Box Score CHARLESTON, S.C. – UNCG Volleyball earned a 3-1 (21-25, 25-19, 25-19, 25-13) victory over The Citadel Bulldogs on Saturday evening inside McAlister Field House in Charleston, S.C. The Spartans improve to 7-9 overall, and 2-2 in the Southern Conference. The Citadel falls to 6-12, and 0-4 in the SoCon. The Navy and Gold improves to 27-2 all-time against the Bulldogs, and have now won nine straight meetings.
Ashley Muench (Hurdle Mills, N.C./Orange) led all competitors, earning 22 kills in the match. Alexis Mourier (Elkhart, W.Va./George Washington) contributed with 15 kills. Allison Penner (Aurora, Neb./Aurora) earned a team-high 53 assists, and recorded 16 digs. It marks her fifth double-double of the season, and her second on the weekend.
The Spartan defense earned 70 digs on Saturday evening. Christina Gregory (Louisville, Ky./Sacred Heart Academy) earned a match-best 24. Ronni Katarzynski (Winfield, Ill./West Chicago) chipped in eight, with Anna Romaniszyn (Port Orange, Fla./Spruce Creek) adding five. UNCG recorded 10.0 stops at the net. Jasmine Jones (Stafford, Va./Brook Point) earned a match-high seven blocks.
The Bulldogs started the set fast, racing out to a 6-1 lead. UNCG battled back, using a 3-0 run to cut the lead down to 10-7. The Spartans and Bulldogs played evenly over the next several rallies as UNCG cut the Bulldog lead to 22-20. The Bulldogs earned three of the next four points to take the first set.
The second set started evenly, as the Spartans were able to muster a three-point lead, aided by a trio of kills from Muench. The Citadel answered back, cutting the Spartan lead to 15-14 after a Spartan hitting error. The Navy and Gold answered with four-straight points to increase its lead to 19-15. The teams exchanged points until the Spartans scored the final two of the set on a kill from Mourier, and a Sarah Dobrich attack error helped the Spartans tie the match up at one.
UNCG and The Citadel started the third set evenly before the Bulldogs grabbed a 13-11 lead. UNCG stormed back, scoring seven-straight points to take an 18-13 lead. The Bulldogs battled, cutting the lead to two at 18-16 following a kill from Moriah Smith. The Navy and Gold stretched the lead back to four after a Mikaela Weidmann (Roswell, Ga./Centennial) kill and a Smith attack error. UNCG closed the set on kills from Muench and Penner.
The Spartans continued hitting to start the fourth set. UNCG got an early lead, going up 10-4, forcing a Bulldog timeout. The Navy and Gold went on a 5-1 run to take a commanding 15-6 lead. The teams exchanged points down the stretch until UNCG scored the final two points on a Bulldog service error, and Jones finished the match with her ninth kill.
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