2008 Chatham Orthopedics Volleyball Classic: Day One Wrapup

SAVANNAH, Ga. - Day one of the 2008 Chatham Orthopedics Volleyball Classic saw two undefeated teams remain unscathed as Sunshine State Conference schools Saint Leo and Florida Tech each won twice to highlight Friday's action on the campus of Armstrong Atlantic State in Savannah.

The task for the Saint Leo Lions (10-0) was not easy as they were stretched to the five-game limit by an undermanned Armstrong Atlantic State squad, prevailing 20-25, 25-21, 25-12, 23-25, 15-9. The host Pirates (7-3) were playing without injured starting setter Hannah Segebart, but looked to have a chance to knock off the Lions in the fifth game, taking a 4-2 lead. Saint Leo scored the next seven points, however, to clinch the match. Kaitlin McKenna led the way for the Lions by hitting an electric .765 with 13 kills and no errors in 17 attempts, while Leah Perry added 11 kills and four blocks and setter Michelle Nogueras tallied 44 assists and 17 digs. For the Pirates, sophomore Brendyce Budd notched a career high with 25 kills while also hitting .283. Junior setter Marina Marinova tallied 47 assists and 13 digs in her first career start at setter for the Pirates.

The Lions then took care of Carson-Newman (6-4) in three, 25-22, 25-20, 25-20, behind Nogueras' all-around effort of seven kills, 23 assists and 11 digs. Carson-Newman's Carly Mozgai hit .417 with 11 kills, while Kelsey Fleck added 10 kills and 11 digs.

Florida Tech (10-0) also remained undefeated with a pair of wins, defeating Lenoir-Rhyne (5-4) in three games, 25-16, 25-18, 26-24, while also taking out Mount Olive (4-6) in three games, 25-15, 25-21, 25-14.

The host Pirates fell in their other match of the day, losing to Rollins (7-3) in three games, 25-20, 25-21, 25-21. Freshman Torrie Bevolo collected 13 kills, while sophomore Gwen Clarke notched 12 kills and Marinova added 35 assists and 10 digs. For Rollins, Nikki Hartman collected 10 kills and 13 digs to lead the Tars, while setter Erin Wareham notched 25 assists.

Flagler (9-4) was the other team to finish day one without a loss as the Saints won a tense five-game match over Mount Olive, 24-26, 25-14, 25-16, 23-25, 15-10, then took care of Lenoir-Rhyne in three

Carson-Newman picked up a five-game win over Rollins earlier in the day, 14-25, 25-19, 25-22, 18-25, 15-13. Kelsey Fleck had 17 kills, while Carly Mozgai added 13 kills for the Eagles. Rollins was led by Nikki Hartman's 16 kills, Stephanie Nichols' 15 kills and Phoebe Corder's 30 digs.

Play concludes in the Classic on Saturday with another eight matches, beginning with host AASU taking on Carson-Newman at 10:00 a.m., as well as Rollins facing Mount Olive and Saint Leo matching up against Flagler. AASU closes out action in the Classic at 5:30 p.m. against Mount Olive.

To follow along with day two of the Classic, visit the tournament webpage at http://www.athletics.armstrong.edu/volley/vb2008classic.html. Both of AASU's contests will also be webcast with live audio and video.