Friday, September 9
Georgia Southern Wins Two at SpringHill Suites Invitational
STATESBORO, Ga. – Katie Bange recorded a pair of triple-doubles to lead Georgia Southern volleyball to a pair of victories Friday at the SpringHill Suites Invitational in Hanner Fieldhouse.
The Eagles (6-4) topped Wake Forest 3-1 (25-18, 21-25, 25-21, 25-17) and downed Buffalo 3-2 (25-13, 25-20, 23-25, 22-25, 15-13).
Bange compiled a match-high 16 kills, 23 assists and 11 digs against the Bulls and notched a match-high 14 kills, 21 assists and 11 digs against the Demon Deacons. It was her third and fourth triple-doubles of the season, which leads the country.
The story vs. Wake Forest
Georgia Southern out-blocked Wake Forest 12-3 and held the Demon Deacons to .115 hitting in the match. Lauren Reichard led the charge with 10 blocks, Bange added four and Alex Beecher posted a match-high 16 digs.
The Eagles hit .290 and spread the offense around. Reichard and Cathrine Murray each had 10 kills, and Stephanie Spencer added nine.
Leading the match 2-1 but trailing by three points midway through the fourth set, Georgia Southern used a 6-0 run, keyed by two kills and two blocks by Reichard, to open a three-point lead of its own. A block by Wake's Hannah Lee brought the margin to 19-17, but the Eagles ran the table from there, with Reichard assisting on two more blocks, to win the set 25-17 and the match 3-1.
The story vs. Buffalo
Bange and Spencer each had four kills in the fifth and deciding set as the Eagles erased an early 3-0 deficit in the frame. Reichard notched a kill and was in on a block to key a 3-0 GS run that made the score 12-9. The Bulls got within a point twice, but with Georgia Southern leading 14-13, Bange put down a ball off a Kendra Koetter assist to end the match. It was the third-straight five-set match for the Eagles.
Spencer finished with a season-high 13 kills and 12 digs, and Anna Wenger had 10 kills for the second straight contest. Murray chipped in 13 kills and 10 digs, and Reichard tallied eight kills and five blocks. Koetter had 23 assists, and Beecher notched 16 digs and nine assists.
Quotable from head coach Dustin Wood
"Tonight, we just came out and played – I mean everybody played well, and that's what we've been looking for all season."
"In the match at noon, we started off on fire. I really liked the way we were playing, but we got a little too comfortable. Buffalo did a good job of adjusting, and we didn't make any adjustments. We'll take the win, and the experience of going to another fifth set will help us down the road."
"Katie had a tough weekend the first weekend, but ever since then, she's been lights out. She's doing everything well – digging balls, blocking balls, putting balls away, hitting over .500. Not many people in the country can do that so we're going to go to her if she has the hot hand."
Next up
The Eagles host South Carolina in the championship match of the SpringHill Suites Invitational Saturday at 6 p.m. in Hanner Fieldhouse. The contest will be broadcast live on ESPN3.
Chants Open Panther Invite with 3-1 Victory Over Pitt
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The Coastal Carolina volleyball team played its first of three matches at the Panther Invitational Friday night, defeating the host University of Pittsburgh in four sets (25-17, 14-25, 25-22, 25-19) at the Fitzgerald Fieldhouse.
The tournament-opening win improves Coastal to 6-1 on the year, and comes against a Panther team that was receiving votes in this week’s AVCA coaches poll. The Chants additionally improve to 3-0 versus ACC opponents this season with wins against Miami, Notre Dame and Pitt (5-2).
Statistically the two sides were evenly matched, as Pitt held slim advantages in kills, assists and digs. Coastal hit .185 as a team to Pitt’s .153, and committed just 19 attacking errors to the Panther’s 28. Each side finished with 12 team blocks.
Leah Hardeman was the only player to reach double figures in kills, closing the match with 10. Tahleia Bishop and Annayka Legros finished with eight and seven kills, respectively. Legros added a team-leading six blocks, while Dora Lulic stuffed five Panther attempts. Kate Federico led the Chants in both assists (17) and service aces (3).
Pitt’s attacking was spread among several players as Jenna Potts and Mariah Bell each tallied nine kills, followed by the eight apiece from Layne Van Buskirk, Kelsey O’Neill and Stephanie Williams. Potts also posted a .316 hitting percentage and matched Legros with six blocks.
Coastal came out of the gate hot, hitting .381 as a team and forcing Pitt into using both timeouts after taking a 10-3 lead. Bishop’s four kills and a block in the opening frame helped Coastal protect that lead for the remainder of the set as the Panthers never managed to bring the gap within four points.
The second set was a reversal of the first as Pitt hit .320 to Coastal’s .042 while receiving multiple kills from five players, and multiple blocks from three. Coastal called its first timeout while trailing 7-3, and managed to even the game at nine points apiece. From there, however, Pitt used an 11-3 run to build an insurmountable lead.
Coastal’s defense recorded 16 digs and five blocks in the third frame as the Chants held on for a 25-22 set win. Legros accounted for two of the blocks and paced the offense with three kills. The set featured six ties in the early stages before Coastal took the lead for good at 9-8 on block by Bishop and Legros. Pitt threatened to overtake the lead several times, though the Chants held at least a two-point cushion for the remainder of the set.
The final set was all Coastal as the Chants hit .250, put down three aces and tallied three blocks. Pitt held an early 10-6 advantage before the Chants stormed back and evened the set at 11. A 6-1 Coastal run followed that, building a comfortable lead for the Chants en route to a 25-19 set victory.
The Panther Invitational continues on Saturday with a 10 a.m. match against #22 Michigan and a 4 p.m. match against American.
@stAteVolleyball Sweeps UT Martin
JONESBORO, Ark. (9/9/16) – The Arkansas State volleyball team defeated UT Martin 3-0 (25-14, 25-17, 25-16) in its second match of the A-State Invitational at the Convocation Center Friday night in a match that saw the Red Wolves hit a season-high .463 and hold the Skyhawks to a .084 mark.
Carlisa May led the Red Wolves (6-3) with nine kills on a .667 attacking percentage, while Brentlee Weaver (8) and Kenzie Fields (8) were tied for second most during the match that saw A-State use 15 different players. Kelsey Reis added seven kills on a .778 hitting percentage, while Mallory Warrington handed out 39 assists. Markie Schaedig led the team with 12 digs and Anna Murphy had two service aces to pace the Red Wolves.
“This was a big step in the right direction for us,” A-State head volleyball coach David Rehr said. “We still have some things to improve on, but this was one of the most complete matches we’ve played this year from start to finish. It was nice to get a lot of people in during the game and see some different lineups, but now we turn our attention to Tulsa.”
A-State raced out to a 10-3 advantage in set one after a block by Reis and Warrington to force a UT Martin (3-8) timeout. The home team led by as many as 12 at 18-6 after a Weaver kill and closed the set with a 25-14 win on a kill by Fields.
The second set began with both teams splitting the first 10 points, but A-State used an 18-9 run, capped by a May kill on Lauren Petersen’s first career assist, to go ahead 23-14. Weaver registered the final two points on sets from Petersen as the Red Wolves earned a 25-17 victory in set two.
Arkansas State jumped out to an 11-6 lead in set three on a Shelby Holmes kill to force a UTM timeout. However, the stoppage in play did little to slow A-State down with the Red Wolves earning a 21-14 advantage on Alden Weeks’ first career kill. The Red Wolves finished the set on a 4-2 run to claim a 25-16 set win and 3-0 victory against the Skyhawks.
A-State finishes the A-State Invitational Saturday against Tulsa at 1 p.m. in the Convocation Center. Tulsa won both of the other two matches Friday with a 3-0 win over UTM and 3-1 triumph versus Central Arkansas.
Texas State Falls To Utah 3-0
PORTLAND, Ore. – Texas State University volleyball fell 3-0 (25-17, 25-23, 27-25) to PAC-12 member Utah at the University of Portland-hosted North Harbour Marriott Challenge Friday evening.
Utah (5-2) held a .347-.247 team hitting advantage and a slight 47-40 edge in kills. Texas State (5-5) owned a 32-26 lead in digs. Lauren Kirch led the Bobcats with a .429 hitting percentage, along with 11 kills and three block. Jaliyah Bolden counted nine blocks, while posting a .316 hitting percentage.
Adora Anae and Carly Trueman led the Utes in kills with 14 and 11, respectively, while Berkely Oblad posted a .467 hitting percentage and nine kills.
Utah took the early advantage in the first set, jumping out to a 10-5 lead and forcing Texas State to use its first timeout. A .250 team hitting percentage helped keep the Utes in front, and the Bobcats called their second timeout while trailing by six, 19-13. Utah managed to stay ahead by at least five points for the remainder of the set.
The second set was a close affair, featuring four lead changes and seven ties. Texas State took its final a lead at 18-17 on a Utah service error, but the Utes scored four of the next five points to regain the advantage. Utah led 23-20 before back-to-back kills by Kirch tightened the match, but the Utes received two kills by Adora Anae to seal the 25-23 second set win.
The Bobcats took an early 12-7 lead in the third set thanks to a 7-2 run after Utah tied the match at five. However, the lead would be short lived as Utah scored seven of the next nine points to tie the set 14-14. The Bobcats regained the lead at 18-16 with a Bolden kill and Van Matts ace bookending a pair of Utah errors. Utah would tie the match 22-22 on an Anae ace and take the lead on a Oblad kill. Vas Matt and Alex Silver countered with a kill and ace, respectively, pushing the score to 24-24. Texas State tied the match again at 25, but Utah would count the final two points for the 27-25 set win.
Texas State concludes the tournament Saturday (Sept. 10) with a Noon (CDT) match against the host Pilots.
JAGS SPLIT PAIR OF MATCHES ON DAY ONE OF HOMEWOOD SUITES CLASSIC
FORT MYERS, Fla. – The University of South Alabama volleyball team split a pair of matches Friday at the Homewood Suites Classic at Alico Arena.
USA (7-2) opened the tournament, hosted by Florida Gulf Coast, with a 3-1 win over Marist (25-21, 27-25, 22-25, 25-16) Friday morning which extended its winning streak to five games. But a 3-1 loss to Florida Gulf Coast (15-25, 20-25, 25-22, 15-25) later in the afternoon snapped the Jags' win streak.
South Alabama will close the tournament at noon (CT) Saturday against Indiana. The match will be streamed live at Eversport.TV, and live stats will be provided at FGCUAthletics.com.
USA 3, Marist 1
The Jaguars opened the first match with a 25-21 win in set one. South Alabama took its first lead in the set on a kill by Mechell Daniel for a 10-9 advantage. The Jags pushed their lead to four, 17-13, later in the set on four straight points following kills by Iva Durdanovic and Sarah Richardson and consecutive service aces from Kellyn Reeves. A kill by Kristina Alabastro and a Marist ball-handling error gave the Jags their biggest lead – a 20-15 advantage – of the set. The Red Foxes cut their deficit to three at 22-19, but a service error by Megan Fergus and a kill by Durdanovic gave the Jags a 24-19 lead. A kill by Hartman closed out the set for the Jags at 25-21. USA posted a .393 team hitting percentage in the first set.
USA scored the first two points in set two, and doubled its lead to 6-3 after three straight points following kills by Richardson and Durdanovic and a Marist attack error. But the Red Foxes answered with three consecutive points to tie the score 6-6 after a service ace by Nikki DeSerpa, an attack error by Durdanovic and a kill by Kelsey Ediger. USA built a six-point advantage on five straight points following kills by Nikki Gittens, Richardson, Hartman and Durdanovic, and a Marist attack error to take a 17-11 lead. South Alabama built its biggest lead of the set – nine points – on a Marist attack error and kills from Durdanovic and Richardson to push its advantage to 21-12. The Red Foxes then scored seven consecutive points – highlighted by a pair of kills by Kelsey Ediger and two service aces – to cut the Jaguar lead to 21-19. Marist cut the Jaguar lead to one point, 23-22, following an attack error by Daniel. With the score tied 25-25, Daniel recorded a kill and the Red Foxes committed an attack error for a 27-25 Jaguar win in set two.
The Red Foxes built a five-point advantage, 15-10, in set three. USA cut its deficit to two at 17-15 following a kill by Kristina Alabastro and a Marist attack error. Consecutive Jaguar errors – on a serve from Richardson and attack from Gittens – and a kill by Ashton Korona gave the Red Foxes a 20-15 advantage. The Jags cut their deficit to two, 24-22, after a kill by Gittens on a Marist set point. But a ball-handling error by Ashlyn Roberts on the ensuing play clinched the set for the Red Foxes 25-22.
USA built a 13-6 lead in set four following four straight points on kills by Hartman and Alabastro, and a pair of Marist errors. The Jaguars increased their lead to nine points, 18-9, after three consecutive points that came on a Marist service error, an attack error by Amanda Schlegel and a kill by Daniel. The Red Foxes cut the Jaguar lead to six points, 20-14, but USA scored five of the final seven points in the set – highlighted by a pair of kills each from Richardson and Alabastro – to clinch the set and match at 25-16.
Richardson led the Jags with 11 kills and a .611 hitting percentage, while also adding four block assists. Daniel finished with 10 kills, five digs and one block assist, while Hartman added nine kills and five block assists. Alabastro, Durdanovic and Gittens finished with eight kills apiece. Gittens also had three block assists. Abby Baker recorded 23 digs in four sets, while Roberts finished with 26 assists and Reeves added 21 assists.
FGCU 3, USA 1
FGCU won the first two sets en route to a 3-1 win, which snapped South Alabama's five-game winning streak.
The Eagles took set one 25-15 after posting 18 kills and a .536 team hitting percentage, followed by a 25-20 win in set two that featured 17 kills and a .455 hitting percentage.
USA won set three 25-22 behind Alabastro's four kills in the set. The Jaguars scored five of the first six points of the set, which Durdanovic led off with a service ace, to take a 5-1 lead. FGCU tied the score 14-14 midway through the set before the Jaguars reeled off three straight points, highlighted by a kill from Alabastro and service ace from Symone Stephenson, to take a 17-14 lead. The Eagles cut their deficit to one, 23-22, late in the set, but a kill by Alabastro and an FGCU attack error closed the set for USA.
The Eagles clinched the match with a 25-15 win in set four after hitting .406 with 13 kills. FGCU's Amanda Carroll finished with a game-high 20 kills and posted a .450 hitting percentage in four sets, while also recording 12 digs. Durdanovic finished with nine kills to lead South Alabama, while Gittens and Alabastro added eight apiece. Daniel finished with seven kills, while Hartman and Richardson added six each.
Baker finished with 21 digs, and Reeves finished with a team-high 21 assists.
ULM Volleyball Struggles to Find Rhythm in Texas
Houston, Texas – The ULM volleyball team lost both matches on day one of the Flo Hyman Collegiate Cup Classic to Houston Baptist (Texas) and San Jose State (Calif.).
HOW IT HAPPENED
ULM vs Houston Baptist
-The first set started off with a battle for control. The set produced six total ties for the most ties in the match. After the Huskies four point run, the Warhawks were unable to bounce back and HBU took set one.
-The Warhawks had an early lead in the second set but Houston Baptist quickly made up the difference with a seven-point run that gave HBU control. The Huskies saw that lead to a second set win.
-The momentum stayed on the side of Houston Baptist in set three as the Huskies dominated play. HBU was able to put together two seven-point runs that saw HBU to a set three win and a sweep of ULM.
ULM vs San Jose State
-Set one started with a battle for control. The set held six ties, the highest of any other set in the match. After a six-point run from the Spartans, however, the Warhawks could not recover as San Jose took set one.
-In set two, ULM remained just behind the Spartans, but were unable to close out the set as San Jose finished the set with a final score of 25-21.
-The Spartans jumped out to a five point lead right off the bat in set three. ULM was unable to curb San Jose’s advance as the Spartans closed out set three with a five point run that sealed the match.
Troy Volleyball Defeats Alabama State in Four Sets
TROY, Alabama – The Troy volleyball team opened the ISTAP Collegiate Cup Invitational with a 3-1 win over host Alabama State on Friday night at Lockhart Gymnasium in Montgomery, Ala.
The Trojans (4-4) began the match with a first set win, 25-19 and stormed to a huge 25-14 victory in the second set, in large part to Sara Landis who had nine kills after the first two sets, eight of them in the first set.
After a back and forth third set that the Trojans dropped 26-24, Troy pulled away following a 14-14 tie and won the fourth set 25-20.
QUOTABLE
"I'm glad we got back on the winning track," Sonny Kirkpatrick said. "We worked on a lot of things this week in practice and we put them into the match. So it was good to see the things that we're working on are paying off. We look forward to getting back tomorrow against Chicago State and getting better."
STAT OF THE GAME
Sara Landis recorded 13 kills, which tied a career-high for the senior. She last had 13 kills against UL Lafayette on October 17, 2015.
TURNING POINT
With the two teams tied at 14 in the fourth set, Troy rattled off four straight points thanks to a couple of kills from Reina Terry and one from Lauren Long with a Hornet attack error in the middle to take an 18-14 lead. This would lead to a 25-20 fourth set victory clinching the win for the Trojans.
OWLS DEFEAT PANTHERS 3-1 IN GEORGIA CHALLENGE FINALE
ATLANTA – In the Georgia Challenge tournament finale, Georgia State won the opening set, but the Owls of Kennesaw State rattled off three straight sets to beat the Panthers in four sets. The crowd at Georgia Tech’s O’Keefe Gymnasium saw KSU take the match 27-29, 25-20, 25-18 and 25-17.
Georgia State (3-6) was unable to snap a four match losing skid Friday afternoon against (2-8) Kennesaw State, who was able to snap a seven-game skid of its own on Georgia Tech's campus.
Sophomore Crystal Lee led GSU with 11 kills and the Panthers had a balanced offensive attack with eight kills apiece from senior Eliza Zachary and sophomore Anna Rantala. Sarah Renner ran the show with 36 assists on the day.
Sophomore Sydni Shelton led KSU with a personal career-high 26 kills on the match and proved too much for the Panthers to overcome in sets 2-4. Shelton had help from Anaiah Boyer’s double double of 11 kills and 16 digs as well as Kristi Piedimonte’s match-leading 48 assists.
GSU and KSU went back and forth in the first set, with neither team leading by more than two points down the stretch. Crystal Lee made her presence felt with eight kills and eight digs in the first. Sarah Renner added 14 assists in the opening frame to help keep pace with the Owls. The Panthers fought off several set points before Eliza Zachary’s second kill gave the Panthers the set, 29-27.
Kennesaw responded nicely with a 25-20 win in the next set, using stellar play from Shelton and Johnson to close out the Panthers. GSU had a balanced attack offensively with Stinson, Zachary, Creger and Lee, but the Owls’ firepower of 15 kills proved too much to knot us up at 1-1.
Friesen’s beautiful ace brought Georgia State to within two at 15-13 in the third before KSU called time. The Panthers got it as close as 18-17, but the Owls went on to take the third and go up 2-1 behind Shelton’s offense and Katarina Morton’s solid defensive play. Zachary and Renner’s combinations helped bring GSU within arms’ reach of the Owls, but the Panthers fell 25-18.
The Owls were able to put away the Panthers with Shelton continuing her dominance and Morton supplying defense in her 21-dig performance. Shelton finished off GSU with her 26th kill to give the Owls the set and match with a 25-17 edge and a 3-1 match win.
Georgia State will get to work next week ahead of its home opener next Friday in the GSU Invitational against South Carolina State. Come out to the Sports Arena next weekend to see the Panthers in action.
Mountaineers Struggle Against NKU in Eagle Challenge
MOREHEAD, Ky. –– Appalachian State University volleyball struggled against Northern Kentucky and dropped its sixth-straight match with a 3-1 loss on Friday afternoon.
The Mountaineers (2-7) were led by freshman Emma Longley who tallied a team-high and game-high 19 kills. Longley also collected 10 digs and notched her fifth double-double of the season.
Amanda Krahl finished with 42 assists, while Kati Stammen finished with a team-high 18 digs. Kennedy Wilson was the third Mountaineer to finished with double-digit digs with 12.
In the first set, the Mountaineers and the Norse were tied 10-10 before App State went on a 5-2 run for a three point lead. From there, App State maintained the advantage until the Norse tied the set at and took a lead at 21-20. App State rallied for a 5-1 run to finish off the set, including a kill from Alana Shoff.
In the second set, App State fell behind early on and was never able to recover. The Mountaineers were within one point at 16-15, but back-to-back kills from the Norse pushed the lead to 18-15 and the Black and Gold couldn’t recover and Northern Kentucky tied the match at 1-1.
Much like the second set, the Mountaineers played the Norse close in the early going but Northern Kentucky pulled away from a 16-5 lead on a 6-2 run to open up a 22-17 lead. NKU finished off a match-swinging set with a 25-21 win.
Northern Kentucky raced off to an 11-2 lead in what would prove to be the match-clinching set for the Norse. The Mountaineers would battle back to a 19-15 deficit, but the Norse would finish the match with a 25-17 set victory.
Appalachian State will finish the Eagle Challenge tomorrow morning at 11:30 a.m. with a match against Ball State.
No. 13 Florida State Hands Trojans Three-Set Loss
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Little Rock volleyball (3-7) fell in straight sets (15-25, 19-25, 20-25) to No. 13 Florida State (5-1) on Friday night at Tully Gymnasium.
Carolee Dillard was named to the Home2 Suites by Hilton-Tallahassee Seminole Tournament All-Tournament Team for her great performance throughout the tournament. Dillard led the Trojans with eight kills, eight total blocks and a team-high .261 hitting percentage.
The first set was all Florida State as the Seminoles controlled the entire frame and took a 10-point victory. Little Rock led the block battle 4-2 as Dillard tallied three.
The Trojans trailed by as much as nine points in the second frame, but they managed to whittle the Seminoles lead down to five at 23-18. Florida State kept up the pressure and eventually took the set with a couple of kills. Dillard recorded a set-high four kills and added two block assists to her total.
The final set saw Little Rock got off to a rough start as Florida State got out to a 17-8 lead. Little Rock battled back with a 6-1 run to narrow Florida State's lead to 18-14. The Seminoles wouldn't allow the Trojans to come any closer as they kept at least four points between the two for the rest of the match.
Veronica Marin recorded five kills with three total blocks while Daisha Gillard earned four kills and one block assist. Sydnee Martin had a team-high 11 digs for the Trojans. Miona Milovanovic had the match's second-most blocks with four.
Little Rock continued its dominance at the net as it outblocked Florida State 11-7. The Trojans have outblocked every opponent this season and have tallied double-digit block totals in eight of 10 matches.
Little Rock will return to action against Incarnate Word, North Texas and Stephen F. Austin beginning on Friday in Nacogdoches, Texas.