Friday, September 23
Ragin' Cajuns Storm Past Georgia State in SBC Opener
LAFAYETTE – Four players contributed at least five kills and the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns volleyball team hit a season-high .325 in a straight sets sweep (25-22, 25-16, 25-11) of Georgia State in the 2016 Sun Belt Conference opener at Earl K. Long Gym.
After a close first set, which featured nine ties and four lead changes, the Ragin' Cajuns (4-11, 1-0 Sun Belt) ran away with the rest of the match. Louisiana held a 25-8 edge in kills, forced the Panthers (4-8, 0-1 Sun Belt) into a negative hitting percentage and never trailed over the final two sets.
Louisiana completes the Sun Belt-opening weekend on Saturday hosting Georgia Southern (7-9, 0-1 Sun Belt) at 6:30 p.m. inside Earl K. Long Gym.
Katherine Young led the Ragin' Cajuns with a season-high nine kills on just 13 swings. Chloe Cordell delivered eight kills, Chynna Brooks had six and Nia Antoine landed five to complete the quartet that produced five-plus kills.
Cordell's production increased her season kills total to 105, marking the first time in her career she's eclipsed 100. Young generated at least eight kills for the second consecutive outing.
Sydney Davis produced a match-high 11 digs to lead Louisiana. The sophomore libero served up three of the Ragin' Cajuns eight aces.
Stacey Reilly joined Davis in double figure digs with 10, contributing to the team's defensive efforts while carrying a lighter than normal load on offense (four kills).
The Ragin' Cajuns played their third consecutive match without Chanelle Gardner (2.69 kills/set, 0.94 blocks/set, .369 attack pct.) who had been ruled out of this weekend's action due to an injury incurred last Thursday at UAB.
Louisiana turned the tie in the opening set, erasing a 16-13 deficit with a 6-0 run, capped off by back-to-back kills from Brooks and Cordell, to take a 19-16 lead. GSU would rally to forge a 22-all tie, but the Ragin' Cajuns regained the upper-hand after a service error and attack error. Reilly landed a kill on the next rally to give Louisiana the set.
Davis served the Ragin' Cajuns into a 5-0 lead to start the second set. Louisiana would later create a comfortable cushion after three straight kills, the last two from Cordell, extended the lead to 16-9. The Panthers crept within six points, 20-14, then after a timeout a pair of kills from Antoine re-established control for the Ragin' Cajuns.
Louisiana raced out to a 15-3 lead in the final frame to leave no doubt in the outcome. Leading 8-3, Cordell returned the serve to the Ragin' Cajuns side with a kill, then served six consecutive points to move the advantage into double figures.
ULM Volleyball Opens Sun Belt Play with a Win
Monroe, La. – The ULM volleyball team swept Georgia Southern in the opening match of Sun Belt Conference play on Friday night for its first home win of the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
-In set one, the teams stayed close until ULM went on a seven point run that put the Warhawks at set point. Georgia Southern managed to stay alive for one more point but ULM closed out the set with a kill from Kaitlyn Shearer.
-The Warhawks trailed in set two but edged their way back into the match and tied the score at 21. After tying the score ULM went on a 4-2 run that put the Warhawks up two sets to none.
-ULM jumped out to an early 6-3 lead that they would hold through the entirety of the set to take the match for the Warhawks first conference win on the season.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
-ULM posted its highest hitting percentage as a team in set one (.417).
-ULM recorded its highest total of kills in sets one and two (14).
-ULM held Georgia Southern to its lowest hitting percentage in set two (.050).
-Hope Pawlik led the team with a double-double of 16 kills and 12 digs.
-Tara Jenkins fed the offense with 32 total assists on the night for an average of 10.67 assists per set.
-The last and only other time ULM beat a Sun Belt opponent in three sets was in 2006 against South Alabama in Monroe, La.
@stAteVolleyball Dominates App State
BOONE, N.C. (9/23/16) – The Arkansas State volleyball team opened Sun Belt Conference play Friday night in dominating fashion with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-15, 25-7) sweep of Appalachian State at Varsity Gym in Boone, N.C.
The win for the Red Wolves (9-6, 1-0 SBC) extended their conference win streak to 17 matches after going undefeated in Sun Belt play last year. Carlisa May led the team with 13 kills on a .333 attacking percentage while Anna Murphy was second with eight kills and hit at a .615 clip. Mallory Warrington dished out 30 assists, while Markie Schaedig registered 19 digs. Murphy had four blocks to lead the squad, while Kenzie Fields had three service aces as A-State posted an 8-2 ace to service error mark.
“This was a total team effort,” A-State head volleyball coach David Rehr said. “The team executed the game plan to near perfection, we passed well, we defended well, and our defensive intensity was a key to this happening. We’ve been on the brink and showing flashes of putting together matches like this, but this was an all-around great match on our part.”
The first set was locked in an 11-11 tie to begin, but a block by Jessica Uke and Warrington gave A-State a 12-11 advantage that turned into a 21-14 lead to force an Appalachian State (2-12, 0-1 SBC) timeout. A-State closed out the set on a 4-2 run with the final two points coming on Brentlee Weaver kills to win 25-16.
A-State jumped out to a 10-4 edge in set two on a Fields kill and extended the advantage to 21-13 on a kill by May to force a Mountaineers’ timeout. Once again, A-State concluded the set on a 4-2 run to earn a 25-15 win.
Set three was all Red Wolves as the team jumped in front of App State 17-4 on a block by Murphy and Fields. After a timeout, the Mountaineers won two straight points to make the score 17-6, but A-State ended the set on an 8-1 run, capped by a Murphy kill, to claim a 25-7 set win and the sweep.
Arkansas State returns to action Sunday, Sept. 25 with its second Sun Belt Conference match of the season at Coastal Carolina. First serve from Conway, S.C., is set for 12 p.m. (CT). Fans can follow the team on Twitter (@stAteVolleyball) and Instagram (astatevolleyball) along with liking the Arkansas State University Volleyball page on Facebook for the latest news and updates regarding the team.
Coastal Volleyball Sweeps Little Rock in Sun Belt Debut
CONWAY - The Coastal Carolina volleyball team won its Sun Belt Conference debut in convincing fashion Friday evening, downing Little Rock in three sets (25-16, 25-19, 26-16) at the HTC Center. It is the third conference-opening win for the Chanticleers in head coach Jozsef Forman's five-year tenure at CCU.
Coastal improves to 10-3, 1-0 with Friday's sweep, while Little Rock falls to 4-10 overall and starts its conference schedule 0-1.
Leah Hardeman turned her best performance of 2016 so far, putting down a season-high 18 kills while hitting .593. The junior outside hitter completed the double-double with 10 kills and added a pair of service aces. Her seven kills in both the first and third frames powered the Chants to nine-point set wins.
Senior middle blocker Annayka Legros also reached double-digit kills with 10, accompanied by a .471 hitting percentage. She also led the Chants in blocks with three total, including two solos and an assist.
Little Rock trailed Coastal in every statistical category except blocks, as the conference leaders in the category outdueled the Chants 9-5 at the net. The Trojans were paced by the five blocks of Carolee Dillard and four blocks of Veronica Marin.
Coastal opened the game hitting .205, and Legros and Tahleia Bishop each contributed three kills to complement Hardeman's seven. The Chants took the lead for good after a Kinga Windisch block put them ahead 6-5, and Coastal stretched the lead to as many as nine points later in the set.
The Chants hit a match-high .400 in the middle frame, and never surrendered the lead though Little Rock managed to tie the set seven times. Coastal held a slim 15-14 advantage before a Hardeman service ace sparked a 3-1 run, forcing Little Rock into a timeout. A pair of Legros kills and consecutive aces from Carla Cahill helped Coastal close the set.
Coastal led the final set from start to finish as Sara Boothe -- who led Coastal with 19 assists -- served the Chants to the first nine points. The sophomore setter had a pair of aces and assists on Coastal's three kills during that stretch. The Chants led by as many as 10 points during the closing stretch.
The Chants return to action on Sunday to host Arkansas State, the defending Sun Belt champions. The Red Wolves are currently first place in the conference's West Division. First serve from the HTC Center is set for 1 p.m.
Texas State opens SBC play on high note
ROY, Ala. – The Texas State volleyball team opened Sun Belt Conference play with a 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-17) victory over Troy Friday night inside Trojan Arena.
The Bobcats improved to 8-8 on the season and have now opened SBC action 1-0 all four years since joining the league.
TXST posted a .302 hitting percentage for the match, while holding the Trojans (6-10, 0-1 SBC) to just .071.
Junior Erin Hoppe led the way with a double-double that featured 29 assists and 10 digs. Senior Shelby Vas Matt had a match-high 11 kills, while junior Jaliyah Bolden added 10 kills with a .533 hitting percentage. Fellow junior Jordan Kohl had seven kills of her own with a .462 percentage.
Reina Terry tallied 14 assists for the home team, and Alisha Hinrichs added 10 digs. Leah Causey and Sara Landis led the Trojans with six kills each.
Texas State will head over to Mobile, Alabama, to close out the road trip with a 12:30 p.m. matchup Sept. 25 against South Alabama.
Canete, Ingram guide Mavs to 1-0 start in SBC play
MOBILE, Ala. – Behind big nights from Qiana Canete and Marisah Ingram, UT Arlington volleyball opened Sun Belt Conference play with an impressive 3 sets to 1 victory over South Alabama Friday night at Jag Gym.
The Mavs took a commanding lead in the match taking the first two sets 25-13 and 25-16, respectively, before dropping Set 3, 25-18. UTA left no doubt they were going to walk away the victors in this one, grabbing the early 4-3 lead in set 4 and never relinquishing it.
UT Arlington improved to 7-9 overall and 1-0 in SBC play, while the Jaguars dropped to 9-5 and 0-1 in the Sun Belt. With the win head coach Diane Seymour improved to 201-188, all at the helm of the UTA volleyball program.
PLAYERS OF THE MATCH
Ingram and Canete each had strong nights, recording 13 and 12 kill, respectively, while Canete also pitched in with 9 digs. Ingram also recorded five blocks in the match.
KEY STATS
All six of the Mavericks that recorded kills on the evening tallied at least five with Cassidy Wheeler reaching a season-high of five and Madison McConnell reaching a career-high nine kills.
Making the first start of her career, Madelyn St. Germain recorded a career-high seven digs, while Taylor Murata had a good night at the libero position tallying 12 digs of her own.
Wheeler had a solid night as well, dishing out 42 assists, only four shy of her season-high 46 set against UTEP on Sept. 17. UTA outhit USA .317 to .212, while also leading in blocks 10-3.