Volleyball Heads Out On Season’s Longest SoCon Road Trip
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Having won three-straight matches, the UNCG volleyball takes its newfound momentum on the road this weekend, traveling to Chattanooga and Samford for a pair of Southern Conference North Division matchups. The Spartans will do battle with the Mocs Friday (Nov. 2) at 6 p.m. before heading south to Birmingham the next day to face the Bulldogs at 8 p.m.
With four contests remaining in the regular season, the Spartans can claim a bid to the 2012 SoCon Championship tournament with one more victory coupled with a single Western Carolina loss. UNCG is tied with Elon for second place in the division, but currently holds the tiebreaker thanks to a 3-2 road win over the Phoenix in the league opener.
The Spartans recorded a pair of 3-1 wins at home last weekend against North Division foes Western Carolina and Appalachian State. UNCG avenged a 3-0 loss in Cullowhee while also sweeping the season series against the Mountaineers.
A big reason for the Spartan surge has been the emergence of a third hitting option. Junior Morgan Freeman is averaging 3.36 kills per set over the last three matches and has hit a team-leading .476. Also playing well is freshman Julia Westerbur who has racked up 20 kills and 13 blocks in the last three contests.
UNCG looks to break a four-match losing streak to Samford Saturday. The Bulldogs won the first matchup of the season 3-0 at Fleming Gymnasium. Conversely, the Spartans seek their third-straight win over the Mocs. Chattanooga competes well at home as it owns an 8-3 record at Maclellan Gym this season.
SCOUTING CHATTANOOGA...
Chattanooga enters the weekend on a three-match losing streak, most recently losing to Samford in four sets in Birmingham last Tuesday. That loss followed defeats to Georgia Southern and Furman - two of the top three teams in the South Division. The Mocs are fighting Western Carolina for the fourth and final bid to the conference tournament as both squads are 4-8 in SoCon play.
ALL ABOUT SAMFORD...
Samford is riding a three-match winning streak, most recently defeating Chattanooga in four sets at home last Tuesday. With one more victory, the Bulldogs will clinch at least a share of the North Division title as they own a 10-2 record in league play - three games in front of UNCG and Elon. Samford provides a stiff test for opposing offenses as the Bulldogs lead the Southern Conference in opposing hitting percentage - limiting foes to a .167 mark through 26 matches.
SOCON CONGRATS...
UNCG has earned two weekly awards from the SoCon this season. Freshman Lauren Betlach was named the league's freshman of the week for her performances at Western Carolina and Appalachian State while junior Olivia Humphries took home offensive player of the week accolades for her stellar play last weekend against Furman and Wofford.
200 WITHIN REACH...
With the victory against Appalachian State, head coach Patrick Nicholas is just three away from 200 for his career. Of those wins, 67 have occurred at UNCG - making Nicholas the second-winningest coach in program history.
MOVING UP THE LADDER...
A couple of Spartans have moved into the program career top 10 as Orewiler is third in digs per set (4.27) and fifth in digs (1,446) while sophomore Vicky Harley is 10th in blocks per set (0.81). Additionally, senior Ari Lysacek sits fourth in assists with a total of 3,262.
EXTRA VOLLEYBALL...
In 24 matches this season, UNCG has played 10 that have gone the full five sets. The Spartans are 4-6 in those contests. The Spartans are close to setting the program single-season record for five-setters as UNCG played 11 of them in the 1992 and 2009 campaigns.
BETTER THAN PREDICTED…
The Spartans were predicted to finish in fourth place by the league coaches in their annual preseason poll. However, UNCG has put itself in a position to take second place with four matches remaining in the regular season. The last time the Spartans finished as high as second place was the 2010 season when UNCG was also picked to finish fourth.
CALLING ALL LIBEROS...
UNCG sports arguably the top libero tandem in the Southern Conference in junior Kellie Orewiler, the reigning SoCon Libero of the Year, and freshman Katherine Santiago have combined for 806 total digs while averaging 4.32 and 3.82 per set respectively.