September 21, 2014
Mountaineers Beat Trojans in Five Set Thriller
TROY, Ala. - Appalachian State University volleyball took the match against Troy on Sunday afternoon in five sets, featuring scores of 25-20, 25-23, 17-25, 20-25 and 15-12.
The Mountaineers (13-0, 3-0 Sun Belt) won the first two sets, but the Trojans (9-6, 1-2 Sun Belt) would tie the match up, forcing it into five sets before the Apps got the win.
The first set began closely until Appalachian scored five-straight points to take a 12-8 lead. The Mountaineers continued to score, leading by at least three points for the rest of the set.
A kill from Emily Corrigan helped the Mountaineers to a 25-20 first set victory.
The Mountaineers immediately took control of the second set, jumping out to a 10-4 lead. After a Troy timeout the Trojans would begin to chip away at the lead, soon only trailing by two points, but Appalachian were able to find kills, taking a 21-16 lead.
The Trojans caught up toward the end of the set to trail 23-21 but the Mountaineets pulled off the second set win, 25-23.
Troy started the third set in control, taking an early 9-5 lead. Appalachian made several attack errors and were not able to catch up to the Trojans, never coming within more than four points for the rest of the set.
Troy took the third 25-17.
The Trojans once again began the fourth set with dominance, leading App with a score of 6-1. The Mountaineers were able to put some more points on the board, but not enough to keep up with the Trojans as they trailed 16-8.
The Mountaineers finally found kills to come within two points at the end of the set, but it was not enough as Troy took the fourth 25-20 and tied the match 2-2.
The Apps took a quick lead in the fifth and final set, but Troy was not going away, only trailing by one point for most of the set. With App leading 11-10 the Mountaineers took control, scoring four of the last six points to get the win 15-12 and win the match 3-2.
Corrigan led the team with 24 kills, while Lauren Gray followed with 13. Paige Brown had a great showing, assisting 52 kills in the win.
The Mountaineers had a great defensive match as Corrigan led with 24 digs. Meghan Mahoney and Kati Stammen each recorded 19 digs, a career high for Stammen. Olivia Loeffler recorded a career high of 18 digs, while Brown followed with 11.
The Trojans were led by Symone Shaw's 16 kills and Ali Dowdall's 25 digs.
The Mountaineers hit .129 on the match whle the Trojans hit .164. Each team tallied 11 blocks.
The Apps return to action when they travel to UL Lafayette next Friday for a 8 p.m. match.
Troy Drops Second Straight Five-Set Match
TROY, Alabama – The Troy volleyball team dropped its second five-set match in three days on Sunday, this one to an undefeated Appalachian State team, 3-2 (25-20, 25-23, 17-25, 20-25, 15-12), at Trojan Arena.
Troy (9-6, 1-2) also fell in five sets at UT Arlington on Friday, then traveled back to Troy to host Sun Belt newcomer Appalachian State (13-0, 3-0). The Mountaineers won the first two sets, but Troy battled back to force the fifth set in which App State gained control early.
The Mountaineers got 5.0 of their 11.0 blocks in the fifth set, including three straight to take a 4-1 lead early. Troy close within one point a few times, including as last as 13-12, before Appalachian State scored two straight to take the match.
"I wish we would've have played harder in the first two sets," Troy head coach Sonny Kirkpatrick said. "I'm disappointed because we knew as a coaching staff what was going into it and we didn't do what we needed in the first two sets, once we started doing the right things then the results spoke for themselves."
Troy hit .164 as a team and held the Mountaineers to a .129 mark. App State entered the day hitting .273 as a team. The Mountaineers had also only lost four sets on the season, with the last coming on September 6 against No. 24 Louisville. The five-set match was the first of the season for App State, and the fourth for Troy who is now 2-2 in five-set matches this season.
Troy had four players with double-digit kills, including a team-high 16 from Symone Shaw. Marija Zelenovic (14), Blair Winston (12) and Kiah Cheatham (11) were also in double figures. Tineille Waggoner recorded 53 assists and had a double-double with 16 digs.
Zelenovic also had a double-double with 21 digs while Ali Dowdall led the way with 25 digs, tying her career-high which was set on Friday at UT Arlington. Madeleine Bouillion (16) and Kelley Curran (11) also had double-figure digs for the Trojans.
Troy matches Appalachian State's 11.0 blocks with 11.0 of its own, led by six from Darby Griff and five from Zelenovic.
Emily Corrigan led the Mountaineers with 24 kills and 24 digs. The three-time reigning Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week had 83 attack attempts. Paige Brown had 53 assists for App State.
The Trojans return to the court on Friday when they host Arkansas State at Trojan Arena at 7 p.m. Troy concludes its three-match homestand on Saturday when Texas State visits for another 7 p.m. match.
For more information on Troy Athletics, visit TroyTrojans.com. Fans can also find the Trojans on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube by searching for Troy Athletics.
UTA takes down ULL in four sets
ARLINGTON, Texas - UT Arlington held an 11-0 all-time record versus Louisiana entering Sunday afternoon's match at College Park Center and after a 3-1 victory (25-15, 25-16, 18-25, 25-12) the Mavericks remain perfect against the Ragin' Cajuns. UTA used a strong defensive performance as they held ULL to just .032 hitting while the Mavs hit .231.
The win puts UT Arlington at 12-3 overall and 2-1 in the Sun Belt while Louisiana drops their third straight match and falls to 12-3 this season and 2-1 in the conference.
The Mavericks were led by Briana Sharratt and Hannah Baptiste who each recorded 11 kills in the victory. Both players were extremely efficient hitting as they recorded hitting percentages of .526 and .435 respectively. Sharratt was also part of a trio of Maverick players to record three blocks as the team ended the match with seven total blocks.
Amanda Welsh did her part to direct the UTA offense as she put up a team-high 23 assists. Caitlyn Cooney was strong defensively for the Mavericks as she notched 22 digs in the match and sits just seven digs short of 1,000 career digs.
The Mavericks will return to action next Sunday when they play host to Louisiana-Monroe with the match set to start at 12 p.m.
Cajuns Drop Third Straight At UTA
ARLINGTON, Texas – Caitlyn Auxilien had 19 digs and Kae Kae Lockhart added nine kills, but UT Arlington was too tough at home on Sunday afternoon, handing the Ragin’ Cajuns their third consecutive loss, 3-1 (25-15, 25-16, 18-25, 25-12) at the College Park Center.
UT Arlington (12-3, 2-1 SBC) held the Ragin’ Cajuns (10-3, 0-3 SBC) to just .032 hitting for the afternoon, while hitting .232 itself. Lockhart’s nine kills led UL, who had six players finish the match with at least five kills.
Mossakowski added seven kills, Kelly Wiesmann had six, and Abby Filce, Andrea Hole, and Kaylee Nemeth had five apiece. Auxilien’s 19 digs were tops on the team and was just four shy of her season high, and Filce added a career-high six blocks.
Hole finished with 29 assists and 10 digs for her 10th double-double of the year, and third in a row.
Briana Sharratt and Hannah Baptiste led UTA with 11 kills apiece.
The Mavs had little trouble racing out to a 2-0 lead in the match, holding the Cajuns to -.040 combined hitting in the first two sets. Nemeth had three of her five kills on the match in the first set, but the Mavs led by as much as 10 points in the first set and as much as nine in the second, not trailing in either after the early stages.
UL responded out of the locker room in the third set, scoring 14 kills with just three misfires to get back in the match with a 25-18 win. Lockhart delivered five of her kills in the set, helping the Cajuns build a 17-10 lead midway through the set, a lead too large for the Mavs to overcome.
But UTA put it away in the fourth, jumping out to a 7-1 lead and building the lead to as much as 13 points at 23-10 on its way to a 25-12 win.
The Ragin’ Cajuns return home this weekend for matches on back-to-back days against league newcomers Appalachian State and Georgia Southern. The Mountaineers will visit Earl K. Long Gym on Sept. 26 for a 7:00 p.m. match, while the Eagles and Cajuns will meet on Sept. 27 at 7:00 p.m.
Jaguars Improve to 2-0 in Sun Belt Action with Straight-Set Win Over Georgia State
MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama volleyball team remained perfect in Sun Belt Conference play with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-14, 25-18) win over Georgia State on Sunday at Jag Gym. The win was also the seventh in the last eight matches for USA.
"It's a 20-match conference season, which is the most we've ever played." South Alabama head coach Amy Hendrichovsky said. "I keep telling myself and the team that we can't get too high or too low. We just have to take it one match at a time. It was nice to get our second win, but there are many more that we would like to get this season."
The Jags (7-5, 2-0 SBC) will continue Sun Belt action this week when they travel to take on Texas State Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. at Strahan Coliseum. USA will then return home to host Arkansas State on Saturday at 6 p.m. at Jag Gym.
The 2-0 start to league play is just the third time (2014, 2011 and 2001) for the program.
South Alabama posted a season-best .368 hitting percentage in the victory, recording 40 kills on 87 attacks, while committing just eight attack errors. USA hit .323 or better in all three sets, posting a .424 in the third frame.
"I didn't think we were really in our rhythm with our pass, but that got better through the match," Hendrichovsky said. "It was nice to see us be efficient though. That was probably our most efficient performance this season. It's good to see this type of performance at this point in the season and we're going to continue to work on that area."
Mechell Daniel led the Jaguars with 11 kills to go along with her five digs and four block assists, while Jessica Lewis had seven kills of her own and a .375 hitting percentage. Mallory Moore also had seven kills off the bench and finished with a .400 percentage. Nikki Gittens and Symone Stephenson also chipped in with six and five kills, respectively.
Stephenson was also a force at the net as the sophomore middle blocker led all players with six total blocks – one solo and five assists.
Georgia State (3-9, 1-2 SBC) placed two players in double figures. Deidra Bohannon led the club with 15 kills, while Eliza Zachary had 10 kills of her own.
SET ONE: SOUTH ALABAMA 25, GEORGIA STATE 18
South Alabama got off to a quick start in the first set, beginning the match on a 7-1 run. Daniel sparked the early scoring for the Jags with a kill and two block assists.
With the Jaguars leading 16-11 after another kill from Daniel, Georgia State began to attempt to rally back, pushing across three-straight points to trim USA's lead to two (16-14) on an ace by Kristina Stinson.
Three points later with South Alabama leading by three, Lewis helped the Jags break the set open as the sophomore blasted three-straight kills to go along with a Panther attack error to put the Jaguars up 22-15.
From there, South Alabama held control and took the early 1-0 lead in the match with a 25-18 first set win after Georgia State's seventh serving error for the frame.
Lewis led the Jaguar attack with five kills and a .571 hitting percentage, while as a team, South Alabama hit .348. Savannah Stewart also had two aces for South Alabama.
SET TWO: SOUTH ALABAMA 25, GEORGIA STATE 14
In the second set with USA holding a 4-3 advantage, the Jaguars gained some breathing room as they pushed across four of the next five points to stretch their lead out to four points. Stephenson and Lewis gave USA the 8-4 lead with a block assists.
South Alabama later stretched its lead out to double figures as Daniel registered her third kill of the frame to put USA up 19-9. During the 4-0 run for the Jags, Daniel had a pair of put aways and a block assist.
USA held control from there and took the two sets to none lead in the match with a 25-14 win in the set. For the second-straight set, USA hit over .300 recording a .323 percentage as it has 13 kills on 31 attacks and just three errors.
SET THREE: SOUTH ALABAMA 25, GEORGIA STATE 18
Coming out of the intermission, the Jaguars again got off to a quick start and grabbed the momentum early on in the third and final set. Gittens began a 4-0 run to start the set with a solo block and Daniels added two more kills. She would finish with six in the set.
GSU answered back with three points of its own, but USA didn't allow the Panthers to get any closer as it rattled off five of the next six points. Moore slammed home another kill to give the Jaguars a 9-4 advantage. The four-point margin would prove to be as close as Georgia State would get the rest of the way as South Alabama went on to take the set 25-18. Daniel sealed the seven-point win and clinched the match with her 11th kill of the afternoon.
In the final set, USA recorded 17 kills and committed just three attack errors.
NOTES: With the straight-set win over Georgia State, South Alabama improved to 5-2 in the all-time series and extended its win streak in the series to four. USA is also now 2-0 in the series in matches played in Mobile. The Jaguars have also now won four of their last five Sun Belt home openers. The 2-0 start to league play is just the third time (2014, 2011 and 2001) for the program. The win versus GSU was also the seventh in the last eight matches for USA. South Alabama posted a season-best .368 hitting percentage against the Panthers, recording 40 kills on 87 attacks, while committing just eight attack errors. USA hit .323 or better in all three sets, posting a .424 in the third frame. The six total blocks by Symone Stephenson were a season-best for the sophomore middle blocker.
South Alabama Drops Panthers 3-0
MOBILE, Ala. – Georgia State (3-9, 1-2) fell 3-0 to South Alabama (7-5, 2-0) in Mobile on Sunday. USA won 25-18, 25-14, and 25-18 to sweep the Panthers. Junior Deidra Bohannon led GSU with 15 kills.
“Give all the credit to South Alabama. They controlled their side of the court and made it difficult for us to execute our game plan on offense,” head coach Sally Polhamus said. “Deidra [Bohannon] and Eliza [Zachary] both played well for us today, but we still aren’t executing like we want to as a team.”
NOTING THE PANTHERS…
· Juniors Deidra Bohannon and Eliza Zachary led the Panther offense with 15 and 10 kills, respectively. Both ended the match with a .333 hitting percentage.
· Natalia Nieto went over 300 assists on the season with 30 against the Jaguars on Sunday. Nieto also led the team in digs with 12.
Georgia State hung close in both the first and third sets, but South Alabama proved to be too much on offense and hit .368 as a team to sweep the Panthers. USA was also tough on defense, totaling eight team blocks compared to Georgia State’s three.
NEXT UP
Georgia State returns home after playing 11 of its first 12 matches on the road. The Panthers host UALR on Friday, Sept. 26 at 6 p.m. at the GSU Sports Arena.
A-State Volleyball Tops Georgia Southern For First SBC Win
STATESBORO, Ga. (9/21/14) – The Arkansas State volleyball team earned its first Sun Belt Conference victory of the season with a 3-1 (25-23, 18-25, 25-22, 25-22) win over Georgia Southern at Statesboro High School Sunday afternoon.
A-State (6-5, 1-1) and Georgia Southern (0-12, 0-3) battled with each other closely throughout the first set before the Red Wolves stretched their lead out to three points at 21-18. After a Georgia Southern timeout, the Eagles went on a 3-0 run to tie the set at 21-21 and both teams traded points until the score was 23-23. A-State’s Sarah Kemp registered a kill to give the Red Wolves set point and after another Georgia Southern timeout, she tallied another kill to give A-State a 25-23 win.
The Eagles bounced back in impressive fashion by taking set two by a score of 25-18 and tie the match at 1-1. The third set was much like the first with neither team able to extend a lead beyond two points until very late in the set when A-State took a 24-21 lead on another Kemp kill. Georgia Southern earned the next point, but another Kemp kill clinched the 25-22 set victory and gave the Red Wolves a 2-1 lead in the match.
In the fourth set, Arkansas State and Georgia Southern battled back and forth with the Eagles taking a slim two-point lead at 11-9 after a kill. The Red Wolves bounced back with a 7-2 run to take a 16-13 lead on a Mallory Warrington kill and held a 23-19 lead after a Markie Schaedig service ace to force a Georgia Southern timeout. After the timeout, the Eagles were able to get within two points at 24-22, but another Warrington kill sealed a 25-22 set victory and 3-1 Red Wolves’ win.
“This was a huge bounce-back win for us,” A-State volleyball coach David Rehr said. “It was a quick turnaround to have to travel here and coming off the loss Friday was tough, but we stepped up and got the win. Georgia Southern had better stats in most categories, but we really outplayed them in the serve-pass aspect of the game and that’s what got us the win.”
Drew Jones led the Red Wolves with 17 kills and Kemp registered her fifth double-double of the season with 12 kills and 14 digs. Warrington handed out 42 assists and recorded her team-leading ninth double-double after tallying 10 kills. Defensively, Schaedig led A-State with 29 digs and Kelsey Reis had five blocks, including two block solos. As a team the Red Wolves registered seven service aces, including three from Schaedig, against five service errors.
Arkansas State returns to action Friday, Sept. 26 in another conference road clash against Troy. First serve is set for 7 p.m. and fans can keep up with the entire match’s action by following @AStateGameday on Twitter. For the latest on the A-State volleyball team follow the squad on Twitter (@stAteVolleyball).
Arkansas State Downs Georgia Southern 3-1
STATESBORO, Ga. – Setter Mallory Warrington collected 42 assists, nine digs and 10 kills, including five in the fourth and final set, to lead Arkansas State to a 3-1 (25-23, 18-25, 25-22, 25-22) Sun Belt Conference volleyball victory over Georgia Southern Sunday afternoon.
Megan Chevalier led Georgia Southern (0-12, 0-3) with a career-high 17 kills to go along with three blocks, and Kym Coley added 16 kills and four blocks. Jamie DeRatt finished with 15 kills and a team-high 19 digs, and Kat Minnerly posted career highs of 55 assists and 18 digs.
Drew Jones led the Red Wolves (6-5, 1-1) with 17 kills and three blocks, and Sarah Kemp added 12 kills and 14 digs. Markie Schaedig tallied a match-high 29 digs.
The Eagles hit .254 in the match compared to Arkansas State’s clip of .216, but it was Warrington who continually hurt the Eagles with setter dumps over the net and into space as the Eagles tried to hold off Arkansas State in the fourth set.
“We out-hit them, and we out-blocked them,” said Georgia Southern coach Dustin Wood. “We just weren’t disciplined enough. Megan and Jamie – they all hit well; I’ll take that any day as a team. It’s just the details we’re lacking in executing adjustments we make during the game. That was the difference today; they were more disciplined than we were.”
Three of the four sets went down to the wire, and Arkansas State won all three. The first set was tied 23-23 after a kill by Eagle middle Leah Joseph, but Kemp put down consecutive kills for the Red Wolves who opened a 1-0 lead in the match.
Georgia Southern hit .444 with just three errors on 36 swings to take the second set 25-18. Warrington broke a 21-21 tie in the third set with a kill, and the Eagles hit a ball out of bounds to fall behind 23-21. Kemp made it set point with a kill, and after a kill by Coley, put down another ball to give the Red Wolves a 2-1 lead in the match.
Arkansas State scored three straight points to break a 13-13 tie in the fourth set and led 23-19. Coley put a kill down for the Eagles, but Jones, Kelsey Reis and Shelby Holmes combined for a block on the next play to make the margin 24-20. Cathrine Murray put down a kill for Georgia Southern and an Arkansas State hitting error made the margin 24-22, but Warrington finished things off with a kill.
The Eagles return to action with two Sun Belt matches on the road next weekend. Georgia Southern will take on UL Monroe Friday and UL Lafayette Saturday. Both contests are set for 8 p.m. (Eastern) starts.
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.
Kohl Leads Texas State Past Warhawks, 3-1
MONROE, La. – Texas State put away the Warhawks of UL Monroe on Sunday, 3-1 (25-18, 25-27, 25-20, 25-21), to stay undefeated in the Sun Belt Conference at 3-0 and improve to above .500 with an 8-7 overall record.
Freshman Jordan Kohl came through in a big way for the Bobcats, finishing with a team-high 15 kills in the match, including an eye-popping eight kills in the third set to help Texas State rebound from dropping the second set.
The Bobcats had four players tally double-doubles in the match, led by Kelsey Weynand, who finished with 13 kills and 17 digs. Shelby Vas Matt had 11 kills and 13 digs while setter Ali Gonzales added 29 assists and 10 digs. Libero Sierra Smith notched her first double-double of the season with a team-high 22 digs and 10 assists.
Jordan Moore added 15 assists in the match, and Keeley Davis led Texas State’s effort at the net with four Block assists. Amanda Watkins contributed three block assists.
Texas State came out on fire in the first frame, putting down 15 kills en route to the 25-18 win. Weynand struck for six kills and just one error on eight attempts for a .625 hitting percentage to start the Bobcats off on the right foot.
In the second set, ULM hit .265 to Texas State’s .159, but the Bobcats had more kills, finishing the frame with 18 to ULM’s 17. Texas State started the second set in much the same way the team played the first set: on fire.
The Bobcats built up a 14-8 lead punctuated by a kill from Weynand. The Warhawks, however, fought all the way back with an 8-2 run to tie the set at 16-16. From there, both teams continued back-and-forth play until UL Monroe was able to put down two kills around a Texas State error to clinch the second frame, 27-25.
Texas State adjusted after the intermission and chose to set Kohl more often. The freshman responded with eight kills. Meanwhile, Smith adjusted to the shallow angle shots ULM started hitting and began to dig everything.
In the third frame, Texas State trailed until tying the match, 8-8. Once the Bobcats took the lead, 9-8, on a kill from Kohl, they didn’t look back. Texas State wouldn’t trail again in the frame, and Davis struck the final two kills of the set to put the Bobcats up 2-1 in the match.
Lauren Kirch came on strong in the fourth and final set, leading the Bobcats with four kills. Texas State only needed 12 kills to earn the 25-21 win. The Bobcats trailed, 16-10, but came back to tie it at 18-18, 19-19 and 20-20. From there, Kirch, Watkins and Weynand all struck kills in a 5-1 run to clinch the match.
Texas State returns home to host South Alabama at 6:30 p.m. at Strahan Coliseum in San Marcos.
Bayleigh Hoffman and Hope Pawlik Post Double-Doubles as ULM Falls to Texas State
MONROE, La. -- Despite outhitting Texas State .199 to .183 and having two players post double-doubles, the ULM volleyball team (6-10, 0-3 Sun Belt) was unable to collect the victory as the Bobcats defeated the Warhawks, 3-1 (25-18, 25-27, 25-20, 25-21), Sunday afternoon at the Fant Ewing Coliseum.
“Tough loss for us today,” head coach Patrick Hiltz said. “I'm really pleased with the way we fought and kept our energy up the entire match. Taking set two after being down as much as we were was huge for us. Our confidence needed to know we could come back not only in a set but in a match as well.”
Hadley Swartz was dominant in the effort, finishing with 17 kills and five digs to lead all scorers. The sophomore has now eclipsed double-digit kills for the fifth time this season.
On the opposite side, Hope Pawlik was equally as effective on both sides of the ball to pick up her first double-double of the year. The sophomore finished with 13 kills, 11 digs, three blocks and a service ace.
With ULM trailing 25-24 and on the brink of going down two sets to none, the Warhawks registered three straight points with two kills by Swartz and a pair of block assists by Alannah Cullum and Kaitlyn Shearer to tie the match at 1-1 heading into intermission.
ULM battled tough the next two sets forcing 11 tie scores and five lead changes, but was unable to clinch any of the sets as the Bobcats (8-7, 3-0 Sun Belt) picked up their third Sun Belt win to stay undefeated in the conference.
“The key now is to not rest on a good performance but rather come out to practice and continue to get better,” Hiltz added. “The Sun Belt is packed with really good volleyball teams so we have to make a concerted effort to keep getting better every day.”
Sophomore Bayleigh Hoffman collected her fourth career double-double by totaling 38 assists and 10 digs as the setter. Shearer tallied seven kills on 15 swings for a team-best .333 efficiency mark.
Marcela Araya continues her excellent play from the libero spot. The senior accumulated an outstanding 25 digs, which put her over the 20-dig mark for the seventh time this season.
The Warhawks will enjoy the week off before returning to action at home Friday night (7 p.m.) against Georgia Southern (0-12, 0-3 Sun Belt).