Serving Keys Lady Flames 3-0 Sweep

Liberty set the tone for Friday afternoon's volleyball match by serving for seven aces during the first set of its contest against Appalachian State. The Lady Flames finished with nine aces, highlighting their 3-0 (25-13, 25-20, 25-14) sweep of the Mountaineers, in the opening match of the Black & Gold Challenge at Reynolds Gym.

Liberty evens its record at 5-5, after its second 3-0 sweep of a Southern Conference opponent this season. The Lady Flames defeated UNC Greensboro by the same score in their season opener at Virginia Tech. Meanwhile, Appalachian State is now 3-8 on the year, after losing for the fourth time in its last five matches.

Two early kills by Maggie Seeds gave the Mountaineers a 2-1 lead in the opening set. Liberty then swung momentum in its favor by scoring the next six points. The white-clad Lady Flames' burst featured three consecutive aces by setter Kallie Corbin (Sr., Beaverton, Ore.). Liberty never looked back, and cruised to a 25-13 win.

The Lady Flames hit just .087 during set one, but serving made the difference. Liberty finished with seven aces, while Appalachian State committed a trio of service errors. The Mountaineers' Seeds led all players with five kills, but Liberty sported a balanced attack. Chelaine McCarty (Sr., MB, Houston, Ala.), Kirstyn Sanders (R-Jr., MB/RS, Bear, Del.) and Nicki Scripko (Jr., OH, Fayetteville, N.C.) put down two kills apiece during the session.

Things did not start out as smoothly for Liberty during the second set. Two Lady Flames attack errors and a setting error lifted the Mountaineers' advantage to 11-9 and elicited a timeout request by Shane Pinder. Liberty emerged from the huddle with a set-changing 8-0 run, including seven points on Corbin's serve. Scripko and Loren Thomas (Fr., MB, Ocoee, Fla.) kept busy during the surge, as Scripko tallied a trio of kills and Thomas added a kill and two blocks. Appalachian State was able to get back within two points, at 20-18, but the Lady Flames held on for a 25-20 triumph.

Outside hitters Scripko and Hannah Anderson (Fr., Rocklin, Calif.) accounted for four second-set kills apiece. Teammate Kelly Haseman (So, L/DS, Three Rivers, Mich.) took care of the Lady Flames' defense, coming up with six digs. For Appalachian State, Maja Jechorek led the way with four kills.

Appalachian State held a 6-5 edge during the opening stages of set three, before Liberty turned the tide with an extended 11-2 run. McCarty and Scripko each posted two kills, with Scripko's second spike pushing the Liberty edge to 16-8. The Mountaineers got no closer than six points for the remainder of the stanza, and the Lady Flames closed out their fourth 3-0 sweep of the season, 25-14.

Liberty's third-set dominance was reflected by the two squads' hitting percentages. Led by four kills apiece from McCarty and Scripko, the Lady Flames hit a match-high .364. Meanwhile, Appalachian State committed nine attack errors and hit only -.042.

For the match, the Lady Flames notched a .208 attack percentage to the Mountaineers' .013. Liberty also led the way in aces (9-1), digs (29-25) and blocks (5-4).

Corbin ended up with four aces, to go along with her match-high 27 assists and seven digs. Her four aces were the most a Liberty player has recorded so far in 2009.

Scripko, ranked No. 13 nationally for kills, was the only player on either team to reach double figures on Friday. She hit .304 with 10 kills and a pair of service aces. McCarty was right behind her, hitting .375 with nine kills.

Defensively, Haseman paced Liberty with nine digs and Thomas assisted on four blocks.

Seeds finished as Appalachian State's attacking leader, tallying nine kills for the contest. Teammate Cassie Engelgau led all players with 10 digs.

Liberty will play a pair of Saturday matches at the Black & Gold Challenge, beginning with a 10 a.m. contest versus Duke. The 8-2 Blue Devils are currently listed among the "Others Receiving Votes" in the AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 poll.

Schedule

Serving Keys Lady Flames 3-0 Sweep

Next Event

Team Stats

Nicki Scripko

Chelaine McCarty

Hannah Anderson

Kirstyn Sanders