Saturday, November 22, 2014
UALR Finshes Regular Season with Perfect 20-0 Conference Record
JONESBORO, Ark.— The UALR volleyball team won its 21st consecutive match and came away with the best conference record in Sun Belt history at 20-0 as the Trojans swept Arkansas State (25-20, 25-22, 25-23) on Saturday night.
Head coach Van Compton earned her 216th conference win, the most in Sun Belt history.
Senior Edina Begic ended the night with 21 kills, her highest in a three-set match this season. Begic’s 21 kills brings her career total to 2,096, the fourth-most in Sun Belt history and second-most in the rally- scoring era.
After getting off to a slow start by trailing 2-7, UALR found its rhythm and tied the set at 9-9. The Trojans never trailed afterward and eventually took a six point lead at 23-17. UALR took the first set by five points as Begic ended the first set with seven kills, while junior Sonja Milanovic contributed six of her own.
UALR once again got off to a slow start in the second set, trailing by seven at 4-11. The Trojans then tied the set up at 12 thanks to an 8-1 run. Arkansas State took another short lead at 17-14 before UALR came back to tie the set at 17. The Trojans then got their first lead of the set at 18-17, forcing a Red Wolves timeout. After battling with Arkansas State for the rest of the set, UALR ended the set with a service ace. Begic ended the second set with 14 total kills. UALR was able to win the set despite hitting .250 to Arkansas State’s .370.
UALR started the set with a 4-0 lead before Arkansas State went on a 5-1 run to tie things up at 5. After two more Arkansas State points, UALR took its first timeout of the set. The Trojans came out of the timeout with five straight points to lead 10-7. The Red Wolves would battle back to tie and eventually take a 17-13 lead. UALR then went on a 6-2 run to tie the match again at 20. The final points of the set became a real battle as both teams kept the frame tied. Tied at 23, UALR sealed the match with a kill by senior Adisa Hodzic and an Arkansas State attack error.
Sophomore Megan Mathis came up with 36 assists, her second-most in a three-set match this season.
Senior Capri Rino scooped her most digs in a three-set match this season with 20.
Junior Sonja Milanovic recorded her 15th double-double of the season with 11 kills and 12 digs.
Hodzic and sophomore Edina Selimovic ended the contest with five kills each while Selimovic had a team-high .273 attack percentage.
As a team, UALR had its most attempts and digs in a three-set match this season with 129 and 58, respectively.
UALR will now travel as the number one seed to San Marcos, Texas for the Sun Belt Conference Tournament and take on the eighth place South Alabama Jaguars in the first round match on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 27).
A-State Volleyball’s Nine-Match Winning Streak Snapped by UALR
JONESBORO, Ark. (11/22/14) – The Arkansas State volleyball team had its nine-match winning streak stopped Saturday night in the Convocation Center as the Red Wolves fell to in-state rival UALR 3-0 (20-25, 22-25, 23-25) in both teams’ regular-season finale.
A-State (20-9, 15-5) jumped out to a 7-2 lead on the Trojans (26-4, 20-0) early in the first set, but UALR went on an 8-2 run to take the lead at 10-9. The Red Wolves rallied to a 13-13 tie after a Kelsey Reis kill, but never regained the advantage as UALR went on to win the first set 25-20.
The second set began much like the first set with Arkansas State racing out to an early 11-4 lead, but the Trojans responded strongly with an 8-1 run to tie things up at 12-12. Drew Jones was able to stretch A-State’s advantage to three points at 17-14 with a kill, but a 4-0 UALR run gave the edge back to the Trojans 18-17. Another kill from Jones tied the set up again at 22-22, but a quick 3-0 UALR run gave the Trojans a 25-22 set win and 2-0 advantage in the match.
The Trojans began the third set on a 4-0 run, but a 7-1 A-State run put them on top 7-5. UALR battled back to earn a 12-8 advantage, but a 9-1 Red Wolves run, capped by a Jessica Uke kill, put A-State ahead by a score of 17-13. Arkansas State was able to cling to the lead until an UALR kill put the Trojans up 21-20. Sarah Kemp tied the set at 23-23, but a UALR kill and A-State attack error gave the set and match to the Trojans.
“I hate losing, it’s not something we’re getting accustomed to doing around here anymore so it’s a tough pill to swallow,” A-State volleyball coach David Rehr said. “I didn’t think that we were out of the match in any form or fashion and I thought we fought hard. There’s a reason why they are 26-4 and 20-0 in conference. Now we just have to see what happens in San Marcos at the conference tournament.”
Kemp and Jones paced the A-State offense with nine kills each, while Reis added seven on a team-high .400 hitting percentage. Mallory Warrington handed out 23 assists and had the second most digs on the squad with nine. Jones led A-State’s blocking attack with three block solos.
Markie Schaedig recorded 30 digs to give her 707 on the season, marking only the second time in school history an A-State player has registered over 700 digs in a season (748, Margie Kolat McGee, 1993) and the first time in the rally-scoring era that began in 2001. The 707 digs also give Schaedig the Sun Belt Conference record for digs in a single season in the rally-scoring era.
Kemp, A-State’s lone senior, was honored before the match with a framed jersey and action photo. She ended the regular season as A-State’s leader in kills with 371 (3.60 per set) and third on the team with 223 digs.
“Sarah’s really led us when she’s needed to,” Rehr said. “Something clicked for her this year and it wasn’t in preseason practice. The first match of the year she played and scored and the second match she scored again and has led us since then. We love what she’s done with us and this was her last chance to play at home, but it isn’t her last game with the conference tournament coming up.”
Arkansas State will be the third seed in next week’s conference tournament and will play Louisiana-Lafayette or Georgia State, depending on the result of ULL’s match against ULM Sunday afternoon. The 2014 Sun Belt Conference Tournament is scheduled to take place Nov. 27-29 at Strahan Coliseum in San Marcos, Texas. For the latest on the A-State volleyball team follow the squad on Twitter (@stAteVolleyball).
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Troy Volleyball Beats Rival South Alabama, Snaps Skid in Finale
MOBILE, Alabama – The Troy volleyball team defeated its in-state, Sun Belt rival South Alabama, 3-1 (25-19, 22-25, 25-20, 25-20), on Saturday night at Jaguar Gym. The win snapped an 18-match losing streak for Troy in what marked the Trojans’ season finale.
Troy (10-22, 2-18) got a career-high 20 kills from Symone Shaw who also hit .346 to lead the way for the Trojans. The sophomore had just two errors as Troy hit .250 as a team. Junior Blair Winston was also in double figures as she posted 14 kills.
The Trojans held South Alabama (12-18, 7-13) to just a .131 attack percentage, thanks in large part to 13.0 total team blocks. Senior Katie Feemster led the way with a career-high six blocks in her final match in a Trojan uniform. Senior Marija Zelenovic posted five blocks and junior Darby Griff had five as well, giving her 108 blocks this year, the sixth most in a single-season in Troy history.
Junior Ali Dowdall, who broke the Troy single-season digs record on Friday night, led the Trojans with 22 digs on Saturday night to give her exactly 600 on the season. Dowdall, who had 11 matches with 20-plus digs in 2014 and became the first Trojan to ever post 600 digs in a season.
Winston and Shaw had double-doubles for Troy as they posted 16 and 12 digs, respectively. Freshman setter Reina Terry nearly posted her second straight double-double as she had 43 assists and nine digs.
Unlike Friday night, when late runs in the latter sets hurt the Trojans in a loss at Georgia State, it was Troy that went on late runs to down the Jaguars on Saturday night.
After the teams split the first two sets, the match was still very much on the line with Troy up by just one, 19-18, late in the third set. But from there, the Trojans scored five straight, thanks in large part to three kills from Shaw, to take a commanding, 24-18, lead.
After going on to win the third set, the Trojans were in a tight one in the fourth set as well. Troy was up by one again, this time 20-19, and scored four straight points to take a 24-19 lead. After a Jaguar kill, Shaw put the match away for Troy with her 20th kill.
South Alabama was led by Jessica Lewis’ 12 kills, while Nikki Gittens posted 10 kills and a team-high .348 attack percentage.
Since moving to Division I in 1993, Troy now holds a 22-19 advantage over South Alabama, including a 10-9 mark in Mobile and an 11-6 mark under ninth-year head coach Sonny Kirkpatrick.
For more information on Troy Athletics, visit TroyTrojans.com. Fans can also find Troy on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube by searching for Troy Athletics.
Jaguars Fall 3-1 to Troy; Earn Berth in Sun Belt Conference Tourney
MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama volleyball dropped its regular-season finale, 3-1 (19-25, 25-22, 20-25, 20-25) to Troy Saturday evening at Jag Gym.
Despite the loss to the Trojans, South Alabama earned a berth in the league tournament earlier in the day when Georgia Southern was defeated in straight sets by Texas State. The Jaguars (12-18, 7-13 SBC) will be the eighth seed and take on top-seeded Arkansas-Little Rock in the first round on Thursday.
Following the match, South Alabama honored its two seniors – Jenna Hassell and Amber Wyatt.
Jessica Lewis led the Jags offensively with 12 kills and also recorded 13 digs in the loss as she posted her fourth double-double of the season. Fellow sophomore Mechell Daniel ended the night with 10 kills and a team-high 16 digs for the Chelmsford, England's 14th double-double of the season.
Nikki Gittens also finished the match in double figures with 10 kills and hit .348 in the match, while also leading the club at the net with seven block assists.
Troy (10-22, 2-18 SBC) snapped an 18-match losing streak with the win. Symone Shaw led the Trojans with a match-best 20 kills and hit .346 in the match to go along with 12 digs. Blair Winston chipped in with 14 kills and 16 digs of her own, while junior libero Ali Dowdall had 22 digs.
SET ONE: TROY 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 19
South Alabama led by three (7-4) early on in the opening set of the match after block assists from Jessica Lewis and Gittens and a solo block by Symone Stephenson.
Tied at 11-11, the Trojans took control of the set and rattled off a 7-2 run over the next nine points to take an 18-13 lead. Winston recorded two of her four kills in the set during Troy's run.
The Jaguars were able to fight off a pair of set points by the Trojans late in the set, but a ball-handling error by USA would seal the 25-19 win for Troy.
SET TWO: SOUTH ALABAMA 25, TROY 22
Leading by two (8-6) early on in the second set, Lewis ignite a 5-1 run with a pair of kills and the sophomore later capped off the scoring and put the Jaguars out in front 13-7 with another put away.
Two points later, the Trojans pushed across four-straight points to trim the deficit to 14-12 on a kill by Shaw – one of her six in the set.
Later in the set, South Alabama stretched its lead back out to seven (21-14) following a kill by Lewis, but the Trojans would not go away as they answered back with four more points. Troy kept chipping away at the Jaguar advantage over the next several points and cut the deficit to 23-22 on a USA attack error.
Coming out of a time out though, Stephenson registered a kill of her own and on the next point, the sophomore middle blocker teamed up with Mallory Moore to block a Trojan attack and even the match for South Alabama with the 25-22 victory.
SET THREE: TROY 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 20
Riding the momentum of the second-set win, South Alabama picked up the first three points of the third frame, but the Trojans would battle back.
Shaw tied the set back up at 7-7 and then three-points later, slammed home a pair of kills to give Troy its first lead.
Over the next several points, the Jaguars would fight back and tie the contest up on two occasions, the last coming at 15-15 on a kill by Lewis, but Troy quickly retook the lead with three-straight points.
USA kept battling and trimmed the deficit to 19-18 following a kill by Stephenson, but led by Shaw, the Trojans once again regained control and pushed across five unanswered points, three coming on kills by Shaw, to take a 24-18 lead.
South Alabama fought off two set points, but Troy eventually took the set, 25-20.
The Trojans posted a .375 hitting percentage in the frame, recording 19 kills on 40 attacks and committed just four errors.
SET FOUR: TROY 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 20
South Alabama led by as much as three during the first half of the final set, but with the Jags holding an 11-8 advantage, the Trojans pushed across five of the next six points to take the lead.
Later in the set, Gittens attempted to lead the Jags back as she recorded three-straight points and cut the deficit to 18-17 with a kill, but USA couldn't tie the contest back up. Over the next four points, South Alabama would have two more opportunities to pull things all square, but with the set at 20-19, Troy reeled off four-straight points to sit at set point (24-19) after a kill by Katie Feemster.
Shaw clinched the four-set win two points later with her 20th kill of the night to give Troy the 25-20 win.
NOTES: The match between South Alabama and Troy on Saturday night was the 63rd versus in the all-time series. With the loss, the Jaguars still hold a 39-24 advantage in the all-time series. With her 10 kills and 16 digs versus the Trojans, sophomore outside hitter Mechell Daniel recorded her 14th double-double of the season. Jessica Lewis ended the night with her fourth double-double of the season with 12 kills and 14 digs versus Troy. With Georgia Southern losing in straight sets to Texas State earlier in the day, South Alabama earned a berth in the Sun Belt Conference Championships. USA will be the eighth seed and take on top-seeded Arkansas-Little Rock in the first round.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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Texas State Soars Past Eagles in Sweep
STATESBORO, Ga. – With one of the most efficient performances of the season, Texas State swept Georgia Southern, 25-14, 25-15, 25-22, on the road in the last regular season match of the season Saturday. Now at 20-12 and 15-5 in the Sun Belt Conference, Texas State can claim the second seed in the SBC Championship Tournament with an Arkansas State loss to UALR. If Arkansas State wins, the Bobcats can only fall as far as the third seed.
Jordan Kohl led all players with 11 kills on an impressive .391 hitting percentage. Shelby Vas Matt followed suit with 10 more kills (.280), and Brooke Smith finished with seven kills and just one error to hit .545. The team was efficient, hitting .314 as a squad and finishing off the match with an outstanding .351 in the third frame. It was Texas State’s third highest team hitting percentage of the season. The Bobcats only had nine errors to 41 kills on 102 attempts.
In addition to the efficient offensive performance, the Bobcats put up one of their best defensive performances of the season as well with 13 blocks in a three-set match. It’s second to a 14-block performance in a four-set match at South Alabama.
Lauren Kirch led the team with seven blocks, one of which was a solo. Smith added six blocks with a solo, and Caylin Mahoney was in on five blocks. Mahoney added six kills, six digs, two service aces and 31 assists in the match. Sierra Smith led the team in digs with eight while Jordan Moore and Mahoney were second on the team with six apiece.
The Bobcats came out to start the match strong, scoring the team’s first two points with blocks, including a solo from Brooke Smith. Texas State continued to apply the pressure, building a four-point lead, 11-7, to force an early timeout from Georgia Southern. Out of the timeout, the Bobcats pushed the lead up to 15-8, and eventually claimed a 21-12 lead before the Eagles needed another timeout in the opening frame.
Texas State would go on to win the opening set, 25-14, led by Vas Matt and her five kills. Mahoney proved to be an offensive threat early with three kills in the first frame. Kohl added three and Smith pitched in two more kills. Mahoney gave out eight assists while the Bobcats finished with three blocks in the opening frame.
Georgia Southern and the Bobcats jockeyed back and forth to start the second set, but Texas State began to pull away with strong blocking at the net and good service. Mahoney served up her second ace of the match after one from Sierra Smith, and the Bobcats had three more blocks early in the second set to grab a 13-9 lead.
The Bobcats would continue to pile on, winning the second set, 25-15. Texas State put down six blocks in the second frame alone and hit .290 with 12 kills and just three errors on 31 attempts. Kohl led Texas State in the set with five kills while Mahoney gave out eight more assists in the second set. Kirch led the blocking effort in the second set with a solo block and four block assists.
Georgia Southern came out of the break and built a four-point lead, 10-6. Texas State, however, would climb back into the match with consecutive kills from Alexandra Simms. Brooke Smith followed with a kill on an Eagle overpass to pull the Bobcats within one point, 10-9.
The Eagles regained control of the third set to go up 18-13 and force a timeout from the Bobcats. Out of the timeout, Texas State scored three consecutive points, but Georgia Southern answered to go up 20-16.
From there, though, the Bobcats came storming back. The Eagles committed errors around a Simms kill to bring Texas State within one point, 20-19. After that, Simms and Smith teamed up for a block and Kirch followed that with a service ace to claim a 21-20 Texas State lead.
Both teams jostled back and forth at that point to a 22-22 tie, but then Texas State pulled away to clinch the match. A kill from Kohl, her match-high 11th of the day, followed by a Kohl and Smith block gave Texas State match point, 24-22. Vas Matt scored the final point with her 10th kill to give Texas State the third set, 25-22.
Texas State returns home to begin preparation for the Sun Belt Conference Championship Tournament to begin Thursday in San Marcos. The Bobcats will play in the final match of the opening round at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, but the tournament begins at 12 p.m. at Strahan Coliseum Thursday afternoon.
Texas State Sweeps Georgia Southern in Home Finale
STATESBORO, Ga. – Jordan Kohl tallied 11 kills and three blocks, and Texas State hit .314 for the match to sweep Georgia Southern 3-0 (25-14, 25-15, 25-22) in Sun Belt Conference volleyball action Saturday afternoon in Hanner Fieldhouse.
The loss eliminates Georgia Southern from next week’s Sun Belt Conference Tournament and ends the Eagles’ season.
Kym Coley led Georgia Southern (7-23, 6-14) with eight kills, and Megan Chevalier posted seven kills and one block. Jamie DeRatt, Cathrine Murray and Leah Joseph all recorded six kills, and Kat Minnerly posted 28 assists and eight digs.
Shelby Vas Matt tallied 10 kills for Texas State (20-12, 15-5), and Caylin Mahoney recorded 31 assists, six kills, six digs and five blocks.
The Eagles hit a negative percentage in the first two sets of the match to dig themselves a 2-0 hole. Georgia Southern got things going in the third frame and led 18-13 on a Coley kill, but Texas State answered with an 8-2 run, capped by a Lauren Kirch ace, to take a 21-20 lead. With the score tied 22-22, Kohl scored a point with a kill and combined with Brooke Smith for a block to make it match point. Vas Matt finished things off with a kill.
With the bulk of the team back after a 28-6 season in 2013, the Eagles were picked to finish third in their first year in the Sun Belt, but a rash of injuries forced head coach Dustin Wood to dress as few as eight players most nights. Libero Alex Beecher, right side Katie Bange and middle Crysten Curry, who were all starters in 2013, missed a majority of the season with injuries.
“It was just one of those seasons where injuries took their toll on us,” said Wood. “We had to throw a lot of young kids into the fire, and they fought hard every night but are still trying to find consistency at this level, which is typical of freshman and sophomores. The positive for us moving forward is that we should have a deep team with a ton of match experience.”
Another positive is that Georgia Southern will host next year’s Sun Belt Tournament in Hanner Fieldhouse.
The Eagles lose just two seniors and in addition to getting Beecher, Bange and Curry back, return Minnerly, Chevalier, Murray, Avery Stephens and Leah Joseph, who started the majority of the matches this season.
Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics, iOS app Georgia Southern Eagles and Android app Eagles GATA. Fans can purchase tickets to Georgia Southern Athletics events by calling 1-800-GSU-WINS or by visiting GSEagles.com.
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Appalachian State Ends Regular Season with Sweep Over GSU
The Mountaineers (21-9, 11-9 Sun Belt) ended the regular season with 21 wins, beating the Panthers (10-19, 8-12) for the second time this season.
The Apps scored four-straight points in the beginning of the first set to take a 5-2 lead, but the Panthers recorded two kills and a service ace to trail by just one point.
The Mountaineers were able to maintain a steady lead for the rest of the set, letting Georgia State within two points on one occasion before taking the first, 25-20.
The Mountaineers fell behind in the second set as the Panthers went on a 4-1 run to lead 8-4, but the Mountaineers took a timeout and came back on fire, scoring five of the next six points to take a 10-9 lead.
Georgia State got two kills to pull ahead again, 12-10 but the Apps began to rally, going on a 7-1 run with kills from Jess Keller, Emily Corrigan and Jess Keller to lead 17-13. Appalachian closed out the set 25-21 for a 2-0 lead on the match.
Georgia State got another 8-4 lead to start the third set, but Appalachian once again would begin dominate, scoring five-straight points for a 9-8 lead.
The Panthers would periodically find points but the Mountaineers maintained steady pressure to control the rest of the set, winning comfortably with a score of 25-16 to take the match 3-0.
Keller led the team with 18 kills, followed by Emily Corrigan's 15.
Paige Brown led the team for the 30th-straight match in assists, posting 40 in the win. Meghan Mahoney led on defense with a match-high 16 digs.
Georgia State was led by Deidra Bohannon's 18 kills and Natalia Nieto's 30 assists.
The Mountaineers hit .346 on the match, while holding the Panthers to a .205 hitting percentage. The Apps totaled nine blocks to the Panthers' three.
Appalachian will return to action for the Sun Belt Championships in San Marcos, Texas from Nov. 27-19.
Panthers Swept in Final Regular Season Match
ATLANTA – Georgia State’s volleyball team was tripped up on Senior Day as the visiting Appalachian State Mountaineers defeated the Panthers in three sets at the GSU Sports Arena, 20-25, 21-25, and 16-25. Seniors Andrea Book and Andrea’ Ezell were honored prior to the match.
“This team has had some very high highs this season along with some low lows, but Andrea’ and Andrea were leaders through it all and I am very appreciative for everything they’ve given to this team,” head coach Sally Polhamus said following the end of her first regular season as head coach at GSU.
Georgia State was outhit .346-.205 on Saturday and the Mountaineers used nine total team blocks to stymy the Panther attack. Two Panthers managed to post double-digit kills as juniors Eliza Zachary and Deidra Bohannon finished with 10 and 18 kills, respectively. Bohannon came up with 12 digs as well for her team-leading 14th double-double. Bohannon finishes the regular season with 427 kills, 29 more than her all-conference performance a year ago.
Georgia State started off on the right foot with Zachary slamming home a kill for the first point of the match. App State then settled in to take a 10-7 lead and never turned back. Bohannon rattled off a few points to bring the Panthers within three at 22-19, but the Mountaineers pulled away to win 25-20. Bohannon finished the first set with eight kills on .429 hitting.
Set 2 remained close as the Panthers tried to even the score. Bohannon had another strong frame with six kills, but the Mountaineers always had a response. Georgia State’s biggest lead came at 8-4 as App State came to life and pulled away to win 25-21 and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Georgia State struggled to get going on offense in Set 3. App State used three total team blocks and a hitting percentage of .448 to finish off the sweep with a 25-16 win. Emily Corrigan had seven kills in the final frame and finished with 15 for the Mountaineers.
The loss drops the Panthers to 10-19 (8-12 SBC) while App State improves to 21-9 (11-9 SBC). The Panthers clinched a spot in next week’s Sun Belt Conference Championship with their thrilling, come-from-behind win on Friday night against Troy. With Saturday’s loss, Georgia State needs a South Alabama loss to remain the seven-seed.
Follow along as Georgia State competes in San Marcos, Texas at the Sun Belt Conference Championship next week. The first matches on Thursday, Nov. 27.