Tuesday, October 7
Radford, Va.
7:00 PM
Liberty University
13-5, 4-0Big South
3
at
0
Radford
6-9, 1-4Big South
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
| Radford University | 23 | 20 | 13 | 0 |
LU Sweeps Radford for 15th Straight BSC Win
10/7/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
The Liberty volleyball team, sparked by the play of middle blockers Chelaine McCarty and Ashley Webber, ran its Big South Conference winning streak to 15 matches with a 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-13) sweep of Radford, Tuesday evening at Peters Hall.
McCarty (Jr., Houston, Ala.) hit .588 with a team-high 11 kills, while Webber (Sr., Lakeside, Calif.) celebrated her 21st birthday with six block assists. The duo helped Liberty improve to 13-5 overall and 4-0 in the Big South. The Lady Flames are now one-half match behind High Point, which leads the conference standings at 5-0.
Meanwhile, Radford, playing just its second home match of the season, falls to 6-9 overall and 1-4 in the Big South. Liberty has now won its last 14 head-to-head meetings with the Highlanders, dating back to 2001.
The in-state rivals went back-and-forth throughout a tightly-contested opening set, trading the lead three times and experiencing 11 ties. Neither side owned more than a three-point lead during the set, which was tied at 23-23 after Radford setter Kiley Kent's kill. The visiting Lady Flames then pulled out a 25-23 triumph, with back-to-back kills by outside hitters Jessica Nelson (R-Sr., Tokyo, Japan) and Nicki Scripko (So., Fayetteville, N.C.) closing out the stanza.
As expected, the two teams were nearly identical statistically for the first set, with Liberty hitting .250 and Radford hitting .237. Nelson and Scripko posted five kills apiece to pace the Lady Flames' attack. Meanwhile, Highlander freshman Megan McWhorter tallied five kills of her own.
The second set was deadlocked at 14-14, before Liberty claimed the lead for good with a 5-0 burst. McCarty notched a kill and a block during the decisive surge, which ended in a 25-20 Lady Flames victory. Blocking played a major part in the second stanza, as Liberty recorded all four of the stanza's rejections. Webber and Brittany Pacella (R-Jr., RS, Reading, Pa.) assisted on three blocks apiece during the middle set.
Radford scored the first point of set three, when Carly Fleming drove home a kill on the opening rally. However, Liberty came back with three consecutive points and never trailed again in a decisive 25-13 win. Setter Kallie Corbin's (Jr., Beaverton, Ore.) eight-point serving run, including two aces, highlighted the final stanza. The Lady Flames hit .579 during the third set and seven players had at least one kill, led by McCarty's four.
McCarty was a standout performer at Radford for the second straight year. In 2007, she hit .515 with a career-high 19 kills during Liberty's Big South-opening win over the Highlanders at the Dedmon Center. The effort netted her the Big South Player of the Week award. This season, McCarty complemented her offensive numbers with three of the Lady Flames' 10 blocks.
Leading Liberty's block parade were Webber and Pacella, with six rejections each. The block total established a new career high for Pacella.
Sophomores Scripko and Karyl Bacon (OH/DS, Temecula, Calif.) both made significant contributions to the Liberty triumph. Scripko notched nine kills and seven digs, while Bacon paced all players with a dozen digs, going over the 10-dig mark for the sixth time in the last seven contests.
Corbin led all players in both assists (30) and service aces (3), serving up a trio of aces for the second straight match.
For the match, Radford was limited to a .128 attack percentage, but McWhorter hit .348 with a team-best 11 kills. Kent added five kills, 28 assists and seven digs, while Lauren Clary totaled 11 digs for the homestanding Highlanders.
Liberty will begin a stretch of three home Big South matches in five days, Friday evening at 7 p.m., when Presbyterian (4-12, 1-3 Big South) visits the Vines Center. The Blue Hose are not yet eligible to compete in the season-ending Big South Volleyball Championship, but their matches do count in the conference regular-season standings.
McCarty (Jr., Houston, Ala.) hit .588 with a team-high 11 kills, while Webber (Sr., Lakeside, Calif.) celebrated her 21st birthday with six block assists. The duo helped Liberty improve to 13-5 overall and 4-0 in the Big South. The Lady Flames are now one-half match behind High Point, which leads the conference standings at 5-0.
Meanwhile, Radford, playing just its second home match of the season, falls to 6-9 overall and 1-4 in the Big South. Liberty has now won its last 14 head-to-head meetings with the Highlanders, dating back to 2001.
The in-state rivals went back-and-forth throughout a tightly-contested opening set, trading the lead three times and experiencing 11 ties. Neither side owned more than a three-point lead during the set, which was tied at 23-23 after Radford setter Kiley Kent's kill. The visiting Lady Flames then pulled out a 25-23 triumph, with back-to-back kills by outside hitters Jessica Nelson (R-Sr., Tokyo, Japan) and Nicki Scripko (So., Fayetteville, N.C.) closing out the stanza.
As expected, the two teams were nearly identical statistically for the first set, with Liberty hitting .250 and Radford hitting .237. Nelson and Scripko posted five kills apiece to pace the Lady Flames' attack. Meanwhile, Highlander freshman Megan McWhorter tallied five kills of her own.
The second set was deadlocked at 14-14, before Liberty claimed the lead for good with a 5-0 burst. McCarty notched a kill and a block during the decisive surge, which ended in a 25-20 Lady Flames victory. Blocking played a major part in the second stanza, as Liberty recorded all four of the stanza's rejections. Webber and Brittany Pacella (R-Jr., RS, Reading, Pa.) assisted on three blocks apiece during the middle set.
Radford scored the first point of set three, when Carly Fleming drove home a kill on the opening rally. However, Liberty came back with three consecutive points and never trailed again in a decisive 25-13 win. Setter Kallie Corbin's (Jr., Beaverton, Ore.) eight-point serving run, including two aces, highlighted the final stanza. The Lady Flames hit .579 during the third set and seven players had at least one kill, led by McCarty's four.
McCarty was a standout performer at Radford for the second straight year. In 2007, she hit .515 with a career-high 19 kills during Liberty's Big South-opening win over the Highlanders at the Dedmon Center. The effort netted her the Big South Player of the Week award. This season, McCarty complemented her offensive numbers with three of the Lady Flames' 10 blocks.
Leading Liberty's block parade were Webber and Pacella, with six rejections each. The block total established a new career high for Pacella.
Sophomores Scripko and Karyl Bacon (OH/DS, Temecula, Calif.) both made significant contributions to the Liberty triumph. Scripko notched nine kills and seven digs, while Bacon paced all players with a dozen digs, going over the 10-dig mark for the sixth time in the last seven contests.
Corbin led all players in both assists (30) and service aces (3), serving up a trio of aces for the second straight match.
For the match, Radford was limited to a .128 attack percentage, but McWhorter hit .348 with a team-best 11 kills. Kent added five kills, 28 assists and seven digs, while Lauren Clary totaled 11 digs for the homestanding Highlanders.
Liberty will begin a stretch of three home Big South matches in five days, Friday evening at 7 p.m., when Presbyterian (4-12, 1-3 Big South) visits the Vines Center. The Blue Hose are not yet eligible to compete in the season-ending Big South Volleyball Championship, but their matches do count in the conference regular-season standings.
Team Stats
LIBERTY
RADFORD
Kills
38
34
Errors
14
22
Attempts
85
94
Hitting %
.282
.128
Points
52.5
39.0
Assists
37
32
Aces
4
3
Blocks
10.5
2.0
Game Leaders
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
9
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
6
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