Saturday, September 10
Troy Volleyball Sweeps in Final Day of ISTAP Collegiate Cup Invitational
MONTGOMERY, Alabama – The Troy volleyball team wrapped up its final day of play at the ISTAP Collegiate Cup Invitational with a 3-1 win over Chicago State in the first game and a 3-1 win against Savannah State in the nightcap on Saturday at Lockhart Gymnasium in Montgomery, Ala.
The Trojans (6-4) are the only team in the tournament to go 3-0 on the weekend and take its win streak to three matches. Troy opened play on Saturday against Chicago State (1-7) by winning the first two sets 25-22 and 25-16. The Cougars came back and won the third set 25-19, but the Trojans stormed back and clinched the win with a 25-18 fourth set victory.
Troy came back in its final game of the tournament against Savannah State (0-11) and lost the first set 25-20, but thanks to Sara Landis' career-high 18 kills the Trojans came back to win the final three sets (25-17, 25-19 and 25-23) to earn a 3-1 victory.
QUOTABLE
"The things we've been working on in practice are starting to come together," Sonny Kirkpatrick said. "It was good for us to find our rhythm. We need to continue to get better for Tuesday because UAB is a pretty good team. We have to be able to make sure we can compete with them."
STAT OF THE GAME (GAME ONE)
Eight different Trojans had at least one kill in today's match against Chicago State. Leading the charge was Jordyn Saulsberry, who had 13 kills in the match. Leah Causey had eight and Symone Shaw chipped in with seven.
TURNING POINT
Troy had a 2-1 advantage in sets played and went into the fourth set, where they had a .478 hit percentage and 13 kills. Those two key elements led to a 25-18 fourth set victory.
STAT OF THE GAME (GAME TWO)
Sara Landis recorded a career-high 18 kills, after she tied a career-high 13 kills the night before against Alabama State.
TURNING POINT
After dropping the first set, the Trojans had a total of 41 kills in the final three sets and went on win each of those sets by a combined 16 points.
NOTEWORTHY
• Troy is now on a three-match win streak following a win in each game played this weekend.
• Sara Landis and Leah Causey were named to the all-tournament team for their performance this weekend. Landis was named tournament MVP and totaled 39 kills for the entire tournament.
• Troy remains undefeated against Chicago State and Savannah State in the all-time series following a win over each team.
ON TAP
The Trojans will take their three-match win streak to Birmingham, Ala., for a contest with UAB. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
Texas State Sweeps Portland
PORTLAND, Ore. – Texas State University volleyball concluded the North Harbour Marriott Challenge with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-22) sweep of the host Portland Pilots.
The Bobcats went 2-1 in the tournament, defeating CSU Bakersfield and Portland sandwiched around a setback to PAC-12 member Utah. Texas State is now 6-5 on the season.
Texas State recorded team advantages in kills (43-35), hitting percentage (.267-.140), digs (56-47) and total blocks (12-4). Megan Porter led the way with 10 total kills, while Shelby Vas Matt logged a match-best .333 hitting percentage. Lauren Kirch recorded eight blocks to pace the Bobcats.
Hannah Troutman led the Pilots (4-4) with 14 kills and a .209 hitting percentage, while also collecting three blocks.
Texas State hit .310 as a team in the opening set and received four kills each from Vas Matt, Porter and Jordan Kohl en route to a 25-22 win. The Bobcats took the first four points of the set, relinquished the lead at 8-7, but immediately responded with seven of the next 10 points to reestablish their footing. Texas State led by as many as five the rest of the set before Vas Matt finished the set with her fourth kill of the day.
The second set began as a close affair as the teams traded the first 16 points. But the momentum shifted toward the Bobcats as Porter registered three straight kills as part of 5-0 run, giving Texas State a lead it would not relinquish. The Bobcats ended the set hitting .368 on the way to a 25-17 win.
Portland took the early advantage in the third set, but Texas State rallied to tie the score at 14-14, then went on a 4-1 run for the 18-15 lead. The Bobcats would not look back as they went on to take the set 25-22 with 10 team kills and five total blocks.
Texas State return to the court Tues., Sept. 13 at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m. at the Dugan Wellness Center.
Coastal Sweeps American to Close Panther Invitational
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The Coastal Carolina volleyball team played its third and final match of the Panther Invitational Saturday afternoon, turning in 25-17, 25-23, 25-23 sweep of American to finish 2-1 for the tournament.
The Chanticleers, who improved to 7-2 on the season after splitting Saturday’s pair of matches, landed two players on all-tournament team in Leah Hardeman and Sara Boothe. The victory marked Coastal’s sixth three-set sweep of the season.
Hardeman turned in her best performance of the weekend, putting down 15 kills at a .600 clip while finishing second on the team with eight digs. Annayka Legros followed with 14 kills while hitting .524 and tied Tahleia Bishop for the team lead in blocks with three. Boothe provided 25 assists while Carla Cahill tallied 16 digs.
Legros delivered half of her total kills in the first set alone, and the Chants hit .400 as a team en route to an eight-point set victory. Coastal surrendered the game’s first two points, but overtook the lead for good at 4-3 on a block from Dora Lulic and Kinga Windisch. The Chants continued to add to their lead throughout the set, going ahead by as many as eight points before taking a 1-0 match advantage.
The Chants’ hitting dipped slightly to .317 in the middle frame, but eight kills and four digs from Hardeman powered the Chants to a 2-0 match lead. The set was tied late at 21 point apiece before an American service error and Legros kill gave the Chants a two-point cushion. Hardeman then put down back-to-back kills to close out the game.
The final set was a close affair and featured 11 ties. Coastal did not take the lead until late in the set when Hardeman put down a kill to give the Chants a 24-23 lead and match point. The contest ended on an American attack error by Vela McBride. The Chants held a slim .279 - .233 hitting advantage in the set, and were led by the four kill each from Bishop and Natasa Savovic.
Coastal’s next match will be its first at home for the 2016 season. CCU hosts the Chanticleer Classic featuring Georgia Tech and North Florida, Sept. 16-17 at the HTC Center. The Chants play their home opener on Friday at 7 p.m.
Coastal Carolina vs. #22 Michigan (10 a.m. Saturday)
The Coastal Carolina volleyball team suffered its first loss of the Panther Invitational Saturday morning, falling in straight sets (25-16, 25-22, 25-23) to #22 Michigan.
The loss is just the second of the season for the Chanticleers (6-2), with both defeats coming at the hands of nationally ranked opponents. Michigan remains unbeaten this season, improving to 8-0.
The Wolverines were paced by the 13 and 10 kills of Carly Skjodt and Kelly Murphy, respectively. Skjodt added a trio of blocks while Murphy led her team with a .400 hitting percentage.
As a team Michigan held advantages in nearly statistical category , including 12 team blocks to the Chants' six.
Coastal's Leah Hardeman tallied 10 kills for the second straight match, while Carla Cahill paced the Chants with 14 digs and Sara Boothe provided a team-leading 18 assists.
Michigan led in hitting percentage while recording at least 11 digs and three blocks in all three sets.
Coastal held two leads in the opening set, the last coming at 10-8 before Michigan claimed 10 of the next 12 points to go ahead by six.
Michigan's momentum carried into the second set as the Wolverines jumped out to a quick 11-5 lead, forcing Coastal to call both timeouts in the process. Murphy and Skjodt put down four kills apiece in the set as Michigan maintained at least a five-point cushion for the remainder of the frame.
The Chants nearly took the match to a fourth set, holding a 22-21 lead late in the third. Coastal was unable to hold its lead, however, as a Skjodt kill and two Michigan blocks gave the Wolverines set point, and one final kill from Murphy finished the match. The final set included 17 ties and 10 lead changes.
A-State Volleyball Falls to Tulsa 3-0
JONESBORO, Ark. (9/10/16) – The Arkansas State volleyball team dropped a 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 30-28) decision to Tulsa in both teams’ final match of the A-State Invitational Saturday afternoon at the Convocation Center in Jonesboro.
The loss for the Red Wolves (6-4) was their first home loss since Nov. 22, 2014 when the team lost a 3-0 match to Little Rock. Carlisa May led the team with 12 kills, while Brentlee Weaver added 10 on a .375 hitting percentage. Mallory Warrington registered her team-high fourth double-double with 38 assists and 12 digs and Markie Schaedig registered a team-high 23 digs. Kelsey Reis had four blocks. Tulsa (8-1) was led by Erica Bohannon’s 13 kills.
“I’m proud of the way we fought, but we got stuck in a couple of rotations that we couldn’t get out of and gave points in bunches,” A-State head volleyball coach David Rehr said. “It was a game of runs, and we had too many bad ones. Tulsa is a good team and we knew we would be in a fight. We’ve got a big one coming in Tuesday night in Missouri State so we have to turn our focus to them.”
Arkansas State and Tulsa battled to a 16-16 tie in set one after a May kill, but the Golden Hurricane went on a 4-0 run to take a 20-16 edge. However, A-State used a 5-1 run, capped by a Kenzie Fields kill, to tie the set 21-21. Tulsa responded to win four of the final six points of the set to earn a 25-23 set one win.
The two teams battled to a 10-10 tie in set two, but another 4-0 run by the Golden Hurricane put the visitors in front 14-10. Tulsa eventually stretched its lead to 22-14 to force an Arkansas State timeout. However, A-State used a 9-2 run, finished by a service ace by Jessica Heuertz, to claw within one at 24-23, but Tulsa won the final point to win its second straight set 25-23.
The third set looked to be going A-State’s way early with the squad jumping out to a 15-12 advantage, but a 6-0 run by Tulsa flipped the score to 18-15. The Red Wolves fought back to within 24-23 and earned the next point on a May kill to tie the set at 24-24. Arkansas State earned two set points at 26-25 and 27-26, but couldn’t close out the set. The Golden Hurricane were able to secure the 3-0 win with a kill and attack error by the Red Wolves set the final in set three at 30-28.
Brooke Berryhill of Tulsa was awarded the MVP of the A-State Invitational, while teammate Trinity Alualu also made the all-tournament squad. Weaver was the Red Wolves’ selection on the team, while Elizabeth Armstrong of UCA and Jemima Idemudia of UT Martin rounded out the team. Weaver had 27 kills during the event on a .397 hitting percentage.
Arkansas State returns to action Tuesday night when the team hosts Missouri State at the Convocation Center. First serve is set for 6 p.m.
Georgia Southern Gives Undefeated South Carolina All it Can Handle In Five-Set Thriller
STATESBORO – Katie Bange, Cathrine Murray and Kendra Koetter each recorded a double-double Saturday evening in front of a raucous crowd, leading the Georgia Southern volleyball in a five-set thriller against an undefeated South Carolina team. The Gamecocks were ultimately able to escape Hanner Fieldhouse with a 3-2 win, but the Eagles gave a good showing and kept the Gamecocks on their heels the entire time.
Entering Saturday's match, the Gamecocks (9-0) had given up just three sets all season, including two to Wake Forest on Friday, but the Eagles (6-5) didn't let that intimidate them as they took the second and fourth sets in a wild affair.
Murray led the way for Georgia Southern with 14 kills to go along with 15 digs while Bange and Lauren Reichard each tallied 12 kills. Bange, who also had a team-best 29 assists, hit a solid .333 for the match while Reichard hit .385 and added eight blocks. Stephanie Spencer rounded out the quartet of Eagles to have double-digit kills with 11 to go with 11 digs. Reichard and Bange were named to the all-tournament team.
The Story
Trailing 6-2 in the fifth set, Georgia Southern came storming back to a 12-10 lead with the help of two kills and two blocks by Reichard. South Carolina closed the set out on a 5-1 run to claim the match. With the Gamecocks leading 14-13, Koko Atoa-Williams hit the ball into the block of Bange, but the ball was called out of bounds on the SC side of the net.
Down 1-0 in the match, Georgia Southern powered to a 25-16 second-set win by hitting .324 as a team compared to just .083 by the Gamecocks. Alex Beecher, who had a match-high 24 digs, gave the Eagles the lead in the set for good at 8-7 with a service ace and GS never looked back.
Following the intermission, the Gamecocks took the third set 25-18, but GS bounced back in the fourth set, claiming a back-and-forth shootout at 27-25. With the Eagles down 24-23, Anna Wenger delivered a huge kill to tie the score 24-24, but SC took the next point at 25-24. Not giving up, Spencer hit a line drive down the left line to tie it back up at 25-25 before Bange ricocheted a kill off a pair of Gamecocks to set up a GS set point. A block assist from Bange and Reichard sealed the frame and sent the match to a fifth set.
JAG VOLLEYBALL FALLS TO INDIANA AT HOMEWOOD SUITES CLASSIC
FORT MYERS, Fla. – The University of South Alabama volleyball team fell in straight sets to Indiana (17-25, 18-25, 23-25) Saturday at the Homewood Suites Classic at Alico Arena.
Allison Hammond finished with a game-high 13 kills and .455 hitting percentage to lead Indiana (9-0). Megan Tallman added 30 assists, and Taylor Lebo finished with 10 kills. Kelley Hartman led USA (7-3) with seven kills, while Iva Durdanovic finished with four kills, five digs and three block assists.
IU opened the match with a 25-17 win in set one. The Hoosiers posted 15 kills and a .407 team hitting percentage in the set, led by Hammond's seven. Nikki Gittens recorded three kills in the set to lead the Jaguars, while Durdanovic added four of her five kills in the first set.
Jazzmine McDonald led the Hoosiers with five kills in a 25-18 IU win in set two. The Hoosiers hit just .037 as a team after committing eight errors, however, South Alabama also committed eight errors in the set including five down the stretch. Hartman posted three of her team-high seven kills in set two to lead South Alabama, while Abby Baker recorded five of her 10 digs of the match in the second set.
Indiana clinched the match with a 25-23 win in set three behind Hammond's four kills. The Hoosiers posted a .406 team hitting percentage in the set, while USA recorded its top team hitting percentage (.333) in the final set. Hartman and Katelyn Lochner led USA with three kills apiece in the set, while Kristina Alabastro and Durdanovic added two each.
Baker was named to the all-tournament team after recording 54 digs for a 4.91 digs per set average in 11 sets during the tournament. South Alabama will return to action next weekend when it travels to Athens, Ga., to compete in the Bulldog Invitational hosted by Georgia.
Sycamores Block Stops Ragin' Cajuns in Denton Finale
DENTON, Texas – Indiana State's front row defense spurned the Sycamores to a come-from-behind 3-2 (25-13, 21-25, 22-25, 25-14, 15-13) win over Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Volleyball in the North Texas Invitational finale for both teams.
The Sycamores (5-4), who totaled 17 blocks for the match, threw up 10 blocks over the final two sets for the majority of the 18 attack errors the Ragin' Cajuns (1-10) committed during the timeframe.
It was three consecutive ISU blocks in the fourth set that opened a 16-10 advantage, paving the way for the winner-take-all fifth set.
Back-to-back kills from Stacey Reilly cut the Louisiana deficit to 11-10 in the final frame. An ISU attack error resulted in a 12-12 tie, but a service error returned the upper hand to the Sycamores.
Reilly once more landed a kill, this time helping the Ragin' Cajuns fend off match point and trim the deficit to 14-13. An error from Reilly on the subsequent rally, though, gave the Sycamores the victory-clinching point.
Reilly led Louisiana and finished with a match-high tying 15 kills on a .344 hitting percentage. The total increased her North Texas Invitational tally to 33 kills over 11 sets. She was awarded all-tournament honors.
Chloe Cordell landed a season-high tying 11 kills and Hanna Rovira was the third Ragin' Cajun in double digits finishing with 10 kills.
Chanelle Gardner's seven kills upped her career total to 856 which moves her past Kim Rodgers into fifth place on the rally scoring era list.
Indiana State was the beneficiary of a sizeable disparity in attack errors. Louisiana committed a season-high 37 attack errors compared to 14 by the Sycamores.
The Ragin' Cajuns turned up the dial on offense after dropping the first set. The squad collected 15 and 16 kills, respectively, in claiming the second and third set for a 2-1 lead in the match.
Saturday's contest marked just the second matchup between the two programs and first since a five-set win by the Ragin' Cajuns on Aug. 31, 1991 in a match played in Baton Rouge.
Louisiana concludes play in pre-conference tournaments by traveling to Birmingham, Ala., for the Fight Like Hal Memorial hosted by UAB. The Ragin' Cajuns are scheduled to compete in the event Thursday-Friday, Sept. 15-16.
Louisiana starts the Fight Like Hal Memorial facing UAB on Thursday at 7 p.m., then closes out tournament play on Friday against Memphis (12:30 p.m.) and UT Martin (4:30 p.m.).
Two Warhawks Record Career-Highs
Houston, Texas – The ULM volleyball team pushed University of Houston (Texas) to five sets but came up short in the end as the Cougars overpowered the Warhawks.
HOW IT HAPPENED
-Houston started off with the lead, but the Warhawks weren’t far behind. After a 6-1 run from ULM, the Warhawks had assumed a one-point lead. The battle for the lead ensued but ULM went on a seven-point run that would close out set one.
-The battle continued into set two with 13 total ties and eight lead changes in the set, which was the highest total of ties and lead changes in the match. ULM held the momentum at just the right moment and went on a 6-1 run to take the second set.
-The Cougars came back to the court in set three ready to fight and with a 10-2 run the Warhawks could not bridge the gap to close out the match.
-Set four saw Houston come out with a 7-1 run to kick things off. Despite the Warhawks efforts, the Cougars were able to take the set and even the score at two sets apiece.
-ULM started set five off on the right foot, but an 8-2 run from the Cougars put Houston up just enough that the Warhawks were unable to close out the match with a win.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
-Mikaela Worley led the offense with a career-high 17 kills. Jennifer McClendon followed with 10 kills of her own
-Tara Jenkins fed the offense with a career-high 37 total assists for an average of 7.4 assists per set. The setter also recorded a double-double in the match with 37 assists and 17 digs.