GREENVILLE, S.C. – With such a fantastic regular season it was obvious that going into the opening rounds of the 2021 Conference Carolinas Fall Women’s Volleyball Championship it was going to be a battle for all of the teams involved, and that is exactly how the first and second rounds played out on Saturday, Nov. 13.
Both of the first round matches were played at the No. 3 seed with West #4 Erskine starting its day by besting West #5 Lees-McRae, 3-0. Both Meredith Hollinger (13) and Kaile Tuisamatatele (12) had double-digit kills in the victory for Erskine that set up a second round matchup with West No. 3 King.
In the other first round matchup, East No. 4 Belmont Abbey eventually took a hard-fought 3-2 win over East #5 Barton. The two teams battled back and forth for the entire match with Barton earning the win in the first set, 25-20. Belmont Abbey would need extra points to secure the second set at 30-28, but the Crusaders picked up a 25-16 win in the third set to take a 2-1 lead in the match. Barton would flip that score with a 25-16 win of their own in the fourth set to force a decisive fifth set. Belmont Abbey would need an extra point in the fifth set, but they were able to pick up a 16-14 victory to earn the 3-2 overall match victory and a chance to face East #3 Mount Olive. Belmont Abbey had three players finish with double-digit kills in Mia Samaha (15), Baylea Botello (13) and Lauren Hamilton (10).
Upset-minded Erskine would continue its winning ways into the second round where they would collect a thrilling 3-2 win over King. Erskine continued its strong play from its first match on the day by winning the first two sets (25-21 and 25-23), but King turned things around in the third and fourth sets by picking up 25-13 and 25-14 wins to force a fifth set. Erskine would be able to turn things back their way in the final set by holding off King for a 15-13 win in the set that secured a 3-2 match win and a spot in the quarterfinals at West #2 Emmanuel at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 16. Hollinger continued her amazing play on the day for Erskine in the win with 25 kills and 20 digs.
Much like Erskine, Belmont Abbey would be able to take its momentum from its first round win into its second match against Mount Olive with the Crusaders earning a 25-17 win in the opening set. The two teams would go back and forth over the next three sets to send the match to a fifth set. Mount Olive would hold off Belmont Abbey in the fifth set to acquire the 3-2 match win and a spot in the quarterfinals at East #2 UNC Pembroke at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 16. Ashlyn Stone finished her efforts with 21 kills and nine digs to lead Mount Olive in its second round victory.
Fans can watch every game of the tournament live via the Conference Carolinas Digital Network and BlueFrame at
conferencecarolinasdn.com. Information regarding the championship schedule and bracket is available
here.
2021 Conference Carolinas Fall Women’s Volleyball Championship
First Round – Saturday, November 13
East #4 Belmont Abbey def. East #5 Barton, 3-2 (
Box Score)
West #4 Erskine def. West #5 Lees-McRae, 3-0 (
Box Score)
Second Round – Saturday, November 13
East #3 Mount Olive def. East #4 Belmont Abbey, 3-2 (
Box Score)
West #4 Erskine def. West #3 King, 3-2 (
Box Score)
Quarterfinals – Tuesday, November 16
East #3 Mount Olive at West #2 Emmanuel, 7 p.m.
West #4 Erskine at East #2 UNC Pembroke, 7 p.m.
Semifinals – Friday, November 19 (King University – Bristol, Tenn.)
Winner of East #3 Mount Olive-West #2 Emmanuel vs. East #1 Francis Marion, 5 p.m.
Winner of West #4 Erskine-East #2 UNC Pembroke vs. West #1 North Greenville, 7:30 p.m.
Final – Saturday, November 20 (King University – Bristol, Tenn.)
Winner of Semifinal #1 vs. Winner of Semifinal #2, 3 p.m.