Friday, November 7, 2014
UALR Wins 17th Straight as Begic Records 2,000th Career Kill
ARLINGTON, Texas – UALR increased its winning streak to 17 matches, while senior Edina Begic became the sixth player in Sun Belt Conference history with 2,000 career kills in the 3-1 win (25-16, 25-27, 25-20, 25-17) over UT Arlington on Friday night.
After breaking the Mavericks’ 10-match home winning streak, the Trojans are now only one win away from clinching their first Sun Belt regular-season title since 2000.
Begic led the Trojans’ offense with a season-high of 30 kills, as well as earning her ninth double-double of the season with the addition of 10 digs. Begic’s 30 kills are the sixth-most in a four-set match in the rally-scoring era. Two of her three highest kill totals this season have come against UTA. Begic also had a season-high of 59 attempts.
UALR put the match away in the fourth set after getting out to a nine point lead at 18-9. The set’s outcome was never in doubt as the Trojans went on to hit a match-high of .395 to the Mavericks’ .121. Begic edged out her second set total of 9 kills when she put up 11 for the final frame.
After losing the second set, UALR had to find a way to get back into gear. The Trojans trailed 10-5 early in the set, but slowly made their way back as they eventually tied the set at 17. The two squads would tie again at 18 before UALR finally pulled away and won the set by five.
After a strong first set, UALR struggled to get going during the second frame, hitting .216 after its great .361 performance in the first. The Trojans gave up a match-high of eight errors during the set, allowing the Mavericks to capitalize on the mistakes. UALR was down by six at 13-7, but inched its way back to tie the set at 22. The two teams remained tied at 24, which meant a winner would be decided in extra points. UALR grabbed its first lead of the set after a kill by senior Adisa Hodzic, but a kill by UTA and two Trojan attack errors handed the Mavericks the win.
UALR’s best set win of the night came in the first frame. After being down early at 5-3, the Trojans scored eight straight points to take an 11-5 lead. After this run, the set was never again in doubt as UALR continued the assault of the UT Arlington defense. Junior Sonja Milanovic put the set to rest with two straight service aces. The Trojans hit their second-highest percentage of the night with .361.
Sophomore Megan Mathis recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 51 assists, her second-most this season, and a career-high of 16 digs.
Junior Sonja Milanovic racked up 16 kills and 13 digs to earn her 13th double-double of the year. Milanovic now has the seventh-most kills at UALR in the rally-scoring era with 790. She also tied her career-high for service aces with four.
Sophomore Edina Selimovic led the Trojans’ defense as she tallied nine total blocks (two solo and seven assisted), her third-highest total this season.
Senior Adisa Hodzic tied her second-highest kill total of the season with seven.
Senior Capri Rino recorded her third-highest dig total of the year with 21.
As a team, UALR recorded its highest kill total this season with 69. Two of the three highest totals this season have come against UTA.
The Trojans also recorded their highest assist total of the year with 62, while scooping up their third-most digs with 67.
UALR will look to lock up the Sun Belt regular-season title when it returns to action at Texas State on Saturday (Nov. 8) at 7:30 p.m.
Mavs Streak Ends at Hands of Trojans
ARLINGTON, Texas - UT Arlington entered Friday's match against UALR looking to end the Trojans 16-match winning streak, but it was the Mavericks ten-match home winning streak that came to an end with UTA on the wrong end of the four-set loss (25-16, 25-27, 25-20, 25-17).
"They outhustled us all over the court and beat us in every statistical category," UT Arlington coach Diane Seymour said. "We just didn't answer. When they came at us, we did not answer."
The win drops the Mavericks to 21-7 this season with an 11-5 mark in the Sun Belt while the Trojans improve to 22-4 overall with a perfect 16-0 record in conference play.
The Mavericks were led by Qiana Canete who recorded a team-high 11 kills in the match to go along with seven digs and two assists.
"I was disappointed," Canete said. "We went in expecting to win. We knew they would be really tough competition and we just didn't show up tonight."
Stacey Koch also chipped in as the junior OPP registered ten kills and four blocks paired with a hitting percentage of .261.
Amanda Welsh and Cassidy Wheeler both directed the UTA offense as the duo recorded 18 and 17 assists respectively.
Caitlyn Cooney led the charge defensively as the junior libero recorded a match-high 26 digs.
The Mavericks jumped out to a 4-1 lead early in the opening set, but the tide switched on UTA and UALR took over momentum. The Trojans would force the Mavs into a timeout at 9-5 and carried control of the set throughout. UALR would hit .361 in the first set compared to UTA's .148 and knocked back-to-back aces to close it out 25-16.
Canete and Sharratt paced UTA through the first set as the two players recorded two kills apiece. Cooney chipped in defensively, registering seven digs in the set.
The second set turned into a back-and-forth exchange late despite UTA controlling the pace early. The Mavs held a six-point advantage at 18-12 before the Trojans made their charge. UALR rallied to tie the set at 22, but it was UTA who would come out on top. Canete powered a hit down the line to give UTA a set point at 26-25 and UALR would lose the set on an attack error. The set dropped was UALR's first after the Trojans had swept the previous three matches.
Four Maverick players stepped up in the second set as Canete, Sharratt, Koch and Hannah Baptiste each chipped in three kills. Cooney again registered seven digs while Welsh and Wheeler combined for 11 assists.
UTA came out of the break appearing to have control of match. The Mavericks built up a 9-5 lead and sent UALR to a timeout. However, after building a five-point advantage, the Mavs let the Trojans back in. UALR moved into a 20-18 advantage and the Mavericks were unable to bounce back, dropping the third 25-20.
Ashley Bennett, Canete and Koch paced UTA offensively in the third frame as each player notched three kills. Welsh and Wheeler once again guided the Mavs offensive attack as the pair registered seven and five assists respectively.
The Trojans broke out in the fourth set to put the match away. UALR went up 11-6, forced UTA into a timeout, and never looked back. The Trojans hit an efficient .395, their highest of the match compared to UTA's .121, its lowest of the match.
Canete and Koch each picked up three kills in the set while Cooney and Taylor Story combined for nine digs.
The Mavericks were outhit .290 to .167 and out blocked 11-7 in the match.
UTA is back in action on Sunday when it hosts South Alabama at 12 p.m. at College Park Center.
Mazeitis-Fontenot Picks Up 100th Victory At UL In 3-2 Win At South Alabama
MOBILE, Ala. – The Ragin’ Cajuns went to five sets for the third straight match, and pulled out a 3-2 (25-23, 22-25, 20-25, 25-20, 15-12) over South Alabama on Friday night, a win that served as head coach Heather Mazeits-Fontenot’s 100th career win at Louisiana.
The win pushes the Ragin’ Cajuns (17-11, 6-10 SBC) a half game ahead of the Jaguars 10-15, 5-10 SBC) for the final spot in the upcoming Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
Four players reached double-figure kills for the Cajuns, led by Kaylee Nemeth’s 14. Sara Mossakowski and Chanelle Gardner had 12 apiece, and Stacey Reilly had 10. Kae Kae Lockhart just missed double figures with nine kills, along with six blocks.
Andrea Hole had another double-double with 47 assists and 24 digs, just missing her career high of 25. Caitlyn Auxilien was right behind Hole in digs with 18 of her own.
The Cajuns got out to a 5-1 lead out of the gate in the opening set, but the Jags stayed within striking distance before finally tying things up at 17-17. But a kill from Nemeth and one of Mossakowski’s five kills in the set put the Cajuns back in front, and after USA tied it up once more the Cajuns converted their third set-point try to gain a 1-0 lead with a 25-23 win.
UL carried the momentum from Set 1 into Set 2 early on, scoring the first four point of the period. But again the Jags came back, scoring the next four and using a 7-1 spurt midway through the set to turn a 14-11 deficit into an 18-15 lead. They stretched the advantage to 22-16 before finally closing it out at 25-22.
The Jaguars went ahead 2-1 in the third set, taking the lead in the set for good at 14-13 on a block from Nikki Gittens and Emma Anderson. The Cajuns got as close as one point late in the set on a kill from Kelly Wiesmann to cut the lead to 21-20 before the Jags put home the final four points of the set.
Louisiana pushed it to a decisive fifth set with a 25-20 win in the fourth, They led by as much as eight on a kill from Andrea Hole to give UL a 20-13. The Jaguars scored five of the next seven points to get back to within 22-18, but Lockhart put an end to that run with a score and the Cajuns finished it off with a Nemeth kill and a Jaguar service error.
The fifth set was close throughout, and tied as late as 12-12 before Hole found Lockhart for a kill to unknot the tie. Nemeth and Lockhart then teamed up for a block to get UL to a match-point try and Nemeth finished it off with a kill from the right side to cap a 3-0 spurt to end the match for the Cajuns.
Louisiana will now turn around and take on Troy on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. in Troy to wrap up the weekend.
DANIEL AND LEWIS RECORD DOUBLE-DOUBLES AS JAGS DROP HEARTBREAKER TO ULL
MOBILE, Ala. – Mechell Daniel (22 kills, 14 digs) and Jessica Lewis (20 kills, 16 digs) each recorded a double-double for just the second time this season, but the University of South Alabama volleyball team dropped a heartbreaker Friday night as the Jags fell 3-2 (23-25, 25-22, 25-20, 20-25, 12-15) to Louisiana-Lafayette at Jag Gym.
The Jags (10-15, 5-10 SBC) will now head to Arlington, Texas, to take on Texas-Arlington on Sunday at noon the University. Live stats and web streaming for Sunday's match at UTA will be available at www.USAJaguars.com and can be accessed on the Jaguar volleyball schedule page.
The double-double for Daniel was her team-best 11th of the season, while Lewis' 16 digs were a career-high for the Huntsville, Ala., native.
Jenna Hassell led USA with 19 digs in the loss. She is now just 12 digs shy of tying former Jag Keturah Carter's program mark of 1,509. Hassell also had four of South Alabama's four aces – a new career high.
Mallory Moore led USA at the net with five total blocks – one solo and four assists – while Symone Stephenson added four block assists of her own.
Louisiana-Lafayette improved to 17-11 on the season and 6-10 in the conference with the win. Kaylee Nemeth was one of four Ragin' Cajun players to end the match in double digits as she finished with 14 kills. Sara Mossakowski and Chanelle Gardner each had 12 kills apiece and Stacey Reilly added 10.
ULL setter Andrea Hole posted a double-double with 47 assists and a match-high 24 digs.
SET ONE: LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 23
ULL picked up the first three points of the match but the Jags rallied back. After cutting the deficit to one on multiple occasions, South Alabama tied the set back up at 12-12 on an ace by Hassell.
Trailing 16-14, South Alabama again fought back and tied the set back up at 16-16 following kills by Lewis and Stephenson. USA then took its first lead of the night on a Cajun attack error.
Louisiana-Lafayette answered back with four unanswered points to reclaim the lead (20-17) on a kill by Mossakowski. Mossakowski had three of her four kills during the set during the 4-0 run.
Led by Lewis, South Alabama again knotted the set back up at 20-20 after a put away by the sophomore outside hitter. Lewis led all players with seven kills in the frame.
ULL later held set point at 24-21 after a kill by Reilly, but the Jaguars used their defense to fight off two-straight points. Moore and Stephenson teamed up to turn back a ULL attack. Daniel then had a solo block to pull USA within one (24-23) and force a Ragin' Cajun time out.
Coming out of the time out though, Reilly sealed the 25-23 opening set victory with her fifth kill of the match.
Louisiana-Lafayette posted a .385 hitting percentage in the first set with 19 kills on 39 attacks and just four attack errors.
SET TWO: SOUTH ALABAMA 25, LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE 22
Like the first set, Louisiana-Lafayette again got off to a quick start, beginning the frame on a 4-0 run – three points coming on kills by Reilly.
Daniel led the Jaguar right back as she slammed home back-to-back-back kills. Hassell then tied the contest up with her second ace of the night.
ULL later pushed its lead back out to three, but South Alabama rallied back and took the lead (10-9) after a pair of kills from Lewis.
The Ragin' Cajuns responded with four points and retook the lead at 13-10 on a kill by Nemeth, but two points later, USA answered right back with a 5-0 run to take the lead for good. Stephenson capped off the run and gave the Jags a 16-14 advantage with a kill and a block assists.
South Alabama later took its biggest lead of the frame at 22-16 on another kill by Daniel. ULL mounted a late rally attempt and got as close as two (24-22) on a Mossakowski ace, but Daniel evened the match at a set apiece with her eighth kill of the second set.
The Jaguars were extremely efficient in the second set as they had 15 kills on 38 attacks and committed just two errors for a .342 hitting percentage.
SET THREE: SOUTH ALABAMA 25, LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE 20
Trailing 13-12 in the third set, South Alabama pushed across four-straight points to take a 16-13 lead.
ULL fought back and trimmed the Jaguar lead to one on five occasions with the last coming at 21-20 on a Kelly Weismann put away. However, USA closed out the set strong, capturing the final four points of the set. Moore began the final run with a kill. Hassell then sandwiched a pair of aces around a Cajun attack error to cap off the scoring. Hassell sealed the 25-20 and gave USA a 2-1 lead in the match when the Niceville, Fla., native dropped in her fourth ace of the night.
SET FOUR: LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 20
Down a set, the Ragin' Cajuns got off to a quick start in the fourth set, opening the frame up on a 4-0 run. ULL later led 11-5 after a kill by Mossakowski, but South Alabama attempted to rally back, pushing across four of the next five points to cut the deficit to 12-9.
Louisiana-Lafayette though reeled off five unanswered points to break the set open. Mossakowski began the scoring with a kill and then gave ULL an eight-point advantage (17-9) with back-to-back aces.
Trailing 22-14 later in the set, South Alabama made a late charge and narrowed the deficit to four with a run of four-straight points. Stephenson had a pair of kills during the scoring run and capped off the run when the sophomore middle blocker teamed up with Moore for a block.
USA would get no closer though as ULL went on to take the set, 25-20.
SET FIVE: LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE 15, SOUTH ALABAMA 12
In the fifth and final frame, USA held an early 5-4 advantage after three-straight kills by Lewis, but ULL responded with four unanswered points to take an 8-5 lead. Weismann gave the Ragin' Cajuns the three-point lead with a kill.
South Alabama battled back and tied the set back up at 12-12 following a kill by Daniel, but Louisiana-Lafayette would get the final three points of the match to pick up the 15-12 victory and take the match 3-2. Lockhart began the match-winning run with a kill and then teamed up with Nemeth on a block. Nemeth then clinched the match with her 14th kill of the match.
NOTES: South Alabama drops to 15-32 in the all-time series with Louisiana-Lafayette and 9-11 at home versus the Ragin' Cajuns. The win by ULL also snapped a five-match win streak in the series for the Jaguars. The loss was also the sixth-straight home loss for USA. The loss vs. Louisiana-Lafayette Friday night also marked the seventh in the last eight matches for USA. The double-double for Mechell Daniel (22 kills, 13 digs) was the 11th of the season for the sophomore outside hitter. Jessica Lewis also carded her third double-double of the year with 20 kills and a career-best 16 digs. With her 19 digs, senior libero Jenna Hassell is just 12 digs shy of tying Keturah Carter for first place on USA's career digs list. Hassell also had a career-high four aces versus ULL. The loss to Louisiana-Lafayette also dropped USA to 1-6 at home this season. South Alabama has now lost six-straight games at Jag Gym.
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).
Mountaineers Dominate Eagles in Three Sets
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University volleyball pushed past Georgia Southern on Friday night, finding scores of 25-10, 25-22 and 25-17 in three sets.
The Mountaineers (19-6, 9-6 Sun Belt) honored their seniors on Friday before getting a dominating win over the Eagles (7-19, 6-10) at the Holmes Center.
The Apps immediately took control of the first set, scoring seven-straight points to jump out to an 11-2 lead. The Eagles took a timeout but the Mountaineers could not be deflected as they found three kills from Jess Keller to make the score 16-4.
Georgia Southern would go on a 5-1 run but Appalachian recorded seven more points with Hailey Kerr serving six-straight times to help the Mountaineers to a 25-10 victory.
The second set began much differently as the Eagles composed themselves to take a 9-5 lead. The Eagles continued to find kills, leading by as much as four points but then suddenly fell apart, committing five errors to help Appalachian pull ahead 14-13.
Georgia Southern came back from a timeout and went on a 7-1 run to lead 19-15, but Keller would tally six kills to help the Apps score 10 of the last 13 points of the set, leading them to a 25-22 second set win.
The third set stayed close in the beginning until App would take a four-point lead to make the score 9-5. The Mountaineers continued play with consistency, keeping Georgia Southern trailing by at least two points. With the score 14-12 the Mountaineers scored four-straight points with kills from Keller, Jacqui Spurgeon and Caroline Wainright, helping them to an 18-12 lead.
The Apps would close out the third set without much trouble, winning 25-17 for a three-set sweep of Georgia Southern.
Keller was the team leader in kills on Friday, recording 17, while Lauren Gray followed with 11 and Spurgeon notched 10. Gray recorded only one error on the night for a .588 hitting percentage.
Paige Brown had a match-high 39 assists, while Meghan Mahoney led the team with 15 digs.
The Eagles were led by Kym Coley’s 10 kills and Kat Minnerly’s 21 assists.
Appalachian hit .354 in the match, while holding the Eagles to just a .124 hitting percentage. Each team recorded three blocks.
The Mountaineers return to action tomorrow when they host Arkansas State at 7:30 p.m.
App Sweeps Georgia Southern Volleyball
BOONE, N.C. – Jess Keller logged 17 kills, and Appalachian State hit .354 as a team to sweep Georgia Southern 3-0 (25-10, 25-22, 25-17) in Sun Belt Conference volleyball action Friday night in the Holmes Center.
Kym Coley led the Eagles (7-19, 6-10) with 10 kills, while Cathrine Murray recorded seven kills and six digs. Jamie DeRatt added six kills and eight digs, and Avery Stephens collected 11 digs.
Lauren Gray finished with 11 kills for the Mountaineers (19-6, 9-6), and Jacqui Spurgeon had 10. Paige Brown posted 39 assists and 10 digs, and Meghan Mahoney had 15 digs.
The Eagles hit just .124 in the match and had 19 hitting errors as a team. Leading 1-0 in the match, App overcame a 19-15 deficit to win the second set 25-22. A 6-1 run, keyed by five Keller kills, gave the Mountaineers a 21-20 lead. Coley tied the score with a kill, but kills by Keller and Spurgeon helped App push the margin to 24-21. After DeRatt got a kill for the Eagles, Carolina Wainright put down a ball to end the set.
App never trailed in the third set and scored four straight points to turn a 14-12 lead into an 18-12 cushion. The Eagles fought back to 18-15, but two kills each by Spurgeon and Gray sparked a 6-1 run as the Mountaineers went on to take the set 25-17.
“It was a very disappointing night for us after we had a good week of practice,” said Georgia Southern coach Dustin Wood. “I thought we were well prepared for the Xs and Os but shied away from competition, which is unacceptable. We need the entire team to step up as a group, and I’m looking forward to getting back to practice this week.”
Georgia Southern travels to Sun Belt leader UALR next Friday and fourth-place Arkansas State Sunday. The Eagles cap the regular season with a pair of home matches against UT Arlington Nov. 21 and Texas State Nov. 22 on Senior Day.
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.
A-State Volleyball Tops Georgia State For Fifth Straight Win
ATLANTA, Ga. (11/7/14) – The Arkansas State volleyball squad won its fifth straight match Friday night with a 3-1 (34-32, 25-27, 25-12, 25-13) victory over Georgia State at the GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta, Ga.
After splitting the first two sets by just two points each, the Red Wolves (16-8, 11-4) jumped all over the Panthers (8-16, 6-9) in the third set. A-State raced out to an 11-4 lead and extended it to 15-6 before GSU used a timeout. Georgia State couldn’t get any closer than nine points the rest of the set as the Red Wolves took their biggest lead of 13 at 24-11 on a Sarah Kemp kill. The Panthers recorded the next point, but a service error gave A-State a 25-12 set win and 2-1 edge in the match.
The fourth set began almost the same way as the third for A-State as the Red Wolves took a 10-4 advantage on a Drew Jones kill and extended the lead to 18-9 before Georgia State used its second timeout of the set. After the timeout, GSU couldn’t get things going as Arkansas State increased its lead to 24-11 on another Jones kill. The Panthers won the next two points, but a Kariana Castanon-Hill kill on the next point gave the Red Wolves a 25-13 set win and 3-1 match victory.
“We couldn’t defend anyone the first two sets and were lucky to split,” A-State volleyball coach David Rehr said. “I challenged our defense to step up at intermission and they did. Our servers put them out of system and with our defense rising to the challenge we ended up playing very well the last two sets and came away with the win.”
Kemp led the A-State offensive attack with 19 kills on a .400 hitting percentage, while Jessica Uke added 15 of her own on a .619 attacking percentage, the highest by any Red Wolves’ player this season. Mallory Warrington tallied her team-leading 18th double-double with 50 assists and 10 digs, while Markie Schaedig registered 28 digs to lead Arkansas State defensively. Jessica Heuertz and Warrington each recorded two service aces.
The Red Wolves opened the match by gaining an early 10-7 edge on a Warrington kill, but Georgia State quickly responded to tie the set at 11-11. GSU extended its lead to 19-16, but a Uke kill capped a 3-0 A-State run that tied it at 19-19. Both then went back-and-forth until the set was tied at 25-25. Neither team was able to get ahead by two points to win the set until A-State used a GSU attack error and service ace from Jones to earn a hard-fought 34-32 victory in the first set.
After the first set featured 19 ties and six lead changes, the second set began much differently with Georgia State jumping out to a 10-6 lead. The Panthers were able to cling to the lead until late in the set when a Kelsey Reis block tied the set at 22-22. The Red Wolves took a 23-22 edge on the next point, but the teams found themselves knotted at 25-25 again. However, Georgia State won the next two points on a kill and block to win the set 27-25 and tie the match at 1-1.
The Red Wolves return to action Saturday, Nov. 8 when they travel to Boone, N.C., to take on Appalachian State. First serve from the Holmes Center is set for 6:30 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).
PANTHERS COME UP SHORT VERSUS RED WOLVES
ATLANTA – Georgia State’s volleyball team feel 3-1 to Arkansas State on Friday at the GSU Sports Arena. The Red Wolves (16-8, 11-4 SBC) defeated the Panthers (8-16, 6-9 SBC) 32-34, 27-25, 12-25, and 13-25.
“Arkansas State played a great match tonight,” head coach Sally Polhamus said. “We need to come back and play clean volleyball on Saturday against ULM. Good teams know how to rebound from a match like this.”
Junior Deidra Bohannon led the team in kills with 20 and came up just shy of a double-double with nine digs. Junior Natalia Nieto recorded her seventh double-double in a row with 46 assists and 10 digs. Nieto moved into fourth place on GSU’s career-assists list with her 2,425th assist on Friday.
NOTING THE PANTHERS…
·Set 1’s 32-34 loss was the highest-scoring set for Georgia State since a Nov. 15 32-34 loss to Troy a season ago.
·Junior Eliza Zachary posted double-digit kills on Friday with 14 and hit .278. Senior Andrea Book led the team in hitting at .500 with six kills on 10 attempts and just one error.
·The panthers had three players in double-digit digs with junior Gabby Serafin leading the pack with 16. Nieto and freshman Sydney Mauer each added 10.
Georgia State fell behind early in Set 1 but rallied to tie the set at 11. Zachary continued the run with her third kill of the frame to put the Panthers on top. The Red Wolves took a timeout with the Panthers up 15-13 and mounted a comeback to tie the set at 19. The two sides went back and forth and continued into extra points. Arkansas State finally broke through and won the set 34-32 with an ace.
The Panthers led the Red Wolves for most of Set 2. Arkansas State pulled within one multiple times and was able to pull even at 22. After a GSU timeout, the Panthers surrendered the lead for the first time. The deficit wouldn’t last long, however, as Zachary would pick up her first block of the match to win the set 27-25. Zachary led the Panther offense in the second set as well, hitting .545 on six kills. Freshman Sydney Mauer and junior Gabby Serafin combined for 11 digs.
Arkansas State came out of intermission on fire and raced to a 7-2 lead. After a Panther timeout, Georgia State trimmed the deficit, but continued to trail the Red Wolves in the third set. A-State hit .448 in the Set 3 to win 25-12 and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
The Red Wolves rode the momentum from the Set 3 win into the fourth set. Arkansas State led wire-to-wire and took the set 25-13 to win 3-1.
Georgia State is back in action at the GSU Sports Arena Saturday, Nov. 8 at 6 p.m. when UL Monroe comes to town. Georgia State swept the Warhawks in Monroe, La. earlier this season. Admission is FREE!
Warhawks Complete Season Sweep over Troy
TROY, Ala. – For the first time since 2011, the ULM volleyball team completed a season sweep over a Sun Belt opponent as the Warhawks rallied back to down Troy, 3-2 (18-25, 25-21, 20-25, 25-17, 18-16) on a Friday night thriller at the Trojan Arena in Alabama.
“All the things we have been preaching this season finally came together,” ULM head coach Patrick Hiltz said. “Our middles were unbelievably good for us. The outsides took care of the ball. Hitters were aggressive when they needed to be and smart about placing shots when the situation called for caution.”
On the verge of defeat trailing 14-12 in the decisive fifth set, head coach Patrick Hiltz called a timeout to discuss strategy. The move paid off as ULM scored three consecutive points to go up before trading the next couple of points late in the set.
Tied at 16-16, Jennifer McClendon hammered down a ball from Bayleigh Hoffman before McClendon blocked Marija Zelenovic for ULM’s first conference win since 2011.
Hope Pawlik picked up her fifth double-double of the season en route to a team-high 17 kills. The sophomore also added 15 digs, the second best mark on the team.
Bayleigh Hoffman was phenomenal, assisting on 50 of the team kills, a career-high for the freshman. The first year setter also collected nine digs during the effort.
“Bayleigh ran a balanced offense all night and keeps maturing as our floor leader,” Hiltz added. “Marcela ran the defense like a champion. Her leadership allowed the others around her to have a great night defensively.”
The Warhawks stormed back to pick up the second set, 25-21 to equalize the match heading into the intermission.
After the Trojans went up 2-1, ULM climbed its way back once again, dominating the fourth set, 25-17. However, the Warhawks prevailed with clutch play down the stretch.
Troy Volleyball Falls to ULM on Senior Night
TROY, Alabama – The Troy volleyball team had chances to snap its losing streak, but ULM made the crucial plays down the stretch in a 3-2 (18-25, 25-21, 20-25, 25-17, 18-16) win at Trojan Arena on Friday night.
Troy (9-19, 1-15) honored its five seniors prior to the match and they were locked into a tight one all night. After winning the third set to take a 2-1 lead, Troy saw ULM cruise to a 25-17 win in the fourth set.
The Trojans had a match point in the fifth set at 14-12, but a service error and an attack error allowed ULM (8-20, 2-13) to tie the score, and the Warhawks got a kill to take a 15-14 lead.
Troy fought off two match points before ULM got a solo block to take the set 18-16, and the match 3-2.
Blair Winston led the Trojans with 25 kills and posted a .358 attack percentage. Symone Shaw recorded 15 kills and Darby Griff had 11 with just one error for a .435 attack percentage. Troy hit .226 as a team while ULM hit .269.
The Trojans had a .344 attack percentage after the first three sets, but hit just .105 and .029 in the fourth and fifth sets, respectively.
Defensively, Ali Dowdall had a game-high 22 digs while Winston and Shaw posted double-doubles with 16 and 11 digs, respectively. The Trojans posted just 5.0 total team blocks while the Warhawks had just 6.0 team blocks.
ULM was led by Hope Pawlik and Hadley Swartz who each had 17 kills. Bayleigh Hoffman posted 50 assists for Warhawks. The loss was the Trojans 15th straight.
Troy returns to the court on Saturday when it host UL Lafayette at 7 p.m. It will mark the final home match of the year for the Trojans as they close the regular season with three road matches.
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