UC IRVINE WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL TEAM SWEEPS CAL STATE FULLERTON
IRVINE, Calif. --- Playing in front of its largest home crowd of 1,035, UC Irvine extended its win streak to five matches with a 29-27, 25-20, 25-19 win over Cal State Fullerton Friday at the Bren Events Center. The victory lifts the Anteaters to 11-4 in conference play (22-6 overall) and sets up a showdown for the Big West title tomorrow against Long Beach State (11-4) at the Pyramid at 7:00 p.m.
Kari Pestolesi led all players with 16 kills and committed just four errors in 35 attempts for a .343 hitting percentage. The outside hitter also had 18 digs to go with two service aces. Juliane Piggott also reached double-digit kills for UCI, recording 11 kills and hitting .229 (11-3-35) while posting 10 digs and two aces. The junior had two solo stuffs and a block assist for a solid all-around performance. Alexandra Hauser led the team with three block assists to go along with seven kills, hitting .429 (7-1-14) on the night. Setter Taryn Robertson posted a double-double with 36 assists and 10 digs and hit .500 (7-1-12) while putting up two block assists.
Cal State Fullerton (16-12, 7-8 Big West) was led by Kayla Neto, who had 10 kills and two aces while Cami Croteau recorded a match-high 21 digs. Andrea Ragan topped the team with 37 assists.
A service ace by Neto highlighted a three-point run by Cal State Fullerton as the Titans took an 11-8 lead over the Anteaters in set No. 1. UCI quickly responded and tied the set at 12 points apiece on an ace by Pestolesi. CSF slipped ahead at 15-13 on a kill by Erin Saddler but UCI scored three straight and took a 16-15 lead on a line shot by Piggott. The two teams tied the set five times until at 20-20, UCI used a 4-1 run to take a 24-21 lead as Piggott tucked a shot inside the back line for set point. CSF rallied, knotting the score 24 points apiece on a kill by Saddler. The teams battled until Neto’s service error gave UCI a 28-27 edge and Robertson connected with Pestolesi to seal the frame.
Neither side could establish a comfortable lead in the second set as the teams shared 14 ties and six lead changes. At 19-19, Pestolesi and Piggott put away back-to-back kills to force a Titan timeout at 21-19. Piggott knocked down a kill on the ensuing play for a three-point advantage. Robertson found Riley Cropper on the slide for set point and Robertson took care of the rest with a dump in the middle of the court for the winning point.
In the final set, Cal State Fullerton turned a 9-9 tie into a 13-10 lead, outscoring UCI 4-1. However, a pair of two-point plays by the Anteaters tied the score at 15-15 as Hauser and Nordyke sent back a Jonny Hart attempt. Hart rebounded with a kill and CSF claimed a 17-15 lead on a UCI error. Trailing 18-17, an Anteater kill sparked a six-point UCI run (23-18), capped by a Pestolesi ace. Cropper and Robertson paired up for the block on Saddler to give UCI the win at 25-19.
UCI travels to Long Beach State Saturday (Nov. 21) at 7:00 p.m.
CSF 27 20 19
UCI 29 25 25
Kills: Pestolesi (UCI) 16; Neto (CSF) 10
Records:
UCI 22-6, 11-4 Big West
CSF 16-12, 7-8 Big West
No. 4 Rice Women's Volleyball Team Knocks Out No. 5 Marshall at Conference USA Volleyball Tournament
Final Match for Seniors Marcum and Sullivan
HOUSTON, Texas – The fifth-seeded Marshall University volleyball team fell to fourth-seeded and tournament-host Rice University, 3-0 (21-25, 22-25, 17-25) in a Conference USA first round match on Friday afternoon at the Tudor Fieldhouse.
The Thundering Herd concludes the season with a 22-9 record and 10-6 in conference play, while Rice (20-8, 11-5 C-USA) advances to the second round to play the winner of top-seeded Southern Miss and No. 8 Houston. MU and Rice now are even in the all-time series, 3-3, which dates back to 2005.
“Unforced errors have been our Achilles heel all year and they bit us again tonight,” head coach Mitch Jacobs said. “Rice took great advantage of our mistakes late in games one and two to grab a huge advantage.”
In the first set of the evening, both squads traded points back-and-forth, until the Herd held a three-point edge, 12-9, thanks two Rice errors and an Emily Sullivan kill. The Owls bounced back to knot the score at 13-all. A Sullivan service ace and Katy Schad kill put MU back up by two, 16-14.
Rice would not go away, as the home team trailed 17-16 before recording five-straight points to hold a 21-17 advantage. A kill from Elizabeth Herman and consecutive Rice attacking errors cut the Herd deficit to three points, 24-21, before the Owls’ Natalie Bogan connected for a kill to capture the first stanza, 25-21.
The Owls burst out to an early 7-2 lead to hold the upper hand in the second frame. MU used a 7-2 run of its own, highlighted by two Schad kills to even the score at 9-up. A total of 12 ties took place between the two teams throughout the remainder of the set. The Herd trailed, 22-21, when Elizabeth Fleming set up Sullivan to tie the score. Unfortunately, it would be the last time in the stanza that MU would share the lead, as the Owls tallied three-straight points to win, 25-22.
Kills from Sullivan and senior classmate Kristin Marcum gave MU a 6-4 advantage in the early goings of the third frame. The Owls answered by embarking on a 13-3 run to put the frame seeming out of reach at 17-9. Trailing 19-10, Sullivan recorded a kill on three-straight possessions to get within six, 19-13. However, MU would get no closer as they dropped the final set, 25-17.
The loss marked the final collegiate match for MU seniors Marcum and Sullivan. Marcum tied teammate Ryanne Milligan with a team-best eight digs, while adding four kills and one block assist. Sullivan tied Rice’s Ashleigh McCord for match-high in kills with 14. She hit at a .409 (14K-5E-22TA) attacking average, and registered three digs, a service ace and a block assist.
Schad chipped in with seven kills and seven digs, while Fleming collected 29 assists for the Herd.
“I’m going to miss Emily and Kristin tremendously!” Jacobs said. “I can’t even put into words how much they’ve meant to me, this program and especially the young players on the team. When adversity hit the team, Emily and Kristin wanted to be the positive solution and lead this program back towards greatness. I’ll forever be grateful for some of the things I’ve gotten to learn from them.”
Ohio State University Volleyball Women Get By Hooosiers, 3-1
BLOOMINGTON, Ind.- Senior Kelsey Hall paced the Hoosiers with 13 kills on ‘Senior Night’ inside University Gym Friday evening. Her Hoosiers (15-16, 4-13) came up short, however, dropping a 3-1 decision to Ohio State (22-9, 10-7). The final scoreboard read 16-25, 20-25, 25-20, 22-25. Cavaliers Struggle With Yellow Jackets, Drop Three-Set Match SAN ANTONIO – In a four-set stunner led by Nicholls senior Manieka SAN ANTONIO, Texas - Senior outside hitter Manieka Golden sparked the offense with 21 kills, and sophomore libero Danielle Daigle posted her seventh 20-dig match of the year to lead the defense and the No. 7 seed Nicholls State University women's volleyball team (13-18) rallied from a 1-0 deficit for a 3-1 upset victory over No. 2 Sam Houston State in the first round of the 2009 Southland Conference Tournament on Friday afternoon.
In Indiana’s second-to-last home match of the 2009 season, Ashley Benson continued to post gaudy offensive numbers just as she as has all season long. Versus the Buckeyes, the Bloomington, Ind., native hit. 409 with 11 kills. Jordan Haverly also tallied double-digit kills, putting away 10 balls on the night. Kelci Marschall was Indiana’s most efficient attacker, blasting six kills on 10 errorless swings (.600).
Defensively, Caitlin Cox led the way in the backcourt with her 13 digs, followed closely by Hall’s 10 digs. Combine that with her 13 kills, and Hall recorded her third consecutive double-double. Taylor Wittmer and Benson each picked up four blocks.
Haverly’s three kills and .400 hitting efficiency were not enough to put IU on top in the opening set as the Cream and Crimson fell, 25-16.
Indiana trailed early in the second set as well, but made a pair of three-point runs late in the set to force two Buckeye timeouts. The Hoosiers narrowed the gap to four points at 23-19 following a kill by Haverly. Ohio State responded though by snagging two of the next three points and taking the set, 25-20.
The Hoosiers found themselves in a two-sets-to-none hole for the second match in a row; and for the second straight contest they came out of the locker room an inspired group. Set number three was one of back-and-forth long runs by each squad with the lead exchanging hands three times in the early goings. Indiana would not relinquish the lead after jumping ahead 14-13 though. Wittmer was the key cog in IU’s third-set victory, coming up with numerous clutch plays both offensively and defensively. Benson also performed well in the third frame, connecting on four kills and rejecting a pair OSU attack attempts. Her fourth termination of the set sealed the deal, 25-20.
The fourth set saw several Hoosier step up their game, including Hall with four kills on 12 swings (.333). Even more impressive was Benson as she finished off four of five attacks for a .800 attacking pace. Despite the stellar individual efforts, Ohio State took the set and match, 25-22.
Indiana hits the University Gym floor one last time in 2009 on Saturday, playing host to the two-time defending national champion and top-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions (29-0, 17-0). That match is scheduled for a 7 p.m. first serve.Virginia Volleyball Falls at Georgia Tech
Dickson one kill shy of 1,000
ATLANTA, Ga. – The Virginia volleyball team began its season-ending three-match road swing with an 0-3 (18-25, 20-25, 15-25) loss at Georgia Tech on Friday evening.
For the Cavaliers’ attack, sophomore Simone Asque once again led the way, tallying a match-high 10 kills, while senior Lauren Dickson inched her way closer to 1,000 career kills. With four on the evening, Dickson currently sits one shy of becoming the 14th Cavalier to reach the milestone.
Junior Sydney Hill contributed seven kills and sophomore Tess Udall, playing in one set, knocked down five for UVa.
In the backrow, senior Brittani Rendina paced the defense with 13 digs, while junior AJ Cushman and Asque each contributed eight and senior Tara Hester ended up with seven.
At the net, freshman Jess O’Shoney collected four blocks and freshman Rachel Gray distributed 30 assists.
For Georgia Tech (19-9, 13-5 ACC), three Yellow Jackets landed nine kills, while Jordan McCullers collected a match-high 22 digs and Monique Mead blocked six attacks. Mary Ashley Tippins dished out 31 assists.
Virginia fell behind in the opening of the first set, 1-6, but used a three-point run to cut the Jackets’ lead to four, at 12-8. Back-to-back blocks from Georgia Tech plagued the Cavaliers though, as GT extended its lead back to seven and cruised to a 25-18 victory.
The Cavaliers hung tight in the beginning of the second set, rallying for a two-point lead at 6-4, following a block from Hill. But the Jackets evened the score at six, and again at seven, before using a 7-3 run to pull ahead six, at 19-13. Virginia attempted to decrease its deficit, stringing together four-straight points late in the frame, but it wouldn’t be enough as Georgia Tech went on to win, 25-20.
Throughout the beginning of the third set, the squads traded serves, keeping the score knotted up until a 6-1 run in favor of the Yellow Jackets forced Virginia to call a timeout at 14-9. The Cavaliers answered with two-straight points out of the intermission, but Georgia Tech would use five-unanswered points to take a commanding 19-11 lead. Hill attempted to spark a run for the Cavaliers, knocking down back-to-back kills, but it wouldn’t enough as Georgia Tech claimed the set, 25-15.
Virginia (12-17, 7-11 ACC) will return to action tomorrow evening, facing Clemson in Jervey Gymnasium at 7 p.m.Nicholls University Women's Volleyball Team Upsets Sam Houston State in Southland Tournament
Golden’s double-double of 21 kills and 14 digs, the No. 7 seed Colonels
upset the No. 2 seed Sam Houston State in match three of the Southland
Conference tournament Friday afternoon at the Convocation Center.
In their second consecutive tournament appearance, Nicholls advances to
its first Southland tournament semifinals since 2003. The Colonels will
face the winner of match four between No. 3 seed Stephen F. Austin and
tournament host No. 6 seed UTSA Saturday at 4 p.m.
Golden posted her fifth double-double of the season and notched her
second-highest kill total this year (21) hitting a match-high .405.
Sophomore Rachel Yezak had 10 kills and seven assists and senior Amy
Whitehead handed out 47 assists.
A tight match throughout, Sam Houston took the first set (25-21) in what
would be the widest winning margin of all four sets. The entire match saw
31 ties and 11 lead changes. Nicholls stormed back to take the next three
sets 25-23, 26-24, 25-22.
Sam Houston senior Anna Ferguson playing in her last game, led the
Bearkats with 22 kills and sophomore Carli Kolbe recorded her
league-leading 18th double-double of the season with 17 kills and 16 digs.
Post Match Quotes:
Nicholls Coach Chris Laird
“Anything can happen in postseason and this is unreal for us right now. We
took advantage of a great opportunity early on and bounced back from a
close first set and we really played up to our potential. Manieka and
Rachel played very well and as a team we played up to our potential.”
Nicholls Senior Manieka Golden
“We knew coming in we had to play our best, and we were able to pull
together and play one of our best matches of the season.”
Sam Houston State Coach Brenda Gray
“We just allowed them to hang around too long. We looked like we were in
control in the third set, but they fought back. Our offense wasn’t
clicking tonight. Defensively, we dug well but we weren’t blocking and
they were. We talked about not looking past Nicholls and I don’t think we
did. They must have had an off night when we beat them in the regular
season. This is one of the best teams I’ve ever coached. They’ve had a
quality work ethic and they’re quality people.”
Sam Houston State Senior Anna Ferguson
“This one really hurts. We just didn’t get it done tonight and it’s really
disappointing. Nicholls just outplayed us.”No. 7 Colonels Upset No. 2 Sam Houston State Women's Volleyball to Advance to Tournament Semifinals
"What a huge match for us tonight," head coach Chris Laird said. "Manieka was big for us with a double-double, Dani did a phenomenal job of getting some key digs at the right time. The girls really stepped up and played the way they were supposed to. We're very excited for our first semifinal appearance."
The Colonels won the 2003 Southland Conference Tournament, but were forced to forfeit all wins that season due to the use of an ineligible player; making Friday's upset of the Bearkats the first official postseason win for Nicholls volleyball since the Colonels joined the Southland Conference.
Second-seeded Sam Houston State struck first as the Bearkats and Colonels battled through 11 tie scores in the opening frame. However, after Nicholls tied the opening frame at 14-14, Sam Houston State managed to stay a step ahead the rest of the way. The Bearkats outpaced the Colonels 11-7 down the home stretch for the 25-21 first set win.
However, Nicholls regrouped in the second as Golden tallied eight kills and a .353 hitting percentage in the second set to lead Nicholls to a .217 team hitting percentage. Meanwhile, Daigle added eight digs and the Colonels turned in a pair of blocks to limit SHSU to a .143 hitting percentage as Nicholls evened the match at 1-1 with a 25-23 second set win.
Both sides hung tough in the third, but it was Nicholls that would come away with a 26-24 win. Golden had another five kills and no errors while hitting a sterling .714. Meanwhile, freshman outside hitter Jennifer Brandt added six more kills on 11 errorless attacks to post a .545 hitting percentage.
The Bearkats refused to go quietly in the third, tying the match at 21-21. However, one kills each from Golden and Brandt and three SHSU errors helped Nicholls pull away for the win.
Nicholls came out in the fourth looking to avoid a decisive fifth set. The Colonels hit just .128 as a team in the fourth, but the Nicholls defense came up big with 5.5 total team blocks. With freshmen Rachel Yezak (1 BS, 3 BA), Jasmine Harris (1 BA) and Jessica Addicks (2 BA) and seniors Golden (2 BA) and Amy Whitehead (1 BA) each putting their names in the block column in the fourth set, the Colonels held SHSU to a .000 team hitting percentage en route to a 25-22 win.
With the win, the Colonels avenged a 3-0 loss at home at the hands of the Bearkats on Oct. 16.
Nicholls will now await the winner of No. 3 Stephen F. Austin and No. 6 Texas-San Antonio. The winner between the Ladyjacks and Roadrunners will square off against the Colonels at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
The Colonels claimed a 3-1 win over UTSA in the two teams' only meeting back on Nov. 6. Nicholls is 1-1 this year against SFA, beating the Ladyjacks 3-2 at home on Oct. 9 and falling 3-0 on the road in the regular season finale against SFA on Nov. 14.
