Knights volleyball earns first win of 2011

by Staff Report The Laurinburg Exchange

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.- The St. Andrews volleyball team came together and rallied for a successful second day of play at the Edward Waters College two-day tournament. The Knights lost a long battle during the first day of play, ending with a 2-3 loss to Claflin University on Sept. 9 before picking up a pair of wins at the event on Sept. 10.

The Knights started the weekend strong by winning the first two sets against Claflin Univeristy, however, the Panthers replied by taking the game to five sets and capturing the win in a close final set (23-25, 20-25, 25-9, 25-14, 15-10).

Freshman Celia Duggan led the Knights offense with five kills against Claflin, followed closely by Benee Norton who put down four kills.

Ashleigh Fritter helped put the Knights on the board through her accurate ball placement, earning her 12 assists.

Megan Nelson trailed Fritter by two assists after using her quick hands to set 10 assists to the attacking Knights.

Freshman Allie Garland slowed down the opposing offense by digging a phenomenal 49 attacks sent across the net by the Panthers.

First win

St. Andrews took its first victory of the season on day two of the tournament, downing Livingstone College after four sets (25-21, 13-25, 23-25, 17-25).

The Knights dropped a close first set to the Blue Bears, only losing by four points.

However, St. Andrews won the next three sets straight, accumulating a 3-1 victory.

The Knights truly stepped up their defense against Livingstone with a team total of 110 digs in the four set game.

Lyndsey Moss, Garland, Amanda VanKleeck and Ruka Akolade boasted the highest digs with 28, 26, 17, and 16 digs, respectively.

Working off of ther Knights solid defense, Fritter and Nelson set 20 assists each, helping the team pound 40 kills.

Nelson not only helped set up the Knights offense, but also actively participated in the offensive onslaught with eight kills against the Blue Bears. Duggan again led the charge for the Knights net play, putting down a career-high 14 kills in the four set match.

Closing victory

The Knights claimed their second win of the season when they defeated the Tigers of Edward Waters in three straight sets (12-25, 15-25, 18-25) in their second game on Sept. 10.

The Blue and White earned 26 kills against the Tigers.

The Knights swung at the ball 69 times total and only made seven hitting errors, their most accurate offense so far this season.

Duggan kept swinging and again took the top spot for the netters, with nine kills. Garland was close on Duggans heels though, with eight kills. Sophomore Sam Neveu) earned herself a perfect hitting record against EWC, with both of her swings scoring for the Knights.

Lex Cowger stayed active in the back row and managed to dig 15 of the shots taken by the Tigers.

Helping defend the court, Fritter and VanKleeck each earned eight digs; while Akolade and Moss each kept seven of EWCs attacks from hitting the floor.

Leading the Knights to a fast victory, Nelson picked up 16 assists, putting Fritter second in assists with nine.

SAPC volleyball returns to Conference Carolinas play on Tuesday, Sept. 13.

The ladies will travel to Mount Olive, N.C., to face off against the Trojans of Mount Olive College, with the first serve at 7:00 p.m.