Lady Flames Travel for Pair of Matches in South Carolina
10/12/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Complete Match Notes
The Liberty volleyball team (9-9, 4-2 Big South), currently riding a four-match winning streak, returns to the road for its next four matches. The Lady Flames travel to Clinton, S.C., to face Presbyterian (3-15, 1-3) on Friday at 7 p.m., before taking on Charleston Southern (9-11, 4-0) at 2 p.m., Saturday in Charleston, S.C.
Liberty holds a 13-1 advantage in the all-time series against PC, winning 10 straight meetings. The Lady Flames lead CSU, 38-4, including a current 15-match winning streak in the series.
How to Follow the Lady Flames
Live stats will be available for both of Liberty's matches this weekend, with Statbroadcast live stats provided by each school. Additionally, Saturday's match between Liberty and CSU will be video streamed, free of charge, through the Big South Network.
Starting Rotation
1. Liberty won all three of its home matches in a four-day span, sweeping Gardner-Webb on Friday before edging Winthrop, 3-2 on Saturday and posting a 3-0 sweep of Campbell, Monday. The Lady Flames outhit opponents, .291-.094, during the three matches.
2. Leah Clayton was named Big South Volleyball Freshman of the Week on Monday. For the first time in program history, three Lady Flames (Clayton, Casey Goodwin and Anna Gragg) have earned Big South Freshman of the Week honors in the same year.
3. Liberty recorded 15 blocks on Saturday against Winthrop, marking the team's third 15-block match of the season. This is the first time since 2012 that the team has posted three 15-block matches in the same year.
4. The Lady Flames lead the Big South and rank 34th in the nation with 2.58 blocks per set, while ranking 13th nationally with a .151 opponents' hitting percentage.
5. Six freshmen (Payton Carter, Leah Clayton, Casey Goodwin, Anna Gragg, Hannah Morris and Kainah Williams) started Sept. 30 at UNC Asheville, the first time in rally-scoring history that Liberty started six freshmen in the same match.
6. Sophomore Margaret Latchford collected her 700th career dig on Monday against Campbell. She is the ninth Lady Flame to surpass 700 career digs as a sophomore. Latchford set a program freshman record with 502 digs in 2015.
7. Anna Willey has registered double-doubles in each of the last three matches, giving her six double-doubles on the season and 20 for her career.
Clayton Named Big South Freshman of the Week
Leah Clayton was named Big South Freshman of the Week on Monday. She joins teammates Casey Goodwin (Sept. 12) and Anna Gragg (Sept. 19) as Freshman of the Week recipients this year. It's the first time in program history that three Lady Flames have been named Big South Freshman of the week in the same season.
Clayton scored a career-high 22 kills and added 17 digs on Saturday against Winthrop. Her 22 kills were the most by a Liberty true freshman since Jennifer Belk's 28 kills against Coastal Carolina, Nov. 15, 2001.
She has posted four double-doubles in her last five matches, and ranks second in the Big South with 3.86 kills per set in conference contests.
On a Tear
Liberty trailed UNC Asheville, 2-0, on Sept. 30, before rallying to win the next three sets in a row. Beginning with that result, Liberty is on a four-match winning streak.
During the winning streak, Liberty has posted two 3-2 victories and a pair of 3-0 sweeps. The Lady Flames are outhitting opponents, .266-.130, during the last four matches. Also, Liberty's outside hitters Leah Clayton (3.88 kills per set) and Gabrielle Vess (2.91 kills per set, .326) have been leading the way offensively.
20-20 Vision
On Saturday, Leah Clayton became the second Liberty freshman this season with a 20-kill match, scoring 22 kills. Casey Goodwin sent down 20 kills on Sept. 9 against USC Upstate. The last time that two Lady Flames posted at least one 20-kill match as freshmen during the same season was 1996, when Anthonia Akpama and Kyrie Dorn did so.
Blocking the Way
Liberty posted 15 blocks in a 3-2 victory over Winthrop on Saturday. It was Liberty's third 15-block match of the season. This is the first time since 2012 that the team has posted three 15-block matches in the same year.
For the season, Liberty leads the Big South and ranks 34th nationally with 2.58 blocks per set, while the team's .151 opponents' hitting percentage is ranked 13th in the nation.
Junior Sirena Vorster (1.13 blocks per set) ranks second in the Big South in blocks, while freshman Anna Gragg (1.10 bps) is third.
On Sept 27 at Radford, Kainah Williams led the way with a career-high eight blocks, while fellow freshmen Gragg, Casey Goodwin and Hannah Morris all posted six blocks. It was the first time that four Lady Flames have registered six or more blocks in the same match in rally-scoring history.
Digging In
Sophomore Margaret Latchford tied a season high with 19 digs on Monday against Campbell, giving her 716 career digs. She is the ninth Liberty player all-time to reach 700 career digs as a sophomore. Only four Lady Flames all-time have surpassed 800 digs during their sophomore year. Program record holder Kelly Haseman (2008-11) also holds the record for most digs in her first two seasons at Liberty, with 867.
Liberty vs. Presbyterian
Presbyterian (3-15, 1-3) won its first two matches of the regular season, but has gone 1-15 since. The Blue Hose swept Gardner-Webb on Sept. 30 for their first conference win. Sierra Davis is ranked fourth in the Big South with 3.15 kills per set while Sara Rogers (9.24 assists per set) is second in assists. Mikayla Register ranks second in the conference in digs per set (4.62) and third in aces per set (0.43).
Fourth-year head coach Korrinn Burgess has gone 28-77 at Presbyterian, after coaching Spartanburg Methodist to a 17-14 record in 2012.
Liberty holds a 13-1 record in the all-time series against Presbyterian College, and the Lady Flames have won each of the last 10 meetings. The Blue Hose posted their only win over Liberty on Nov. 8, 2008 in Clinton, S.C., a 3-2 victory.
The Lady Flames hit a season-high .371 during a 3-0 sweep at Presbyterian, Oct. 23, 2015. Caroline Douglas scored 20 kills, entering Liberty's top 10 in career kills in the process. Samantha Del Toro led PC with 11 kills.
Liberty vs. Charleston Southern
Charleston Southern (9-11, 4-0) meets Radford in a battle of Big South unbeaten teams on Friday night. CSU leads the Big South with 16.77 digs per set and is second with 2.36 blocks per set. Addison Kadderli (2.79 kills per set) and Brooke Monssen (2.65 kps) rank fifth and seventh, respectively, in the conference in kills. Kylie Klein is the conference leader with 1.20 blocks per set, followed in fourth by Caitlyn Michalski (1.06). Madison Martin's 4.57 digs per set rank third among Big South leaders.
Fourth-year CSU head coach Christy Mooberry is 36-80 at Charleston Southern. She has gone 137-175 in nine seasons as a collegiate head coach, as she has also coached at Montreat and Union (Tenn.).
Liberty is 38-4 all-time against Charleston Southern, including 20-1 under Pinder. The Lady Flames have won each of the last 15 meetings, with Charleston Southern's last win over Liberty coming Oct. 21, 2006 in Charleston. Three out of the last four meetings (2009, 2010, 2012) at the Buc Dome have resulted in a 3-2 win by the Lady Flames.
Last year, Liberty rallied to defeat the Buccaneers, 3-1, Oct. 16, 2015 at the Vines Center. Three Lady Flames recorded double-doubles, in Anna Willey (55 assists, 12 digs), Caroline Douglas (20 kills, 12 digs) and Haley Jeffcoat (11 kills, 15 digs).
100%
Liberty sided out at a 100 percent (13-for-13) clip during a 25-12 set-one win over Campbell, and sided out at 82 percent for the match. The Lady Flames also posted a perfect sideout percentage during set one against Hampton, Sep. 3.
Liberty's 82 percent sideout success rate against Campbell was its highest in a single match since siding out at 83 percent during a 3-0 sweep of UNC Asheville, Oct. 5, 2003.
Big Crowds
Liberty drew 1,506 fans to its 3-0 sweep of Gardner-Webb on Friday. It was the third-highest attended volleyball match in Vines Center history. On Monday, 1,032 fans saw Liberty sweep Campbell. It was Liberty's third match this season with 1,000 or more fans, tying the 2013 campaign for the most 1,000-fan contests in one year in program history.
