The Citadel (6-14, 1-7 Southern Conference) returns to conference action this weekend as the Bulldogs host UNC Greensboro on Friday, Oct. 13 at 7 p.m. and Elon on Saturday, Oct. 14 at 2 p.m. Friday night's match will have a live video broadcast available on Bulldog Insider at CitadelSports.com

Friday night brings a very potent Spartan squad to McAlister Field House. UNCG currently stands third in the conference in hitting (.214) and second in the SoCon in serving, averaging 2.33 aces per game. The Spartans are also ranked 14th nationally in serving. Greensboro's Liz Benzschawel is sitting third in the SoCon in hitting with a percetage of .297 while Kaitlyn Nortz (.263) and Lauren Keiser (.262) are eight and ninth, respectively.

UNCG's Theresa Hart is second in the SoCon in kills, averaging 4.35 per game and currently holds the season high for the SoCon for kills, recording 29 against Chattanooga.

Greensboro's Catherine Harris is third in the SoCon in serving as she enters the weekend averaging 0.48 aces per game but she will be met by tough servers in senior Samantha Parisi and sophomore Emily Hill. Parisi is ranked sixth in the SoCon (0.43 aces per game) while Hill is ranked seventh (0.41 aces/g).

UNC Greensboro is strong on the other side of the ball as well with Kaitlyn Nortz ranked fourth in the conference in blocking, averaging 1.15 blocks per game, while Catherine Hanners is averaging 4.75 digs per game, putting her fifth in the Southern Conference.

Saturday's match against Elon will be another battle of tough serves as The Citadel is ranked fifth in the conference in serving (1.71 aces/g) while Elon is ranked sixth (1.69 aces/g).

Get out the Brooms...

Tuesday night's match against Winston-Salem State marked the third time The Citadel has swept the Rams this season. The Bulldog Spikers traveled to Winston-Salem on Sept. 12 and brought home the 3-0 victory.

The Citadel's 3-2 SoCon victory over Western Carolina on Oct. 7 marked the program's first conference victory since Oct. 31, 2004, when The Citadel won a 3-1 match over Davidson. Western Carolina was the last team to fall to the Bulldogs away from Charleston as The Citadel defeated the Catamounts, 3-2, on Oct. 10, 2004. That match marked The Citadel's first road SoCon victory wtih the 2006 edition falling as the Bulldog's second road SoCon victory in the program's history.

Heading into Friday's match against UNC Greensboro, The Citadel has amassed a 3-0 record in five-game marathons this season. The stunning aspect of that statistic is all three victories have come on foreign courts. The Citadel's first 3-2 victory came on neutral grounds in a win over South Carolina State at the Hampton Invitational. The Bulldogs followed that win just a few hours later with a 3-2 win over the host Pirates in Hampton. Finally, the Bulldog Spikers recorded their program's second conference road victory ever in a 3-2 win at Western Carolina on Oct. 7.

Closing in on 1,000

Senior Samantha Parisi is slowly closing in on history. Parisi enter's Friday's match against UNC Greensboro just 101 digs short of the coveted 1,000 mark, something only one other Bulldog has ever achieved. Pariis has 899 digs to date, only 137 away from setting the school record. Nicole Mantu currently holds the school record for digs and is the only Bulldog to have ever achieved 1,000-plus digs in a career, recording 1,035 in her span from 1999-2002.

Sophomore Rachel Sanders seems to be enamored with the number 13. On four separate occasions, the sophomore from Fayetteville, N.C. has registered 13 digs in a match. The first occurence came on Sept. 8 when Sanders had 13 digs in both matches of the home doubleheader against Bethune-Cookman and Savannah State. Sanders had another 13 digs on Sept. 30 against Wofford and most recently recorded her lucky 13 digs on Oct. 6 against Chattanooga. Then again, 13 may not be such a lucky number as The Citadel is 1-3 in matches where Sanders has registered 13 digs.

The Citadel's 30-27 game two victory at Appalachian State (9/22) went down as an historical win as the Bulldog Spikers recorded the school's first ever game win over the Mountaineers. Appalachian State and the 'Dogs have met 13 times prior to their first meeting in 2006 with ASU winning 3-0 in all of those contests.

Setting a New Standard ... Twice

Freshman Tiffany Edwards as been on fire as of late. The knob from Azle, Texas, set yet another career high mark in digs as she saved 21 balls from hitting the floor in The Citadel's Sept. 27 match against Georgia Southern. This came just two matches after she recorded a then-career high 18 digs in the four-game match at Appalachian State, eclipsing her previous best mark of 13 digs set at Hampton on Sept. 1. That mark stands as the second highest number of digs recorded by a freshman Bulldog in school history, eclipsed only by four-year phenom Nicole Mantu who recorded 24 digs against Lander her knob year (9/12/1999). Mantu holds the school record for digs in a match, recording 27 digs against Wofford on Oct. 25, 2002.

Parisi Gets 100

Redshirt senior Samantha Parisi recorded one service ace against Appalachian State on Sept. 22, but one was all she needed. That ace served was Parisi's 100th career service ace, becoming only the sixth person in school history to record such a feat. Lindsey Hodge holds the school record for aces in a career, serving up 187 aces spanning from 2000-2003.

H-I-Double-L Double-Double

Setter Emily Hill has been one of the Bulldogs' more consistent offensive and defensive players as of late. The sophomore from Cypress, Texas has recorded four double-doubles in the past six matches. Excluding the Sept. 23 match at Davidson, the only break in her streak of four straight double-doubles was The Citadel's match at the College of Charleston on Sept. 19. Hill has been taking on two digits of assists and digs to reach the double-double mark, showing her offensive and defensive prowess.

Rachel Sanders Making Saves

Sophomore Rachel Sanders has made some great saves this year off opponents' attacks. The outside hitter from Fayetteville, N.C., leads the team in digs (140) and digs per game (3.41). Sanders currently stands seventh in The Citadel's all-time books with 414 career digs. She is closing in on sixth, a place held by Audra Ritchie (2001-04) who had 510 digs in her career at The Citadel.

Small(er) Bench for The Bulldogs

The Citadel is trying to keep everybody healthy, despite a small bench. With only nine players, the Bulldogs can rarely afford an injury or an illness. Tiffany Edwards played at the Army of One Classic, despite a cold. Rachel Sanders has played every match this season to date, despite injuries. Redshirt senior and team captain Samantha Parisi was unable to play at the College of Charleston on Sept. 19 due to the flu. Parisi returned to action on Sept. 22 at Appalachian State, where she recorded her 100th career ace. Due to other injuries, Parisi is listed as questionable for the Sept. 27 match against Georgia Southern and probable for the matches on Sept. 29 and Sept. 30 (shoulder).

Double the Fun Vs. Navy

Despite dropping the 3-1 decision to Navy on Sept. 16 in the final match of the Army of One Classic, The Citadel still proceeded to put up some big numbers as four Bulldogs recorded double-doubles. Emily Hill (37 A, 10 D), Samantha Parisi (15 K, 13 D), Rachel Sanders (12 K, 12 D) and Ashley Winter (10 K, 13 D) all put up big numbers for The Citadel.

All or Nothing

The Citadel volleyball team has established a trend of playing matches either very quickly or taking their time. Through 21 matches in 2006, the Bulldogs have only played two four-game matches, a 3-1 loss to Navy at the Army of One Classic on Sept. 16 and a 3-1 loss at Appalachian State on Sept. 23. The Citadel is 4-12 in three-game matches and 3-0 in five-game marathons.

More Than Just Winning at Winston-Salem

The Citadel volleyball team did more than just win at Winston-Salem State on Sept., they re-wrote the books as well. Sophomore setter Emily Hill moved up to No. 2 all-time in assists, surpassing Katie Livingston's 1,326 assists that were set from 2001-2004. Meanwhile, sophomore outside hitter Rachel Sanders moved up to seventh in the school's record books for total attacks. Heading into the tournament at Army, R. Sanders has 1,076 total attacks. She passed Maggie Maisonet's mark of 1,067 set from 1998-2001.

Redshirt senior Samantha Parisi continues to lead the team on the court, but is making a significant impact on The Citdael's blocking record books. Parisi recorded three blocks in Friday's matches against Bethune-Cookman and Savannah State, pushing her to 80 total blocks in her career. That puts Parisi fifth in the school's all-time books. It's a jump to fourth, however, as Maggie Maisonet holds that spot as she recorded 103 blocks in her career, spanning 1998-2001.

Bitten by the Injury Bug

The Citadel has suffered a bite from the injury bug early on in 2006. Sophomore Rachel Sanders can be seen during the match wearing a brace on her hitting hand (right) as she suffered a wrist injury during preseason. That injury kept the Fayetteville, N.C. native from hitting for about a week.

Also bitten by the injury bug was senior captain Samantha Parisi who suffered an injury to her pinky finger on her hitting hand (right) that forces her to wear a splint. Parisi has also suffered from an inflamed right shoulder.

Stanke Records "Kill"er First

Taylor Stanke came out firing in the first match of her collegiate career at Charleston Southern. Stanke recorded 12 kills in the match and had a quick start to each game. In all three games against Charleston Southern, the freshman from Austin, Texas recorded the first point for The Citadel by putting down a kill. All three kills were assisted by fellow Texan Emily Hill.

'Til We Meet Again

The Citadel got a first glance at what will soon be some familiar faces at the Hampton Invitational. The Bulldog Spikers face both South Carolina State and Winston-Salem State later in the season. The Citadel will host South Carolina State on Oct. 24 at 6 p.m. in McAlister Field House. The Bulldogs will travel to Winston-Salem State on Sept. 12 for a 6 p.m. match-up. The Cadets will then host Winston-Salem State on Oct. 10 at 6 p.m.

Fresh Faces

Several new faces can be found on the 2006 squad, including first-year head coach Carolyn Geiger. Geiger spent four years as an assistant coach at arch-rival College of Charleston before making her way across town to The Citadel. Joining Geiger is assistant coach Amir Khaledi, who comes to the Military College of South Carolina from Charleston Southern. During his long tenure at CSU, Khaledi served as both a head and assistant coach for the Bucs.

Also joining the ranks are freshmen Tiffany Edwards and Taylor Stanke.

Back for One More Go

Redshirt Senior Samantha Parisi, who redshirted the 2005 season, has returned to the program for the 2006 season and has been named team captain.

Re-Writing the Charts

The 2006 squad features several cadet-student-athletes that have written themselves into the record books. Sophomore Rachel Sanders wasted no time making a splash as she recorded a school record 363 digs in her freshman year, topping Nicole Manu's 348 digs in 2002.

Emily Hill set a season school record of her own, recording 1,071 assists in 2005. She is second in the charts to Katie Livingston, who recorded 1,100 assists in 2004. Hill's 1,071 assists also puts her third in career assists at The Citadel.

Hill continued to etch her name into the record books as she served up nine service aces against Augusta State her freshman year (9/21/05), tying her for first in the school record books for service aces in a match. Hill's mark of nine aces ties the mark that Amber Davis set on Sept. 17, 2002 against Savannah State.

Don't Mess With Texas

The Citadel volleyball squad has several members that have come from the Lone Star State. Senior Kim Cooper (Houston), freshman Tiffany Edwards (Azle), sophomore Emily Hill (Cypress) and freshman Taylor Stanke (Austin) have all joined the Bulldog ranks from the state of Texas.