Saturday, October 22
JAG VOLLEYBALL DEFEATS TROJANS IN LITTLE ROCK
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The University of South Alabama volleyball team defeated Little Rock in four sets (15-25, 25-16, 25-21, 26-24) Saturday in a Sun Belt Conference match at Jack Stephens Center.
South Alabama (13-9, 4-5 SBC) rallied from a 1-0 deficit in the match to earn its second consecutive win at Little Rock dating back to last season.
"We didn't execute very well in the first set. We came to play, we just weren't executing," USA head coach Amy Hendrichovsky said. "Once we settled down and focused on what we knew we needed to do to be successful, I was really happy with the play in sets two through four. I thought we really controlled those three sets. They (Little Rock) gave us a run at the end of set four, and I was happy for our girls' toughness to stay confident at the end of set four."
Mechell Daniel recorded her first double-double of the year with a season-high 20 kills and 13 digs.
"Mechell had a phenomenal night," Hendrichovsky said. "Little Rock is ranked at the top of our conference in blocks, and I thought our setters did a really nice job of keeping our tempo and creating some good situations for her. She played really well; I was really happy with her."
Iva Durdanovic finished with 14 kills, four digs and one block assist, while Nikki Gittens added 10 kills and two block assists. Kellyn Reeves and Ashlyn Roberts finished with 28 and 25 assists, respectively, and Arissa Chappell posted a team-best 19 digs.
The Trojans opened the match with a 25-15 win in set one. But the Jaguars responded with a 25-16 win in set two, in which they hit .483 and posted 17 kills, to even the match 1-1.
USA opened the second set with a 3-0 lead following consecutive service aces from Alahna Diaz, who also finished with a career-high 13 digs in the match, and a Trojan attack error. After Little Rock scored to cut the Jaguar lead to 12-11 midway through the set, USA answered by scoring three straight points on kills by Gittens, Daniel and Kelley Hartman for a 15-11 advantage. South Alabama pushed its lead to seven points, 20-13, later in the set on three consecutive kills by Sarah Richardson. A kill by Gittens later in the set gave the Jags set point at 24-16, and Daniel followed with a kill to clinch the set and even the match at one set apiece.
South Alabama took a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-21 win in set three. With the score tied 13-13, the Jaguars reeled off six straight points, highlighted by a pair of kill by Kristina Alabastro and a kill by Daniel, to take a 19-13 lead. USA earned set point, 24-21, later in the set on a kill by Daniel, and a service ace by Roberts clinched the set fort the Jags.
South Alabama sealed the victory with a 26-24 win in set four. The Jaguars held their biggest lead of the set, six points, midway through with a 16-10 advantage. USA earned match point, 24-19, following a kill by Daniel. But the Trojans answered with five straight points to tie the score 24-24. However, Alabastro responded with back-to-back kills to clinch the match for USA.
Edina Selimovic finished with 14 kills to lead the Little Rock (9-14, 5-5 SBC) attack, while Marina Avram, Veronica Marin and Miona Milovanovic added 11 kills apiece.
South Alabama will return to action Tue., Oct. 25, at 6 p.m. in a SBC match against Troy in Troy, Ala.
@stAteVolleyball Sweeps Troy
JONESBORO, Ark. (10/22/16) – The Arkansas State volleyball team tied its season high with nine service aces in a 3-0 (25-12, 25-20, 25-14) sweep of Troy Saturday night at the Convocation Center as the win gave A-State head coach David Rehr his 100th win at A-State.
Markie Schaedig set a career high with five of the team’s nine service aces and also led the team with 13 digs. Kenzie Fields led the team with 13 kills on a career-high .355 hitting percentage and Kelsey Reis added seven on a .583 attacking percentage. Mallory Warrington registered her 10th double-double with 32 assists and 11 digs. Shelby Holmes set a season high with seven kills.
“Kenzie played a great game and Markie was fantastic serving,” Rehr said. “I thought we played with more energy tonight than we did for most of yesterday’s match and that helped us. Now it’s time to get ready for Monday’s match against Little Rock.”
The first set was all A-State (17-7, 9-1 SBC) with the home team taking a 10-4 edge on a Schaedig ace with Troy (6-20, 0-9 SBC) taking a timeout. The Red Wolves extended the lead to 15-5 on a kill by Fields and the Trojans used their final timeout of the set. Arkansas State stretched its lead to 24-12 on a kill by Jessica Uke and won the set 25-12 after an attack error by Troy.
The second set was closer, but the Red Wolves went ahead 14-9 after an attack error and forced Troy to call a timeout. A-State was never able to stretch the lead to more than six points and the Trojans got within four at 24-20, but a kill by Uke gave the home team the set 25-20.
Both teams battled to an 8-8 tie in set three, but an 8-2 run, capped by a kill from Fields, put A-State on top 16-10. The Red Wolves never looked back as they extended the lead to as many as 11 at 23-12 on a kill by Pulotu Manoa. The final margin in the set was also 11 as the Red Wolves won the game 25-14 and the match 3-0.
Arkansas State takes on Little Rock in a quick turnaround on Monday, Oct. 24 in a match that will be broadcast by ESPN3. First serve from the Convocation Center is set for 6 p.m.
GSU RALLIES TO DEFEAT UTA, IMPROVES TO .500 IN SBC PLAY
ATLANTA – Georgia State rallied from a 2-1 deficit to take down UT Arlington and improve to .500 in the Sun Belt Conference. The Panthers took the match by a final of 25-22, 19-25, 23-25, 25-23 and 15-13.
Head coach Sally Polhamus and GSU improve to 5-5 in the SBC and 9-12 overall, while UTA falls to 5-5 and 11-14.
Despite falling behind two sets to one after a dropping the third frame 25-23, the Panthers battled back to take the match in five sets. A service ace from Crystal Lee and kills from Lee and Kristina Stinson brought GSU back to tie the match 2-2.
In the fifth and deciding set, UTA jumped out to a 7-1 lead before Georgia State rallied again to tie it at 10 on a Maverick attacking error. Shae Chapman’s third kill on Sarah Renner’s 53rd assist sealed the victory for the Panthers.
Stinson, Lee and Eliza Zachary carried GSU’s offensive attack with 15 kills each. The three accounted for nearly two thirds of the team’s kills. The Panthers tripled the Mavericks’ ace count with 12 service aces to UTA’s four.
Sally Polhamus spoke highly of the entire team’s will to battle until the end for the second night in a row. Freshman Celeste Friesen rose to the occasion defensively compiling 33 digs on the night. Anna Rantala contributed another 15 digs as well as 11 kills.
Under head coach Diane Seymour, the Mavericks made the Panthers work for every point behind Qiana Canete, Zhanelle Geathers, and Kaitlyn Granger’s strong attacking play. The three combined for 37 kills as Cassidy Wheeler added 46 assists. Taylor Murata and Canete connected on 22 and 20 digs, respectively.
The Panthers will look to get to above .500 in conference play for the first time all season next weekend in their matches again Little Rock and Arkansas State.
Texas State sweeps Eagles to earn 6th-straight win
STATESBORO, Ga. – The Texas State volleyball team swept Georgia Southern 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-18) in Sun Belt Conference play Saturday night from Hanner Fieldhouse.
The victory was the sixth in a row for the Bobcats (15-9, 8-1 SBC), who are now 4-0 all-time against Georgia Southern (11-12, 4-4 SBC).
Senior Kelsey Weynand finished with a match-high 15 kills on a .370 hitting percentage, while junior Jaliyah Bolden and freshman Megan Porter added 10 each. Junior Erin Hoppe ran the offense with 39 assists, and freshman Micah Dinwiddie commanded the backline with 22 digs.
Texas State started the evening on a high note by winning the first set, 25-23. Neither side led by more than three at any point, but Georgia Southern was able to use a 5-0 run to take a 16-14 lead. The Bobcats regained their momentum after a well-placed timeout to score six of the next eight points, and the two teams jockeyed to a 22-22 draw. A kill from Weynand forced a GS timeout, and the maroon and gold went on to capture the opener on its second set point.
The next frame was kinder to the visitors, as they won 25-20 after leading by as much as nine points. The two teams were deadlocked at 8-8 early on, but an 11-3 run put Texas State ahead 19-11. Georgia Southern fended off a pair of set points to get within 24-20, but Porter made sure the Eagles wouldn't get any closer with a kill on the third clinching point.
The final set was all Bobcats, as they went on to clinch the match 25-18. The third was initially tied 5-5, but TXST pushed ahead 10-6 and never trailed again. Texas State earned a 19-14 lead and cruised to victory.
No member of the home team posted double-digit kills, but Cathrine Murray tallied nine. Katie Bange distributed 24 assists, while Alex Beecher had 20 digs and Joscelin Morrow added 10 digs.
The Bobcats led the evening in kills (47-32), attack percentage (.278-.133), digs (54-45) and blocks (6-4).
Texas State is currently in the midst of a stretch where the team will play five matches in nine days. The Bobcats won the first two on the road against Georgia State and Georgia Southern Friday and tonight, respectively. The final three contests will all be in the friendly confines of Strahan Coliseum, starting with a 6:30 p.m. tilt Oct. 25 against UT Arlington. TXST defeated UTA 3-1 in Arlington on Oct. 13.