St. Andrews Presbyterian College | Laurinburg, NC | Volleyball

Knights Netters Claim First Victory of the Season

September 11, 2011
By: Philip Ratchford, Sports Information

Jacksonville, FL- The St. Andrews volleyball team came together and rallied for a successful second day of play at the Edward Waters College (Jacksonville, FL) two-day tournament. The Knights lost a long battle during the first day of play, ending with a 2-3 loss to Claflin University (Orangeburg, SC). The Knights netters came back strong on day two and brought home not one, but two wins.

Claflin 3, St. Andrews 2

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 (Lugoff, SC) led the Knights offense with five kills against Claflin, followed closely by Benee Norton (Rex, GA) who put down four kills. Ashleigh Fritter (Midway Park, NC) helped put the Knights on the board through her accurate ball placement, earning her 12 assists. Megan Nelson (Edmonds, WA) trailed Fritter by two assists after using her quick hands to set 10 assists to the attacking Knights. Freshman Allie Garland (Moreno Valley, CA) slowed down the opposing offense by digging a phenomenal 49 attacks sent across the net by the Panthers. However, Claflin’s new found energy after the first two sets proved to be much for the Knights to handle.

Livingstone 1, St. Andrews 3

St. Andrews took its first victory of the season when they beat Livingstone College (Salisbury, NC) 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 (Marston, NC), Garland, Amanda VanKleeck (Deltona, FL), and Ruka Akolade (Aurora, CO) boasted the highest digs with 28, 26, 17, and 16 respectively. Working off of this 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 offensively, with eight kills against the Blue Bears. Duggan again led the charge for the Knights net play. This time however, she put down a career high of 14 kills and only had 2 errors in the four set match.

Edward Waters College 0, St. Andrews 3

The Knights claimed their second win of the season when they defeated the Tigers of EWC in three straight sets (12-25, 15-25, 18-25) Saturday afternoon; St. Andrews’ first 3-0 win of the season. The Blue and White earned 26 kills against the Tigers. The Knights swung at the ball 69 times total and only made 7 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 Duggan’s heels though, with eight kills. Sophomore Sam Neveu (Greenville, SC) earned herself a perfect hitting record against EWC, with both of her swings scoring for the Knights. Lex Cowger (Indian Head, MD) 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 EWC’s attacks from hitting the floor. Leading the Knights to a fast victory, Nelson picked up 16 assists, putting Fritter second in assists with nine.

SA Volleyball returns to Conference Carolinas play on Tuesday, September 13. The ladies will travel to Mount Olive, NC, to face off against the Trojans of Mount Olive College, with the first serve at 7:00 PM.

-GO KNIGHTS-

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