November 16, 2003

THOMASVILLE, NC—The Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference announced four St. Andrews Presbyterian College players to the volleyball All-Conference teams at the Honors Banquet during this weekend’s Conference Championship volleyball tournament. The Knights head coach Bill Rude was also awarded CVAC Coach of the Year.

Senior hitter Amy Miller (Venice, Florida/Chicago State) made the All-Conference 1st team. Miller finished the season with 2.78 kills/game, 3.6 digs/game, and a league leading 0.400 hitting percentage. Amy was named CVAC Player of the Week twice during the year.

Senior outside hitter Rachel Hoag (Brunswick, Ohio/Padua) and senior libero Kim Makahilahila (Kailua, Hawaii/Kamehameha) were named to the All-Conference 2nd team. Hoag lead the Knights with 3.69 kills/game and supplied 2.6 digs/game. Makahilahila contributed greatly in the second half of the season recording 366 digs in only 21 matches (5.15 digs/game).

Freshman setter Kim Harper (Boca Raton, Florida/Olympic Heights) was named to the All-Conference Honorable Mention team. Harper won the last CVAC Player of the Week for the season, after voting for these awards had already concluded. Harper finished the season with 11.66 assists/game, 3.42 digs/game, 57 service aces, and a 0.4 hitting percentage.

Rude was named CVAC Coach of the Year in his first season at St. Andrews. Bill led the Knights to a 24-11 overall and 14-4 conference record. The Knights finished third in the conference standing after being picked to finish seventh in the pre-season. Rude capped off the excellent season by leading the Knights to the finals of the CVAC tournament, in which they almost pulled off the upset.

Head coaches from CVAC member institutions nominate and then vote upon the award winners who represent the best of the best for the conference.

November 16, 2003

BANNER ELK, NC—The St. Andrews volleyball team made a great run at the Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference Tournament title this weekend, finally being eliminated in fifth game of the finals by host and No. 1 seed Lees-McRae.

Quarter-Finals

The Knights had a first round bye for finishing 14-4 in the conference during the regular season. St. Andrews, the No. 3 seed, faced No. 6 seed Anderson in the quarterfinals early in the morning on Saturday. Just like the two regular season meeting the Knights took the match in three straight games. The game scores were 30-16, 30-26, and 30-20.

St. Andrews was lead by Bethany Evans with 17 kills. Rachel Hoag had 10 kills, Lauren McManus had two aces, Kim Harper had one ace and 42 assists, Kim Makahilahila had 23 digs, Jessica Bewley had 18 digs, 1.5 blocks and 4 assists, Nickalit Bateman had 2.5 blocks and Amy Miller had 1.5 blocks.

Semi-Finals

The Knights faced No. 2 seed Mt. Olive in the semifinals Saturday afternoon. The Trojans defeated No. 7 seed Queens in a five-set match during the morning.

St. Andrews used the momentum of having beat Mt. Olive a week before on their court to take the four-game match to advance to the finals. The game scores were 30-20, 25-30, 30-21, and 30-18

Leading for the Knights was Hoag with 12 kills and 5 aces. Evans recorded 11 kills and 2.5 blocks for her team. Harper had one ace, 15 digs and 37 assists, while Makahilahila added 17 digs. Bewley had an ace and three assists. Finally, Bateman had four blocks during the match.

Finals

The Knights made it to the finals and had to go up against the very powerful No. 1 seed Lees-McRae. There was not much in favor for the Knights as the Lady Bobcats defeated the Knights in three straight games in both previous meetings. Lees-McRae was playing on their home court and had an easy route to the finals. Also, Lees-McRae has won five consecutive regular season and four consecutive tournament championships.

The Knights did not let any of this bother them as they came out and gave the Lady Bobcats just about all they could handle forcing five games. Lees-McRae held on to win by 26-30, 30-23, 30-28, 27-30, and 13-15.

St. Andrews jumped out early and won the first game, but Lees-McRae stayed poised and took the next two games. The Knights did not give up and won the fourth game while facing elimination.

Game five began a back and forth battle, with each team leading by one, and then tying back up again. The Knights edged ahead of the Bobcats 7-5, however, the Bobcats rallied back. With a kill by Hoag, the Knights again began to creep ahead, eventually bringing the lead to 13-9.

However, even with the championship in grasp the Knights could not finish off the upset as Lees-McRae rallied off six straight points. First the Knights served the ball in to the net to bring the score to 13-10. The Knights then misplayed the ball twice during the next two volleys, bringing the score to 13-12. The Knights then spiked the ball into the antenna, bringing the game to a 13-13 tie. This was all the Lady Bobcats needed to change the momentum. Lees-McRae’s Tatiana Moore hammered the next two points into defensive holes, leaving the final score at 15-13.

Harper led the Knights with 62 assists, 26 digs, four aces, four kills, and one block. Makahilahila tallied 32 digs as the libero. Miller connected for 22 digs and 10 kills. Hoag and Evans had 22 and 19 kills, respectively.

St. Andrews Evans and Hoag were named to the six-player All-Tournament team after words for their great play during the tournament.

November 10, 2003

LAURINBURG, NC—The St. Andrews volleyball team finished the regular season with a 3-1 home victory over NC Central on Monday evening on Harris Court. The Knights won the match with game scores of 30-22, 31-29, 18-30, and 30-26.

The Knights won the first game easily after jumping out to an early 15-5 lead. St. Andrews looked to continue its dominance as they grabbed a 24-19 advantage in the second game. This time the Lady Eagles bounced back with seven straight points to take a 26-24 lead. Both teams battled hard down the stretch but the Knights held on winning 31-29.

St. Andrews head coach Bill Rude felt, “we gave them the momentum in the second game which they carried over into the third.” NC Central carried that momentum over to an easy 30-18 third game victory in which the Knights only tallied two points off their own serve. After the disappointing loss the Knights rebounded by taking a somewhat close fourth game for the victory.

The Knights finish the regular season with a 22-10 record while the Lady Eagles drop to 17-18. St. Andrews will go into the Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference tournament at the No. 3 seed and will face No. 6 seed Anderson on Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m.

Amy Miller lead the Knights with 23 digs, 15 kills, and two blocks while setter Kim Harper contributed with 60 assists and 17 digs. Libero Kim Makahilahila tallied 21 digs and Rachel Hoag blasted 14 kills.

Rude went on to say, “it was a good win for us as they are a very athletic team to play against and we needed to be on our game. Miller was phenomenal as she hit .650 for us and Bethany Evans had a big game for us with 20 kills.”

“We need her (Evans) to play well for us in the tournament. Anderson is a dangerous team as a six seed because they have a good coach and a very competitive and athletic team. We will need our ‘A’ game going in but are very excited,” Rude concluded.

The Knights have reason to be excited as they finished third overall in the conference after being picked seventh in the pre-season poll. It shall be fun to see if the Knights can continue their outstanding season in the playoffs.

MOUNT OLIVE, NC—Rachel Hoag recorded a match-high 20 kills to lead St. Andrews to a 30-28, 30-22, 30-19 victory over host Mount Olive in Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference volleyball Thursday at College Hall. Mount Olive is ranked No. 7 in this week’s NCAA II Atlantic Region Poll, while St. Andrews is ranked No. 9.

Mount Olive (26-10 overall, 15-3 CVAC) trailed by as many as eight points in game one before using a 12-4 run to tie the game 28-28. St. Andrews (21-10, 14-4) took a one-point lead on a side out and Jessica Bewley’s dink on game point gave the Knights the first game.

In game two, back-to-back aces by Lauren McManus gave St. Andrews a 14-9 lead, but Mount Olive rallied as Heidi Busch’s kill pulled the Trojans within 21-19. St. Andrews then went on a 7-1 run and Mount Olive never recovered. In game three, Colby Mangum struck four kills in Mount Olive’s first five points as the Trojans took an early 5-4 lead. St. Andrews led 20-18, then won 10 of the final 11 points to seal the match.

Mangum led Mount Olive with nine kills and five blocks, while Agnes Jankowski added 21 digs for the Trojans. Libero Kim Makahilahila also notched 21 digs for St. Andrews, while Bewley served three aces.

The Trojans will be the No. 2 seed in next weekend’s CVAC Volleyball Tournament at Lees-McRae in Banner Elk, N.C. Mount Olive gets a first-round bye and will play a quarterfinal round match November 15 at 11:30 a.m. against either seventh-seeded Queens or 10th-seeded Limestone. With the win, St. Andrews clinched the No. 3 seed and will play a quarterfinal match November 15 at 9 a.m. against the sixth-seeded team, either Anderson or Pfeiffer.

November 4, 2003

WILSON, NC—Barton rattled off eight straight points in the final game Tuesday night en route to a key 24-30, 31-29, 30-26, 25-30, 15-6 Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference volleyball conquest of visiting St. Andrews Presbyterian College.

The Lady Bulldogs, who had lost in four games at St. Andrews less than two weeks ago, put themselves in position to catch the Knights in the battle for third place in the league. Barton rose to 22-9 overall and 11-5 in the CVAC while St. Andrews slipped to 19-10, 13-4 in the CVAC.

Head coach Wendee Saintsing was particularly happy for setter Jamie McFadden and outside hitter Megan Royal, who both came up with many big plays after being honored on “Senior Night.”

Rachel Hoag got the Knights off to a hot start in game one with some high-flying spikes. Barton rebounded by winning the next two. McFadden and junior Tawnya Harper had a couple of big stuffs at the net to help Barton take game three. Barton miscues and some nifty dinks by Amy Miller propelled the Knights to the game four victory.

In the fifth game, Barton held a scant 5-4 lead when it scored eight straight, many behind good serves and kills by Munoz. Harper, Royal and Keauna Vinson each registered kills in the run that put the game away…all off sets from McFadden.

The all-around effort featured 58 assists, five kills, 15 digs and two blocks by McFadden; 20 kills and 30 digs from Munoz; a career-best 35 digs from sophomore libero Laurie Alpert of Virginia Beach; 12 kills and three solo blocks by Harper; and 14 kills, two blocks and one ace from Vinson.

St. Andrews got 14 kills from Hoag, 12 from Miller and 11 from Nikalit Bateman. Libero Kim Makahilahila had 29 digs and Kim Harper lofted 50 assists.

November 1, 2003

LAURINBURG, NC—The St. Andrews Presbyterian College volleyball team defeated Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference foe Anderson in three straight games on Saturday afternoon in Harris Court. The game scores were 30-22, 30-22, and 30-28.

The first two games went pretty smoothly for St. Andrews as they never trailed by more than two points and had three runs of five or more points.

The Lady Trojans jumped out early in the third game with an 8-5 lead. The game then remained close including 16 ties. Once again Anderson grabbed another lead and looked to force a fourth game with a 26-22 lead. The Knights remained strong and fought back with an 8-2 run to take the match.

The Knights Kim Harper led the charge with 42 assists and 11 digs. Libero Kim Makahilahila recorded 25 of the teams 99 digs. Amy Miller and Brandy Ankney led the Knights in kills with 12 and 11, respectively. Miller also tallied 18 digs.

St. Andrews improved to 19-9 overall and 13-3 in the CVAC while Anderson dropped to 13-18 and 8-9.

With the win the Knights have at least locked up a tie for third place in the CVAC standings with Barton. The Knights will travel to Wilson, NC to face the Lady Bulldogs on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. and can clinch sole possession of third with a win.

October 31, 2003

LAURINBURG, NC—After taking two easy games the St. Andrews Presbyterian College volleyball team survived a close third game to defeat Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference foe Limestone on Friday’s senior night, 3-0. The Knights won by 30-12, 30-12, and 32-30 game scores.

The first two games came easy to the Knights as they connected for six rallies of four or more point. St. Andrews won each of those games by a staggering 18 points.

After remaining close in the first part of the third game including three ties, the Knights started to take charge like the first two games and gained a 21-14 lead. However, this time the Saints put on a big 14-7 rally to tie the game up at 28. Limestone fell just short of the comeback after forcing St. Andrews to three match points. Finally on the third try the Knights were able to put away the Saints with a 32-30 score.

The Knights had an outstanding night offensively with 53 kills and a .442 hitting percentage.

The evening started off honoring the five seniors on the Knights roster. All of which went on to have outstanding nights. Amy Miller ripped 10 kills and eight digs along with no errors and a .714 hitting percentage. Rachel Hoag dished in 20 kills, eight digs and a .485 hitting percentage. Brandy Ankney supplied four kills, three digs, and a service ace. Libero Kim Makahilahila made 18 digs while Beth Smith had six.

The Knights improved to 18-9 overall and 12-3 in the CVAC while the Saints drop to 3-23 and 0-16.

St. Andrews does not get much rest as they have to host CVAC rival Anderson tomorrow at 12:00 p.m.

October 28, 2003

LAURINBURG, NC—The St. Andrews Presbyterian College volleyball team won three tough games to defeat Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference (CVAC) rival Queens University of Charlotte, 3-0, on Tuesday evening. The Knights survived each game winning by scores of 32-30, 30-26, and 30-28.

For most of the first game St. Andrews either was tied or leading, building up a 26-22 advantage. The Royals fought back with four straight points to tie the game up. The Knights did not falter even though it took them three chances at game point to put away the Royals 32-30.

Outside of being down 0-1, St. Andrews never trailed in the second game. With a quick 6-0 run the Knights were up 10-3. The Knights remained in control of the set winning 30-26.

Queens looked strong in the third game. After going back and forth for a while, the Royals grabbed a 22-15 lead. The Knights remained strong and slowly nipped away at the deficit finally tying it up at 27. With the momentum shifted, the Knights were able to put away the Royals 30-28 in the third game for the victory.

St. Andrews struggled serving recording only four service aces to nine service errors. However, the Knights put up good numbers on defense and on hitting including 80 digs, 48 kills, and a .261 hitting percentage.

The Knights Amy Miller contributed with 14 digs, 12 kills, and four blocks while Kim Harper netted 41 assists and 16 digs. Rachel Hoag and Nicki Bateman each ripped 11 kills. Kim Makahilahila and Jessica Bewley tallied 17 digs apiece.

St. Andrews improved to 17-9 overall and 11-3 in the CVAC while Queens dropped to 10-17 and 7-10.

The Knights will host back-to-back CVAC foe’s this weekend including Limestone at 6:30 p.m. on Friday and Anderson at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday.

October 22, 2003

LAURINBURG, NC—The St. Andrews Presbyterian College volleyball team edged Barton, 3-1, in Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference play on Wednesday evening. The 30-17, 30-19, 30-32, 30-27 win marked the Knights ninth consecutive victory.

The Knights jumped out early in the first game with rallies of six and eight points for a 17-6 lead. St. Andrews continued its early dominance winning the game easily, 30-17.

The second game stayed close for a good duration. Leading 18-16, the Knights tallied eight straight points for a 10-point advantage. St. Andrews gave up just one more point during the game winning 30-19.

Neither team seemed able to break away from the other in the third game, which featured 19 ties and 11 lead changes. The Lady Bulldogs finally snatched the game, 32-30, after each team had a failed attempt at game point.

Barton looked confident after getting back into the match taking an early 13-9 lead in the fourth game. The Lady Bulldogs lead got as big as six points. The momentum shifted when the Knights went on a 4-0 run to get within one at 22-23. Barton called a time out but was never able to get back on track. St. Andrews took the game, 30-27, finishing with an 11-3 run.

Kim Harper led the Knights with 45 assists, 13 digs, two solo blocks, and a perfect hitting percentage. Libero Kim Makahilahila finished with 22 digs for St. Andrews while Amy Miller connected for 10 kills and 14 digs. Rachel Hoag and Nicki Bateman recorded 18 and 11 kills, respectively.

The Lady Bulldogs snapped St. Andrews consecutive games won streak at 26.

The Knights improved to 16-8 overall and 10-2 in the CVAC while Barton dropped to 16-9 and 7-5.

St. Andrews will travel to face CVAC rival Lees-McRae on Saturday at 4:00 p.m.

October 18, 2003

LAURINBURG, NC—The St. Andrews Presbyterian College volleyball team kept on its winning ways, defeating Converse College 3-0. With the 30-20, 30-27, and 30-27 game wins on Saturday afternoon the Knights have extended its winning streak to 24-games and eight-matches.

The first game was the easiest of the three for the Knights (15-8). The All Stars were only trailing by two at 16-14, when St. Andrews started to pull away. The Knights won the game 30-20 finishing with a 7-1 run.

In the second game the All Stars (13-14) grabbed its biggest lead of the match 16-11. The Knights charged back and took a 28-25 lead. Converse rallied back to within two points. The Knights ended the momentum shift with a timeout. St. Andrews came out of the huddle confident and went on to take the next two points for a 30-27 second game victory.

The third set remained close throughout including seven ties. The Knights never gave up a lead to the All Stars and were finally able to grab a late 26-21 lead. Converse remained strong and got to within one at 28-27, but fell short as St. Andrews tallied the final two points to win the game, 30-27, and take the match.

The Knights Kim Harper had another solid performance supplying 44 assists, 12 digs, and four service aces. Bethany Evans ripped a team high 13 kills while teammates Rachel Hoag and Amy Miller were right behind her with 12 apiece. Libero Kim Makahilahila led the team with 15 digs.

Head coach Bill Rude has been very pleased with the teams play throughout the winning streak stating, “They have been playing good team volleyball with better passing and solid defense. Its helped that we have Kim (Makahilahila) in the lineup as she has made it tougher on teams to make kills and has also allowed the hitters to get better attempts off.”

Coach Rude also felt that the current streak has been helped by individuals stepping up when needed including Brandi Ankney playing well when Nicki Bateman was sick against Belmont Abbey and Lauren McManus helping the passing game when Beth Smith was not doing so good against Converse.

St. Andrews will try to keep their streak alive as they host a tough Barton team on Wednesday evening at 6:30 p.m. The Knights are third in the CVAC and ranked ninth in the Atlantic region while the Lady Bulldogs are fourth in the CVAC and eighth in the region.

October 17, 2003

LAURINBURG, NC—The St. Andrews Presbyterian College volleyball team completed the season sweep of Livingstone College on Friday evening in three straight games. The Knights won easily with game scores of 30-12, 30-13, and 30-15.

The Lady Blue Bears took an early 4-1 lead in the first set, only to have the Knights respond with a 12-2 run. St. Andrews would go on to win the first set easily and never give Livingstone another lead. The Knights had six rallies of five or more points in the quick match that only took 56 minutes to play.

Freshman Kim Harper had an outstanding evening for the Knights supplying 38 assists, six service aces, two kills, one solo block, and a perfect hitting percentage. Senior Amy Miller compiled 14 kills, six digs, one ace, and a .722 hitting percentage. Freshmen Jessica Bewley and Bethany Evans had five digs apiece. Bewley also connected for five aces while Evans had nine kills.

As a team the Knights finished with 45 kills, 40 digs, 39 assists, 21 aces, and a .468 hitting percentage.

St. Andrews has shown its dominance lately winning their last 21 games and 7 matches to improve to 14-8 on the season while the Lady Blue Bears drop to 3-14.

The Knights will be back in action tomorrow afternoon as they host Converse at 3:00 p.m.

October 15, 2003

BELMONT, NC—Despite playing three competitive, tight games, the Belmont Abbey volleyball team couldn’t get past a strong Saint Andrews Presbyterian squad, falling 3-0 in Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference play at the Wheeler Center Wednesday night.

In game one, Belmont Abbey surprised the favored Knights, jumping to an 11-4 lead in the early stages. Saint Andrews responded by going on a stretch where they won 18 of 23 points to take a 22-16 lead. Belmont Abbey cut the lead to two on a couple of occasions, but the Knights took the game 30-24.

Saint Andrews took it’s momentum from game one into game two, jumping to a 6-1 lead and extending the lead to 17-9 and seemed headed to an easy victory. But Belmont Abbey showed their heart and clawed their way back into the game, cutting the lead to 22-20. It wouldn’t quite be enough, though, and the Knights took the second game 30-25.

As close as the first two were, game three was even tighter. The teams traded leads early on, and neither team had more than a two point lead until Saint Andrews took a 22-19 lead and eventually led 26-22. The Crusaders fought off three match points but the Knights were just a little too strong, winning game three 30-28 to take the match.

With their sixth straight win, the Knights improve to 13-8 overall and 9-2 in the CVAC while the Crusaders drop to 8-13 overall and 3-9 in the CVAC.

St. Andrews will host Livingstone on Friday at 6:30 p.m.

October 14, 2003

THOMASVILLE, NC—Amy Miller of St. Andrews Presbyterian College (12-8 overall, 8-2 CVAC) has been selected as the NCAA Division II Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference (CVAC) women’s volleyball Player of the Week. Senior Amy Miller has put together a great stretch guiding St. Andrews to five straight wins including two this week to gain her second CVAC Player of the Week award this year. For the week Miller collected 36 digs, 11 kills, six blocks, four service aces, and a .348 hitting percentage. Amy has shown why she is the conference leader in hitting during the current win streak with 41 kills, 10 errors and 78 attempts for a .397 hitting %. On Thursday, Miller helped secure the teams fifth straight win against a tough Pfeiffer squad in three games, keeping the Knights in contention for the CVAC regular season title. Miller supplied 19 digs, four kills, four solo blocks, and two service aces in the big win over the Lady Falcons.

October 9, 2003

MISENHEIMER, NC—The St. Andrews Presbyterian College volleyball team continued its winning ways on Wednesday evening defeating Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference adversary, Pfeiffer University, 3-0. With game victories of 30-27, 30-25, and 30-19 the Knights have extending their winning streak to five matches.

Several Knights had a good match including seniors Amy Miller (19 digs, 4 blocks, 4 kills, and two service aces) and Rachel Hoag (16 kills and 9 digs). Senior libero Kim Makahilahila and freshman Kim Harper had 21 digs apiece. Harper also supplied 37 assists.

The Knights have been perfect since losing the opening game on September 29 in the first meeting against the Lady Falcons. St. Andrews has won 15 straight games.

The Knights improve to 12-8 overall and 8-2 in the CVAC, which is good for third place in the conference standings. The Lady Falcons fall to 8-12 overall and 5-5 in the CVAC.

St. Andrews will travel to conference rival Belmont Abbey on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

October 7, 2003

LAURINBURG, NC—The St. Andrews Presbyterian College volleyball team served 11 aces and connected for a .418 hitting percentage in a 3-0 victory over Southern Wesleyan University on Tuesday evening. The Knights won with game scores of 30-18, 30-24, and 30-16.

St. Andrews jumped out to a 21-13 lead in the first game and finished it off with an 8-3 run. The second game was the closest played contest as the Lady Warriors grabbed an early 9-7 lead. After tying the game up at 12-12, the Knights pulled away with an 11-2 run. St. Andrews maintained the momentum going into the third set and won easily.

Amy Miller recorded 17 digs, seven kills, two aces, and two blocks for the Knights while Rachel Hoag contributed with 16 kills, 12 digs, 2 blocks, and an ace. Nicki Bateman ripped four of the teams 11 aces. St. Andrews’ 11 service aces were its most of the year.

With their fourth straight win the Knights go to 11-8 on the season while the Lady Warriors fall to 7-11.

St. Andrews will travel to face Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference rival Pfeiffer University on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.

October 3, 2003

ANDERSON, SC—Bethany Evans had 16 kills and Rachel Hoag added 11 kills to lead St. Andrews Presbyterian College to a 30-21, 30-27, 30-20 victory over Anderson College in a Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference match Friday night at the Abney Center.

The Knights, 10-8 overall and 7-2 in the CVAC, also got four solo blocks from Jessica Bewley and three aces apiece from Bewley and Nickalit Bateman. Kim Makahilahila led St. Andrews' defense with 22 digs.

Anderson, 4-13 overall and 2-6 in the CVAC, was led by Ellie Feenstra with 11 kills and Kelly Shiflet with eight kills. Maggie Irvin led the AC defense with 15 digs.

The Knights ended the first game with a 9-2 run for a 1-0 lead in the match. Evans recorded four kills during the decisive run. In the second game, Anderson led 24-17 but could not hold on. The Knights went on a 13-3 run, which included a streak of eight straight points, to seize a 2-0 lead in the match. In the third game, St. Andrews jumped out to a 22-12 lead and coasted to victory.

October 1, 2003

LAURINBURG, NC—The St. Andrews Presbyterian College women’s volleyball team made quick work of Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference rival Belmont Abbey on Wednesday evening winning in three straight games (30-18, 30-26, 30-18).

The Knights dominated from the onset with good hitting and solid defense. St. Andrews finished the game with 75 digs, 48 kills, and a .313 hitting percentage.

Senior Amy Miller provided 16 digs, 11 kills, three blocks, two aces and a .500 hitting percentage for the Knights. Seniors Rachel Hoag and Kim Makahilahila contributed with 13 and 11 digs, correspondingly. Hoag also supplied 13 digs while junior Nicki Bateman had 11 kills.

With their second straight win the Knights jump over the .500 mark at 9-8 overall and 6-2 in the CVAC. The Crusaders fall to 4-11 overall and 1-7 in conference play.

The Knights will travel to face CVAC foe Anderson on Friday at 6:30 p.m.

September 29, 2003

LAURINBURG, NC—The St. Andrews Presbyterian College women’s volleyball team rebounded from a first game loss, taking the next three to defeat Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference foe Pfeiffer University 3-1 on Monday evening by game scores of 23-30, 30-25, 30-22, and 30-28.

After the first set head Coach Bill Rude was pleased with the team’s performance stating, “the team passed very, very well. Our Defense was there and our hitters had a good night. We also cut down on our errors.” After committing nine errors in the first game the Knights only committed twelve more in the last three games.

Rude felt “Nicky Bateman got really hot which helped us”. Bateman finished the match with 17 kills, nine digs, three blocks, zero errors, and a .607 hitting percentage.

Kim Harper supplied 61 assists, 21 digs, three aces, and three kills while Jessica Bewley connected for 11 kills and 26 digs. Rachel Hoag and Bethany Evans contributed with 22 and 16 kills, respectively.

St. Andrews finished the game with a .333 hitting percentage, 80 kills, and eight service aces.

The Knights improve to 8-8 overall and 5-2 in the CVAC while the Lady Falcons fall to 8-7 overall and 5-3 in the CVAC.

The Knights will host CVAC rival Belmont Abbey on Wednesday evening at 6:30 p.m.

September 24, 2003

HARTSVILLE, SC—For the second time in two weeks the St. Andrews volleyball team defeats Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference opponent Coker. The Knights rebounded from a first game slipup by playing excellent in the final three to win the match, 3-1, on Wednesday evening. The game scores were 23-30, 30-22, 30-21, and 30-27.

The Lady Cobras responded well to a vocal crowd in the first set and rode the momentum to the 30-23 win.

After words, St. Andrews head Coach Bill Rude felt that “the girls made good adjustments in the second through fourth games including strong team defense and consistent passing to keeping them in the match.”

Rude also believed Rachel Hoag played a big role having one of her best matches of the year along with Nicky Bateman who came up gigantic for the Knights with her blocks and digs. Hoag finished the match with 21 kills, 10 digs, one ace, and one block while Bateman had nine kills, eight digs, five blocks, and one ace.

St. Andrews improves to 7-7 overall and 4-1 in the CVAC while Coker falls to 7-4 overall and 1-4 in the CVAC.

“They played with energy, as each girl contributed in their roles,” stated Rude. With that type of play the Knights could have a real good game Saturday as they host CVAC perennial powerhouse Lees-McRae at 1:00 p.m.

September 16, 2003

LAURINBURG, NC—The Mount Olive women’s volleyball team battled back from a two-game deficit to defeat Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference foe St. Andrews Presbyterian College by scores of 18-30, 32-34, 30-14, 30-25, and 15-12. Tuesday evenings match involved two of the three remaining undefeated teams in the CVAC.

The Knights played very strong in the first two games. In the first one St. Andrews had two seven-points runs to win convincingly and then held on in the second game to win by a two-point margin.

With their backs against the wall the Lady Trojans jumped out early and dominated the third game winning easily. MOC then remained in control taking the fourth game.

In the deciding game St. Andrews fought back and grabbed a two point lead at 12-10. On the next serve the Lady Trojans won back possession of the ball and reeled off the last five points to win the match.

The Knights Kim Harper tallied 34 assists, 22 digs, four kills, one ace, and a .500 hitting percentage. Rachel Hoag contributed with 18 digs and 10 kills while Bethany Evans connected for 17 digs and 14 kills. Hoag and Evans each had two service aces. Jessica Bewley netted seven digs, six kills, three aces, and two blocks.

Mount Olive improved to 10-3 overall and 5-0 in the CVAC while the Knights drop to 6-7 overall and 3-1 in the CVAC.

St. Andrews will travel to face UNC Pembroke on Thursday evening at 6:30 p.m.

September 16, 2003

THOMASVILLE, NC—Nickalit Bateman of St. Andrews Presbyterian College (6-6 overall, 3-0 CVAC) has been selected as the NCAA Division II Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference (CVAC) women’s volleyball Player of the Week. St. Andrews junior Nickalit Bateman’s play was outstanding as the Knights only lost one game for the week winning all three of their matches. St. Andrews improves to .500 at 6-6 and is perfect in CVAC action at 3-0. Nickalit had 10 kills, three digs, three blocks, and a .667 hitting percentage against Coker, as the Knights defeated them in straight games. Bateman continued her great play on Friday helping the Knights to another big CVAC win against Limestone where she contributed with nine digs, six kills, and three blocks.

September 13, 2003

SALISBURY, NC—The Knights volleyball team had an easy night on Saturday, as they defeat Livingstone College in three straight games by scores of 30-15, 30-15, and 30-10.

Junior Nickalit Bateman led the charge for St. Andrews with 11 kills, four digs, four blocks, a service ace, and a .610 hitting percentage. Freshman Bethany Evans posted good numbers in the short match with 11 kills, five digs, two aces, one block, and a .440 hitting percentage. Seniors Amy Miller and Rachel Hoag netted a lot of the Knights points with eight kills apiece.

St. Andrews has won three straight matches moving their overall record back to .500 at 6-6. The Lady Blue Bears fall to 0-3 on the season.

The Knights will host a tough Mount Olive team on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. Both teams are flawless in the Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference with the Knights at 3-0 and the Lady Trojans at 4-0. Mount Olive was picked to finish second in the preseason CVAC coaches’ poll.

September 12, 2003

GAFFNEY, SC—The St. Andrews Presbyterian College volleyball team remained perfect in the Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference winning a 3-1 match against Limestone on Friday by scores of 30-18, 29-31, 30-26, 30-21.

Freshman Kim Harper provided a big boost for the Knights with 33 assists, 14 digs, four service aces, three kills, and a .750 hitting percentage. Also contributing were seniors Rachel Hoag (14 digs, 11 kills, 3 blocks, and a service ace) and Amy Miller (11 kills, 8 digs, and 2 blocks).

The Knights improve to 5-6 overall and 3-0 in the CVAC.

September 9, 2003

THOMASVILLE, NC—Amy Miller of St. Andrews Presbyterian College (3-6 overall, 1-0 CVAC) has been selected as the NCAA Division II Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference (CVAC) women’s volleyball Player of the Week. St. Andrews Senior Amy Miller had an outstanding week leading the Knights to three big wins. With her great play from the middle and outside hitter positions, St. Andrews knocked off their first CVAC opponent, Queens, in three sets on Wednesday. Miller’s week was topped off on Friday against the University of West Georgia , where she supplied 15 kills, 2 assists, 10 digs, 2 solo blocks, and 2 block assists in the four-set upset win. West Georgia’s (7-1) only loss came at the hands of Miller and the Knights. Amy also had 15 kills and 23 digs in the five-set win over North Carolina Central University on Saturday. Miller finished the week with 69 kills, 66 digs, and a .405 hitting percentage.

September 9, 2003

LAURINBURG, NC—The St. Andrews Presbyterian College volleyball team captured a 3-0 Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference win against Coker on Tuesday evening. The Knights won with force by scores of 30-15, 30-17, and 30-23.

After winning the first game, St. Andrews showed their dominance jumping out with a 10-0 run to start the second game. The Knights cruised in part to 14 service aces, 10 blocks, and a .294 hitting percentage as a team.

Freshman Jessica Bewley provided eight digs, five service aces, six kills, and three blocks in the win. Kim Harper supplied 33 assists, four aces, and two kills while Nickalit Bateman netted 10 kills, three digs, and three blocks.

The Knights improve to 4-6 overall and 2-0 in the CVAC while the Lady Cobras drop to 2-3 overall and 1-3 in the CVAC.

St. Andrews will travel to face CVAC rival Limestone at 6:00 pm on Friday.

September 5-6, 2003

Florence, SC—The St. Andrews Presbyterian College volleyball team won a hard fought game each day of the DuRant Memorial Invitational hosted by Francis Marion University to secure a split of the Knights four matches during the tournament.

After losing to Augusta State in four games, St. Andrews won its biggest game of the year over the University of West Georgia on Friday, 3-1. The Knights continued their momentum into Saturday winning a long five-game match against North Carolina Central University. SAPC fell to host Francis Marion in three straight games to finish up the tournament.

Augusta State defeated St. Andrews 3-1

In the first match the Knights fell to Augusta State (4-3) by scores of 30-25, 32-30, 27-30, 30-27. Friday marked the second time St. Andrew lost to the Jaguars in less than a week. Augusta St. defeated the Knights, 3-1, last Sunday in the USC Spartanburg Tournament.

Kim Harper finished with 60 assists, 12 digs, and a .666 hitting percentage for the Knights. Amy Miller contributed with 20 digs, 17 kills, and .433 hitting percentage while Rachel Hoag supplied 14 digs and 12 kills.

St. Andrews defeated the University of West Georgia 3-1

In their second game on Friday the Knights played their best game of the year, defeating previously undefeated University of West Georgia (7-1) by scores of 33-31, 34-32, 31-33, 30-24.

Bethany Evans led the way for St. Andrews netting 20 kills, 20 digs, three service aces, and a .461 hitting percentage. Harper followed with 57 assists, 14 digs, two kills, one service ace, and a blocked shot. Jessica Bewley added six kills, eight digs, five assists, three service aces, and one block.

St. Andrews defeated North Carolina Central University 3-2

The Knights energy from the big win carried over into their first game on Saturday as St. Andrews defeated North Carolina Central (2-8) by scores of 30-21, 29-31, 24-30, 30-17, 15-11.

Miller connected for 23 digs, 15 kills, three blocked shots, two service aces, one assist and a .357 hitting percentage in the win. Harper again had 60 assists, 15 digs, three service aces, and two kills. Hoag banged in 14 kills and 12 digs. Bewley and Evans helped out with 13 kills each.

Francis Marion University defeated St. Andrews 3-0

In their final match of the tournament Francis Marion (4-4) defeated the Knights by scores of 26-30, 21-30, 31-29.

Miller led the way for the Knights with 10 kills, four digs, one service ace, and a .437 hitting percentage. Harper contributed with 30 assists and eight digs. Evans added 20 kills and 13 digs while Bewley supplied 12 digs and five kills in the losing effort.

With the split St. Andrews currently has a 3-6 overall record and a 1-0 Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference record. The Knights next hit the court hosting CVAC foe Coker College on Tuesday afternoon at 6:30 pm.

Rude to Lead St. Andrews Volleyball, Lear to Assist

March 26, 2003

LAURINBURG, N.C. – St. Andrews Presbyterian College has named Bill Rude head volleyball coach and Erica Lear assistant coach.

St. Andrews welcomes back Rude, who spent 1991 to 1993 as an assistant coach for the Knights volleyball and softball programs.

He most recently served as an assistant coach with the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, where he helped guide the Lady Vols to a 20-win season in 2002.

Rude also spent three seasons as assistant volleyball coach and head softball coach at Maryville College. In 2002, he was named the Great South Atlantic Conference Softball Coach of the Year and led the Lady Scots to their first NCAA tournament appearance.

A 1988 graduate of Ithaca College, Rude earned a Bachelor of Science in physical education. His wife, Laura Lumley, is a 1993 graduate of St. Andrews.

Lear, a native of Columbus, Ind., joins the St. Andrews coaching staff after a successful playing career at Tennessee.

In 2001, she was named All-SEC First Team and earned All-Region IV First Team honors for the second time. Lear owns the all-time assists record at Tennessee with 5,069 and also holds the school’s record for assists in a single season with 1,523 and a single match with 88 against Arkansas in 2000.

Lear is a December 2002 graduate of Tennessee, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in English.