Sunday, November 2, 2014
Schaedig’s Record-Setting Day Helps A-State Volleyball Top ULL in Five Sets
LAFAYETTE, La. (11/2/14) – Sophomore libero Markie Schaedig registered an Arkansas State rally scoring record 42 digs to help the A-State volleyball team earn its fourth consecutive victory in a hard-fought 3-2 (25-17, 22-25, 22-25, 25-12, 15-13) win over Louisiana-Lafayette Sunday afternoon at the Earl K. Long Gym in Lafayette, La.
After the two squads split the first four sets, A-State (15-8, 10-4) and Louisiana-Lafayette (16-11, 5-10) battled to a 6-6 tie in the fifth and deciding set, but the Red Wolves used a 5-1 run, capped by a Drew Jones and Jessica Uke block, to take an 11-7 advantage. The Ragin’ Cajuns fought back with two points, but A-State was able to take a 14-10 lead after a Kariana Castanon-Hill kill. ULL won the next three points to force an A-State timeout, but a ball-handling error on the Ragin’ Cajuns gave the Red Wolves a 15-13 set victory and 3-2 match win.
“We played great games in sets one and four and were able to gut out the fifth set for the win,” A-State volleyball coach David Rehr said. “It’s always tough to come here and get a win, but we were able to get to 10 wins in conference, which is huge. Hopefully we can carry this momentum into next week.”
Offensively, Uke led the team with 15 kills on a .500 hitting percentage, while Jones added 12 kills. Mallory Warrington registered her team-leading 17th double-double by handing out 47 assists and tallying the second most digs on the team with 14. A-State registered a season-high 11 service aces with Jessica Heuertz tying the team’s season high with four, while Schaedig added three of her own.
Schaedig’s 42 digs were also tied for the second most in Sun Belt Conference history in the rally scoring era and comes just nine days after her 41 digs against Appalachian State set the A-State rally scoring record. As a team the Red Wolves recorded their second-highest block total of the season with 13 as Kelsey Reis and Castanon-Hill tied for the team high with six blocks each.
“We heard that ULL was going to try and hit away from Markie, but obviously she was all over the place and still got her numbers,” Rehr added. “She did a great job getting us into system. She’s a great player and we’ve always known that but she’s really stepped up to the plate and played like a star the past couple of weeks.”
The Red Wolves started the match by jumping out to a 10-5 lead in the first set after a block from Warrington and Reis. The Ragin’ Cajuns got within three points at 15-12, but never got any closer as A-State closed the set on a 10-5 run, capped by a Reis kill, for a 25-17 victory. ULL responded in the second set by taking a 20-14 lead, but A-State battled back within one point at 23-22. Louisiana-Lafayette was able to secure the next two points for a 25-22 second set victory.
With the match tied 1-1, ULL jumped out a 10-5 lead in the third set to force an A-State timeout. The Red Wolves fought hard to eventually take an 18-17 on a Reis block, but ULL earned the next two points and went on to win the set 25-22 for a 2-1 edge in the match. A-State trailed early in the fourth set 4-3, but took the lead back at 5-4 and ended the set on a 22-8 run for a 25-12 set victory that tied the match at 2-2.
The Red Wolves return to action Friday, Nov. 7 when they travel to Atlanta, Ga., to take on Georgia State. First serve from the GSU Sports Arena is set for 5 p.m., and fans can keep up with the entire match’s action by viewing live stats at AStateRedWolves.com and by following @AStateGameday on Twitter. For the latest on the A-State volleyball team follow the squad on Twitter (@stAteVolleyball).
Cajuns Drop Five-Setter To Red Wolves
LAFAYETTE, La. – The Ragin’ Cajuns staked themselves to a 2-1 lead, but could not hold off Arkansas State on Sunday afternoon, falling 3-2 (25-17, 22-25, 22-25, 25-12, 15-13) at Earl K. Long Gym.
Chanelle Gardner picked up her first career double-double for the Cajuns (16-11, 5-10 SBC), and Kae Kae Lockhart led UL in kills for the first time this season; however, the Cajuns hit just .093 for the match while surrendering 11 service aces and being outblocked 13-11 by a Red Wolves’ (15-8, 10-4 SBC) team who stayed in the upper half of the league standings with the win.
Louisiana dropped the first set, but rebounded to snag each of the next two sets and take a 2-1 lead in the match. But the Cajuns struggled in the fourth set, hitting -.091 with just six kills as the Red Wolves managed to knot the match at two sets apiece. The Cajuns had to play catch-up in the final set, but nearly pulled off the comeback behind a late rally.
The Cajuns fought off three straight match-point tries after being down 14-10 in the fifth, spurred by stellar back-row play from Gardner and Hole, who combined for 17 digs in the final set alone. UL pulled to within a point on consecutive A-State attack errors before a bad set finished off the match.
Gardner finished with 11 kills and 12 digs, surpassing her previous career high of five digs. Hole and Stacey Reilly each added another double-doubles of their own, Hole with with 39 assists and a team-high 24 digs, and Reilly with 11 kills and 19 digs. The trio was three of five Cajuns in double-figure digs, joined by Caitlyn Auxilien’s 18 and Sara Mossakowski’s 15.
Lockhart put up her 12 kills on 28 swings, hitting a solid .250 for the match with five blocks.
A-State had its best offensive set of the afternoon in the opener, hitting .308 with 17 kills on its way to a 25-17 win. But the Cajuns turned things around in the second set, getting five kills from Gardner and rejecting six A-State shots while never trailing in the set to tie the match.
Lockhart came alive in the third set, scoring four kills with a block in helping the Cajuns hold the Red Wolves to just .024 hitting. The Cajuns found themselves tied at 18-18 late in the set before consecutive A-State miscues gave them a two-point advantage. Three points later, Sara Mossakowski scored a kill from the left side to get the Cajuns to a set-point try. The Red Wolves fought off one try, but surrendered the set, 25-22, on an attack error to give UL a 2-1 lead in the match.
The fourth set was all Arkansas State from the beginning as the Red Wolves scored 21 of the first 30 points of the match. They hit just .182 in the set, but were aided by enough Cajun miscues to force the deciding fifth set after a 25-12 win.
Louisiana will have a pair of chances to get back into the win column next weekend on the road when it takes on South Alabama and Troy, beginning Friday in Mobile, Ala.
Kohl, Mahoney Lead Bobcats Past Jaguars, 3-1
MOBILE, Ala. – Texas State officially clinched a berth in the Sun Belt Conference Championship Tournament with a 3-1 victory over South Alabama Sunday afternoon (25-22, 25-18, 22-25, 25-19). Freshman Jordan Kohl led the Bobcats and all players with 16 kills on a .364 hitting percentage while senior setter Caylin Mahoney came up one kill short of a triple-double in just her second match back.
Mahoney gave out 41 assists with 10 digs and nine kills. She was also a terror at the net with seven blocks. Lauren Kirch led the Bobcats in blocks with eight to help Texas State put down a season-high 14 blocks in the match. Amanda Watkins added five blocks while Kohl tallied four more.
On the offensive side, Alexandra Simms also finished with double-digit kills with 10 kills and no errors for an outstanding .556 hitting percentage. Mahoney’s nine kills also came without an error for a .500 percentage to help the Bobcats hit .257 as a squad compared to South Alabama’s .164. In fact, the Texas State defense held South Alabama to a mere .034 percentage in the deciding fourth set.
Shelby Vas Matt led the team in digs with 14 while Sierra Smith and Mahoney each had 10 each. Brenna Lyles and Keeley Davis added seven apiece. In service, Vas Matt and Kirch served up two aces each while Mahoney added one for five Texas State aces to none for South Alabama.
Mahoney and Kohl led Texas State to a first set victory with 11 assists from the senior setter and six kills from the freshman. Davis added four kills in the opening frame while two other Bobcats had two kills each. Mahoney added seven digs in the set.
Both teams played an even set throughout the frame, but Texas State scored five consecutive points to close out the set, 25-22, and claim a 1-0 lead in the match.
The Bobcats took control in the second set, leading by as much as 19-9. The Jaguars were able to score six consecutive points to close the gap to 19-15, but it would not be enough to overcome four more kills from Kohl and three each from Vas Matt and Mahoney.
Texas State only committed four errors with 14 kills on just 28 attempts for a team hitting percentage of .357 in the second frame. South Alabama could only manage a .179 hitting percentage.
Out of the intermission, South Alabama put up a fight and was able to stay alive with a third-set victory, 25-22. The Bobcats, however, bounced back with a 25-19 victory in the fourth set. Texas State controlled the final set throughout to clinch the match and a tournament berth.
Texas State will get nearly a week off before the team’s next match, a rematch against Sun Belt Conference leading UALR on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Strahan Coliseum.
Gittens Records Career High, But Jags Fall 3-1 To Texas State
MOBILE, Ala. – Redshirt sophomore middle blocker Nikki Gittens recorded a career-best 13 kills and hit .455, but it wasn't enough as the University of South Alabama volleyball team fell 3-1 (22-25, 18-25, 25-22, 19-25) to Texas State Sunday afternoon at Jag Gym.
"Nikki has been a stabilizer for us this year and been a lead by example type of leader for us," South Alabama head coach Amy Hendrichovsky said. "We need her to continue to do that and continue to put up the numbers that she giving us. For Nikki, it's business for her when she walks into the gym every day."
The Jags (10-14, 5-9 SBC) will host Louisiana-Lafayette on Friday, Nov. 7 with first serve versus the Ragin' Cajuns set for 6 p.m. at Jag Gym. USA will then head out on the road to take on Texas-Arlington on Sunday, Nov. 9. First serve versus the Mavericks is set for noon at the College Park Center.
The loss for South Alabama was the sixth in the last seven matches. The Jags are now 1-5 at home this season.
"We have to stay consistent in our matches and right now it's just a rollercoaster of play for us," Hendrichovsky said. "We do some really good things out on the court and make some great plays with a lot of effort, but then we have some negative things happen to us and lose our focus and lose a couple of plays, which become easy points for our opponents. Our team gave great effort today and fought out there, and I applaud them for that, but we just have to be more consistent out on the court."
Along with Gittens, sophomore outside hitter Jessica Lewis also had 13 kills, while fellow sophomore Mechell Daniel led South Alabama offensively with 14 kills. Middle blocker Symone Stephenson had five block assists for the Jags in the loss, while freshman setter Emma Anderson posted her first career double-double with 37 assists and 16 digs. Jenna Hassell also ended the match with 15 digs, while Abby Baker added 12 digs of her own.
Texas State improved to 17-10 overall and 12-3 in the Sun Belt with the win. The key stat of the match for the Bobcats was at the net where they posted 26 total blocks – two solo and 24 assists – compared to just 14 block assists for South Alabama. Lauren Kirch led TSU in that category with eight total blocks – one solo and seven assists. Caylin Mahoney was close behind her with seven blocks. Amanda Watkins had five block assist of her own.
Offensively, Jordan Kohl led all players with 16 kills. Alexandra Simms had 10 kills and Mahoney just missed a triple-double for Texas State with nine kills, 41 assists and 10 digs to go along with her strong performance at the net.
Shelby Vas Matt paced the club with 14 digs and Sierra Smith added 10 of her own.
SET ONE: TEXAS STATE 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 22
The first set was close throughout as neither team was able to gain more than a two-point advantage on the other until the final margin. There were also 17 ties in the frame.
South Alabama held a 22-20 lead after back-to-back attack errors from the Bobcats, but Keeley Davis recorded her fourth kill of the frame to ignite a 5-0 spurt for Texas State. USA followed the Davis kill with a pair of attack errors. Kohl then put TSU one point away from taking the early lead in the match with her sixth kill of the afternoon. The Jaguars then committed another attack error to give Texas State the 25-20 opening-set victory.
The Bobcats had 16 kills and hit .262 in the first set, while South Alabama had 12 kills and hit .132 in the frame.
Lewis and Daniel paced the Jags with four kills each.
SET TWO: TEXA STATE 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 18
The Bobcats got off to a quick start in the second set, beginning the frame on a 4-0 run. South Alabama battled back and trimmed the deficit to 9-7 following a kill by Lewis and a bad set by Texas State, but the Bobcats answered back quickly with a 10-2 over the next 12 points to take a 10-point advantage. Kohl capped off the scoring and put TSU up 19-9 with a kill of her own.
USA responded back with a run of six unanswered points and cut the deficit to 19-15. Gittens began the scoring for the Jags with a kill and Daniel then followed with a pair of kills. The Bobcats then committed three consecutive attack errors to bring USA within four.
That was as close as South Alabama would get though as the Bobcats regained control and went on to take a two sets to none lead in the match with the 25-18 second-set victory.
Once again, Texas State had a strong offensive showing, recording a .357 hitting percentage in the frame.
SET THREE: SOUTH ALABAMA 25, TEXAS STATE 22
Leading 10-9 in the third set, South Alabama was able to push across three straight points and extend its lead out to 13-9, but the Bobcats kept battling and tied the frame back up at 17-17 on a kill by Watkins.
USA would again push its lead out to two (20-18) after a kill by Daniel.
Still trailing by two, two points later, Texas State came out of a time out and quickly tied the set back up at 21-21 after a kill and a block by Kirch.
This time tough, South Alabama had the answer and answered back with four of the next five points to take the set. Coming out of a time out of its own, Lewis slammed home two kills of her own for USA and Stephenson later clinched the set with a kill of her own to give the Jaguars the 25-22 victory.
Lewis and Gittens each had five kills apiece in the set for the Jags, while Daniel also added four of her own. As a team, USA posted a .303 hitting percentage in the set.
SET FOUR: TEXAS STATE 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 19
Riding the momentum of the set victory, South Alabama recorded the first three points of the fourth set, but Texas State answered right back by picking up seven of the next nine points to take the lead. Simms and Kohl each had a kill during the run, while Mahoney had a kill and a solo block for the Bobcats.
USA tied the set backup at 8-8 on block assists by Lewis and Stephenson, but Texas State came back and pushed across three points to take the lead for good.
Later leading by two at 14-12, the Bobcats broke things open with a 6-1 run and took a 20-13 lead after a kill by Vas Matt.
Simms sealed the 25-19 fourth set win and the match with her 10th kill of the match.
NOTES: South Alabama drops to 1-3 in the all-time series versus Texas State, dropping both meetings this season to the Bobcats. The 13 kills for Jaguar middle blocker Nikki Gittens against Texas State were a new career-best. With her 15 digs versus the Bobcats, senior libero is now just 35 digs away from tying former Jag Keturah Carter for first place on USA's career list. The loss to Texas State marked the sixth in the last seven matches for South Alabama. After defeating Georgia State in its home opener, South Alabama has now dropped its last five matches at Jag Gym.
Mountaineers Sweep Second-Place UT Arlington
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University volleyball defeated UT Arlington on Sunday afternoon in three sets with scores of 25-16, 25-21, 25-22.
The Mountaineers (18-6, 8-6 Sun Belt) gave the Mavericks (21-6, 11-4) their first sweep of the season and broke their eight-match winning streak on Sunday.
Appalachian started the first set with a kill from Jess Keller and continued to roll, taking a 7-4 lead. The Apps found kills from Keller and Lauren Gray to never let UT Arlington within more than two points and maintain a steady lead.
The Mountaineers scored six of the last nine points, finding four kills from Emily Corrigan to close out the first set with a score of 25-16 and lead the match 1-0.
App State took a 5-4 lead in the second, but the Mavs suddenly began to dominate, going on an 11-4 run to lead the Apps 15-10. Appalachian would not go away easy, taking a timeout to regain their composure and then coming out to score six-straight points and retake the lead.
The rest of the set would remain close, but the Apps would take it, thanks to points from Corrigan, Keller, Hailey Kerr and Caroline Wainright. The Apps won the second, 25-21 to lead the match 2-0.
The Mavericks got the early lead in the third set, finding four-straight points for a 9-5 lead. Appalachian then went on an 11-2 run to pull ahead 14-11 and force a UT Arlington timeout.
The Mountaineers continued to control the set leading by as much as six points, but the Mavericks slowly made their way back into the game, trailing by only two points with a 21-19 score.
Appalachian would not be shaken as they closed it out with a kill from Wainright, to win 25-22 and take the match 3-0.
Corrigan led the team with 19 kills, while Keller recorded 16 and Gray followed with 10 of her own.
Paige Brown remained the team's assist leader with 43 in the match, while Meghan Mahoney led the team on defense with a match-high 23 digs.
The Mavs were led by Qiana Canete's 11 kills and Caitlyn Cooney's 19 digs.
The Mountaineers hit .315 on the match, holding UT Arlington to a .211 hitting percentage. The Mavericks got the edge in blocks, tallying seven, while App had five.
Appalachian returns to action next weekend for home matches against Georgia Southern and Arkansas State.
Mavericks fall on the road at Appalachian State
BOONE, N.C. - UT Arlington fell 3-0 at Appalachian State on Sunday (25-16, 25-21, 25-22) at the George M. Holmes Convocation Center, snapping the Mavericks eight match win streak.
"They came out and outplayed us in every category," UT Arlington coach Diane Seymour said. "They passed better, served better, hit better and blocked better."
The loss puts UTA at 21-6 this season and 11-4 in the Sun Belt while Appalachian State improves to 18-6 overall and 8-6 in conference play.
Qiana Canete led the Mavs in kills as the freshman OH recorded 11 to go along with six digs.
Stacey Koch was key in UTA's offensive efforts as she notched ten kills and a hitting percentage of .280.
The defensive charge was led by Caitlyn Cooney who registered a team high 19 digs in the match.
"We were just a step behind on the court," Cooney said. "It wasn't any one, big thing that needs to change. Nobody really had a great game and we all have to play better and faster especially against Little Rock."
Cassidy Wheeler and Amanda Welsh both directed the Mavericks offense as the duo recorded 18 and 17 assists respectively.
"We were the only team they had to prepare for this week so that helped them come out and outplay us," Seymour added. "For us it's just onto the next match which just happens to be against a very good UALR team."
The Mavericks will return to action on Fri., Nov. 7 when look to extend a ten-match winning streak against UALR with the match slated to begin at 6:30 p.m.