Wildcats Battle Past Charlotte 3-2 in Home Opener

Friday, August 30

Davidson, N.C.

7 p.m.

Davidson College Athletics

1-0

Charlotte

0-2

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Charlotte	24	15	25	25	11	2
Davidson	26	25	15	22	15	3

Photo by: Tim Cowie - DavidsonPhotos.com

Wildcats Battle Past Charlotte 3-2 in Home Opener

8/30/2013 9:41:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Ashley Bailey

DAVIDSON, N.C. – Caroline Brown notched her first double-double of the season while Taylor Pisel slammed down 18 kills as the Davidson volleyball team battled past cross-county rival Charlotte 3-2 to open the season as part of the Wildcat Classic at Belk Arena Friday evening. The 'Cats claimed the hard-fought victory with set scores of 26-24, 25-15, 15-25, 22-25 and 15-11.

In addition to Brown's 17 kills and 21 digs, a pair of freshman saw significant time and contributed well. Mikayla Derochie recorded 47 assists in her collegiate debut as the team's starting setter, while Emily Franklin was 4-for-4 attacking to hit 1.000 with a solo block and a trio of block assists. Brown also had a pair of service aces on the night, while Pisel added five digs and a pair of block assists.

In her debut as the libero, junior #Anastasia Owen tallied 18 digs and a pair of assists while Rachel Earnhardt3 added in 13 digs and a block assist. Hannah Rau came through late in the game, with eight kills and a trio of digs and Tindall Sewell led the team with four block assists and notched four kills. The 'Cats hit .260 as a team with nine team blocks.

Claire Kreuz had 19 digs for the 49ers, followed by Amanda Videmsek's 18 kills and 13 digs. Britney Leigh Held had 49 assists, while Jackie Servais added in a pair of service aces. The 49ers also came up with 11.5 team blocks.

Davidson jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but the 49ers rallied to tie things up and force a fifth set. The 'Cats showed off their resiliency in the final stanza, earning the triumph.

The Wildcats fought hard for the lead in the first set, battling back from a 7-4 deficit to knot the game up at 11-11. A pair of attacking errors by the 49ers gave Davidson the 17-14 lead, though Charlotte came back to tie the game back up at 19-19. Pisel would come through with a pair of big kills, giving the 'Cats the 26-24 win.

Davidson dominated the second set from start to finish, rushing out to an 8-3 advantage on a block by Sewell and Derochie. Pisel added in two more kills while a slam from Brown put the 'Cats in front 18-9. Fittingly, it was Pisel with another pair and Brown with the final kill to hand the 'Cats the 25-15 set victory.

Off to a shaky start in the third set, three straight service aces put the 49ers in front 7-3. Charlotte put up five straight points soon after, taking a 10-point lead on a service ace by Amanda Videmsek. Franklin and Pisel each tallied a kill from Derochie, but the Wildcats couldn't climb out of the hole and fell 15-25 in the set.

Charlotte took the early lead again in the fourth set, jumping out to a 9-2 advantage. Davidson battled back to tie the set at 15-15 on a kill and an ace by Brown before taking a slim 19-17 advantage with a kill from Derochie. However, the 49ers would tally five of the last six points to win the set 25-22 and force a fifth set.

The Wildcats came out clawing, working their way to a 5-1 lead. Back-to-back kills by Rau made it 11-6, though the 49ers cut the lead to two with a kill by Kreuz to make it 13-11. Pisel and Franklin combined for a block before Sewell threw down the final kill as the Wildcats took the set 15-11 to take the match 3-2.

Davidson will be back in action Saturday afternoon in continuation of the Wildcat Classic. The squad will face CSU Bakersfield at 1 p.m. before squaring off with Charleston Southern in the 5 p.m. finale of the tournament.