Tulsa Volleyball Closes Regular Season with Home-and-Home against SMU
Golden Hurricane plays SMU at 7 p.m. Thursday at home, and 7 p.m. Saturday in Dallas
TULSA, Okla. – The University of Tulsa volleyball team closes the regular season this weekend with a home-and-home Conference USA series against SMU, playing Thursday at 7 p.m. in Tulsa and Saturday at 7 p.m. in Dallas.
Tulsa (22-6, 11-3 C-USA) and SMU (19-9, 9-5 C-USA) are both trying to lock up seeds for the C-USA Championship on Nov. 20-22 in Houston. Tulsa, it appears will finish second or third and receive the respective seeding, while SMU can be seeded fourth or fifth in the eight-team tournament.
Live stats via Gametracker will be available for both matches, and live video for the home match via Hurricane Vision, will be available atwww.TulsaHurricane.com.
Tulsa, is hitting .272 as a team (1470 kills-487 errors-3613 attempts), with 1,470 kills (14.27 k/set), 1,366 assists (13.26 a/s), 113 service aces, 1,636 digs (15.88 dig/s) and 214.0 total blocks (2.08 per set). SMU enters the weekend hitting .206 (1406-561-4106) with 1,406 kills (12.78 k/s), 1,281 assists (11.65 a/s), 132 service aces, 1,830 digs (16.64 dig/s) and 276.5 total blocks (2.51 b/s).
Tulsa is led by the on the outside by freshman Tyler Henderson, who has 453 kills (4.44 k/s), hits .288, has 38.0 blocks and has scored 476.5 points. She ranks 19th in the nation in kills per set and 33rd in points per set. Senior Jennifer Eichler, has 390 kills (3.79 kills per set), a .296 attack percentage, 243 digs, 73 total blocks and 444.0 points for the Hurricane.
At middle blocker, junior Hannah Stout hits .422 with, which is the fifth-best hitting percentage in the NCAA, and has 265 kills and 82 blocks, while seniorJulia Kenealy is hitting .310 with 151 kills, and leads the team with 108 total blocks (1.07 per set).
Freshman libero Jessica Adams leads the Hurricane with 521 digs and has 16 service aces. Her 5.06 digs per set ranks 25th in the country. Setters Rachel Vukson and Jordan Clampitt have 675 (6.55 a/s) and 568 assists (5.51 a/s), respectively, and Clampitt adds 172 digs.
SMU is led by Dana Powell, who has 404 kills (3.81 k/s), 12 service aces, 329 digs and 45 blocks, and Kendra Kahanek who has 280 kills, and leads the team with 134 blocks. Kelli Becerra leads the Mustangs with 1,150 assists (10.45 a/s), while Sidney Stewart paces SMU with 504 digs (4.58 dig/s).
Tulsa and SMU have played 27 times; SMU leads the series, 17-10. The series dates to 1996 when Tulsa joined the WAC. The Golden Hurricane is 7-2 against the Mustangs since the teams moved to C-USA in 2005. Last season, the two teams split the series, with each team winning on the road. SMU’s win last season was its first in the series since 2005, as Tulsa had won seven in a row against the Mustangs. TU is 5-8 against SMU in Tulsa and 4-9 against SMU in Dallas.
Admission to all TU home volleyball matches is free. For all Tulsa volleyball news and information, visit www.TulsaHurricane.com. Follow Tulsa Athletics on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/TulsaHurricane
-TulsaHurricane.com-
Southern Miss Preps for Second Meeting with the UCF Knights
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The Southern Miss volleyball team welcomes Conference USA foe UCF to Reed Green Coliseum for their second meeting of the 2009 season on Friday, Nov. 13, as the Golden Eagles close out the regular season. Action is set to begin at 7 p.m., followed by a post-match ceremony honoring seniors Angela Hlavaty and Maia Ivanova.
The Golden Eagles improved to 25-4 and 13-2 in conference play with two C-USA victories on Nov. 6 and Nov. 8. Southern Miss defeated SMU, 3-1 (17-25, 25-19, 25-11, 25-12), and Tulsa, 3-2 (25-9, 22-25, 25-22, 19-25, 17-15).
The Golden Eagles attacked at a combined .257 clip against the Mustangs and Golden Hurricane. Southern Miss averaged 14.22 kills per set, 12.44 assists per set, 15.33 digs per set and 2.50 blocks per set. Sophomore Caitlin Clarke led the team with 29 kills (3.22 kps), while sophomore setter Kelsea Seymour totaled 96 assists (10.67 aps). Senior libero Maia Ivanova tallied a team-high 34 digs (3.78 dps). Senior Angela Hlavaty led the squad with 10 total blocks (1.11 bps).
Ashley Mell continues to pace the Golden Eagle offense with a 3.35 kills per set average, while Clarke is net at 2.83 kills per set. Sarah Jane Bowden controls the net with a total of 103 blocks (.97 bps).
The squad extended their C-USA winning streak to five straight matches and sit atop the standing. A victory against UCF would give the Golden Eagles the out-right regular season title.
UCF is coming off two 3-1 loses against Tulsa and SMU on Nov. 6 and Nov. 8. The Knights sit at 3-12 in conference play with its victories against Memphis (3-0), UTEP (3-1) and East Carolina (3-0).
Erin Campbell leads the Knights offensively with a total of 366 kills (3.66 kps), followed closely by Kristin Fisher at 324 kills (3.12 kps). Andrea Youngblood is handing out 9.50 assists per set. Meredith Murphy patrols the back row for a team-high 453 digs (4.27 dps).
The Eagles have already met the Knights this season recording a 3-2 victory at UCF. Southern Miss is now 5-4 all-time against UCF in a series that dates back to 2005.
Volleyball Travels for Final Two Regular Season Matches
Thundering Herd Plays at UAB and East Carolina
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The Marshall University volleyball team will play its final two regular season matches this week, the first being a mid-week tilt at UAB on Thursday at 8 p.m. The Thundering Herd will conclude the regular season with a match at East Carolina on Saturday at noon.
Marshall (21-7, 9-5 C-USA)
MU enters its final week of regular season matches after posting a 2-0 record at home this past weekend. The Herd swept UAB on Friday night, followed up with a 3-1 senior day victory against Memphis on Sunday. The match against Memphis marked the final home match for seniors Kristin Marcum and Emily Sullivan. The pair helped MU post an impressive 8-1 home record inside the Cam Henderson Center this season.
The Herd along with seven other league clubs all secured a playoff spot in the Conference USA tournament (Nov. 20-22). MU currently sits in the sixth spot, but could move up as high as the fourth slot in league standings if the team can win its last two matches and Rice and SMU lose their remaining games.
UAB (15-15, 7-7 C-USA)
The Blazers have clinched a playoff spot in the upcoming C-USA tournament and sit in the seventh spot in conference standings. The Herd is playing UAB for the second time in a week. MU swept the Blazers 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-18) last Friday.
As a team, UAB tops the conference in service aces/set (1.40) and ranks third in blocks/set (2.34). The Blazers have several players that rank in the top-five in numerous statistical categories this season: Michelle Uzoh – second in blocks/set (1.21), Andrea Lalic – third in service aces/set (0.32) and Heather Thomas – third in digs/set (4.75).
East Carolina (9-18, 2-13 C-USA)
The Pirates have been eliminated from playoff contention for the 2009 C-USA tournament. ECU dropped a pair of matches last week by 3-1 scores to Memphis and UAB and currently suffering through a seven-match losing streak.
The Herd defeated ECU on Sept. 19, 2009, 3-1 (25-21, 29-31, 25-20, 25-22) inside the Cam Henderson Center.
Elizabeth Herman, Kristin Marcum and Emily Sullivan all tallied double-digit kill performances in the victory. Herman led the squad with 16 kills on 32 attempts and made just one miscue for an impressive .469 attacking percentage. The junior added eight digs, a solo block and a block assist for the winners.
Sullivan and Marcum each tallied 15 kills on 26 attempts for an identical .423 attacking percentage. Sullivan recorded four digs, three blocks assists and a service ace, while Marcum added five digs to help MU up its record to 9-1 all-time against the Pirates.
GameTracker will be available for both matches by logging onto HerdZone.com.
Rosa Reaches 2,000 Career Kills As FIU Defeats FGCU, 3-0 With the win, the Panthers improve to 27-2 (16-0 SBC) on the season, and with 20 kills on the evening, senior Yarimar Rosa now owns 2,000 kills for her career. FIU’s 20 consecutive wins mark the fourth-longest win streak in the country behind defending national champion Penn State (90), UNI (22) and Lipscomb (21). Lipscomb’s last loss came to FIU on Sept. 5. Both squads came out ready to play and the score bounced back and forth until FIU took a19-13 lead. The Panthers notched their 20th point of the set on an Eagle violation and Florida Gulf Coast then recorded two of the next three points to put the score at 21-15. An Eagle service error increased FIU’s advantage to 22-15 before junior Natalia Valentin connected with Rosa for a pair of kills to put the Panthers in set-point position. A Panther service error made the score 24-16 before Rosa closed out the set with a kill from the left side to give FIU a 25-16 set win and a 1-0 lead for the match. The second set saw the Panthers run out to a 17-9 lead before FGCU notched two points to come within six at 17-11. Senior Isadora Rangel retaliated with a pair of kills to make the score 19-11 and force an Eagle timeout. Out of the break, the teams traded service errors and with the score at 20-12, Rangel connected with Rosa for a kill as the Panthers took a 21-12 lead. FGCU then recorded a pair of points on a kill and an FIU hitting error before Valentin tallied a kill to make the score 22-14. Rosa struck again from the left side and an Eagle attack error put the score at 24-14 before Rosa took a pass from freshman Jovana Bjelica to give FIU a 25-14 set win. Up 2-0 for the match, FIU once again came out strong, taking a 17-12 advantage. Rangel then recorded a kill to increase the Panthers’ advantage to six before the Eagles tallied two straight points to come within four at 18-14. Vergun came through with a kill but FGCU countered with a block to keep the deficit at four at 19-15. FIU gained point No. 20 of the set on a Vergun tip, but a Panther service error put the score at 20-16. Rosa then tallied a kill from the left side to increase FIU’s advantage to 21-16 and once again the Eagles fought back, registering a kill to make the score 21-17. The teams then traded service errors and with the score at 22-18, Rosa slammed home a kill, this time from the right side, to put the score at 23-18. The Eagles would not go away, notching three points in a row to come within two at 23-21. Bjelica then tallied a kill from the right side to put FIU in match-point position and Vergun came through the middle for a kill to give FIU a 25-21 set win and a 3-0 match victory. Rosa’s 20 kills alone matched Florida Gulf Coast’s total number of kills for the match, as she made just one error on the night and hit at a clip of .613. Valentin led FIU in the assists category with 35 as the Panther offense registered an attack percentage of .298 as a team. Defensively, freshman Chanel Araujo secured a team-high 10 digs and Bjelica had three blocks versus the Eagles for a team best. The Panther defense held FGCU to a hitting percentage of .054 for the match. FIU will return to the court on Saturday, Nov. 14 when the Panthers travel to Boca Raton, Fla., to face Florida Atlantic in the squad’s Sun Belt Conference regular season finale. First serve versus the Owls is set for 7 p.m. -FIU-
Panthers notch 20th consecutive victory
MIAMI – The FIU volleyball team secured its 20th straight victory on Wednesday night as the Panthers cruised to a 3-0 (25-16, 25-14, 25-21) win over Florida Gulf Coast at the U.S. Century Bank Arena.
