SAC Volleyball Championship Quarterfinals Recap

Friday's quarterfinals of the 2011 Food Lion SAC Volleyball Championship are in the books, with three of the four top seeds advancing to Saturday's semifinal matches. Follow all the action at Championship Central.

No. 1 Wingate 3, No. 8 Carson-Newman 2

HARROGATE, Tenn. -- The eighth-seeded Eagles of Carson Newman fell short in their upset bid as the top-seeded Bulldogs of Wingate University took the first match of the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament by a score of 3-2 (25-12, 25-16, 21-25, 24-26, 15-10). Wingate advances to the semi-finals where they will face the winner of Lenoir-Rhyne and Tusculum.

Cory McGowan led the attack for Wingate as she recorded a game-high 18 kills. Grace Krauser and Anna Hilton added 13 and 12 kills respectively. Liz Willis dished out 51 assists to lead all players. Maggie Malone led with 25 digs on the match.

Carson Newman was led by Nikki James' ten kills. Kristen Pickett added 38 assists and Angelle Hayes notched a game-high 34 digs.

In the first set, Wingate came out firing on all-cylinders as they jumped out to an early 5-1 lead. The Eagles fought back into the set as they closed the game to 11-9 in favor of the Bulldogs. However, WU closed the set with a 14-3 rally to take the set 25-12.

The opening points of the second set were played to a stalemate with the game tied at six apiece. Wingate begin to pull away as they took a 15-12 lead. A 10-4 run gave the Bulldogs a 25-16 set victory.

Carson Newman refused to go away as they opened up the third set by taking a 10-7 lead. WU would fight back and establish a 16-14 lead on a kill by Cory McGowan. With the game tied at 20 apiece, the Eagles closed with a 5-1 run to take the set by a score of 25-21.

In the fourth set, the Eagles continued to hang on to the momentum as they ran out to a 13-5 lead. A 10-2 run for the Bulldogs brought the game to a 15-15 tie. With the game tied 24-24, Carson Newman won the next two points, capped off by a kill from Nikki James to take the fourth set.

In the fifth and deciding set, Wingate establish control with a 9-5 lead. The Eagles would cut the deficit to as little as one with a 9-8 score late in the set. WU would use a 6-2 run to close the set and the match by a score of 15-10.

Wingate moves on to the semi-final round where they await the winner of the Lenoir-Rhyne and Tusculum match.

No. 4 Tusculum 3, No. 5 Lenoir-Rhyne 1

HARROGATE, Tenn. -- The Pioneers of Tusculum College advanced past the Bears of Lenoir-Rhyne University in the first round of the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament.The Pioneers won the match 3-1 with set scores of 25-23, 18-25, 25-16, and 25-18. Tusculum College moves on to the semi-finals where they will face the top-seeded Bulldogs of Wingate University.

Sam Underwood led the way for the Pioneers with 13 kills to go along with her 11 digs. Kassie Voelker and Bailee Price each recorded 11 kills. Price notched a double-double as she added 14 digs. Ashly Sarmiento led all players with 46 assists. Caitlyn Dean provided 17 digs.

The Bears were led on the offensive attack by Chelsea Hill's 11 kills. Emily Culler added a game-high 18 digs and Meredith Lutz dished out 19 assists.

In the opening set, TC jumped out to a dominating 10-1 lead.The Bears would regain their composure and cut that deficit to 23-18 in favor of the Pioneers. Following a point by TC, the Bears would make one last ditch effort as they took the score to 24-23 in favor of Tusculum. The Pioneers would seize the set with a kill by Megan Hasse to take the first set by a score of 25-23.

The opening points of the second set were played to a stalemate as the score was tied a six apiece. The Bears would implement a 6-1 run to take a 12-7 lead. LR continued to press their lead in the set as they extended the set to 21-14 in their favor. The Bears would conclude the set with a kill by Brooke Christenbury as they won the set 25-18.

The final two sets of the match were won in dominant fashion by Tusculum College. In the third set, LR led early by a score of 14-11 before the Pioneers closed the set with a 14-2 run. A kill by Ashley Sarmiento gave the Pioneers a 25-16 set victory. The fourth and final set saw the Pioneers jump out to an early 12-4 lead. The Bears would be unable to recover from that large of deficit as the closest they would come was 13-9. The Pioneers would take the set 25-18 and close the match with a 3-1 victory.

The Pioneers will now look towards their semi-final match against the top-seeded Bulldogs of Wingate University. That game is scheduled to be played at 1:30 p.m. in Harrogate, Tennessee.

No. 2 Catawba 3, No. 7 Newberry 1

HARROGATE, Tenn. -- The second-seeded Indians of Catawba College advanced past the seventh-seed Wolves of Newberry College with a 3-1 victory in the first round of the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament (25-21, 25-27, 25-23, 25-20). They await the winner of the Mars Hill and Lincoln Memorial match.

Shay Meeks' 21 kill performance powered Catawba College's offensive attack. Kaitlyn Whitmer was the only other player to record double-digit kills for the Indians as she had 14 on the afternoon. Jordan Raye recorded 40 assists and Jenny Young notched 26 digs.

The Wolves were led by Samantha Parrish's 15 kills. Jessica King and Amanda Soper each added 11 kills on the evening. Blair Browning put up a game-high 44 assists and Elayni Stokes provided 25 digs.

The first set was all Catawba as they jumped out to an early 7-3 lead. From the onset of the game, the Indians would never trail. Newberry would tie the score at 20 apiece before CC rallied off a 5-1 run to win the set 25-21.

Despite holding a 20-18 lead late in the set, Catawba College would let the second set slip out of their grasp. Newberry scored the final two points of the set to break a 25-25 tie and square up the match.

The highly competitive third set played to a stalemate for the greatest portion of the game. Following an 18-18 tie, Catawba rallied off a 6-1 run to grab set point. Newberry would cut the score to 24-23 before the Indians closed the set with a kill by Carson Brewer.

In the fourth and final set, the Catawba Indians jumped out of the gates as they established an 11-6 lead. CC would hang on to that lead as the Wolves would be unable to make any significant comeback attempt. The Indians took the fourth set by a score of 25-20.

Catawba College moves to the semi-final round where they will take on the winner of Lincoln Memorial and Mars Hill.

No. 6 Mars Hill 3, No. 3 Lincoln Memorial 0

HARROGATE, Tenn. -- The third-seed Lincoln Memorial Lady Railsplitters were upended 3-0 in the first round of the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament by the six-seeded Lions of Mars Hill College (22-25, 23-25, 9-25). Mars Hill will move on to face Catawba College in the semi-finals of the South Atlantic Conference Tournament. With the loss, the Lady Railsplitters drop to 22-6 on the season.

Jennifer Drumm led the Lady Railsplitters with nine kills. Allison Beavers had 20 assists and Kristen Cantrell led LMU with 14 digs.

The Lions were led by Marissa Wixson and Evie Tafunai who each recorded 11 kills on the evening. Hannah Wilson ran the offense with 18 assists. Wixson also led the Lions in digs with 16.

Mars Hill established control early in the first set as they ran out to a 6-1 lead. The Lady Railsplitters would trail by that deficit for much of the first set until they brought the game to a 18-16 advantage for the Lions. With Mars Hill leading 23-22, the Lions would take the final two points to win the set 25-22.

The second set saw the Lions command the early offerings as they sprinted out to a 14-6 lead. With a 19-7 score, the Lady Railsplitters went on a 15-4 run to cut the deficit to 23-22. Mars Hill would win the battle in the concluding points to take the second set by a score of 25-23.

The third and final set was dominated from start to finish by the Lions. Mars Hill took a commanding 21-7 lead which the Lady Railsplitters would never recover. The Lions would cap the set with a 25-9 victory and win the match.

The Lady Railsplitters will await the regional rankings to find out if this will be their final game of the season. Prior to this game, the Lady Railsplitters were ranked fourth in the most recent polls.