AROUND THE SCAC

The Austin College volleyball team closed out the regular season with a pair of wins on Friday, topping LeTourneau and the University of Texas-Tyler both by 3-0 scores. The 'Roos are now 23-11 on the year as they head into the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament next weekend. Against LeTourneau, the 'Roos won by scores of 25-16, 25-21, 25-17 behind 11 kills and 10 digs from Jessica Rose as well as 38 assists from Jordan Anderton. Jessi Fleming had 10 kills and four total blocks, and Jenna Wilson added eight kills and nine digs. Delia Mercer also had a strong match with eight kills and six total blocks, and Quinn McKee had a team-best 14 digs. Against UT-Tyler, the 'Roos cruised 25-14, 25-11, 25-13 to pick up the victory. Rose had 13 kills to lead Austin College and added six digs, and Damaris Orasanu added eight kills. Mercer had seven kills and added six total blocks, and Anderton added 41 assists and two service aces. The 'Roos will be heading to Memphis next weekend as the No. 5 seed in the SCAC Tournament, where they will take on No. 4 seeded DePauw University at 2:00 p.m. on Friday.
  
Birmingham-Southern closed out the 2008 season on the road, traveling to Atlanta for the Emory National Challenge. On Friday, Oct. 31, the Panthers defeated Lee University in five sets. On Saturday, Nov. 1, BSC split with a 3-0 win over No. 2 Emory and a close 3-2 loss to No. 1 Juniata. Although their season is officially over, the Panthers will host their annual Alumni Match this Saturday, Nov. 8, at 6 p.m., which will also serve as Senior Night.

Centre went 1-2 this weekend at their home quad.  Winning their first match of the day against Asbury in four games before dropping the last two matches of the day against Washington & Lee and Mount Saint Joseph in four hard fought games each.  Next up for the Colonels is the SCAC Conference Championships hosted by Rhodes College.  They will face Oglethorpe in the first round at 2:00pm (CST) on Friday.

Colorado College finished with a 2-1 record against Division II opponents this season. The Tigers' 25 victories so far this season are the seventh-most in program history. CC has won 20 or more matches 14 times and six years in a row. With one more victory, CC will match the 1987 squad's sixth-place total of 26. CC's five seniors - Anna Clithero, Natailie Corrado, Carly Gelatt, Laura McQuaid, Lanie Sherson - have a four-year record of 92-40 (.697 winning percentage) and when the NCAA Division III Tournament pairings are announced on Nov. 9, they could become the 11th class to have earned four consecutive tournament appearances. Sherson needs three digs to become the fifth player with 1,100 or more career digs.

DePauw opened the week with a 3-0 Thursday loss at Mount St. Joseph before splitting its Saturday matches with a 3-0 win over Marian (Ind.) and a 3-2 loss to Illinois Wesleyan. Loren Sloan led the Tigers during the week with 2.6 kills per set, while Erin Cunnigham posted a .254 hitting percentage. Ali Smith averaged 10.0 assists per set, while Dana Genet totaled five service aces (0.45/set). Emily Smith totaled 55 digs for a 5.0/set average while Adrienne Cobb averaged 1.6 blocks per set.

The Hendrix College volleyball team went 2-5 on the week. The Warriors (13-27 overall, 3-11 SCAC) dropped two 3-0 matches to William Woods University and Williams Baptist University of Tuesday. Hendrix then traveled to Crichton College for a 3-1 win, before opening day one of the Rhodes College Invitational on Friday with a two-game split. Hendrix opened with a 3-2 loss to Huntingdon College, then defeated LaGrange University, 3-1 in the night cap. The Warriors rounded out their 2008 regular season with a pair of losses on Saturday to Maryville College (3-0) and Piedmont College (3-1). Junior outside hitter Ryan Hughes paced Hendrix College with 13 kills in the team's 3-0 losses to William Woods University and Williams Baptist College. Junior setter Patty Hill collected a team-high 27 assists in the two matches, while sophomore Kim Larson tallied 24 digs on the night. Hendrix was led by sophomore outside hitter Becca Clancy with 19 kills against Crichton, while Hughes and sophomore right-side hitter Sarah Fuller collected 12 kills apiece. Hendrix managed to stay on top of its game in the night cap and picked up a 3-1 win over LaGrange. Fuller paced the squad with 11 kills, Hill and Larson led the team once again with 25 assists and 24 digs, respectively.

Millsaps (15-22) picked up a road split with a 3-1 victory over Dillard University, and a 3-1 loss to Spring Hill College to wrap up regular season play. Leading the way over the weekend was sophomore Kate hall who had 35 kills, eight digs, three blocks and one service ace. Freshman Maggie Tumminello had 21 kills and led the team defensively for the team with her 30 digs. The ladies will now head to Rhodes College on Nov. 7 to take on Hendrix College at 11:30 a.m.

The Oglethorpe University volleyball team was off this past week as they prepare for the upcoming SCAC Tournament in Memphis this weekend. 

Rhodes went 2-2 as they hosted the Rhodes College Fall Classic. On Day 1, the Lynx defeated LaGrange and Huntingdon. The team had 17 service aces against LaGrange, while Laura Jensen dished out 40 assists and Ally Squires led the attack with 13 kills. Against Huntingdon, Ally Squires again led the Lynx with 9 kills and 3 blocks. On Day 2 the Lynx dropped two tough matches in five sets. After being down 0-2 against Piedmont, the Lynx fought back to tie it up at 2-2 before dropping set 5. Outside Hitter Katherine Delavan led the Lynx with 13 kills and 24 digs. In the team's final match, the Lynx dropped another five set match to Maryville College (Tenn.). Libero Kayla McCrury anchored the team's defense with 31 digs while Middle Blocker Stephanie Parazak led the team with 13 kills.

Sewanee was off this past week as they prepare for the upcoming SCAC Tournament in Memphis this weekend.

No. 13 Southwestern improved to 32-3 on the season, with a 4-0 record for the week of October 27 playing at home. The Pirates started the weekend with 3-0 win Tuesday over Division III opponent Concordia (Texas). On Friday, the team fought for a 3-1 win over NAIA Texas Wesleyan and a 3-0 victory against St. Thomas. Saturday, seniors, Katie Hollyfield and Danielle Bochat, were honored before playing in the final home match, a strong 3-0 win over University of Dallas. Several athletes contributed strong performance for Southwestern. Junior libero, Samantha Lingamfelter, contributed from the back court with 54 digs (4.2 per game) and 9 aces playing in all 13 games. Middle blockers, Lauren Brown and Taylor Wright, combined for 53 kills and 24 blocks. Gentry led the team offensively with 46 kills (3.54 per game) and a 0.241 hitting percentage while adding 37 digs (2.85 per game) as well as 5 blocks and 3 aces. Bochat added 29 kills and a 0.258 hitting percentage combined with 36 digs (3.27 per game) and 4 aces. Senior, right side Katie Hollyfield, contributed a 0.297 hitting percentage and 10 blocks. Up next for the Pirates the SCAC Championships in Memphis, Tenn.

No. 12 Trinity won its only contest last week, sweeping the University of Texas-Brownsville of the NAIA.  Trinity won 25-4, 25-9, and 25-22 in the match, which closed out the regular season. Trinity will open the SCAC Championships Tournament next weekend, coming in as the second seed overall and receiving a first-round bye.  The Tigers will take on the winner of Centre College and Oglethorpe University in the SCAC Quarterfinals on Friday, November 7. This season, Trinity swept all four matches against both opponents.  The Tigers downed Centre and Oglethorpe 3-1 in Atlanta, Georgia at the end of September, then swept both teams 3-0 at Georgetown, Texas on October 17-18. Last year, Trinity swept Millsaps and DePauw in its first two matches of the SCAC Tournament, but lost the first two games of the SCAC Final at Austin College.  The Tigers staged an unlikely comeback by winning three straight games to pull off the win and clinch the SCAC title.

For a complete recap of Week 10 in SCAC Volleyball, click here.