Friday, October 21
Mountaineers Snap Skid; Defeat Warhawks
BOONE, N.C. –– Appalachian State University broke through and snapped its 17-game losing streak with a dominating 3-0 (29-27, 25-17, 25-17) sweep of UL Monroe on Friday night at the Holmes Center.
Melissa McMath led the Mountaineers (3-18, 1-7 Sun Belt) with 14 kills on the night. Ashton Gregory finished with nine kills, while Alana Shoff and Sloan Evans collected seven kills each.
Also on the offensive side of things, Amanda Krahl totaled 36 assists. Defensively, libero Kennedy Wilson collected a team-high 19 digs and Emma Longley finished with 14.
“I’m just happy for the players,” said head coach Matt Ginipro. “They did a great job tonight following the game plan and played with a ton of energy to break the streak. We just needed to finally get a win to start building something in the second half of conference play.”
In the opening set, both the Mountaineers and the Warhawks (8-18, 2-6 Sun Belt) would battle back and forth with ULM taking a late 24-22 lead. The Apps got three consecutive kills from Evans and Gregory to take a 25-24 lead.
The set would be tied three more times before the Mountaineers would get back-to-back points to end the set and win 29-27.
With momentum in their favor, the Mountaineers would open the second set down 6-2 forcing an Appalachian timeout. The Black and Gold would battle back to take a 13-11 lead and forced a Warhawk timeout.
Up 13-11, App State would go on a 5-2 run and open an 18-13 lead forcing ULM’s second timeout of the set. App State pushed its lead to six following a kill from Longley and a service ace from Olivia Reed.
App State would finish off the Warhawks with a kills from Evans, 25-17.
With a potential sweep in sight, the Mountaineers came out strong in the third set. The Apps would build a 12-8 lead and extend it to a six point advantage following a kill from Evans at 18-12. They would maintain their six point lead and finish off the match with three-straight kills from McMath.
Appalachian State will return to action and look to build off its first Sun Belt win on Sunday, Oct. 23 when it hosts UL Lafayette at 12:30 p.m. inside the Holmes Center.
@stAteVolleyball Defeats South Alabama 3-0
JONESBORO, Ark. (10/21/16) – The Arkansas State volleyball team won its fourth straight conference match and 24th of its last 25 with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-14) sweep versus South Alabama Friday night at the Convocation Center.
Carlisa May led the Red Wolves (16-7, 8-1 SBC) with 13 kills, while Kelsey Reis swatted 11 on a .409 hitting percentage. Kenzie Fields set a career high with 16 digs and also tied a career high with four aces. Mallory Warrington filled up the stat sheet with 27 assists, nine digs, seven kills (.500 attacking percentage), two aces, and one block. Markie Schaedig added 12 digs while Jessica Uke and May added a solo block each.
“South Alabama was never mentally out of the game and had better energy than us for a large part of the match,” A-State head volleyball coach David Rehr said. “Our energy was much better later in the match though, but they had a good game plan against us, so you have to give them credit.”
The first set was strongly contested with A-State taking an 11-8 edge on a Reis kill, but later went ahead 18-14 to cause a timeout by the Jaguars (12-9, 3-5 SBC). The visitors got within three points at 24-21, but an attack error gave A-State the set 25-21.
South Alabama began the second set with a 10-8 advantage and led 14-12 after a service ace. A-State then used a 7-1 run, capped by a kill from Reis, to go ahead 19-15. May extended the Red Wolves edge to 22-17 with a kill and the home team went on to clinch the set 25-20 on a service error by the Jaguars.
The third set was tied 12-12 early on, but an 8-0 run featuring three aces by Fields put A-State in front 20-12. The home team won five of the final seven points with a kill by Shelby Holmes clinching the 25-14 set win and 3-0 match victory.
Arkansas State takes on Troy Oct. 22 at the Convocation Center in its next match. First serve is set for 6 p.m.
Little Rock Puts On Block Party in 3-1 Win Over Troy
LITTLE ROCK – Little Rock volleyball (9-13, 5-4 Sun Belt) improved its winning streak to three matches as it earned a four-set win (25-23, 19-25, 25-19, 25-13) over Troy (6-19, 0-8) on Friday night at the Jack Stephens Center.
Little Rock was an absolute force at the night as the team put up 19 blocks — tied for the second-most in a match this season. Edina Selimovic tied a career high with 11 total blocks (two solo and nine assisted) as she also added nine kills and three aces. Carolee Dillard put up eight blocks of her own (one solo and seven assisted) while tallying nine kills with team-high .286 hitting percentage.
Veronica Marin led Little Rock with 10 kills while Taylor Lindberg recorded her third consecutive double-double with 33 assists and 14 digs. Kelsey Leech tied her career high for digs with 23.
Tied 4-4 to begin the fourth set, Little Rock went up 10-6 with a Marina Avram kill before a Troy timeout. Troy called its final timeout at 16-10 as one of its attacks went wide. With a 17-12 lead, Little Rock strung together six consecutive points to up its lead to 23-12 before a service error ended the run. After the error, Little Rock clinched the match with kills by Marin and Dillard.
Little Rock and Troy began the third set tied at 10 before Little Rock began to pull away. Little Rock took its second-largest lead of the set at 17-12 off a kill by Marin. Troy narrowed the gap to two points at 17-15 after a kill, a block and service ace. Little Rock took its largest lead at 23-17 with an ace by Miona Milovanovic. With set point at 24-19, a Troy service error handed Little Rock the set and a 2-1 lead for the match.
Little Rock faltered in the second frame as Troy took a six-point win. Tied at 9-9, Troy took the lead with a Little Rock attack error and never looked back. Little Rock brought Troy's lead to one at 16-15, but Troy kept up the momentum and took the set with a kill by Leah Causey.
The match began on a tight note as Little Rock squeaked by with a two-point win. Little Rock had built up a 15-10 lead before Troy knotted the set at 17 with a 7-2 run. The two squads remained within two points of each other until tying for the final time at 23. Little Rock took the set with a Troy attack error and a kill by Dillard despite hitting negative for the frame.
Milovanovic ended the match with eight kills and two blocks. Avram tallied double-digit digs for the seventh consecutive match as she scooped up 15 with six kills and six blocks. Hope Larmour earned nine digs while Sydnee Martin came up with five.
Little Rock's 75 digs were its most in a four-set match this season.
With tonight's win, Little Rock tied its longest winning streak from last season as it notched its third straight victory.
Little Rock will return to action against South Alabama on Saturday at 6:30 p.m., as it hosts its annual Dig Pink match at the Jack Stephens Center.
McConnell’s big night helps Mavs ground Eagles
STATESBORO, Ga. – Behind a season-high 12 blocks from freshman Madison McConnell, UT Arlington Volleyball came from behind to take down the Georgia Southern Eagles 3-1 Friday evening in Statesboro, Ga.
After falling in Set 1, UTA bounced back strong in Set 2, soaring to a 25-18 win to even the score. The Mavs took the lead from the start with Canete earning the first kill of the set. Georgia Southern battled back to tie it at 10 before another blast from Canete helped the Mavs regain the lead and never look back. A huge block by Zhanelle Geathers and Kaitlyn Granger sealed the set for UTA.
Libbie Vickers got the scoring started in the third with a service ace. The ace set the tone for the remainder of the set as UTA would dominate the scoring, holding 10-point leads multiple times throughout. Granger tallied one of her nine kills on the evening to finish it off for UTA.
Georgia Southern bounced back and appeared to control the fourth, finding themselves up by seven at one point before the Mavs stormed back late to take the match. Trailing 21-16, UTA went on a 9-4 run to tie it up at 25. With the match point on the line, a block by McConnell and Wheeler ended it giving the Mavs the four-set win.
Players of the Match
Madison McConnell was a force at the net, recording a career-high 12 blocks, just one shy of UTA’s single-game four-set total blocks record. Her 11 block assists tied her with Melissa Marek (vs. Little Rock, 2005) for the Mavs' single-game four-set block assists record. The freshman also had eight kills and hit .400 in the match.
Milestone Watch
Taylor Murata and Qiana Canete continue their ascent up the record books. Taylor Murata’s 27 digs gives her a total of 395, putting her sixth on the Mavs freshmen digs list. She is is 10 behind Ashley Smith for fifth.
Canete had a team-high 14 kills to give her 979 for her career. The junior needs 21 more for 1,000 career kills. Canete will become the 11th player in UTA history with 1,000 career digs and 1,000 kills.
Coastal Downs UL Lafayette in Straight Sets
CONWAY - The Coastal Carolina volleyball team recorded its fifth sweep in Sun Belt Conference play this season as the Chanticleers blanked visiting UL Lafayette in three sets (25-19, 25-18, 25-17) Friday evening inside the HTC Center.
Friday's result extends Coastal's (16-4, 7-1) season-long winning streak to six matches and continues to strengthen the Chants' hold atop the Sun Belt East Division.
Leah Hardman's ninth double-double (13 kills, 12 digs) of the season paced the Chants, who also received match highs of 37 assists from Sara Boothe and 16 digs from Carla Cahill.
Coastal hit .301 as a team, and received hitting percentages of .300 or better from Dora Lulic (.714), Annayka Legros (.500), Hardeman (.370) and Alise Petersone (.333).
UL Lafayette (7-16, 3-5) was led by the 12 kills of Nia Antoine, 26 assists of Jessica Bartczyszyn and 13 digs of Sydney Davis.
Coastal played in front nearly the entire match as the Ragin' Cajun's lone lead came after the opening point of the first set.
Hardeman's five kills in the opening set were complimented by the four apiece from Natasa Savovic and Legros. UL Lafayette kept pace with the Chants for the first half of the frame, but a 7-4 CCU run allowed the Chants to close it out and take a 1-0 match lead.
Coastal was at its most dominant in the second set as the Chants posted a .448 hitting percentage. After taking five of the first six points, the Chants quickly doubled-up the Ragin' Cajuns, 16-8. Hardeman once again put down five kills, while Tahleia Bishop landed four of nine kills for the match.
The Chants led the entirety of the third set, and used a 9-3 run to build an insurmountable 17-9 lead. Coastal also rejected three Ragin' Cajun attempts in the set, receiving solo blocks from Lulic, Legros and Petersone.
Coastal closes its three-match home stand on Sunday as the Chants host ULM for a 2 p.m. match at the HTC Center.
Bobcats win thrilling 5-setter over Georgia State
ATLANTA – The Texas State volleyball team earned a 3-2 (25-22, 18-25, 26-24, 14-25, 15-11) victory over Georgia State in Sun Belt Conference action Friday night inside GSU Sports Arena.
The victory extended the Bobcats' (14-9, 7-1 SBC) season-best win streak to five matches, and the Panthers fell to 8-12 overall and 4-5 in the league.
Four different Bobcats took at least 25 swings, and senior Kelsey Weynand led the way with 14 kills and 13 digs for her 14th career double-double. Junior Jaliyah Bolden added 12 kills and senior Lauren Kirch finished with 11. Freshman Micah Dinwiddie had a match-high 20 digs, and junior Erin Hoppe finished with 45 assists.
The opening set was initially all square at 4-4. Georgia State scored next and moved ahead by as many as four points on five separate occasions before Texas State was finally able to pull even at 17-17. The Panthers again found themselves on top 20-19, but the Bobcats won six of the last eight points to snatch the first set 25-22.
The Panthers moved level at one set each by claiming the second set 25-18. The two teams played to a 14-14 standstill, and it was the home side who was able to secure 11 of the final 15 points to earn its first set of the match.
The third set went in favor of the visitors, but it took extra points to decide the frame. Texas State looked to be in control early, as the maroon and gold led 9-3 and forced GSU to use both timeouts. The Panthers would not go down quietly, however, as they chipped away at the lead and were able to tie proceedings 22-22. The two teams exchanged the next four points, and back-to-back kills from Kirch pushed the Bobcats to the win.
Georgia State sent the contest into a decisive fifth set after capturing the fourth 25-14. GSU went ahead 12-6 and never allowed the Bobcats to get within five points the rest of the way.
The final set was tight throughout, and a quick two-point run allowed the Panthers to pull even at 10-10. Texas State closed strong and was able to secure the road win after winning five of the last six points.
Crystal Lee had a match-best 20 kills, Kristina Stinson finished with 14 and Anna Rantala posted 12 kills and 17 digs. Sarah Renner tallied 48 assists and 10 digs, while Celeste Friesen added 14 digs of her own.
The Panthers led in kills (62-54) and were able to outhit Texas State .278-.158. GSU also led in aces, 8-5. TXST led in blocks, 8-6.
The Bobcats have a quick turnaround for their next match, as they are set to face Georgia Southern at 5:30 p.m. (CST) Oct. 22 in Statesboro, Georgia.