BUIES CREEK, NC – UNC Greensboro’s women’s volleyball team matched 2005’s win total with a 3-0 sweep of Campbell at Carter Gym on Tuesday night. Senior Theresa Hart had a match-high 16 kills to lead the 5-0 Spartans.
Junior Lauren Keiser added nine kills on a team-best .471 hitting percentage. Sophomore Kaitlyn Nortz had eight kills and senior Hilary Overby put away seven kills for the Spartans. Freshman Lisa Fawell dished out 42 assists, while classmate Catherine Hanners came up with 21 digs.
Rachel Templin led Campbell (2-2) with 11 kills. Sara Dillon had 34 assists.
UNCG dominated the first two games of the match by hitting at a staggering .422 (33-6-64) clip.
UNCG’s sluggish start found them tied 16-16 midway through game one. From that point, the Spartans went on a 9-2 run for a 25-18 lead that later turned into a 30-22 win for the visitors. Hart’s seven kills led an efficient attack as UNCG posted a .389 hitting percentage with 16 kills against only three errors. Fawell dished out 15 helpers in the opening game.
Game two proved to be even better as the Spartans hit .452 with 17 kills and again only three errors. UNCG grabbed a 10-5 in the early going and upped its lead to as many as 12 points, including the final margin of 30-18 as they cruised to a 2-0 lead before the intermission.
The final game featured extended runs by both teams. Trailing 15-12, Campbell scored the next seven points to lead 19-15 after a kill by Brittany Rusin that caused UNCG coach Shawn Garus to call a timeout.
The break in the action worked as the game was tied 20-20 moments later when Hart put away a feed from Fawell. The Camels regained the lead momentarily, 22-21, but UNCG came up with the next seven points which led to a 30-26 win for the Spartans’ fourth consecutive straight-set victory.
The Spartans improve to 15-8 against their rivals out of the Atlantic Sun Conference, while also picking up their first win over Campbell since 2003.
UNCG was 5-26 last season.
UNCG takes part in the UNC Asheville Volleyball Classic on Friday and Saturday at Justice Center in Asheville, NC. The Spartans play East Tennessee State on Friday at 5 pm in the opening game of the tournament. UNCG will then play the host Bulldogs on Saturday at 12 noon and then Cleveland State at 3 pm.
AGATE
UNC Greensboro def. Campbell 30-22, 30-18, 30-26
UNC Greensboro (5-0) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Theresa Hart 16-3-0; Lauren Keiser 9-3-2; Kaitlyn Nortz 8-3-2; Hilary Overby 7-0-0; Liz Benzschawel 2-0-1; Lisa Fawell 1-0-1; Catherine Hanners 1-0-0; Branagan Fuller 1-0-0; Totals 45-9-3.0. (Assists) - Lisa Fawell 42. (Dig leaders) - Catherine Hanners 21; Lisa Fawell 9; Lauren Keiser 8
Campbell (2-2) (Kills-aces-blocks) - TEMPLIN, Rachel 11-0-1; RUSIN, Brittany 9-0-1; ALABI, Femi 9-0-1; HILL, Sarah 8-0-0; WEERS, Ashley 7-1-0; DILLON, Sarah 1-0-1; HARVEY, Melissa 1-1-0; Totals 46-2-2.0. (Assists) - DILLON, Sarah 34. (Dig leaders) - HARVEY, Melissa 9; HILL, Sarah 7.
- UNCG -