Canete, Jedlicka Push Mavs Past Little Rock
ARLINGTON, Texas - Kylie Jedlicka and Madison Smith notched career highs, and Qiana Canete added her 15th double-double of the year to help lead UTA volleyball to a four-set win (25-23, 25-15, 23-25, 25-19) over Little Rock, on Friday night at College Park Center.
UTA (12-13, 6-6 Sun Belt Conference) earned the hard-fought win over Little Rock (9-17, 5-9 Sun Belt) to further solidify its positioning in the Sun Belt Conference Championships. The Mavs posted a two-point win in the first and a dominating second-set win before the Trojans answered to force the fourth set. UTA rallied to close out the win in the fourth, riding the career outing from Jedlicka to the win.
LEADING THE MAVS
A native of League City, Texas, Jedlicka shattered her previous career high with 20 kills, adding eight digs and a .275 hitting percentage. Canete, a native of Copperas Cove, Texas, notched her 15th double-double of the year with 13 kills and 23 digs and now sits just three kills shy of equaling Caley Smith (2001-04) for the UTA career record.
Zhanelle Geathers added 12 kills to help spur the offensive attack, with UTA also getting a season-best five kills from Ashlynn Ford. Madison McConnell finished with four kills and six digs. Setters Haley Higgins and Madison Helt combined for 42 assists, with Higgins leading the team with 28.
After a pre-match injury to libero Libbie Vickers, UTA started redshirt freshman Madison Smith, a native of Bryan, Texas. Smith turned in a career-high 23 digs, 21 more than her 2017 season total entering the match. She added two assists and one service ace to help the Mavs earn the win.
NEXT
The Mavs return to action on Saturday, hosting Arkansas State (17-9, 10-3 Sun Belt) at 6:30 p.m. CT at College Park Center. The game will be streamed live on UTAMavs.com, with the Voice of the Mavs, Josh Sours, calling the action.
SET ONE
The Mavs opened the scoring with a kill from Geathers and the two clubs traded points with the match evened at two, three and four, behind kills from Jedlicka and McConnell. Canete got UTA on to 6-6 after her first kill. Little Rock used a pair of 3-0 runs to take a 14-10 lead and force a timeout from Coach J.T. Wenger. UTA answered out of the timeout with four of the next five points but a 4-0 run from Little Rock stretched the Trojans lead to 19-14 with Wenger calling his final timeout. UTA answered with four of the next five points and went on a 3-0 run to cut the Little Rock lead to 22-21. After a Little Rock point and a pair of Trojans timeouts, UTA went on a 4-0 run to finish off a 25-23 win.
SET TWO
UTA came out strong in the second set, using four of the first five points for an early lead. After Little Rock responded with a 2-0 run, UTA sparked a 4-0 stretch to take an 8-3 lead. Jedlicka's ace completed a 3-0 run to take a 12-5 lead. Little Rock then went on a furious 5-0 run to cut the lead to 12-10 and force a Wenger timeout. UTA answered with seven of the next nine points to own a 19-12 lead. After a 2-0 run from Little Rock, UTA went on a 5-0 stretch to get to set point, taking the set at 25-15.
SET THREE
The Mavs opened up the third in a hole as Little Rock took a 4-1 lead to open. UTA answered with a 3-0 run to even it at 4-4, getting a monster kill from Jedlicka. Little Rock used four of the next five points to take an 8-5 lead, with UTA answering behind a 2-0 run of a kill from Canete and an ace from Higgins. After a 3-0 run from Little Rock stretched its lead to 15-11, UTA went on a 6-0 run to take its first lead of the set, 17-15. The teams traded points to wrap up the third, with the Trojans outlasting UTA with a 25-23 win.
SET FOUR
After Little Rock opened with a 2-0 run, UTA fought back to take a 5-3 lead. Jedlicka gave the Mavs a 7-4 and 8-5 lead with back-to-back points for the Mavs. After Geathers smashed a kill, UTA took a 12-9 lead, with LR bouncing back with a 4-0 run to even it at 13. UTA then went on a 5-0 run to take an 18-13 lead, with Little Rock fighting back to cut it to 21-18 and force a UTA timeout. The Mavs then finished off the win for a 25-19 result.
Bobcats Complete Season Sweep of Red Wolves
SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State volleyball team defeated Arkansas State 3-0 (25-13, 26-24, 25-20) Friday night in Sun Belt Conference action inside Strahan Coliseum.
The Red Wolves had their seven-match win streak halted, which was bookended by a pair of shutout losses to the Bobcats (19-8, 10-2 SBC). The last time A-State suffered multiple 3-0 setbacks to the same opponent in one season was 2014 (Little Rock).
TXST utilized a balanced attack that was led by sophomores Amy Pflughaupt (13 digs, 11 kills) and Megan Porter (12 digs, 11 kills). Junior Madison Daigle supplied 13 kills with no errors on 21 swings for a career-best .619 attack percentage. Sophomores Micah Dinwiddie (13) and Mattie Adams (12) had big nights on the back row with double-digit digs, while senior Erin Hoppe had a match-best 45 assists.
Texas State ran away from the Red Wolves in the opening set, claiming a swift 25-13 victory. Arkansas State found itself trailing just 9-8 at one point, but a 13-2 run would be all the Bobcats needed to shock their opponents early.
The second set also went in favor of the maroon and gold, but A-State made the home team work for every point. TXST played to a 20-16 advantage and looked to be well on its way to victory, but the visitors climbed back to equalize at 20-20 and later play to a 24-24 standstill. The Bobcats didn’t falter, however, as back-to-back kills from Daigle and Porter sent their side into intermission with a dominant 2-0 advantage.
Texas State went ahead 16-10 in the third, and the remainder of the period was never in doubt as the Bobcats closed out Arkansas State in straight sets.
Four-time SBC Offensive Player of the Week Carlisa May finished with a team-best 10 kills, but she also posted five errors on a whopping 35 swings for a paltry .143 attack percentage. Drew Jones also committed five errors on 35 attempts, but she had just eight kills to finish with a .086 hitting percentage. Ellie Watkins, the SBC’s top setter statistically at 11.5 assists per set, had just 8.3 assists per set (25 total) against the Bobcats. Tatum Ticknor tallied a match-high 16 digs.
Texas State led the way in kills (49-33), attack percentage (.293-.161), assists (47-30), aces (2-0), and digs (62-44). A-State held a narrow 5-4 margin in blocks, but the 33 kills from the visitors was a season low.
Texas State is set to continue a stretch of three matches in four days when the maroon and gold welcomes Little Rock into Strahan Coliseum at noon Nov. 5.
TEXAS STATE COACH KAREN CHISUM
Statement…
“This was a complete effort tonight. This team isn’t just about Amy (Pflughaupt), it’s not just about Jaliyah (Bolden), it’s not just about Madison (Daigle) or Megan (Porter). This is a complete team, and that’s what’s been fun about the success we’ve had so far this season. Tonight may have been one of the proudest moments I’ve had with this team. We’ve struggled all week in practice. After our loss to Louisiana (last Saturday), they had a really hard time focusing and getting their energy back up. We got better as the week went on, but I can’t say enough about how well they played tonight. Erin Hoppe did a nice job. Madison Daigle was on fire. I have to say hats off to my associate head coach Tracy Smith. She only wanted to work on blocking this week. You might not be able to see it in the numbers, but we did a great job channeling the ball to our defensive players. We outdug (Arkansas State) 62-44. That was a big difference.”
Mazeitis-Fontenot Sets Record, Cajuns Keep SBC West Lead
MOBILE, Ala. – Heather Mazeitis-Fontenot became the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Volleyball program’s all-time winningest coach on Friday, Nov. 3, 2017 in Mobile, Ala., following a 3-1 (24-26, 25-23, 25-22, 27-25) win over South Alabama.
Mazeitis-Fontenot picked up her 137th win as Ragin' Cajuns head coach, surpassing the previous record of 136 set by Wilo Colon from 1986-90.
The win also assured the Ragin’ Cajuns (18-9, 11-2 Sun Belt) that they’d remain atop the Sun Belt Conference’s West Division. With three league matches remaining the squad is the current leader in the race for the division’s bye into the semifinal round of the upcoming Sun Belt Tournament (Nov. 16-19 in Jonesboro, Ark.).
After coming up short in an extra-point affair with the Jaguars (15-8, 10-3 Sun Belt) in the first set, Louisiana led the entirety of the second set in evening the match.
The team then showed grit and determination in rallying for wins in the next two sets. The Ragin’ Cajuns ended the third frame with a 9-3 spurt to open a lead and then stormed back from a 15-8 deficit in the fourth set to claim the match.
Louisiana picked up its 11th Sun Belt Conference victory which equals the program record set by the 2000 team (11-5 mark).
LEADING THE RAGIN’ CAJUNS
Freshman Hali Wisnoskie recorded 17 kills on a .317 hitting percentage to lead the offense. She reached double digits for the fourth straight match and equaled her Sun Belt-play high total (17 at Little Rock).
Middle blockers Dree’Ana Abram and Nia Antoine each supplied nine kills. Abram had a match-high five blocks and the Ragin’ Cajuns out-blocked the SBC’s leader by an 11-5 count.
Right-side hitter Hanna Rovira also produced nine kills. She hit .207 over 29 swings, giving her a .200-plus percentage for the eighth time in SBC play.
Libero Sydney Davis’ 24 digs led a quartet of Ragin’ Cajuns in double digits. Freshman Avery Breaux scooped 16 digs, Stacey Reilly contributed 15 digs and Jessica Bartczyszyn had 12 digs. Bartczyszyn also had 40 assists and four blocks.
UP NEXT
The Ragin’ Cajuns head northward on I-65 to Troy (9-19, 3-10 Sun Belt) on Saturday to face the Trojans. The match begins at 6:30 p.m. from Trojan Arena on the Troy University campus. Live video will be available on WatchESPN.com.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Jaguars’ ability to hit above .300, finishing at .366, allowed them to keep the Ragin’ Cajuns within their grasp the entire first set. When Louisiana did claim a lead, it was no larger than one point.
Trailing 22-21, USA used a kill from Kelley Hartman to avoid a two-point deficit. A Louisiana attack error put the Jaguars back in front and the hosts later closed the set with back-to-back kills from Iva Durdanovic in extra points.
- Louisiana wouldn’t trail in the second set. The Ragin’ Cajuns were the first to record consecutive points, ending back-and-forth play with a Reilly kill and Antoine block for a 6-4 edge. A pair of Wisnoskie kills and a Bartczyszyn block highlighted a 5-1 run that increased the visitors lead to 11-6.
The teams swapped sideouts and the Ragin’ Cajuns maintained a four-point edge until USA cut the lead to 15-13 with consecutive Durdanovic kills. Three straight Jaguar miscues and an Antoine kill extended the lead to 19-13.
- After losing an early advantage (led 9-5), the Ragin’ Cajuns stormed to the finish line in the third set to take their first lead. Louisiana closed with a 9-3 run, erasing a 19-16 deficit.
Antoine delivered two kills and was part of a block that brought the Ragin’ Cajuns into a 19-all tie. A misplaced set by the Jaguars and Reilly kill opened an all-important two-point edge. Each time USA pulled within a point Louisiana secured a sideout, the last on a Wisnoskie kill for a 24-22 edge.
- Louisiana went into rally mode once again to finish the match in the fourth set. Using an 8-1 run midway through the frame the Ragin’ Cajuns dug out of a 15-8 deficit and into a tie.
Twice the squad rallied from two-point deficits to set up the finish. Trailing 22-20, the defense forced the Jaguars into a pair of attack errors to draw even. Two kills from Hartman placed USA at set point, but Louisiana responded with tallies from Reilly and Wisnoskie to enforce extra points.
The Ragin’ Cajuns gained the advantage twice in the extended portion of the set, the last at 26-25 off a Jaguars service error. On the next rally, Abram blocked an attack attempt Hartman for the winning score.
QUICK HITS
- Louisiana improved to 5-1 on the opposition’s home court in Sun Belt Conference play. The Ragin’ Cajuns improved to 6-3 in road matches overall.
- The 11-5 advantage in blocks marked the 13th straight match in which Louisiana had at least an equal or higher amount than the opposing team.
- The Ragin’ Cajuns are now 12-5 this season when a match is extended past the third set (9-3 in four-sets matches; 3-2 in five-set matches)
- Dree’Ana Abram’s five blocks (1 BS, 4 BA) gives her 96 total (19 BS, 77 BA) for the 2017 season. Chanelle Gardner (106 in 2014) was the last Ragin’ Cajun to eclipse 100 blocks in a season.
- Dree’Ana Aram has now thrown up at least four blocks on 15 occasions. She has had four-plus blocks in eight of 13 Sun Belt matches and leads the Ragin’ Cajuns with 50 blocks in conference play.
- Jessica Bartczyszyn’s 40 assists increased her season total to 998. She heads into Saturday’s Troy match needing just two assists to reach 1,000 for the second straight season.
- With 24 digs, Sydney Davis eclipsed the 500-mark for the second consecutive season. She now has 505 digs which is only three shy of her personal career-high 508 collected as a sophomore in the 2016 season.
- Freshman Hali Wisnoskie produced double digits in kills for the eighth time in Sun Belt play and 15th time overall in her rookie campaign. Her 17 kills against South Alabama increased her collegiate debut tally to 280, which is the second-most recorded by a Ragin’ Cajuns freshman in the rally scoring era (2001-present). She is on pace to join Amie Goodwin (340 in 2007) as the only two freshmen in the rally era to reach 300 kills.
Appalachian State Overcomes Georgia Southern
STATESBORO, GA. – Appalachian State volleyball defeats Georgia Southern for a second time this season on Friday, Nov. 3 in five sets (25-20, 23-25, 21-25, 25-20, 15-13). App State is now 5-8 in Sun Belt play with a 10-17 overall record.
The Mountaineers started out strong with a 3-0 run in the first set. They carried this momentum throughout the set with the help of Emma Longley and Courtney Sullivan. The Mountaineers won the first 25-20.
In the second set, the Eagles barely scraped by to take it 23-25. The third set brought an early 5-0 run for the Mountaineers that brought the score to 6-3. Cassidy Stephenson had three kills in the first eight points for App State. Despite the efforts of the Mountaineers, the Eagles came out on top 21-25 in the third set.
The Mountaineers came back to overcome the Eagles in the last two sets 25-20 and 15-13. Emma Longley joined the leaderboard this weekend with 22 kills. Courtney Sullivan stood out with 20 kills. Both Ashlyn Brown and Emma Reilly had 17 digs apiece, and Ashlyn Brown had a total of 59 assists.
App State continues SBC play tomorrow at Georgia State at 6 p.m. Watch the live stats here.
Coastal Carolina Sweeps Georgia State
ATLANTA, Ga. - The Coastal Carolina volleyball team extended its winning streak to 10 matches Friday night with a three-set sweep (25-18, 25-14, 25-14) of Georgia State.
Coastal improves to 16-7, 13-1 to remain in first place in the Sun Belt east division with two regular season matches remaining. The Chants finish their conference schedule next weekend with matches at South Alabama (Nov. 10) and Troy (Nov. 11).
The Chants held advantages in nearly every statistical category against the Panthers, including kills (38-30), hitting (.273 - .140) and digs (47-46). Each team had five blocks.
Leah Hardmean had 14 kills with a .286 hitting percentage, the only player to finish with double-digit kills. Kyla Manning put down nine kills at .296 pace, and Kinga Windisch landed seven swings at a .267 pace.
Sara Boothe dished out a match-high 19 assists, followed Kate Federico with 13. Sydney Alvis paced the Chants with 13 digs, while Larissa Dos Santos led the team with four blocks.
A 7-2 CCU run early in the first set put the Chants ahead 9-4, and Coastal rode five Hardeman kills and a .242 hitting percentage to a seven-point set win.
The middle frame saw the Chants hit .412, their highest percentage of the match. Hardeman had another five kills, and Windisch added four. Hardeman also added six digs, as did Alvis, to limit Georgia State to hitting .162. Coastal took a quick 11-4 lead, and remained in front by at least six points for the remainder of the set.
The final frame was another dominant one for the Chants, as Georgia State managed to even the score four times early on but never held a lead. Coastal went ahead for good after winning four straight points to break a 6-6 tie. Dos Santos factored into both of Coastal's blocks in the frame, one of which was assisted by Manning.