HIGH POINT, North Carolina - The UNCW volleyball team recorded its first victory of the 2010 season Saturday as it posted a 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-16) victory over North Carolina A&T in the High Point Classic at the Millis Center. The Seahawks fell in their other match of the day as they suffered a 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-23) setback to in-state rival Appalachian State earlier in the day.
The Seahawks moved to 1-2 on the season with the split while the Aggies dropped to 0-3. The Mountaineers improved to 2-0 with their straight-set victory over UNCW and will face High Point in the tournament championship Saturday evening.
"In the match versus North Carolina A&T, I wanted our newcomers to get some experience and I was happy with how they performed," said UNCW's second-year Head Coach Amy Bambenek. Samantha Seifert had a solid match and I was pleased with how Jennifer Mallard responded with a move to the right side."
Against North Carolina A&T, freshman outside hitter Samantha Seifert tallied a career-high 13 kills to pace a UNCW attack that hit .216 for the match, highlighted by a .324 attack percentage in the second set. The performance against the Aggies capped a strong debut for the newcomer from Salisbury, Md., as she earned all-tournament team accolades for her efforts.
Senior outside hitter Kelli Clear pitched in nine kills and did not commit an error in 20 total attempts to finish with a .450 hitting percentage while junior middle blocker Emily Mohrman chipped in seven kills on just two errors in 13 attempts for a .385 attack clip.
Junior defensive specialist Delanie Dolan established a new career high with 24 digs while Clear added 13. Sophomore setter Natalie LaHaie dished out match-best 21 assists and junior setter Kelsey Bendig pitched in 15.
Freshman middle hitter Jeana Daniels recorded 11 kills and added 11 digs for the double-double to lead North Carolina A&T while three other players added four kills each. Freshman setter Chelsea Fox joined Daniels in double figures with 10 digs while senior defensive specialist Amber Inman added seven digs and dished out a team-best 19 assists.
Against Appalachian State, sophomore outside Hitter Megan Forshey led a balanced Mountaineers attack with nine kills while junior outside hitter Maggie Seeds added eight and junior middle blocker Alison Blasingame pitched in seven. Junior setter Kasey Sauls handed out a match-best 17 assists while freshman setter Lauren Brown tallied 13.
"The outcome does not indicate how close our match against Appalachian State really was," said Bambenek. "We were tied with Appalachian State late in each of the first two games and we were unable to pull out the victory in either game. With a young team like ours that is something we will continue to work on as we build the confidence to win close games."
Clear paced the Seahawks attack against the Mountaineers with 10 kills while Seifert pitched in nine. Dolan recorded 10 digs while Clear added nine and Bendig tallied eight to go along with 10 assists. Sophomore setter Natalie LaHaie dished out a team-high 13 assists.
"Both of our setters did an excellent job all weekend of setting our offense and now I think the most important this for us to work our lineup and individual skills," said Bambenek. "This weekend was an eye-opening experience for our young team. We now have a better idea of what we need to work on as we get ready for our home tournament next weekend. The teams we will face the rest of the season will get a lot tougher, I but am confident that the girls are up to the challenge."
UNCW returns to action next weekend as it hosts the UNCW Courtyard by Marriott Tournament Sept. 3-4 at Hanover Hall. The Seahawks open the event Friday with a 7 p.m. contest against Central Florida and will also face South Carolina State and UNC Greensboro during the two-day event.
