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Volleyball Hosts Elon In Home Finale
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Having officially clinched a bid to the 2012 Southern Conference Championship, the UNCG volleyball team turns its sights to seeding as it wraps up the home portion of its schedule with a match Thursday night against local rival Elon. First serve is set for 7 p.m. at Fleming Gymnasium. Senior Ari Lysacek will be honored before the match.
After Thursday's contest, UNCG will travel to face the College of Charleston Saturday – also at 7 p.m.
With a win in the home finale against the Phoenix, the Spartans would sweep the season series and clinch second place in the North Division standings. Should the Blue and Gold lose to Elon, the Phoenix would take a one-game lead heading into both teams' season finales.
Last time the teams met, UNCG took a 2-0 lead at Alumni Gym before Elon rallied to force a fifth set. The Spartans owned the decider, winning it 15-9 to seal the victory. Junior Karrian Chambers was the story of the evening, racking up 15 kills and a career-high 22 digs for her second double-double of the season. UNCG hit .219 in the match with 60 kills while limiting Elon to a .194 performance, including .056 in the fifth set. The Spartans also outdug the Phoenix by a large margin (78-59).
UNCG looks to bounce back from a pair of setbacks at Chattanooga and Samford last weekend. The Spartans held a 2-0 lead against the Mocs but fell victim to a rally by the home team. The next night, the Blue and Gold traveled to Birmingham for a rematch against Samford but, despite winning the third set, fell 3-1 to the Bulldogs.
SCOUTING ELON...
After starting SoCon play at 1-3, Elon has won six of its last nine contests to keep pace with UNCG for second place in the North Division standings. The Phoenix did, however, fall to Samford 3-1 and Chattanooga 3-2 on the road last weekend, matching UNCG's results set for set. Elon is a decent blocking squad, currently ranking fourth in the SoCon with an average of 1.95 per set. The Spartans look for their first season sweep of the Phoenix since the 2009 campaign.
ABOUT COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON...
When the Spartans and Cougars meet Saturday, it will mark the regular season finale for both squads. College of Charleston swept The Citadel Tuesday, putting the Cougars within a half game of first place in the South Division. A CofC win over UNCG, in addition to a Georgia Southern loss in one of its final two contests, would give the Cougars the South Division title. The Spartans seek their first win over College of Charleston since the 2008 campaign when UNCG won a 3-2 decision at home.
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 (4.29) and tied for fourth in digs (1,493) while sophomore Vicky Harley is 10th in blocks per set (0.82). Additionally, senior Ari Lysacek sits fourth in assists with a total of 3,342.
EXTRA VOLLEYBALL...
In 26 matches this season, UNCG has played 11 that have gone the full five sets. The Spartans are 4-7 in those contests. The Spartans have matched the single-season record for five-setters as UNCG also 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 two 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 890 total digs while averaging 4.40 and 3.84 per set respectively.
- UNCG -
