Saturday of Redemption

It was a Saturday of redemption for three of Davidson's fall sports teams. Although none of them entered the weekend with a winning season record, the men's soccer, volleyball and football teams all picked up victories over favored opponents.

Katie Pierucci led the assault for the volleyball team as the Wildcats picked up their second straight victory with a non-conference 3-1 win over ECU. Pierucci finished the game with 24 kills on 55 chances. Davidson also benefitted from the return of Sarabeth Peele to action. She had missed several key conference games with an injury, but her return has spurred the recent surge of late.

While the volleyball team was rocking Belk Arena, just 200 feet away at Alumni Field, the men's soccer team was dancing with their second win in three games. The team had beaten Georgia Southern last week, tied Appalachian State with a last-second goal from Charlie Rieter, and pounded Coastal Carolina today. The Wildcats were led by freshmen who scored three out of the four team goals and tallied two assists. The three-game unbeaten streak is the longest of its kind in over two years and men's soccer finally has something to smile about after its 1-10 start.

The football team capped off the night with a surprise 24-21 victory over conference powerhouse Drake. Davidson tied an NCAA record by scoring 3 safeties off of three botched punts. The Wildcats nearly let Drake back in the game with their five turnovers and two extra-point conversion failures, but a Matt Mikrut interception sealed Davidson's win in the final minute. Ryan Alexander recorded 299 passing yards and Ryan Hubbard made 14 receptions for 178 yards. With his 317 all-purpose yards on the night, Alexander set a new Davidson record for most all-purpose yards in a career.

Basketball season might be right around the corner, but these three fall sports teams have refused to quit. Their seasons are far from over.