Friday, September 2
Georgia Southern Wins Bash in the Boro
STATESBORO, Ga. – Katie Bange recorded 21 kills, 17 assists, nine digs and five blocks to lead Georgia Southern to a 3-2 (22-25, 25-22, 25-22, 23-25, 15-9) volleyball victory over The Citadel in the championship match of the Bash in the Boro in Hanner Fieldhouse Friday night.
The Eagles (4-3) topped Savannah State 3-1 (25-9, 25-20, 23-25, 25-14) earlier in the day to go 4-0 and win the tournament. Bange was named the tournament MVP, while Cathrine Murray and Alex Beecher joined the senior on the all-tournament team.
Murray finished with 16 kills, seven digs and two blocks against The Citadel, and Beecher collected a match-high 26 digs. Lauren Reichard tallied 10 kills, six digs and seven blocks, and Kendra Koetter posted 36 assists, 10 digs and four aces, with three coming in the fifth set.
The story vs. The Citadel
Reichard broke a 9-9 tie in the fifth with a kill off a Bange assist, and Koetter came in to serve. The sophomore served up three aces and assisted on a Bange kill as the Eagles closed out the match with six straight points.
Leading the match 2-1, Georgia Southern rallied from a five-point deficit and took a 23-21 lead on a Bange kill in the fourth set. The Citadel called timeout and promptly scored the next four points to tie the match 2-2.
With the match tied 1-1, the Eagles opened a 23-18 lead on a Bange kill in the third set. The Bulldogs scored the next three to make it a two-point margin before a hitting error gave the Eagles set point. Moriah Smith posted a kill for The Citadel, but Bange put a ball down to give the Eagles the 2-1 lead in the match.
Smith finished with 23 kills and 15 digs, and Carla Bruce had 17 kills for the Bulldogs.
The story vs. Savannah State
The Eagles used their serve to keep the pressure on Savannah State throughout the contest. Georgia Southern tallied 14 aces in the match, and five different servers registered aces. Koetter and Casey McColl led the way with three each.
After jumping out to a 10-0 lead to start the tilt and cruising to a 25-9 win in the first set, Georgia Southern took the opportunity to use its bench, and 16 Eagles played in the match. Savannah State fought off an Eagle comeback bid and won the third set 25-23, and the teams were tied 8-8 in the fourth. GS took control from there with a 6-0 spurt, keyed by a pair of kills by Anna Wenger and a pair of aces by Beecher. The lead grew to as many as nine points on a kill by Murray as the Eagles won the set 25-14.
Freshman Carly Turner led the Eagles with nine kills, while Bange collected seven kills and 10 assists and Koetter finished with a match-high 29 assists.
Quotable from head coach Dustin Wood
"We're playing with more confidence, and if we make a mistake, it's okay. When we came out for the fifth set, there was a different look to them compared to last year so I think it's more of a confidence thing and getting four wins this weekend will continue to help that grow."
"Katie (Bange) stepped up and we relied on her. She wanted the ball and she did everything well - dug, set, served well and hit well. Cathrine (Murray) is maturing and becoming the player we know she can be. She saw the court well and scored really well."
On the match at Winthrop
"It's a good test for us to see what we can do on the road, and I'm anxious to see how we come out Monday night."
Next Up
The Eagles travel to Winthrop for a non-conference tilt Monday, Sept. 5. First serve is set for 6 p.m.
Chants Take Down Notre Dame to Open Shamrock Invitational
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - The Coastal Carolina volleyball team played its first of three matches at the 2016 Shamrock Invitational Friday evening, defeating the host Notre Dame Fighting Irish in straight sets (25-21, 25-20, 28-26).
With the win in Friday's match -- the first between the two institutions -- the Chanticleers remain undefeated in 2016 and are off to their second 4-0 start in as many years. It is additionally just the fourth 4-0 start in program history, and first time all four victories have come in straight sets.
Coastal held statistical advantages in nearly every category, including kills (48-41), hitting percentage (.274-.215), assists (47-40), digs (54-43) and team blocks (8.0-4.0)
Annayka Legros led the Chants offensively with 13 kills and a .667 hitting percentage, and added five block assists for 15.5 points. Leah Hardeman tallied her second double-double of the season with 11 kills and 11 digs, and was joined in double-double territory by Sara Boothe (23 assists, 12 digs).
Jemma Yeadon and Rebecca Nunge each reached double-figure kills for the Fighting Irish with 13 and 10, respectively, and Yeadon completed her double-double with 12 digs.
Notre Dame led by as many as four points early in the opening set before Coastal went on a 14-6 run to reverse the four-point difference and take a 20-16 lead. From there, kills by Natasa Savovic, Boothe, Hardeman and Dora Lulic helped close out the four-point set win. Legros led the Chants in the set with three kills, two blocks and a .750 hitting percentage.
Unlike the first and third sets Coastal never surrendered its lead in the second set after an opening kill from Hardeman, her first of four in the middle frame. Legros also tallied four, but it was Lulic that led the Chants in kills with five.
The Fighting Irish appeared to be in control of the third set, leading by as many as eight points, before the Chants cut their deficit to a more manageable three points, 20-17. Notre Dame held set point before a service error evened the score at 24-24, and a Lulic kill gave Coastal its first lead of the set. The two sides traded points before Tahleia Bishop put down the final kill to give the Chants the 28-26 set win.
Coastal plays two matches on Saturday to close out the Shamrock Invitational. The Chants face Purdue at 10 a.m. before squaring off against Howard at 4:30 p.m. The Boilermakers won Friday's match against the Bison to improve to 3-1.
A-State Volleyball Tops Saint Louis 3-1
ST. LOUIS, Mo. (9/2/16) – The Arkansas State volleyball team defeated Saint Louis 3-1 (25-22, 15-25, 25-15, 25-23) in both teams’ first match of the Marcia E. Hamilton Classic at Chaifetz Pavilion in St. Louis, Mo., Friday night.
The Red Wolves (3-1) and Billikens (1-4) battled to a 7-7 tie in the first set before a Saint Louis 6-0 run put the home team up 13-7. A-State called timeout and used an 11-4 run, capped by a block from Anna Murphy and Kenzie Fields, to take an 18-17 edge. SLU went ahead 20-19, but A-State ended the set on a 6-2 run, finished with the eight kill of the game by Drew Jones, to claim a 25-22 set win.
Saint Louis responded with a strong second set by jumping out to a 10-7 lead and a 15-8 advantage. A-State got within seven at 21-14 after an attack error by the Billikens, but SLU closed out the set on a 4-1 run for a 25-15 set victory to even things up.
Arkansas State regained the momentum in set three by racing out to a 10-7 advantage on a kill by Fields. A-State extended the lead to 19-12 on a kill by Murphy that forced the Billikens to call timeout. However, the stoppage didn’t slow the Red Wolves down as the team closed on a 6-3 run, capped by a Lindsay Cline service ace, to win the set 25-15.
A-State opened set four the same way as set three with a 10-7 edge, but SLU battled back to within two at 14-12 after a block. The Red Wolves went ahead 24-20 on a kill by Fields, but once again the Billikens responded with three consecutive points to climb within one at 24-23. A-State called timeout and Shelby Holmes gave the team a 25-23 set win and 3-1 match victory with a kill.
“I was proud of how we fought back to win set one, but wasn’t happy with set two’s performance obviously,” A-State head volleyball coach David Rehr said. “We were able to right the ship after the intermission with set three and won a hard-fought game four.”
Carlisa May led the team with 15 kills on a .444 hitting percentage, while Murphy recorded 10 kills on a .438 attacking percentage. Mallory Warrington dished out 49 assists, while Markie Schaedig was tops on the squad with 17 digs. Kelsey Reis led the team with four blocks, including two block solos.
ULM Volleyball Takes Two in Arkansas
Conway, Ark. – The ULM volleyball team picked up its first two wins of the season on day one of the University of Central Arkansas Invitational with two sweeps against Alcorn State (Miss.) and Incarnate Word (Texas).
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Little Rock Takes Four-Set Loss to Mississippi State
LITTLE ROCK – After taking the first set, Little Rock volleyball (1-5) dropped the final three frames and took a 3-1 loss (25-23, 20-25, 14-25, 12-25) to Mississippi State (5-1) on Friday night at the Jack Stephens Center.
Veronica Marin led the Trojans on offense with a career-high 16 kills while hitting a team-high .429. Taylor Lindberg came up with 39 assists and three block assists, and Kelsey Leech led Little Rock with 12 digs.
The Trojans and Bulldogs stayed within three points of each other for the entire first set. Knotted at 23, an attack error by Little Rock-native Evie Grace Singleton and a kill by Marin gave Little Rock the first set.
With the exception of being tied 1-1 early, Mississippi State led the entirety of the second set and went up by six at 22-16. The Trojans brought the lead down to three at 23-20, but the Bulldogs closed out the set with a Trojan service error and attack error.
Mississippi State completely dominated the third and fourth sets with 11- and 12-point margins of victory, respectively.
The Bulldogs' Singleton led the team with 27 kills, setting a new career-high, while hitting .535 for the match.
Marina Avram and Miona Milovanovic each tallied nine kills while Sydnee Martin had 10 digs and a team-high two aces.
Little Rock outblocked their opponent for the sixth consecutive match with a 6-4 margin of victory.
The Trojans will close out the Little Rock Invitational against UT Martin tomorrow afternoon at 5 p.m.
SOUTH ALABAMA WINS PAIR OF MATCHES ON DAY ONE OF JAGUAR INVITATIONAL
MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama volleyball team opened the Jaguar Invitational with a pair wins Friday at Jag Gym.
USA (4-1) opened the tournament with a five-set win over Southeastern Louisiana (25-18, 25-15, 22-25, 23-25, 15-12), and closed day one with a win in straight sets over Florida International (25-20, 25-13, 25-19). The win over the Lions marked the Jaguars' second five-set match win this season.
South Alabama will face Florida A&M (2-3), who also defeated SLU and FIU on Friday, in the championship match of the Jaguar Invitational at 1 p.m. Saturday at Jag Gym. Live streaming for the match will be available at JagNationTV.com, while live stats will be provided at USAJaguars.com.
USA 3, Southeastern Louisiana 2
The Jaguars jumped out to a 2-0 lead after taking sets one and two 25-18 and 25-15, respectively, but SLU responded by winning the next two sets to force a fifth set.
With the score tied 10-10, USA reeled off three straight points on kills from Kelley Hartman, Kristina Alabastro and Nikki Gittens to take a 13-10 lead. The Lions cut the Jaguar lead to one point at 13-12 following kills from Madi Odom and Chloee Holden. But consecutive Lion errors – one service error and one match-ending attack error – gave the Jags a 15-12 win in set five and 3-2 win to open the tournament.
USA scored the first four points of the match to open set one, and built an 11-point lead after a kill by Daniel pushed the advantage to 18-7. The Lions cut the Jaguar lead back down to six, but a kill by Daniel on set-point gave USA a 1-0 lead.
South Alabama built a seven-point advantage in set two to take a 17-10 lead following a service ace by Ashlyn Roberts. The Jags scored four of the final six points in the set , which was capped by consecutive Lion service errors.
"We really came out focused and determined in our first match, and really played a good match," USA head coach Amy Hendrichovsky said. "We lost the momentum and had a hard time getting back, but I was proud of our effort to take it back as well as the resilience of our team to come back for the fifth set and take it."
Iva Durdanovic recorded her second double-double of the season, finishing with 11 kills and 14 digs, to lead the Jaguar attack. Mechell Daniel added eight kills and five digs, and Hartman and Alabastro added seven kills. USA finished with 14 total team blocks, led by Daniel who recorded one block solo and four block assists.
USA 3, FIU 0
South Alabama hit .360 and recorded 42 kills, led by Durdanovic who finished with 10. Hartman finished with nine kills and posted a .500 hitting percentage while Sarah Richardson added seven kills while recording a .636 hitting percentage in 11 total attacks.
The Jags opened the match with a 25-20 win in set one, posting 17 kills while hitting .407, and followed with a 25-13 set-two win in which they finished with a .474 hitting percentage. South Alabama closed the match with a 25-19 win in set three, led by a five-kill set from Hartman.
"Going into the second match, we had a discussion of how to learn from what we learned in the five-setter and I thought we executed our plan really well and we stayed intense and focused for three straight sets. That was the difference of the first match to the second match."
USA recorded 10 service aces in the match, led by Ashlyn Roberts who finished with five. Durdanovic added three, while Arissa Chappell and Abby Baker finished with one apiece. Baker also recorded a team-high 14 digs, while Roberts led with 21 assists.
GSU SPLITS TOURNAMENT DOUBLEHEADER IN BRUISER SHOWCASE
HARRISONBURG, Va. – Georgia State dominated again in its fourth match of the season with a 3-0 sweep of William and Mary on Friday. Kristina Stinson, Eliza Zachary and Anna Rantala led the way for the Panthers. The three combined for 27 kills and 27 digs against the Tribe in a solid team performance across the board. In the afternoon cap, the Panthers lost in a competitive match 3-0 against the Mercer Bear. Crystal Lee and Kristina Stinson led the attacking charge in the second match.
Match 1: GSU 3, William & Mary 0
Georgia State went back and forth with William and Mary in the opening frame. The Panthers and Tribe exchanged several runs to close it out. GSU used a 6-0 run to make it 19-16 Panthers and the Tribe went on a 6-1 run of its own to tie things up at 23. Katie Creger’s second kill gave Georgia State a 24-23 lead. An attacking error gave GSU the first set with Eliza Zachary and Crystal Lee combining for seven kills.
Back-to-back kills from Kristina Stinson and Zachary gave the Panthers an 11-4 advantage in the second frame. A Morgan Hash kill from Sarah Renner doubled up the Tribe at 12-6. Through two sets, Anna Rantala led the Panthers with 13 digs. GSU used 17 kills in the second to go up 2-0 in the match at 25-17.
Georgia State called timeout after the Tribe’s Alex Stein connected for her seventh kill of the match. The Panthers still controlled the third set, leading 14-7 before the break in the action. William and Mary hung around and cut GSU’s lead to 23-19 after a Panther service error. Head coach Sally Polhamus called time and the team responded well, with Rantala, Stinson and Creger’s kills finishing off the Tribe for a straight set victory.
Coach Polhamus was pleased with the effort level her team showed throughout the entire match.
"This morning we showed great team effort! With the depth of our bench and our serve receive consistency we were able to have a balanced attack,” Polhamus said.”
Celeste Friesen and Rantala set the tone defensively with 17 and 21 digs, respectively. As a team, Georgia State had 46 kills to William & Mary’s 32 and five less attacking errors than a Tribe team that defeated ACC opponent Clemson in its opening match of the season. Katie Creger came up huge for the Panthers in key situations, registering a kill to make it set point in the opening frame as well as earning the final point of the match with her sixth kill.
Georgia State will look to keep the ball rolling in its match versus Mercer at 4:30 p.m., a school GSU is 34-9 against in its program’s history.
Match 2: Mercer 3, GSU 0
In the afternoon cap of the doubleheader, Georgia State started off strong against Mercer to open the match. Kristina Stinson connected for her third kill to bring the Panthers within two points at 24-22. From there, the Bears squeaked out an opening set victory at 25-22 on a GSU handling error.
In the second and third frames, the Panthers were unable to limit attacking errors and lost back-to-back games of 25-19 to fall to 3-2 on the young season. Among the bright spots for GSU included Crystal Lee, who led her team with a match-high 14 kills. Stinson added 10 kills to her season total and Sarah Renner had another impressive setting performance with 36 assists.
Celeste Friesen and Anna Rantala combined for 27 digs on the match, once again setting the tempo of set and receive. After splitting the tournament-opening doubleheader for the second straight weekend, Georgia State will look to build on the positives from its performances and learn from its mistakes.
The Panthers will attempt to finish the Bruiser Showcase strong tomorrow afternoon at 3:00 p.m. against the host Belmont Bruins, who defeated Mercer 3-2 and William & Mary 3-0 earlier today.
Rebels take down Mavs in tourney opener
OXFORD, Miss. – The UT Arlington Mavericks took Set 1, but Ole Miss rallied in front of its home crowd in its home opener to take the next three sets and the match in a 3-1 (23-25, 25-22, 25-13, 25-19) on the first night of the Ole Miss Invitational at The Pavilion.
"I'm pleased with how we played in the first and second sets, and if we take that second set maybe it is a different match," coach Diane Seymour said following the match. "But I'm really happy with how we played in the first set, but definitely disappointed in how we played in the second two."
The Mavs will close out the Ole Miss Invitational with a pair of matches on Saturday, beginning at 10 a.m. when they take on North Carolina State. UTA will then square off with former Southland Conference foe McNeese State at 5 p.m.
Set 1
The Mavs were able to overcome allowing Ole Miss to swing at a .429 clip behind .407 hitting of its own. Kaitlyn Granger delivered four scores, including a big kill late in the set to put UTA into a set-point opportunity after the Rebels had scored consecutive points to tie it up at 23-23. Neither team led by more than three points at any point in the set.
Set 2
Both teams cooled off in the second set, but things were just as close. The Mavs were still within a point at 20-19 late in the set, but the Rebels managed to score four of the final six points of the set to tie things up heading into the break. UTA got two kills from Zhanelle Geathers in the set, but misfired a dozen times to aid the Rebel cause.
Set 3
The Rebels took control of the set early, going on a 9-0 run after trailing 6-5 and never looked back. UTA got five kills from Canete in the set, committed a dozen attack errors in the set and Ole Miss countered with .417 hitting and five blocks.
Set 4
UTA righted the ship in the early part of the fourth set, getting a block from Jessica Nwabuko and Kylie Jedlicka to hold a 10-6 lead. Cassidy Wheeler later found Granger for a score to make it 12-9 before Ole Miss managed to break serve and eventually pulled even at 14-14 before taking the lead a point later as part of an 8-0 run that stretched the lead to 20-14. The Rebels got six kills from Kathryn Cather in the set while Granger and Jedlicka each finished with three apiece for UTA.
PLAYERS OF THE MATCH
Qiana Canete, Kaitlyn Granger and Zhanelle Geathers all led the team with 10 kills apiece with Geathers finishing with a solid .500 hitting for the match. Canete just missed her fourth double-double of the season with seven digs, while Taylor Murata's eight digs was tops for the night.
KEY STATS
UTA had oublocked each of its first four opponents, but the Rebels won the battle at the net 11.0-4.0, finishing with eight solo blocks on the night. Jessica Nwabuko had a pair of blocks for UTA, including one solo.
TURNING POINT
The Mavs were on the verge of taking a 2-0 lead in the match after taking Set 1 and being tied 18-18 late in Set 2; however, Ole Miss picked up three of the next four points and closed out the set with four of the final six to square things up heading into the break before taking Set 3 by a 25-13 count. UTA looked strong early in Set 4 before a 8-0 run by Ole Miss turned a 14-12 deficit into a 20-14 advantage.