Due West, SC – In front of a loud home crowd, the Erskine Flying Fleet downed the Pfeiffer University Falcons in straight sets (25-16, 25-18, 25-22) to advance to the semi-finals of the Conference Carolinas Women’s Volleyball Championship Tournament.

Senior Jamie Murray (Hermann, MO, East Central CC) led the Fleet with a game-high 13 kills while juniors Lauren Stewart (Hartwell, GA, Hart County High School) and Larz Chabra (Mt. Pleasant, SC, Wando High School) each had a famed “double-double.”  From her setter position, Chabra had 36 assists and 12 digs and Stewart knocked down 10 kills along with 18 digs.  She also had 3 blocks and 2 assists.

Pfeiffer’s Cate Glendenning also turned in a “double-double” with 15 assists and 10 digs.  Kelsey Blauser led the Falcons at the net with 6 kills on 19 attempts.

Errors dominated the early part of the first set with Erskine committing three and Pfeiffer two.  At that point, Erskine settled down offensively and used a 9-3 run to take an 11-6 advantage.  Erskine kept pounding away, stretching their lead to 10 points at one point behind two kills by Murray.  Erskine won the opening set 25-16.

Erskine took an early two point lead at 3-1 on a service ace by juniorLiz Massey (Greenville, SC, Eastside High School)and a kill by Stewart to start the second set.  Erskine maintained their slight advantage until Kaci Markham scored a kill on a dig from the back rown.  Erskine’s Campbell hit a smash that Markham returned on a dig to the Fleet’s back corner for the point and tied the game at 10-10.  Erskine rattled off four consecutive points marked by a kill by Stewart and a block by Campbell.  Following a Pfeiffer timeout, Erskine scored two more points before committing a service error.   Neither team could mount a rally from that point, exchanging points until Erskine won the set 25-18.

The final set had 8 ties and neither team holding more than a three point lead.  Pfeiffer took their largest lead of the set at 18-15 on a block by Kelly Lancelot and Kim Amerell forcing Erskine coach Heather Vahjen to call a timeout.  After trading two points each out of the timeout, Erskine went to their two seniors.  The Fleet scored the next four points on three kills by Campbell and one by Murray to take a 22-20 lead.  Erskine surrendered two more points on hitting errors by closed out the set on kills by Massey and Campbell.

Erskine will travel to Charlotte, North Carolina, to play Queens University.  Queens, the #1 East seed, defeated Limestone 3-2 to advance to the semi-final round.

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