10/23/2009 - VOLLEYBALL Clash for Atlantic Sun Volleyball Seeding Continues

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Volleyball Weekly Release

MACON, Ga. – The Atlantic Sun Conference Volleyball Match of the Week features a battle for championship seeding, headlining Saturday’s contest between ETSU and Kennesaw State - two schools locked in a race for the sixth and final spot, at 6:00 p.m. Saturday evening at Brooks Gym. The match airs on ASun.TV.

The last time the Owls and Lady Buccaneers met, ETSU held on to defeat Kennesaw State, 3-2, at the KSU Convocation Center. Junior Erin Ryan led the way offensively for the Bucs with a team-high 17 kills, while junior outside hitter Desiree Dyck posted a double-double with 12 kills and 15 digs. Junior middle blocker Alysa Long and sophomore middle blocker McKayla Barber each posted 11 kills and five blocks in the match. Junior outside hitter Sabrita Gulley notched 24 kills for the Owls in the loss, setting a new program record for kills in a match in the process. ETSU owns a 5-1 series advantage with Kennesaw State since 2006. The Bucs have emerged victorious in 18 of their last 31 home contests in Brooks Gym.

Kennesaw State senior Chelsey Denesha tallied 18 kills while Gulley added 17 kills and 11 digs to lead the Owls to one of the biggest wins in program history; a 3-1 win against Belmont on Saturday afternoon at the KSU Convocation Center. The victory over Belmont gave Kennesaw State 11 wins for the year, eclipsing the program’s total number of wins over the last three seasons combines. The Owls broke the school record for single season wins earlier in the year. Gulley's play from her back and subsequent block in the fourth set of the Belmont match earned her a nomination for the AVCA Play of the Week. AVCA member schools have the opportunity to submit up to three plays per week to be voted on by coaches, players, fans and the general public for the chance to be named Volleyball Market/AVCA Play of the Week. Watch Gulley’s play HERE and vote HERE, by Tuesday at 11:00 a.m. Gulley, the Owls’ Top Performer of the Week, led Kennesaw State to a 2-1 week in the A-Sun and moved the Owls into the coveted sixth-place standing.

In ETSU’s last action on the court, the Bucs snapped a four-game losing streak on Tuesday night, as they defeated UNC Asheville at the Justice Center in Asheville, N.C. The Bucs had three players post double-doubles, including junior setter Whitney Cogburn, senior setter Amanda Youell and Dyck. Cogburn posted her eighth double-double of the season with 11 kills and 16 digs, while Youell tallied ten kills, hitting .412 in the match with 52 assists and seven digs, and Dyck made ten kills and 11 digs. Barber and Long also had double-digit kills for the Buccaneers, as Barber notched a team-best 15 kills, hitting .458, while Long made 11 kills and five blocks.

Players to Watch
* McKayla Barber, ETSU – Barber notched double-figures and double-digit kills for the Buccaneers at Campbell and UNC Asheville, adding ten kills and four blocks on Friday, then a team-best 15 kills, hitting .458 on Saturday.

* Whitney Cogburn, ETSU – Cogburn leads the way for the Buccaneers as she totals a team-best 209 kills and eight double-doubles, while posting 116 assists and 182 digs. Cogburn notched her eighth double-double of the season, with 11 kills and 16 digs against UNC Asheville on Tuesday.

* Alysa Long, ETSU – As one of the most efficient hitters in the league, Long holds a .314 hitting percentage on the season.

* Amanda Youell, ETSU –Youell ran the ETSU offense at Campbell, with 44 assists and seven digs on the night. Against non-conference opponent UNC Asheville on Tuesday evening, Youell tallied ten kills, hitting .412 in the match, with 52 assists and seven digs in the match, and added 33 assists and seven digs versus USC Upstate on Oct. 13.

* Chelsey Denesha, Kennesaw State – Denesha crept close to triple-double range at Mercer on Oct. 13, recording 14 kills, seven assists, and eight digs. The senior also led the Owls with 18 kills in Kennesaw State’s 3-1 victory versus Belmont on Saturday.

* Sabrita Gulley, Kennesaw State – On the week, Gulley totaled 46 kills and 38 digs, leading KSU offensively against Mercer on Oct. 13, as she knocked down 21 kills, while also earning 16 digs of her own to complete a double-double. Gulley's 21 kills mark the fourth time this season that the junior has reached the 20-kill mark.

* Selina O’Leary, Kennesaw State – Against Belmont, the senior libero collected a match-high 24 digs to become the first Owl to surpass 1,000 career digs. Leary set a new Kennesaw State record with 27 digs in a match, leading the Owls to a 3-1 win against in-state rival Mercer (Oct. 13) at the University Center. The win gave the Owls 10 victories in a season for the first time in program history.

* Asjia Stokes, Kennesaw State – The senior outside hitter posted eight kills to lead the Owls in Kennesaw State’s win against Belmont, after falling just short of a double-double at Mercer, with 14 kills and nine digs several days earlier.

Around the Sun - Volleyball
Belmont
* Belmont lost its third straight match on Saturday afternoon to Kennesaw State in four sets at the KSU Convocation Center, 3-1. It marked the first win for Kennesaw State in the six-match series with Belmont, which began when the Owls joined the A-Sun in 2006. Belmont won a five-set match against the Owls on Sept. 25, during the first half of conference play this season.
* Sophomore outside hitter Maggie Johnson led all players with 19 kills, while adding nine digs. Senior Jenny Gray recorded her third double-double of the season with 15 kills and 11 digs, along with an attacking rate of .367.
* With losses to Mercer and Kennesaw State on the road this weekend, it marks the first time since 2005 that Belmont has lost both matches of an A-Sun road weekend. The Bruins lost to UNF and Jacksonville during the weekend of Nov. 4-5, 2005.
* Belmont drops below a .500 winning percentage after 20 matches for just the second time in Head Coach Deane Webb’s era. The first came in 2003, Webb’s first year, when the Bruins started 1-19.
* The Bruins return to Nashville to host Stetson at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, and FGCU at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday.

Campbell
* Campbell went a perfect 3-0 last week, including 2-0 in Atlantic Sun play, moving into sole position of fourth place in the league standings. The Camels began the week with a 3-0 sweep at Winston-Salem State, a match that saw Camp¬bell set season-bests in aces (13), points allowed (38) and opponent hitting percentage (-.052).
* Allowing just 38 points established a defensive milestone in the contest, a program low since the NCAA revised the set point total to 25 prior to the 2008 season (under previous rule, a team had to reach 30 points to win a set). Campbell then returned home and downed ETSU, 3-2, and USC Upstate, 3-1.
* With the perfect 3-0 week, Campbell moves to 15-8 on the season and 8-4 in the Atlantic Sun. The Camels’ 15 wins marks a high since the 2001 season, when CU went 17-10. Their eight A-Sun wins ties the all-time program record, set in 1998, with eight remaining A-Sun matches.

ETSU
* ETSU is coming off of a big 3-2 win over UNC Asheville on Tuesday that ended a four-game skid. The Bucs have dropped four of their last five conference matches, with their last win coming at home against Belmont. Junior Whitney Cogburn leads the way for the Buccaneers, as she totals a team-best 209 kills and eight double-doubles, while posting 116 assists and 182 digs.
* ETSU is set to host Mercer and Kennesaw State this weekend in Brooks Gym, as the Bucs look to move up in the Atlantic Sun standings. The Bucs face the Bears at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, while the Owls come to town on Saturday at 6:00 p.m.
* The Bucs are 4-3 all-time against Mercer as the Buccaneers swept the Bears on the road earlier this season. ETSU is 4-1 all-time against Kennesaw State, having won the only contest between the teams earlier this year.

FGCU
* FGCU looks to get back on the winning track this weekend when they head to Nashville to face Lipscomb and Belmont this Friday and Saturday.
* The Lady Bisons will host FGCU at Allen Arena on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and the Bruins (11-12, 7-6) welcome the Eagles into the Curb Event Center on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.
* Lipscomb defeated the Eagles 3-0 in Fort Myers earlier this season, evening the all-time record between the two schools at 2-2. The Lady Bisons come into Friday’s match with an RPI ranking of 57th nationally, the highest ranking of any A-Sun school.
* Against the Bruins, FGCU came out on top in a five-set thriller inside Alico Arena just over a month ago. Junior outside hitter Jelena Simic and sophomore outside hitter Anna Wagner each recorded double-doubles in the victory over Belmont.

Jacksonville
* Senior libero Shelley Walroth added another JU record to her resume after tallying a career-high 46 digs at FGCU. Wal¬roth, who holds single season and career dig marks at JU, sur¬passed Cheryl Rothwell (43 at Stetson - Nov. 12, 1996) for the program’s single match record. The Cincinnati native moved into 16th place on the NCAA all-time digs list with 2,267 and needs seven to move into the top 15 and 77 to crack the top 10. Walroth also earned a Top Performer selection from the Col¬legiate Volleyball Update for her performance this past week.
* After being shut out in straight sets against Belmont and Lipscomb to open A-Sun play, Jacksonville has won 12 straight matches. The winning streak represents the longest under head coach Shaun Kupferberg, as well as the longest winning streak for the Dolphins since joining the A-Sun in 1998.
* The Dolphins have also won 13 straight home matches, the longest streak in the Division I era (1985-current). Jacksonville’s 6-0 mark at home this season accounts for the best start since the Dolphins joined the A-Sun. The Dolphins have won six consecutive road matches. Jacksonville boasts a perfect 3-0 record in five-set matches as compared to a 0-5 mark last year.

Kennesaw State
* Senior Chelsey Denesha made 18 kills while junior Sabrita Gulley notched 17 kills and 11 digs to lead Kennesaw State to one of the biggest wins in program history; a 3-1 win against Belmont in an Atlantic Sun Conference match Saturday afternoon at the KSU Convocation Center.
* The win marked the first for the Owls against Belmont after five previous losses.
* Senior libero Selina O’Leary collected a match-high 24 digs to become the first Owl to surpass 1,000 career digs.
* Kennesaw State returns to action this Friday at 7:00 p.m. as the Owls travel to Buies Creek, N.C. to face the Camels in another important A-Sun match.

Lipscomb
* One of the preseason goals for the Lady Bisons - to end the season in the top 50 in the national RPI ratings - moved within reach. The Lady Bisons place 57th in the NCAA RPI rankings, up 14 places and represents the highest ranking in team history.
* The Lady Bisons enter the week with a 15-match winning streak overall and a perfect 13-0 record in the conference.
* Lipscomb ranks fourth in NCAA Division I, in both assists per set (13.78) and kills per set (14.9). The Lady Bisons also rank 13th with a .857 match won-lost percentage and are 22nd with a .264 hitting percentage and 28th with a 16.71 digs per set.
* Individually, junior setter Stefine “Jake” Pease ranks seventh in the nation in assists per set with 11.87. Junior middle hitter Alex Kelly ranks 12th in points per set with 5.16 and 17th in kills per set with 4.43.
* Lipscomb (15) and Jacksonville (12) enter the week looking to extend double-digit win streaks. No other conference in the country features two schools with concurrent win streaks of at least 10 matches.

Mercer
* Mercer team returns to Atlantic Sun play this weekend, challenging ETSU on Friday at 7:00 p.m., after dropping a non-conference matchup with Georgia State on Oct. 20.
* Against Georgia State, sophomore outside hitter Amiee Frutchey turned in her seventh double-double effort of the season, spiking a team-high 10 kills and posting 13 digs in the losing effort. Junior middle hitter Libby Hansch also pounded out nine kills and added four block-assists against the Panthers.
* Friday’s matchup with ETSU marks the second go-around between the teams this season. ETSU swept Mercer 3-0 on Sept. 19 in Macon. Last season, Mercer claimed a hard-fought, five-set win at Brooks Gym. ETSU leads the all-time series 5-2.
* Campbell will host Mercer after facing Kennesaw State on Oct. 23. Campbell and Mercer squared off once already this season, with Campbell taking a 3-0 victory in Macon. Last year, Mercer swept Campbell in Buies Creek. Mercer has taken 12 victories in the 22 match history between the teams.

UNF
* UNF travels to Spartanburg, S.C. on Friday, Oct. 23, to face Atlantic Sun foe USC Upstate. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. at Hodge Arena.
* UNF enters off a 3-0 win against non-conference opponent Bethune-Cookman on Tuesday. Junior middle blocker Kaley Read posted 20 kills against the Wildcats. Read leads the Ospreys on the season, averaging 3.9 kills per set, while freshman outside hitter Paige Pridgeon tallied 2.87 kills per set, and junior outside hitter Danielle Lerch added 2.86 kills per set. Junior setter Jessica Catelano notched 9.33 assists per set while freshman libero Nicole Baran posted 2.53 digs per set on the defensive side.
* UNF and Upstate met earlier in the season at UNF Arena. The Ospreys picked up the 3-0 win against the Spartans. Lerch made 18 kills and Read added 17 in the match. The Ospreys hold a 26-3 all-time record versus the Spartans.

USC Upstate
* With her first of three blocks on Oct. 17 at Campbell, sophomore middle blocker Morgan Thomas became the first player in Upstate's D-I era to post 150 career blocks.
* Junior Megan Healey became the eighth player in school history to reach 1,000 career digs on Oct. 20 at Gardner-Webb, as the libero posted 14 digs. Healey is just 32 shy of Erin Kopec's seventh-best mark on 1,036 set from 2000-03.
* Sophomore outside hitter Kelsie Queen tied a career-high with nine digs on Oct. 20 at Gardner-Webb. Queen also added 11 kills, marking the sixth time this year she notched at least 10 kills.
* Senior setter Morgan Buciffero became the 25th player in school history to reach 600 career digs with her one dig at Campbell.
* Freshman outside hitter Mindy Quimby has set a season high in each of the last three matches, posting four aces against ETSU, 10 kills at Campbell and hitting .348 at Gardner-Webb.
* Quimby, freshman setter Emily Sanders, and freshman outsider hitter Paige Weiland have accounted for 12 of Upstate's 18 double-doubles this season. Sanders leads the Spartans with eight assist-dig affairs, while Weiland has added three of Upstate's kill-dig double-doubles, and Quimby has posted one kill-dig double-double.
* Junior middle blocker Katie Downey has averaged 6.3 kills and 6.3 blocks over the last three matches and has added 1.7 blocks per match.

Stetson
* Visiting UNF out-hit Stetson by nearly 200 points and out-killed the Hatters by a near two-to-one margin (46-29) in a 3-0 sweep Saturday at the Edmunds Center. Senior middle blocker Laura Boyd led Stetson with eight kills.
* Freshman setter Kelli Carneal put up team-high figures of 18 assists and nine digs for the Hatters, who were out-hit .265 to .075 by the Ospreys. Sophomore middle blocker Sam Freeman paced the effort at the net with four blocks.
* The Hatters return to action on Friday when they head north to Nashville for the annual pair of weekend matches in the Music City. Stetson faces off with Belmont at 6:30 p.m. CT Friday and takes on league-leading Lipscomb at 2:00 p.m. CT on Saturday.