WILMINGTON, North Carolina - Freshman outside hitter Samantha Seifert recorded a team-high 16 kills to lead UNCW to a 3-2 (18-25, 26-24, 14-25, 27-25, 15-11) victory over Charleston Southern in collegiate volleyball action Tuesday at the Buccaneer Field House.
The Seahawks improved to 3-4 on the season with the five-set victory while the Buccaneers moved to 2-4. The win also snapped a three-game losing streak for UNCW against Charleston Southern.
"The team really showed a lot of heart tonight by going out and getting a win on the road in a tough environment," said UNCW Head Coach Amy Bambenek. "To finally be able to finish a match shows that we are making progress and that is a great sign for a young team like ours."
Seifert led four Seahawks in double-figure kills as senior outside hitter Kelli Clear recorded 14, junior middle blocker Emily Mohrman pitched in 13 and senior middle hitter Rachel Caricato added 12.
Seifert was charged with just four errors in 31 total attempts for a .387 hitting percentage and Mohrman had just one miscue in 28 attempts for a .429 attack clip to highlight a Seahawks offense that combined to hit .216 for the contest, including .435 in the decisive game.
Setters junior Kelsey Bendig and sophomore Natalie LaHaie combined to record 56 of the team's 58 assists in the match as Bendig dished out 25 assists and LaHaie posted a team-high 31 helpers.
Defensively, Clear posted a career-best 22 digs to record her first double-double of the season while freshman libero Haley Collins pitched in a career-high 11. Mohrman finished with a team-best four total blocks while three others chipped in two total blocks each.
"This was a complete team effort," said Bambenek. "We had a truly balanced attack with four hitter in double-digit kills and that type of performance is what we're going to need in order to successful. Samantha (Seifert), Rachel (Caricato), Kelli (Clear) and Emily (Mohrman) all did a terrific job tonight. Samantha really stepped up for us at the end of the match and that is great to see that from a freshman."
Senior outside hitter Amanda Hill finished with a match-high 29 kills as she accounted for nearly half of Charleston Southern's 63 kills. Hill was charged with seven errors in 61 total attempts to finish with a .361 hitting percentage as the Buccaneers teamed up to hit .303 for the contest. Senior middle blockers Amberle Trinder and Cori Holeman finished just shy of double-digit kills as they recorded in nine kills apiece.
Senior libero Tricia Rodl tallied 19 digs to pace Charleston Southern's defensive effort while freshman outside hitter Kayla Klinger added 13 and Hill pitched in 12 to post her fifth double-double of the campaign. Junior setter Amy Nokes finished with a match-best 47 assists.
UNCW returns to action this weekend as it travels to Indianapolis, Ind., for the Butler Invitational. The Seahawks open the two-day event Friday with an 11 a.m. match against the host Bulldogs.
