 13 digs. Freshman defensive specialist Anna Romaniszyn, serving as the libero in the contest, also picked up 13 digs.

UNCG out-hit the Bulldogs .298-.233 and held the upper hand in kills (52-35), assists (49-32), aces (5-1) and digs (50-37) while The Citadel finished with the edge in total blocks 4.0-3.0.

The teams battled to a 7-7 deadlock to begin the first set before a Romaniszyn ace and a Brezwyn kill afforded the Spartans a 9-7 lead. UNCG then took advantages of 13-10 and 19-15 before holding off a late Citadel charge to win the set 25-21.

The Blue and Gold took charge at the beginning of the second set after a kill by redshirt junior middle hitter Julia Westerbur made the score 5-2. The Bulldogs put together a 5-1 run at that point to pull ahead by a point, but another kill by Westerbur capped a 6-3 UNCG run that gave UNCG a 12-10 cushion. The Citadel fought back and tied the frame at 16, however, the Spartans remained unfazed and, with a 22-21 lead, scored the final three points of the set thanks to kills by three different players.

With a 2-0 lead in the match, UNCG used that momentum to race out to a 7-4 advantage in the third set. The Bulldogs notched two-straight points to pull within 7-6, but a kill by Betlach sparked a 4-0 run that put the Spartans ahead by five. UNCG stretched the lead to 17-10 before closing out the stanza and the sweep by a 25-19 margin.

With the regular season now complete, the Spartans will turn their attention to the Southern Conference Volleyball Championship scheduled for Nov. 22-24 at Fleming Gymnasium in Greensboro, N.C. The full bracket, including match times, will be announced upon completion of Sunday's Mercer-Western Carolina clash in Macon, Ga.

Follow the UNCG volleyball team all season by logging on to www.uncgspartans.com and following the Spartans' official Twitter accounts @UNCGVB and @uncgsports.