Eagles volleyball team wins Hilton tournament; cross country teams fare well at Asics meet

From staff reports

Winthrop's volleyball team won the 2009 Hilton Garden Inn Invitational as it beat James Madison (25-20, 25-18 and 25-13) on Saturday at the Winthrop Coliseum. The Eagles continue unbeatable playing at home with a 7-0 record. The Eagles are 8-5 in the season.

“I was proud of how we executed and finished the third set strong,” coach Sally Polhamus said. “We had everyone stepping up offensively. We still need to defend our courts. We were out-dug and blocked, but our serving and offense won the match for us.”

With a .357 team hitting percentage, The Eagles dominated the match as they compiled 41 kills, eight block assists and 13 aces.

Kellie Sellers and all-tournament selection Kaley Viola led the offense with 10 kills each and a .444 hitting performance. Kelley Taylor came in second with nine kills and one error, leading her to a .421 hitting percentage.

In the first set, Winthrop started more focused and opened the 6-1 lead with four kills and one ace. James Madison reacted and almost tied the set as the scoreboard marked 7-8. But Winthrop kept focused and dominated the first game. After the slight 9-8 lead, the Eagles were always at least two points ahead of their opponent, winning 25-20 in the first set.

The Eagles had a solid start in the second set, opening a 9-6 lead with no errors. But with a 5-1 run, James Madison gained a 11-10 lead. Winthrop responded quickly, gaining a 14-12 lead, when James Madison asked for a timeout. The Eagles always kept the lead after the timeout and closed the second game with an ace by Kelsey Hal, winning 25-18.

Winthrop dominated the third set. With a 5-0 run after the 15-11 lead, Winthrop opened the 20-11 advantage, and James Madison asked for a timeout. The Eagles continued strong and with a 5-2 run, they closed the match, winning 25-13 in the third set.

James Madison compiled 28 kills, 26 digs and eight block assists. Lindsay Callahan led the offense with nine kills.

The Eagles will be back in action at 7 p.m. Friday as they face Liberty in Lynchburg, Va., for their first conference match.

CROSS COUNTRY — The Winthrop men's and women's cross country teams finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 23rd annual Asics Winthrop Invitational meet held Saturday morning at the Winthrop Farm Course.

Davidson claimed the men's team crown for the university division schools while the University of South Carolina women took first place on the women's side. In the college division races, Mars Hill College earned the men's title while Anderson University ran away with the women's championship.

Coach Ben Paxton's men squad placed one runner in the top 10 finishers as sophomore Adam Freudenthal covered the 8-kilometer distance in a time of 25:47.05 to claim fifth place. The individual men's champion was Lance Harden from Davidson, who was clocked in 24:59.72.

On the women's side, the Lady Eagles had two top-10 finishers in the 5-kilometer race as seniors Carey Phillips and Brooke Spencer finished sixth and eighth, respectively, with times of 18:52.76 and 18:57.41. The women's individual champion in the university division was South Carolina's Danielle Barnes, who ran the distance in 18:11.56.

The college division men's individual champion was Mars Hill's Kit Powell with a time of 26:13.98. Whitney Bishoff from Anderson won the women's title with a time of 18:40.98.

Winthrop results

Men

5. Adam Freudenthal 25:47, 17. Johnathan Fazzary 27:02; 19. A.J. Fitzsimmons 27:10; 24. Kyle Carute 27:40; 27. Dustin Ubbing 27:58; 30. Ted Nisbett 28:10; 33. Dane Flinchum 28:43; Jim Koterba 29:03; Alex Cole 31:12

Women

6. Carey Phillips 18:52; 8. Brooke Spencer 18:57; 17. Carly Moss 17:13; 32. Jennifer Schofield 20:02; 40. Tori Koterba 20:54; 48. Heidi Dean 21:57.