Friday, September 16
May, Weaver Lead A-State Volleyball to 3-1 Win at Indiana
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (9/16/16) – The Arkansas State volleyball squad got 22 kills from Carlisa May and another 13 from Brentlee Weaver on a .455 hitting percentage to defeat Indiana 3-1 (25-18, 25-20, 25-27, 25-21) Friday night at University Gym in Bloomington, Ind., in both teams’ first match of the Hoosier Classic.
The 22 kills by May were a team high for the season while Weaver’s .455 hitting percentage was the best of her career and second best by an A-State player this year. Mallory Warrington picked up her team-high fifth double-double of the season with 45 assists and 13 digs, while Markie Schaedig had 17 digs to lead the team. Anna Murphy registered six blocks with Jessica Heuertz tallying two service aces as the Red Wolves (7-5) won their first game in school history over a Big 10 Opponent.
“We played really, really well tonight against an opponent from the Big 10 in their home gym,” A-State head volleyball coach David Rehr said. “I’m happy with how we played and we weren’t scared at all. I am a little disappointed we didn’t close it out in three, so we do have some things to work on, but all in all, it was a good night and I’m proud of this team.”
A-State and Indiana (9-2) battled to a 10-10 tie in set one, but the Red Wolves were able to take a 17-13 advantage after a kill by May to force a Hoosiers’ timeout. The stoppage didn’t slow Arkansas State down as the team scored three straight to force another timeout by the home team. Two more points made it an 8-0 run for A-State to lead 22-13 before the Hoosiers finally scored again. Indiana got as close as 24-18, but a service error gave A-State the first set 25-18.
The two teams battled to a 10-10 tie again to open set two, but a 4-0 run by A-State caused Indiana to use a timeout. The Red Wolves went on a 6-3 run, capped by a kill from Kenzie Fields, to earn a 20-13 edge with the Hoosiers burning their final timeout of the set. Indiana was able to battle within 24-20, but a block by May and Murphy clinched a 25-20 second game win.
The Red Wolves raced out to an 8-4 advantage in set three, but the Hoosiers called timeout and battled back to within 12-11 before a 4-0 run, finished with a Weaver kill, forced Indiana to use its last timeout of the set. A-State appeared poised to sweep IU with a 24-18 lead, but the Hoosiers battled back with a 6-0 run to tie the set at 24-24. May put the visitors up 25-24, but three straight points gave Indiana the third set 27-25.
Arkansas State jumped out to a 12-5 advantage in set four and later took a 19-12 lead after a kill by May. However, Indiana responded once again with an 8-2 run to come within one point at 21-20. However, A-State got three straight points with two kills by Weaver sandwiched around a Schaedig ace to give the team match point. Indiana won the next point to make it 24-21, but another Weaver kill clinched the set and match for the Red Wolves.
A-State will finish up non-conference play with its two final matches of the Hoosier Classic Saturday, Sept. 17. The Red Wolves will take on 2015 NCAA Tournament participant Cleveland State in the morning at 9 a.m. (CT) at University Gym before wrapping the event up with IUPUI in the afternoon at 4 p.m. (CT).
Ragin' Cajuns Finish Strong at Fight Like Hal Memorial
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Volleyball fought off set point in the second and third set to rally and defeat UT Martin in four sets on Friday, gaining a split of action at the Fight Like Hal Memorial at UAB’s Bartow Arena.
Trailing 24-23 in the second set against UTM and trailing 1-0 in the match, an attack error by the Skyhawks evened the score. Louisiana (3-11) would break a 25-all tie with a kill and service ace from Nia Antoine.
In the pivotal third set, the Ragin’ Cajuns escaped set point three times. At 27-26, Stacey Reilly threw down a kill to extend the set, then Antoine dealt another service ace to put Louisiana ahead 28-27. An attack error by UTM (4-10) gave the set, and a 2-1 match lead, to the Ragin’ Cajuns.
Louisiana’s final push followed a 16-all tie in the fourth set. The Ragin’ Cajuns reeled off a 9-1 scoring spree, the first five points coming off the serve of Katherine Young, to claim the frame 25-17 and secure the 3-1 (20-25, 27-25, 29-27, 25-17) match victory.
Reilly led the way against the Skyhawks with 16 kills. But it was Antoine who delivered the clutch performance by turning in 12 kills, four aces and five blocks.
The win was head coach Heather Mazeitis-Fontenot’s 112th at the helm of the Ragin’ Cajuns moving her past Sherry LeBas into sole possession of second place on the program’s all-time victories list.
The UTM match was the final pre-conference tournament outing of the season for Louisiana. The squad opens Sun Belt Conference play next weekend hosting Georgia State on Friday, Sept. 23 and Georgia Southern on Saturday, Sept. 24, both matches beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Defeating UT Martin allowed the Ragin’ Cajuns to rebound from a 3-0 (18-25, 14-25, 20-25) setback to Memphis in the day’s first outing.
Memphis outhit Louisiana .280-.130 and never trailed in the match. Reilly topped the Ragin’ Cajuns with 10 kills and 15 digs.
The Ragin’ Cajuns went into the match with the Tigers (6-4) shorthanded as Chanelle Gardner sat out with a medically-related matter incurred during Thursday’s win over UAB.
Coastal Downs Georgia Tech in Four Sets in Home Opener
CONWAY – The Coastal Carolina volleyball team recorded a four-set victory in its 2016 home opener Friday night at the HTC Center, downing Georgia Tech 25-19, 25-19, 18-25, 25-22 in the second match of the Coastal Carolina Classic presented by Hilton.
The victory is Coastal’s third straight against the Yellow Jackets, and improves the Chants to 8-2 on the season. Georgia Tech falls to 8-3 with the loss, and moves to 1-1 in the tournament after winning the opening match against North Florida Friday morning.
The CCU Classic continues on Saturday at the HTC Center with a pair of matches for the Chants. Coastal takes on North Florida at 11 a.m. before closing the tournament with a second match against Georgia Tech at 5 p.m.
As a team the Chants held advantages in kills (50-44), hitting (.173 - .132), aces (7-0) and blocks (9-6).
Annayka Legros continued her impressive season with a match-leading 14 kills while hitting .296, a team high. The senior middle blocker was also a large presence defensively with five total blocks (four assists, one solo).
Leah Hardeman followed with 13 kills, and nearly completed the double-double with nine digs. Sara Boothe and Kate Federico provided 24 and 20 assists, respectively, and Carla Cahill set personal and match highs with 20 digs. Natasa Savovic accounted for three of Coastal’s seven aces while putting down eight kills and tallying seven digs.
Teegan Van Gunst closed the match with 13 kills, and was the only Yellow Jacket to reach double digits in the category. The senior outside hitter also notched 16 digs to complete the double-double.
Coastal opened the match hitting .278, and overtook the lead in set one after consecutive kills from Tahleia Bishop put the Chants in front 11-9. The back-to-back points from Bishop sparked an 8-3 Coastal run that put the Chants comfortably ahead 17-12. Georgia Tech managed to cut the deficit to three points later in the set, 22-19, but a kill from Hardeman and an ace from Boothe helped put the game away.
The Chants surrendered the opening point of the second set, but led for the remainder of the game after Legros put the Chants ahead 2-1. Georgia Tech was limited to hitting .024 in the set, and the six kills and two blocks from Legros powered the Chants to a 25-19 set win.
Georgia Tech responded by hitting .400 in the third frame, and received five kills Van Gunst. Coastal held a brief lead right from the start, but an early 8-3 Yellow Jacket run created too much of a difference for the Chants to overcome.
The closing set was the closest of the match, and featured nine ties and six lead changes. Savovic led all players with six kills in the fourth while Dora Lulic aided the win with three blocks. Coastal didn’t secure the lead for good until Savovic’s fourth kill of the set gave the Chants a 16-15 edge. Georgia Tech managed to the even the set one final time at 22-22, but a Yellow Jacket service error was followed by kills from Savovic and Bishop to close the match.
Mountaineers Drop Match to Chattanooga in Five
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. –– Appalachian State University volleyball dropped its eighth-straight match on Friday with its sixth five-set loss in a 3-2 (25-20, 25-22, 16-25, 19-25, 8-15) loss to Chattanooga.
The Mountaineers (2-9) were led by true freshman Emma Longley who finished with 19 kills. Alana Shoff also finished with double-digit kills and totaled 13.
Ashlyn Brown ran the Mountaineer offense on Friday with a 48-assist performance.
Defensively, Olivia Loeffler tallied a team-high 19 digs, while Brown collected 15 and Kennedy Wilson notched 14.
“We are a team that struggles when it gets tough and that’s why we haven’t been able to find wins,” said head coach Matt Ginipro. “I thought we played two very good sets. Then we were very high error and tentative in the last three when Chattanooga picked up their game. Part of that is youth and part of that is lack of leadership which we’ve been battling all year. It’s a team that wants to get a win, but we just aren’t doing all the things we need to do, on every play, to get that done.”
Appalachian State grabbed the opening two sets to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match. App State capped the first set with a kill from Longley and back-to-back errors from the Mocs (6-5).
The Black and Gold built on a solid start and won the second set. With the score tied 22-22, the Mountaineers went on a 3-0 run to win the set with a kill and service ace from Longley and a Moc error.
App State fell behind 11-3 in the third set and would not recover. The Apps would bring the score to within two at 13-11, but a long sustained run from Chattanooga would outlast App State 25-16.
In a closely contested fourth set, Chattanooga would keep a slim lead and fend off the Mountaineers. At 18-16, UTC went on a 5-2 run and would finish off Appalachian 25-19 after two consecutive kills.
A set in which the Mountaineers have struggled all season - they lost 15–8. The fifth set has been a hurdle that App State has yet to get over this season and after finding themselves down 8-4 - a 7-3 run would seal the match for the Mocs.
Appalachian will be back in action tomorrow against both Ole Miss and Tennessee State beginning at 10 a.m.
JAGS RALLY TO DEFEAT MCNEESE AT BULLDOG INVITATIONAL
ATHENS, Ga. – The University of South Alabama volleyball team defeated McNeese in five sets (25-17, 31-33, 23-25, 25-15, 15-13) Friday to open the Bulldog Invitational at the Ramsey Center.
USA (8-3) won the final two sets of the match to earn its eighth win of the season. Sophomore outside hitter Kristina Alabastro finished with career highs in kills (20) and hitting percentage (.463) to lead the Jaguar attack, while also adding two digs and one block assist. Abby Baker tied a career high with 34 digs and also finished with three assists. Iva Durdanovic recorded her team-best fourth double-double of the season, finishing with 15 kills and 11 digs, while also adding three service aces. Mechell Daniel added 14 kills and four digs, while Nikki Gittens posted 12 kills, a .550 hitting percentage and four block assists.
"We were clicking offensively," USA head coach Amy Hendrichovsky said. "Our passers did a good job, and we really focused on that this week. We were able to execute on our side of the net pretty well, which was good to see. We had some great offensive performances; Kristina (Alabastro) put up some good numbers on the outside. That was a good positive and really the reason why we were in that match."
The Jaguars took the fifth and deciding set 15-13 to earn the victory. After overcoming a one-point deficit to tie the score 7-7, USA scored five of the next six points, highlighted by a pair of kills from Alabastro and one kill apiece by Durdanovic and Daniel, to take a 12-8 lead. The Cowgirls then scored the next three points to cut their deficit to 12-11, but a service error followed which gave the Jags a 13-11 advantage. USA forced match point on a kill by Daniel for a 14-12 lead. McNeese (3-10) earned the ensuing point, but Daniel clinched the match for USA with her third kill of the set. The Jaguars recorded 13 kills in the set along with a .400 team hitting percentage.
"We run a 6-2 so we always have three hitters," Hendrichovsky said. "It's really helped us with our hitting efficiency. Our setters are doing a good job keeping it balanced but also finding our hot hitters, and we found some weaknesses defensively and we just continued to try and expose that."
South Alabama opened the match with a 25-17 win in set one. The Jaguars opened up a five-point lead, 14-9, midway through the set after scoring four consecutive points, highlighted by a pair of service aces and one kill from Durdanovic. USA pushed its advantage to seven points, 23-16, later in the set after another four-point rally that featured kills by Alabastro and Daniel and a service ace from Durdanovic. The Jags clinched the set with a kill by Alabastro and a McNeese attack error.
The Cowgirls evened the match with a 33-31 win in set two, and took a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-23 win in set three. But the Jaguars answered with a 25-15 win in set four to force a fifth set.
USA built a five-point lead, 12-7, in the fourth set after scoring four straight points which featured three McNeese errors and a kill by Durdanovic. The Jags outscored the Cowgirls 6-2 down the stretch, including a kill by Avery Cooper which clinched the set.
South Alabama will close the Bulldog Invitational with a pair of Saturday matches. The Jaguars will face Bethune-Cookman at 9 a.m. (CT), followed by a 6 p.m. (CT) matchup against Georgia. The USA-UGA contest will be broadcast live on WatchESPN.com, while live stats will be available at GeorgiaDogs.com.
Georgia Southern Opens Weekend with 3-1 Win over Presbyterian
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Cathrine Murray registered 14 kills and 13 digs to lead Georgia Southern to a 3-1 (25-21, 25-27, 25-19, 26-24) volleyball victory over Presbyterian in the Eagles first match of the Hampton Inn Crimson-White Tournament Friday night.
Stephanie Spencer tallied 12 kills and 13 digs, while Katie Bange recorded 12 kills, nine digs, 24 assists and five blocks for the Eagles (7-6). Alex Beecher had 24 digs, leaving her just 22 away from 2,000 for her career.
Samantha Del Toro had 10 kills to lead Presbyterian (2-10), and Erin Eulitz finished with eight kills and 15 digs.
The story
Reilly Bosworth tallied three of her four kills on the night and added a block in a 7-1 GS run that helped erase a 13-6 deficit in the fourth set. The Eagles still trailed 22-20, but two Anna Wenger kills sparked a 4-1 run to give GS match point. Presbyterian fought one off, but Wenger answered with a kill and assisted on a block to give the Eagles the next two points and end the match.
Georgia Southern won the first set and fought off two set points in the second before falling 27-25. The Eagles opened a six-point lead in the third with a 7-2 spurt, keyed by kills from Murray, Spencer and Bosworth. Presbyterian cut the margin to 22-19, but that was as close as it would get.
PANTHERS DOMINATE BULLDOGS IN HOME OPENER
ATLANTA – In the opening match of the GSU Invitational, Georgia State defeated South Carolina State in three sets. The Panthers got off to a fast start and carried that momentum to the finish line to defeat the Bulldogs 25-9, 25-13 and 25-18 at the GSU Sports Arena.
Georgia State (4-6) was able to snap a five match losing skid Friday evening against S.C. State, who fell to 0-13 on the season.
Senior Kate Rawls led a balanced Panther attack with 11 kills on the match to go along with three digs. Freshman Madelyn Ott contributed six kills off the bench. Katie Creger, Shae Chapman and Sydney Stroud combined for 12 kills. Sarah Renner and Hanna Weiland added 19 and 13 kills, respectively.
GSU was also fairly balanced defensively with Friesen and Anna Rantala totaling 11 combined digs. The Panthers finished with 11 aces on the match, outscoring the Bulldogs by eight in that department.
Brianna Dafney and Ashante Finney led South Carolina State with 13 total kills, but Georgia State’s effective services and attacking firepower proved too much for the visiting Bulldogs. Overall, the coaching staff was pleased with the team’s effort level.
“We came ready to play tonight and earned a great team win. This was our first opportunity to defend our home court and we are happy with the outcome. We are excited to get back out here tomorrow and compete against a strong ECU team," head coach Sally Polhamus said.
The Panthers got off to a very fast start in the match. The home team took a 15-5 lead in the opening set after Creger’s kill from Renner. Creger’s four kills propelled GSU to a fast start and a 1-0 lead in the match.
Rawls got going in the second frame with three kills. Her ace gave Georgia State a 23-12 lead before taking it 25-13 in a dominant game performance. Rawls picked up right where she left off in the third with an additional six kills. She had help from Ott’s four kills and Weiland’s 11 assists. The Bulldogs hung tough, but the Panthers took the final frame 25-18 in an all-around team effort.
Georgia State will be back in action tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. against undefeated Eastern Carolina at the GSU Sports Arena. Be sure to come out and support the Panthers.