Friday, August 26
A-State Volleyball Wins Season Opener Over Northwestern State
Fort Worth, Texas (8/26/16) – The Arkansas State volleyball team began the 2016 season with a successful 3-0 (25-19, 25-15, 25-16) sweep over Northwestern State in the team’s first match of the TCU Invitational at the University Recreation Center in Fort Worth, Texas.
The Red Wolves (1-0) hit .316 and held the Lady Demons (0-2) to a .042 attacking percentage, while senior setter Mallory Warrington registered a double-double with 37 assists and 11 digs. Carlisa May led the team with 14 kills on a .619 hitting percentage, while Markie Schaedig picked up 19 digs to lead the team.
“We had some pre-game and in-game jitters during the first game, but we were able to get over that,” A-State head volleyball coach David Rehr said. “I thought we played very well and limited the mistakes against them and we were able to get ahead early and put the pressure on them. It was nice to get several of our players some time on the court. I really thought Shelby (Holmes) and Kenzie (Fields) played well along with the rest of the team. It’s good to be 1-0, but we have two matches to prepare for tomorrow now.”
Both teams battled to a 6-6 score to open the match with a kill by May giving A-State a one-point edge to begin a 9-3 run to put the team on top 15-9 midway through game one. Northwestern State battled within three on a couple of occasions and was down 23-19 before kills by Drew Jones and Kelsey Reis sealed a 25-19 victory for Arkansas State in set one.
The Lady Demons began set two with a 3-1 advantage that A-State quickly erased with a 4-1 run capped with a kill from Holmes. The team wouldn’t relinquish the lead the rest of the set and pulled ahead by 10 at 24-14 after a Northwestern State attack error. The Lady Demons earned the next point, but a kill by May clinched a 25-15 victory for the Red Wolves.
Fields began set three with a kill for A-State and the squad never trailed in game three despite Northwestern State getting within two points at 14-12 on a service error. However, the Red Wolves ended the set on an 11-4 run, capped by a Jessica Uke kill, to earn a 25-16 set win and 3-0 victory.
Reis continued her strong blocking from a season ago with four total blocks, including three block solos, while Jessica Heuertz had a solid defensive game with 11 digs. Jones was second in kills on the day with 11, while Holmes added six of her own.
The season-opening win for the Red Wolves was Coach Rehr’s second in five tries, while the program improved to 27-15 all-time in season openers.
Arkansas State concludes play in the TCU Invitational Saturday with two matches. A-State will take on North Carolina State at 1 p.m., before squaring off with host TCU at 7 p.m. Live stats will be available on AStateStats.com. The match against TCU will be available on GoFrogs.com with a paid subscription.
Mountaineers Falter Against Hokies in 2016 Opener
BLACKSBURG, Va. –– Appalachian State University volleyball dropped its season opener in a hard-fought five set battle against Virginia Tech on Friday evening.
The Mountaineers (0-1) were led by freshman Emma Longley who recorded 30 kills and 13 digs in her freshman debut. Longley’s 30 kills are the most by a Mountaineer since former student-athlete and assistant coach Anna Wagner recorded 31 on Aug. 26, 2011 against NC State.
Helping Longley to that total was setter Ashlyn Brown who tallied 54 assists on the night to go along with four kills of her own in the effort.
Redshirt freshman Jenna Talbert tallied double-digit kills (11) in her first action for the Mountaineers after sitting out the 2015 season. Alana Shoff recorded eight kills, while Cassidy Stephenson and Courtney Sullivan collected five a piece.
“Tonight, two good teams battled in a great match,” said head coach Matt Ginipro. “We had opportunities to put it away but Tech made some plays that we didn’t. This group played as one team tonight and, if that’s how we are going to start the season, it’s going to be a good one. The numbers show that we need some offensive support for Emma and we need to be a bit more disciplined on defense. The result isn’t what we wanted, but I’m very happy with the effort on the court.”
App State took the early lead with a 25-22 set one victory - due in large part to Longley who came out on fire and collected 10 kills. With a slim 23-22 lead toward the end of the set, Appalachian received back-to-back kills from Longley and Brown to seal the set.
In the second set, App State found themselves down 21-15 and were able to claw back to a 24-24 tie. The Mountaineers would go back and forth with the Hokies (1-0) and would have two chances at a set point, including a 31-30 advantage. The Hokies would get two consecutive kills to take the marathon set 33-31.
After a brief intermission, the Mountaineers came out rejuvenized and got out to a quick 12-6 lead. Virginia Tech would battle back, however, taking a 23-20 lead. The Mountaineers used four attack errors to propel themselves to a 26-24 set victory and 2-1 match advantage.
Appalachian had its chances in the fourth set up 16-14, but allowed the Hokies to storm back for a 21-18 lead. The Mountaineers used kills from Shoff, Talbert and Longley to battle back to a 24-24 tie and force a Va. Tech timeout. The Hokies would win the set with consecutive kills.
In the fifth and decisive set, the Hokies proved to be too much for the Mountaineers and used a 6-1 run to open up the set and cruised to a 15-8 set victory to clinch the match.
The Mountaineers will have the chance to bounce back quickly tomorrow morning with a 10 a.m. match against Norfolk State. The Apps will follow that up with a 5 p.m. match against Siena to wrap up the Virginia Tech/Radford Invitational.
Coastal Completes Two-Match Sweep on First Day of FIU Invite
MIAMI, Fla. - The Coastal Carolina volleyball team won its second straight-sets match of the day Friday evening as the Chanticleers took a three-set decision (25-19, 25-20, 25-11) over co-host Florida International.
Coastal improves to 2-0 on the first day of the 2016 season, and has the opportunity to win its opening tournament on Saturday when the Chants take on co-host Miami (Fla.) in a 7 p.m. match.
Coastal 3 -- FIU 0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-11)
Leah Hardeman led the way against the Panthers with a team-leading 14 kills at a .346 pace while adding 10 digs. Tahleia Bishop also registered double figure kills with 11, and Natasa Savovic contributed nine kills with a team-high 11 digs.
Kate Federico and Sara Boothe each finished in double digits in assists with 25 and 15, respectively.
Coastal led from start to finish in the opening set, leading by as many as eight points late in the game. Ahead 18-14, the Chants took five of the next six points to take commanding 23-15 lead. FIU attempted a late comeback, but a Panther attack error and Bishop's fifth kill of the set gave the Chants a 1-0 match lead.
FIU claimed the opening point of the middle frame before Coastal quickly took a 3-2 lead and stayed in front for the remainder of the set. Hardeman paced the Chants with five kills in the set, while Savovic put down three and recorded four digs.
The Panthers kept pace with the Chants in the early going of the final set, trailing by just two points as Coastal led 10-8, but the Chants closed the match on a dominant 15-3 run to complete the shutout. Hardeman had her highest kill output in the final frame with six, while Savovic trailed just behind with five kills and six digs.
Coastal 3 -- FAMU 0 (25-13, 25-21, 25-20)
Coastal dominated the first and third sets, and overcame an eight-point deficit midway through the second set to record the shutout over the Rattlers.
Annayka Legros paced the Chants with 12.5 points on eight kills and seven total blocks, including two solo and five assists. Natasa Savovic added a team-leading 10 kills while hitting .304.
Kate Federico, making her first appearance in a Chanticleer uniform, provided 16 assists while splitting setting duties with Sara Boothe, who tallied 10 assists.
The Chants took control of the opening set early as Leah Hardeman served CCU to a 6-1 lead with a pair of aces. FAMU attempted to recover with a timeout, but Coastal responded with a 6-2 run that forced the Rattlers to use their second timeout of the set while trailing 12-3. Tahleia Bishop closed the game with five kills as the Chants cruised to 25-13 set win.
Coastal fell behind quickly in the second set as FAMU's Maria Yvette Garcia and Radka Dimitrova combined for six kills to post a 17-9 lead for the Rattlers, their largest of the match. A Carla Cahill service ace, however, sparked a 9-1 Coastal run that evened the set at 18 points apiece. Legros and Savovic recorded a pair of kills in the final stretch of the set, and finished the middle frame with five and four kills, respectively.
Savovic turned in another four-kill performance in the closing set, while Bishop and Legros accounted for three blocks each. Coastal led the set from start to finish, and forced the Rattlers to use both of their timeouts while doubling up FAMU 16-8. FAMU managed to bring the set back to a three-point margin with Coastal holding a 20-17 lead, but the Chants closed the match on a 5-3 run.
Trojan Comeback Falls Short Against Montana
DALLAS – Down by two sets, Little Rock volleyball (0-2) nearly had a comeback win, but it fell short to Montana (1-1) in the fifth set as the Grizzlies took the 3-2 win (25-27, 20-25, 25-19, 25-14, 11-15) on Friday night at Moody Coliseum on the campus of SMU.
Marina Avram led the Trojans with 19 kills, breaking her old career high of 15. Avram also led the match with a .412 hitting percentage.
Little Rock led the vast majority of the first set, but Montana got back in the set after numerous errors by the Trojans. With the Trojans up 21-13, the Grizzlies went on a 10-2 run to knot the set at 23. A block by Milovanovic gave Little Rock set point, but Montana answered with a kill by Missy Huddleston. Tied 25-25, two kills by Huddleston allowed Montana to steal the set.
Down 7-2 to begin the second set, Little Rock battled back to bring the score within one at 17-16. Two consecutive blocks by Montana then forced a Trojan timeout. Out of the timeout, a kill by Marina Avram and a Montana attack error brought the set within one again at 19-18. A 6-2 run by the Grizzlies secured the set for Montana and gave them a 2-0 lead for the match.
The Trojans got off to a slow start in the third set by trailing 9-4, but seven straight points allowed Little Rock to take the lead at 11-9. Taylor Lindberg made her mark during the run with four kills and a block assist. The Trojans continued to play well after the run and eventually built their lead to five points at 19-14, forcing a Montana timeout. The rest of the set was back and forth, but Little Rock held on to win its first set of the season by six.
The fourth set was all Little Rock as the Trojans took the frame with an 11-point win. Avram put down a set-high six kills as the Trojans hit a match-high .500 during the frame. Little Rock had four blocks for the set compared to the Montana's zero.
The decisive fifth set started on a good note for the Trojans as Aubrey Wilson got an ace to begin the frame. However, Montana took control as it got out to a 5-1 lead with four straight points. The Trojans stayed within four points until an attack error gave the Grizzlies set point at 14-9. Little Rock earned two straight points, but a final Trojan attack error ended the match.
Aubrey Wilson recorded her first double-double as a Trojan with 40 assists and 13 digs. Carolee Dillard and Lindberg each tallied 10 kills while Dillard recorded eight block assists. Sydnee Martin came up with 16 digs while tallying three aces.
The Trojans will return to action against tournament host SMU on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
Georgia Southern Falls to No. 19 North Carolina in Season Opener
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – Taylor Fricano, Julia Scoles and Taylor Treacy each recorded eight kills, and No. 19 North Carolina hit .303 as a team to take a 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-15) season-opening volleyball victory over Georgia Southern Friday evening in the Penn State Classic.
Katie Bange tallied nine kills, 12 assists and two blocks to lead the Eagles (0-1), and Lauren Reichard collected nine kills and a block. Stephanie Spencer posted eight kills and five digs, and Alex Beecher finished with 19 digs.
Abigail Curry had a match-high 28 assists for the Tar Heels (1-0), and Sheila Doyle posted 18 digs. Fricano added five blocks and hit .636 in the match.
The Story
The Tar Heels had 11.5 team blocks and held Georgia Southern to .093 hitting as a team. North Carolina never trailed in the first set while opening a 1-0 lead in the match.
The Eagles scored the first three points of the second set before the Tar Heels rattled off six in a row. North Carolina went on to open a six-point lead, but the Eagles cut the margin to 20-17 on a kill by Reichard. The Eagles were down 23-20 but committed a serving error to make it set point, and after Megan Chevalier logged a kill for Georgia Southern, Taylor Leath ended the set with a kill for the Tar Heels.
North Carolina never trailed in the third set and broke it open with an 8-3 run, keyed by two Treacy kills, midway through the frame.
Quotable from head coach Dustin Wood
"It was an up and down night. We came out with a lot of energy, but we served really soft the first set and they kept us off balance defensively. We served much more aggressively in the second set and played with them most of the set but had a few mental errors that cost us."
"I was happy the way we competed for half the match, but if we can clean up the other half we are going to be well on our way of doing something special."
"We're looking forward to the opportunity tomorrow to play Penn State and compete and then face a Big 12 opponent in West Virginia. We are putting our kids in great opportunities and looking forward to what the season will bring us bring us."
Next Up
The Eagles continue play in the Penn State Classic, when they take on host Penn State, which is ranked ninth in the country, at 10 a.m. Georgia finishes the weekend by playing West Virginia Saturday a 4:30 p.m.
GEORGIA STATE SPLITS MATCHES ON DAY ONE OF JMU INVITATIONAL
HARRISONBURG, Va. – Georgia State rolled in its season opener with a 3-0 sweep of Holy Cross on Friday. Katelyn Rawls, Eliza Zachary, Kristina Stinson, and Sarah Renner sparked a dominant performance in the tournament’s opening match. The Panthers then battled stout tournament host James Madison in front of a hostile crowd Friday night. GSU won the first set 25-22, but the Dukes strung together three straight sets of 25-23, 28-26 and 25-15 to take the match.
Match 1: GSU 3, Holy Cross 0
Georgia State jumped out to 7-3 lead early in the first set with Katelyn Rawls’ two kills. Holy Cross hung tough throughout the first set and made it 12-10 after Mandy Sifferlen’s fourth kill. The first set went back and forth and was all square at 15. Sarah Renner came up huge with 16 assists in the first set.
Katie Creger’s second kill tied up the first set at 24 and the Panthers went on to take the first set 26-24 on Rawls’ seventh kill. Eliza Zachary got off to a fast start in the second set with three kills amounting to a 7-3 lead. GSU carried the momentum throughout the second as Stinson and Renner continued their strong play.
Holy Cross called time after a service error that gave the Panthers an 18-13 lead in the second. From there, Georgia State did not look back and took the set 25-21 on Zachary’s ninth kill, seven of which came in the second set.
GSU cut Holy Cross’ third set lead to 4-3 on Rawls’ match-leading 11th kill. The Panthers bounced back from a slow start in the third to take an 8-7 lead on Creger’s second block of the match. Stinson strung together back-to-back kills to give Georgia State an 18-10 lead. Crystal Lee got in on the action with a kill from Jocelyn Mahayag to nearly double up the Crusaders 21-11 late in the third.
Holy Cross went on an 8-1 run to cut the lead to 22-19 before Georgia State took the set and match 25-21 on Anna Rantala’s second kill. Eight different players made their debuts in the Panthers’ season opener including all five freshmen. Celeste Friesen led the team in digs with 16 for the match.
Match 2: JMU 3, GSU 1
In the first set, the pace escalated quickly as the Dukes and Panthers went back and forth. Anna Rantala’s second kill of the match tied it up at 4. The beginning of the first set saw several ties and lead changes including Kristina Stinson’s first kill that made it 9-8. Katelyn Rawls picked up right where she left off earlier in the day with 12 kills for the match.
It was Zachary’s first kill off of Sarah Renner’s eighth assist that forced JMU to call timeout at 15-12. Zachary was right back at it with another kill to put Georgia State ahead 17-13. The Dukes impressively battled their way to a 20-19 deficit forcing head coach Sally Polhamus to call time. GSU responded nicely and would go on to win the first set 25-22 on Rawls’ sixth kill.
The Panthers grabbed an early 5-3 lead in the second set after Jocelyn Mahayag’s ace. GSU continued to build on its momentum from set one and led 13-9. Janey Goodman’s six kills kept the Dukes in it. Down 15-14, Georgia State hung tough and cut the JMU lead to two on an Eliza Zachary kill. Crystal Lee and Katie Creger registered a block to tie the set at 19.
GSU responded quickly after trailing 23-21, but Goodman’s kill gave the Dukes the set to tie the match 1-1. Georgia State's Sarah Renner and the Dukes’ Sarah Martin combined for 38 assists through two sets. Georgia State jumped out to a 6-4 lead on Zachary’s fifth kill. Martin’s attack error left the match tied at 9 until Goodman’s 11th kill. Friesen and Zachary's nifty kills cut the Dukes' lead to 13-12 in the third.
Rawls’ 11th kill of the match gave Georgia State a 17-15 lead before a JMU timeout. The Dukes battled back to go up 22-20 on an ace from Martin. The Panthers rattled off three consecutive points to go up 23-20 on Rawls’ 12th kill from Friesen. The teams would go back and forth, taking the set to 26 all after a service error. The Dukes grabbed the third set 28-26 on a couple Panther errors.
The Dukes took a 6-5 lead in the fourth after Creger’s second kill. JMU stretched its lead to 10-6 and the hosts kept its distance for the rest of the set. JMU road the coattails of Goodman and Gail to a strong finish. Goodman’s match-leading 17th kill closed it out for JMU at 25-15.
Georgia State will look to bounce back on Saturday morning at 11:00 am versus North Carolina Central.
JAG VOLLEYBALL OPENS 2016 SEASON WITH PAIR OF WINS
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The University of South Alabama volleyball team opened the 2016 season with a pair of wins at the Marriott Invitational at Pete Hanna Center on Friday.
South Alabama (2-0) defeated Indiana State 3-2 (25-23, 21-25, 25-20,18-25, 15-9) in the tournament's first match of the day. The Jags then knocked off Nicholls State in straight sets (25-19, 25-16, 25-19) in an afternoon contest.
"Overall I am pleased with our effort as a team," USA head coach Amy Hendrichovsky said. "I felt like we brought really good energy and a great mindset into the games today. We have been discussing how we wanted to play and how we wanted to look, and the team did a great job following the game plan."
South Alabama will face Samford at 7 p.m. Saturday to close the Marriott Invitational. Live streaming and live stats for the match will be available at SamfordSports.com.
"We're focusing on improving every day," Hendrichovsky said. "We definitely have things we need to improve on from today – some connection and adjusting to different tempos and offenses on the other side of the net – but I think naturally the more we play the better we're going to get. I would like to see us really focus on keeping our opponents' hitting percentage low and focusing on that attack defensively, and then executing on our side of the floor offensively."
USA 3, Indiana State 2
South Alabama earned a 3-2 win in five sets over Indiana State in its season opener Friday morning. Freshman Iva Durdanovic recorded a double-double in the first match of her Jaguar career, finishing with 11 kills and 12 digs to go along with two blocks – one solo and one block assist.
Mechell Daniel recorded 15 kills and hit .441 in the match, while Sarah Richardson added 11 kills and four block assists along with a .500 hitting percentage. Kellyn Reeves recorded 29 assists, as well as eight digs and one kill, while Ashlyn Roberts added 19 assists and five digs.
South Alabama finished with 11 service aces, led by Richardson with six and Abby Baker with three.
The Jaguars never trailed in taking their opening set of the 2016 season, which they won 25-23, aided by a stretch of five straight points that gave them a 6-1 lead early in the set. Daniel recorded two kills during that span, while Kristina Alabastro and Kelley Hartman added one kill apiece. USA pushed its advantage to 19-10 later in set one with another five-point rally that was highlighted by kills from Daniel, Alabastro and Reeves. A kill by Durdanovic sealed the first-set win.
USA recorded 18 kills in set one, along with 24 of its total 62 digs in the match. Daniel finished with seven kills and hit .583 in the first set to pace the Jaguars.
Indiana State answered with a 25-21 win in set two to even the match at one set apiece. USA battled back from a five-point deficit late, trailing 21-16 at one point, to cut the ISU lead to just two at 22-20 before the Sycamores scored three of the final four points in the set to even the match.
The Jags responded with a 25-20 win in set three to take a 2-1 advantage. USA took its biggest lead of the set – four points – following a service ace by Richardson which put the Jaguars ahead 11-7. ISU battled back to cut the USA advantage to 20-19 later in the set. But South Alabama answered by scoring five of the final six points, which was highlighted by two kills from Durdanovic, one kill from Richardson and a service ace by Baker. South Alabama posted a .429 team hitting percentage in set three along with 14 kills.
The Sycamores forced the fifth and deciding set after a 25-18 win in set four. ISU built a seven-point advantage midway through the fourth set for a 16-9 lead. USA pulled to within three points at 17-14, but outscored the Jags 8-4 down the stretch to clinch the set.
South Alabama scored four straight points to close the fifth set, with a service ace by Richardson as the final point in a 15-9 decision, and clinch its first win of the season.
"They (Indiana State) had two pretty high-efficiency hitters," Hendrichovsky said. "We had to match their efficiency and had a hard time stopping them, but in the sets that we won we really went after them with our serve. For our team to go into the fifth set and be aggressive with our serve is pretty fearless of them, and that was the difference in winning that set. We got a pretty early lead in that fifth set, and it really made a difference from our serve."
USA 3, Nicholls State 0
The Jaguars improved to 2-0 on the season with a win in straight sets over Nicholls State.
With the score tied 10-10, South Alabama reeled off four consecutive points, and went on to score six of the next seven points to push its advantage to 16-11. NSU rallied to cut the Jaguar lead to one point at 19-18, but USA responded with four straight points – on a pair of service aces by Arissa Chappell and kills from Daniel and Nikki Gittens – to extend its lead to 23-18. The Jags then closed out the first set at 25-19 on a kill by Gittens and a Colonel attack error.
South Alabama scored nine of the first 13 points in the second set to take a 9-4 lead, and pushed its advantage to seven points with a 15-8 lead following a service ace by Ashlyn Roberts. The Jags then took a nine-point lead later in the set following consecutive kills by Kelley Hartman for a 23-14 advantage. Consecutive errors by NSU – one service error and one attack error – following consecutive attack errors by USA closed the set at 25-16.
USA clinched its second win in as many contests with a 25-19 win in set three. NSU built a 6-2 lead early in the set, but the Jaguars responded with three straight points to cut the Colonel lead to 6-5. USA battled to tie the score 8-8, and later in the set at 15-15. The Jaguars then rallied to score the next six points, highlighted by a pair of kills from Alabastro and a kill from Daniel, to build a 21-15 advantage. NSU cut the Jag lead to 24-19, but an attack error on the ensuing play clinched the match for South Alabama.
Alabastro led the Jaguars with 10 kills and hit .450 along with four block assists and three digs. Daniel recorded eight kills, and Gittens finished with six kills. Roberts and Reeves finished with 17 assists apiece, and Baker led the squad with 13 digs.
Cougars Slip by Ragin' Cajuns in Season Opener
HOUSTON – Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Volleyball was edged by Houston in four sets in the 2016 season opener on Friday at the Marriott Houston Westchase Classic held in Sharp Gym on the Houston Baptist campus.
After dropping the first set, the Cougars (1-0) rallied for a 3-1 (23-25, 25-16, 26-24, 25-19) triumph.
The Ragin' Cajuns (0-1) pulled into a 24-all tie in the third set giving the squad an opportunity to regain control of the match. Houston used a kill and a Louisiana attack error to grab hold of the lead.
The Cougars' final push in the fourth set was a 5-1 run which erased an 11-8 deficit. Chanelle Gardner pulled the Ragin' Cajuns into a 13-all tie, but back-to-back tallies gave UH an advantage it carried out until match point was recorded.
The Ragin' Cajuns conclude play in the Marriott Houston Westchase Classic on Saturday facing host-Houston Baptist at 12 p.m., followed by a 4 p.m. contest with Weber State
The two teams played a close match throughout. UH held a slim lead in kills (49-43), blocks (8-7), digs (63-59) and points (63-58). There were a total of 40 ties and 19 lead changes.
"We didn't hold back," head coach Heather Mazeitis-Fontenot remarked. "There were a lot of agressive hitting errors, but we served agressive and ran a fast offense. Live by the sword; die by the sword.
"Very proud of this team and their defensive effort today," Mazeitis-Fontenot added. "We have a few kinks to work out, but overall it was a promising start."
Gardner recorded a match-high 13 kills to lead a trio of Ragin' Cajuns in double digits that also included Chloe Cordell (11) and Stacey Reilly (10).
Gardner picked up four blocks, increasing her career total to 291 which moves her past Mandi Gavin (290) for second place in the rally scoring era. Cordell turned in a double-double, adding a career-high 12 digs to her stat line.
Sydney Davis' 20 digs extended her active streak of matches in double figures to 11, dating back to the 2015 season. Katherine Young, her high school teammate who joined the Ragin' Cajuns this season after transferring from Radford, served up three of Louisiana's eight service aces.
Houston's offense was paced by 11 kills from Brianna Lynch and 10 kills from Megan Duncan. Libero Katie Carbo scooped a match-high 28 digs.
Louisiana was the victor of a back-and-forth opening set that saw 17 ties and 10 lead changes. The largest lead for either team was three points by Houston at 13-10 and the Ragin' Cajuns quickly erased the deficit after a Cougars' ball-handling error, ace by Young and kill from Gardner.
The Gardner-Young combination pulled the Ragin' Cajuns out of their last deficit of the set. Trailing 22-21, a kill from Gardner drew a tie and an ace from Young provided a lead.
Houston drew even momentarily after a kill from Shelby Harper forged a 23-all tie, but Reilly stepped up with a kill and an ace to land Louisiana the 25-23 win.
The Cougars hit their match-best .367 in the second set to begin the rally. It was a while before they would shake off the Ragin' Cajuns, though, needing a 7-2 run to open a 16-10 edge near the midway point of the frame.
Friday's contest marked the second straight year that Louisiana and Houston met in the season opener. The two squads squared off in the 2015 opener at the Texas Tech Invitational in Lubbock, Texas.
Warhawks Fall to Middle Tennessee
Monroe, La. – The ULM volleyball team opened its season Friday afternoon with a 3-0 loss to Middle Tennessee State University in the opening match of the Tennessee Invitational.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Warhawks had a rocky start in set one as the Blue Raiders captured the momentum right away and created as much as a nine-point deficit that ULM struggled to close.
Set two saw ULM come the closest to swiping a set from Middle Tennessee as the Warhawks tied the score at 19. Despite the push from the Warhawks, MTSU regained the lead and closed the set 25-21.
In set three, the Warhawks continued to struggle, but with Hope Pawlik at the service line the Warhawks made a six-point run in attempt to close the scoring gap. Despite the effort from ULM, Middle Tennessee picked up right where they left off with a 3-1 run to close out the match.
FROM COACH HILTZ
"We did some things very well. There were several things that clearly need work. The goal now is to continue to do those things we did well while improving on the areas that need it. Overall, there were too many areas that weren't smooth so we didn't get the outcome on the scoreboard we wanted. That being said, the team stayed very positive throughout and we fought back from big deficits several times. That is encouraging for me as we move forward."
TEXAS STATE VOLLEYBALL TEAM DROPS 3-0 DECISION TO NO. 15 OHIO STATE
DENTON, Texas – The Texas State volleyball team opened the 2016 season falling 3-0 (25-16, 25-15, 25-14) against No. 15-ranked Ohio State in the first round of the North Texas Challenge on Friday afternoon at the Mean Green Volleyball Center.
The Bobcats were competitive early in the match when they battled to within 7-5 in the opening set on a block by Lauren Kirch and Emily Shelton. The Buckeyes answered with a 6-1 rally to take a 13-6 lead.
Texas State came back and pulled to within 15-11 after Shelton set up Madison Daigle for a kill and Kelsey Weynand for another kill. But, Ohio State opened up a 20-12 lead before going to win the opening set by a score of 25-16.
In the second game, the Buckeyes jumped out to an early 9-4 lead and never looked back. Ohio State outhit the Bobcats (.542-.083) as Texas State fell 25-15 in the second set.
The third set began in similar fashion as the first set when both teams battled back and forth. Weynand registered a kill and forced OSU into an attacking error while Jaliyah Bolden added another kill to tie the score at 3-3. After Ohio State opened up a 6-3 lead, Texas State answered with a couple of points of its own when Erin Hoppe set up Kirch for a kill and forced an attacking error to pull the Bobcats back to within 7-6. However, the Buckeyes took control with an 8-4 run and went on to win the final set 25-14.
Weynand led Texas State with eight kills and had a .312 hitting percentage. Audrey Appold had 14 kills after recording five in each of the first two sets, and had a .385 attacking clip to lead the Buckeyes.
Texas State will look to win a pair of matches on Saturday when the Bobcats face the host school, North Texas, at 11 a.m. after the Mean Green split a pair of matches with a five-set win over Nevada and a three-set loss against the Buckeyes.
The Bobcats close out the tournament against Nevada at 4 p.m. Texas State returns home to host Baylor in their first home match of the season at Strahan Coliseum on Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. The Bobcats also host the Creeds and Crest Classic on Sept. 2-3.
Mavs outlast Kats in five-set thriller
ARLINGTON, Texas - UT Arlington was able to overcome a huge momentum swing in taking a five-set thriller on Opening Night at College Park Center on Friday.
The Mavericks (1-0) downed Sam Houston State (0-1) in the season opener despite leading 2-0 and seemingly cruising to a sweep. However, a close loss in Set 3 and a 25-18 set back in Set 4 sent things to the deciding final set.
UTA was able to overcome the adversity and pulled away in the fifth, 15-11, to claim its sixth consecutive season opener and improve to 5-0 in College Park Center openers. Qiana Canete, leading the team with 13 double-doubles in 2015, started her campaign with a team-high 15 kills and a match-high 27 digs on the way to her first of the year.
After making quick work of the opening set, 25-18, UT Arlington found itself in a fight with the Bearkats in the second. SHSU opened up a 15-10 lead before UTA put together a charge. The Mavs reeled off six points in a row to take the lead, and after going back-and-forth, took five of the final seven sets to claim a Set 2 win (25-22).
Sam Houston State battled back to win sets three and four and was deadlocked at 10-10 in the decider. UTA reeled off five of the game's final six points to claim the win.
The Mavericks earned their 50th all-time win over the Bearkats, improving to 50-20 all-time in the former match up of Southland Conference foes. It was the first meeting between the teams since UTA had left the conference in 2011.
Up Next
UT Arlington continues play in the Maverick Invitational as Day 2 action gets underway. The Mavs take on Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 1:30 p.m. and concludes the weekend against Sacramento State at 7 p.m. Sacramento State swept Pine Bluff 3-0 in the tournament's first match.
Players of the Match
Joining Canete in the double-digit kill list, Zhanelle Geathers powered 14 kills with a .226 attack percentage, while Kaitlyn Granger provided 12 kills. Taylor Murata, in her first collegiate game, finished with 23 digs.
Key Stats
UTA hit .194 compared to SHSU's .153. UTA had 11.0 blocks, while Sam Houston State had just 7.0. The Bearkats featured three with a double-double. Jordyn Vaughn had a team-high 22 kills with 14 digs, while Brooke White had 16 kills to go with 13 digs. Setter Michelle Griffith had 30 assists and 12 digs.
Milestone Watch
UTA coach Diane Seymour earned win No. 195 and is just five wins away from being only the second coach in Maverick history with 200 wins (Mary Ridgway, 263).
Troy Volleyball Opens Season with Comeback Win Over USC Upstate
TROY, Alabama - The Troy volleyball began its season with a 3-2 comeback victory over USC Upstate at Brooks Gymnasium in Johnson City, Tenn.
After dropping the first two sets, Troy (1-0) outscored USC Upstate (0-1) 65-37 in the final three sets and averaged a .255 hit percentage in that time frame.
TURNING POINT
The Trojans won the third set 25-14, which set the tone for the fourth and fifth sets, which Troy handled easily, 25-16 and 15-7 respectively.
STAT OF THE MATCH
Troy recorded 10 blocks in the win, with two solo blocks coming from Leah Causey and one solo block coming from freshman Belle Waldrop. Sara Landis chipped in with three block assists.
QUOTABLE
"I'm really proud of our team, after settling in and playing the way we've been working all preseason," Sonny Kirkpatrick said. "It was really fun to watch once we got going, but it was a really good team win today."
PLAYER OF THE MATCH
Reina Terry recorded her 15th career double-double recording 35 assists and 11 digs.
UP NEXT
The Trojans will continue play at the DoubleTree Hotel Buccaneer Challenge with back-to-back matches against Austin Peay and ETSU on Saturday. Troy will face Austin Peay at 8:30 a.m., CT before playing host ETSU at 11 a.m.