Lady Eagles Fall in Five Sets at Catawba
Oct. 17, 2008
SALISBURY, NC -- Catawba outlasted Carson-Newman in South Atlantic Conference volleyball action, winning in five sets on Friday night at Goodman Gym. The Catawba Indians won the battle of regional top 10 teams, taking the match by the scores of 25-12, 25-21, 22-25, 18-25 and 15-12. Catawba, rated third, improves to 13-6 overall and 7-2 in the SAC, while the Lady Eagles, ranked seventh, fall to 17-12 and 5-4.
Senior Melissa Powers (Bennett, NC/N. Moore HS) led the Lady Indians with 23 kills and was followed by Melissa Griffith (Williamsburg, VA/Lafayette HS), with 16, and Mai Zoua Lo (Hickory, NC/Foard HS), with 14. Freshman Shay Meeks (Kings Mountain, NC/Kings Mountain HS) had five blocks and eight kills, while freshman setter Megan Courson (Statesville, NC/W. Iredell HS) delivered 58 assists, 10 digs and three blocks.
Carson-Newman got 15 kills from Carly Mozgai (Greensboro, NC), 13 from Jessica Schachleiter (Cincinnati, OH) and 10 each from Katie Troyer (Plain City, OH) and Kelsey Fleck (Celina, OH). Mozgai added 12 digs, two blocks and a pair of aces, while Stephanie Cutter (Murfreesboro, TN) had 13 digs and 26 assists.
Catawba claimed the first two sets, hitting at nearly 47%. Leading the opening set 8-7, two straight kills by Powers and two aces by Taylor Doss (Boonville, NC/Starmount HS) sparked an 11-2 run that gave the Lady Indians a big edge. Griffith served an ace and Doss had a kill to finish off the set.
The Lady Eagles jumped out to an early 6-1 lead in set two. Schachleiter had a kill and block and Troyer a pair of kills in the early run. Catawba would slowly get back into the set, tying it at 16-all when a Griffith kill capped a three-point run. Griffith would post back-to-back kills to give Catawba its first lead of the set at 18-17. A kill by Lo pushed the lead to 21-18 and although C-N pulled within a point, Catawba took the set with the final three points on kills by Powers and Courson, who teamed for a combo block to end the set.
Powers had three kills as Catawba raced to a 4-0 lead in set three, but C-N quickly responded with a 7-3 run to tie things up. The teams traded points until consecutive kills by Griffith provided Catawba with a 14-12 edge. Carson-Newman would strike back with five straight points, three coming on two kills and a block from Schachleiter. Catawba was able to take a late lead on an ace by Powers at 22-21, but a kill by Schachleiter and an ace by Caitlin Schlegel (Anacortes, WA) gave C-N the lead for good. A combo block from Fleck and Jessica Brady (Fruitland Park, FL) ended the set.
Carson-Newman used a 13-5 run to open a 16-8 lead in the fourth set. Brady had four kills in the run, while Schachleiter had a kill and an ace. Catawba pulled with 17-15, but two kills from Fleck got C-N back on track. The Lady Eagles scored five of the last six points with Fleck killing off set point.
An ace by Mozgai gave the Lady Eagles an early 4-1 lead in the deciding set. C-N held an 8-5 lead after a kill by Brady, but Catawba got four of the next five points to tie things up. Two kill by Powers and a third by Lo capped a five-point run that pushed the Lady Indian edge to 12-9. The teams would trade points from there and Catawba claimed the win on a kill by Powers.
Quotes from Coach Mincey
"Our team played with alot of heart tonight. Our legs were slugglish in the first set from the long trip but we started working together and moving better as the match continued. I was most impressed with Katie Troyer tonight who wasn't physically able to play the match at 100%. I was a bit concerned she wouldn't be able to play at all but through her determination she remained in the starting lineup. We held her from warm-ups so she could sustain throughout the match. She showed her team where her priorities are. It is tough to loose a match after working so hard to get to that 5th set after being down 0-2. There are alot of positives we can use to propel us into the rest of conference play. It is possible that we won't see them again which made it disheartening for my seniors. We have a week of practice before our next match to focus on some details of the game."
