Volleyball Voices

NCAA volleyball tournament 2009 playoffs Dec 5: 2009 Campaign Comes to an End for No. 24 Lady Vol Volleyball in Second Round of NCAA Tournament

Tennessee Falls to No. 11 Minnesota; Finishes with 24-8 Record

 
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 24 University of Tennessee volleyball team was unable to overcome a strong effort by 11th-ranked Minnesota (26-8), as it dropped a 3-0 decision, 25-15, 25-16, 25-18, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn. With the loss, the 2009 campaign comes to an end for the Lady Volunteers, which finish the season with a 24-8 overall record, marking the school’s third-most wins in the last 24 years.
 
The loss also marks the conclusion of the collegiate careers of UT’s four seniors: Carol Cheade, Farren Powe, Kylie Marshall and Chloe Goldman. The quartet led the Big Orange to an impressive 76-48 record during its time at Rocky Top, including a pair of 20-win seasons, three appearances in the NCAA Tournament and six victories over nationally-ranked squads.
 
Goldman and Marshall concluded their careers ranked first and third, respectively, on Tennessee’s all-time career digs chart. The 2009 Southeastern Conference Libero of the Year, Goldman finished with an unbelievable 1,755 digs, breaking the previous school record by 281 and placing her fourth in the SEC record book. Marshall, meanwhile, scooped up 1,374 attacks during her four years in Knoxville. Powe will also be able to find her name in the UT annals, as she finished with a career hitting percentage of .274, good for ninth all-time.
 
Nikki Fowler ended her junior year on a high note, notching her 15th straight double-double with team-high totals of 11 kills and 13 digs in the loss to the Gophers. The two-time All-SEC First Team selection was the team’s top offensive weapon in 2009, finishing with the team lead in kills (459), kills per set (3.79), attacks (1268), points (542.0) and points per set (4.48). She currently ranks 12th on Tennessee’s career kills chart and will need 526 in her senior season to break the school record.
 
Minnesota got off to a quick start in the opening set, utilizing kills from Ariana Filho and Megan Wilson, as well as a block from the duo of Hailey Cowles and Lauren Gibbemeyer, to grab a 3-0 advantage. The Lady Vols rallied right back to tie the count at 3-3 with the benefit of a Minnesota hitting error, a kill from Marshall and a service ace from Fowler.
 
After each squad registered a service miscue to set the count at 4-4, the Golden Gophers erupted on a 10-2 run to take firm control of the frame at 14-6 behind a string of solid swings from Tabitha Love, Wilson, Gibbemeyer and Taylor Carico. During UM’s spurt, the Orange & White scored its points via a Gopher offensive miscue and a kill from sophomore setter Kelsey Mahoney.
 
Following a successful blast by UT sophomore outside hitter Kayla Jeter to cut the Lady Vols’ deficit to seven points, Minnesota ran off the next four tallies, highlighted by a pair of kills by Cowles.  UM’s advantage bounced between 10 and 11 tallies until Tennessee benefited from consecutive hitting errors from Cowles and Wilson to draw within 24-15.  Unfortunately, Wilson quickly hammered a ball in the court to clinch the first set for the Gophers, 25-15. Marshall led the UT offense with three kills in the first set while Jeter and Fowler recorded two each.  Minnesota out-hit the Lady Vols by a .350-.135 total and registered 18 kills to UT’s nine.
 
Looking to even the match on the scoreboard in the second set, Tennessee got off to a promising start as a pair of UM attack errors and a kill from Fowler granted UT a 3-1 advantage. Wilson and Gibbemeyer delivered consecutive kills, Jeter answered for Tennessee and then Gibbemeyer blasted another ball home to deadlock the set at 4-4. A pair of Lady Vol attack miscues and a Gopher service ace granted Minnesota some breathing room at 7-4, but the Orange and White posted a pair of Fowler kills to draw even once again at 8-8. 
 
The two teams traded the lead back and forth with a Fowler service ace and a hitting miscue by UM’s Katherine Harms granting UT what proved to be its final lead of the set at 13-12.  Unfortunately for the hosts, the Golden Gophers erupted on another big run, this one 13-3, to finish off the second set, 25-16.  Fowler led the Big Orange offense with four kills while Jeter recorded three.
 
Despite a kill from Jeter and two from the right arm of Fowler, Minnesota raced out to an 8-4 lead in what would prove to be the final set.  UT managed to move within three points at 10-7 after a Marshall kill, 11-8 and 13-10 after UM attack errors. Much as in the previous two sets, Minnesota managed a key spurt, this one a 6-1 run to nab a 19-11 lead.  That’s when the Fowler jump serve began to pay dividends as Tennessee strung together three straight points to claw back within five tallies and force a Minnesota time out in an attempt to settle things down.
 
The break worked as the Gophers managed three consecutive kills to stretch its lead out to 22-14.  Junior middle blocker Leah Hinkey delivered a kill, but UM answered right back on a swing from Tabitha Love.  With the score 23-16, Jeter and senior middle blocker Farren Powe managed a big block in the middle and then Powe drove one home to cut the gap to just five tallies. Minnesota wouldn’t be denied, however, as Filho hammered two straight kills to secure the set 25-18 and the match, 3-0.
 
##LADY VOL VOLLEYBALL##

 

NCAA volleyball tournament 2009 playoffs Dec 5: UK Volleyball: Oregon Halted by Big Blue Wall as UK Advances to Sweet 16

Wildcats register a season-best 17 blocks

 

LEXINGTON, Ky. – All season long the 13^th ranked Kentucky volleyball team’s engine ran on offense. But, on its way to the Sweet Sixteen it was the Kentucky defense that rejected 17 attacks to pace the Wildcats to a 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-17) victory over the tournament’s No. 14 seed in Oregon. Junior Lauren Rapp led the way with a career-high 10 blocks to lead UK to its first Sweet Sixteen appearance since 1992 and the first under head coach Craig Skinner.

 

Six Kentucky players tallied two or more blocks led by Rapp’s career high. Sophomore middle blockers Gretchen Giesler and Becky Pavan each accounted for six each. Junior Blaire Hiler chipped in with four, while junior Sarah Mendoza and senior Sarah Rumely each posted two in helping UK to a season-best 17-block performance.

 

“One of the themes that we’ve had on our board all year is that good teams never stop getting better,” Skinner said. “I think that’s been evident the last week and it’s hard to do once you get toward the end of the season. But, the nice thing was our blocking has been OK this year and it really turned out tonight, and that is critical in the NCAA Tournament.  I’m very proud of these girls. We were very focused tonight and this was a great win.”

 

UK’s previous season-high was a 14.5 block performance against LSU in Baton Rouge in the middle of September. A season-ago Kentucky finished the season ranked seventh in the country in blocking, but this season the Wildcats have engineered a top-10 offensive team. Despite the season-high in blocks, Kentucky’s offense continued to put up stellar figures. The Wildcats posted 42 kills which is an average of 14 per set. UK averages 14.75 for the season in kills per match.

 

Mendoza led the way for the 27^th time this season with 14 kills on the night. Pavan was the next highest with eight hammers, but six players had four or more points off of kills in tonight’s match a sign of the balance the Wildcats have had all season long. Rapp posted six kills with Rumely and Hiler also tallying five kills. Giesler chipped in with four. Rumely dished out 34 assists on the night and the Blue and White struck for a .280 hitting percentage.

 

Senior BriAnne Sauer continue her senior season highlight reel from the back row as she led all defensive players with 20 digs from the back row. Mendoza added 11 for her fourth straight double-double effort. Rumely, Rapp and freshman Stephanie Klefot contributed eight scoops to aid the Wildcat cause.

 

“I thought we set up really well,” Skinner said. “We were very assertive and aggressive. Typically when you don’t block well, you reach your hands all over the place. We were very structured and disciplined in what we did and we had a great game plan, which the team followed extremely well.”

 

Kentucky began the match with a 25-20 victory in the opening set. With a win in the first stanza, Kentucky has now stretched its record this season to 25-0 when it wins the opening frame.

 

The Wildcats used a .262 attacking percentage and registered 16 kills to open the match. Kentucky also ignited the crowd of 1,182 fans with six blocks in the first period. Mendoza led the attack with five kills and Rapp turned back five Oregon attempts. UK’s defense limited Oregon’s offense to a mere .163 attacking percentage and 14 kills.

 

UK struck first when Pavan found an open spot on the court for the 1-0 advantage. It was a lead they would never relinquish as the Blue and White led from start to finish in the first set. Kentucky had a 5-1 lead after a kill from Rapp. The Ducks rallied back and brought the score back to within one at the 7-6 mark. However the Wildcats would continue to chip away with mini-runs throughout the frame, gaining its biggest lead at 20-14 behind a kill from Hiler. Mendoza capped off the win with a crowd-pleasing hammer to give the Wildcats a 25-20 set one win.

 

It was Oregon’s turn to begin a set with a point as the Ducks took the first score of the second set with a kill. Oregon then returned the point to the Blue and White when a Duck server tossed the ball into the net. Kentucky benefited from an Oregon attacking error to take its first lead of the stanza at 3-2. The two teams would continue to swap points back and forth until Kentucky opened up a 16-12 advantage when the UK defense forced another errant attack by the Ducks. Oregon would not go away and eventually pulled to within one again at 19-18. However, the Wildcats would take the next two points behind a kill from Pavan and another attacking error by Oregon for a 21-18 lead. That was all the more room the Blue and White needed as a kill from Mendoza once again clinched the set with UK out in front by a 25-22 margin.

 

Kentucky hit with a match high .316 clip and Mendoza paced the attack with six kills. UK turned back seven Oregon attempts in the second set with Rapp once again leading the way with four rejections. Oregon only had a .178 attacking clip, but scored 17 of its points off of kills.

 

Oregon jumped out to an early 2-0 advantage in the third set, but Kentucky came roaring back to knot the score at four apiece after a kill from Rapp. UK’s dominating presence at the net continued to fluster Oregon’s offense and the Wildcats would earn a lead at 5-4 it would never give back when the Ducks sailed a shot wide. A 4-2 run midway through the set in which UK had a pair of kills and forced two Oregon misfires enabled the Wildcats to claim a 17-12 advantage. UK would earn its largest lead of the set at 21-15 behind another Oregon erroneous attempt. Back-to-back kills from Mendoza and Pavan helped clinch a spot in the Sweet Sixteen for the Blue and White.

 

In the final set it was UK’s defensive effort that sealed the win for the homestanding team. Sauer accounted for seven digs in the frame as the Blue and White picked up 19 digs in the set. UK also posted four more blocks led by three from Giesler. Rapp, Mendoza and Pavan all had three kills in the final frame to provide the Wildcats with enough offense to stave off an Oregon run.

 

With the victory the Wildcats advance to the Minneapolis, Minn., Regional site. Kentucky’s next opponent is not yet set, but could be the tournament’s No. 3 overall seed in Florida State. Match times have not been determined for a Dec. 11^th match.

 

For the most up-to-date information regarding the Kentucky volleyball team please visit UKathletics.com.

 

NCAA volleyball tournament 2009 playoffs Dec 5: Buckeyes Close Out the Season with a 3-1 Loss to Ninth-Ranked California in the Second Round of the NCAA Championship

Buckeyes Close Out the Season with a 3-1 Loss to Ninth-Ranked California in the Second Round of the NCAA Championship


Courtesy: OhioStateBuckeyes.com

         

Release: 12/05/2009

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio State (25-10 overall) women's volleyball team closed out a successful season with a 3-1 (25-13, 18-25, 25-23, 25-20) loss to ninth-ranked California in a second round match of the NCAA Championship held in St. John Arena. California advances to the Gainesville (Fla.) regional semifinals Dec. 11.

Ohio State's Katie Dull recorded a team-high 18.5 points in the match with 18 kills and one assist block. Kelli Barhorst added 14 points off 12 kills and four assist blocks. Hanna Cutura recorded a match-high 21.5 points in the match for California with 19 kills, two solo blocks and one assist block. Mindi Wiley added 16.5 points with 15 kills and three assist blocks for the Golden Bears.

California broke a 2-2 tie in set one with kills from Carli Lloyd and Correy Johnson for a 4-2 lead. A Barhorst kill cut the lead to 4-3. The Golden Bears scored the next seven points to open an 11-3 lead. The run included two OSU errors, two kills from Tarah Murrey and one from Johnson as OSU called time out at 9-3. A Johnson-Kat Brown block and a Lloyd kill ended the run. California held the lead reaching set point at 24-13 with a Cutura kill. The Golden Bears won the set, 25-13 with a Wiley kill to take a 1-0 lead in the match. California hit .593 for the set to .235 for Ohio State.

An Ashley Hughes-Kristen Dozier block opened set two for the Buckeyes. A Wiley kill tied the set at one. A five-point Ohio State run started with a Dull kill. Two ace serves from Chelsea Noble and kills from Dull and Barhorst gave the Buckeyes a 6-1 lead. That run put the Buckeyes ahead for good in the set, reaching set point at 24-18 with a kill from Dull. A California error ended the set at 25-18 for the Buckeyes to tie the match at one game each. Ohio State hit .355 for the set to .207 for the Golden Bears.

Set three turned into a battle that saw 13 ties and four lead changes. Tied at three, kills from Dull and Barhorst made it 5-3, OSU. Errors by both teams and a kill from Danks moved the score to 7-4. Kills from Murrey and Szerszen made it 8-5. Four Buckeye errors, a Murrey kill and a Lloyd solo block put California ahead, 11-8. Buckeye kills from Dozier, Hughes and Dull tied the set at 11. The squads exchanged points to reach 19-19. A Brown-Lloyd block, an OSU error and a Cutura kill gave California a 22-19 lead. Kills from Hughes and Brown made it 23-20. Ohio State closed to within one at 23-22 with kills from Dull and Danks. A Cutura kill made it set point for California at 24-22. A Barhorst kill stopped the set point at 24-23. The Golden Bears, with a Murrey kill, won the set, 25-23, to take a 2-1 lead in the match. California hit .371 for the set to .231 for Ohio State.

Two OSU errors and a Cutura solo block opened set four giving California a 3-0 lead. The Golden Bears built a 16-8 lead before a five-point Buckeye run cut the lead to three at 16-13. The run included two kills from Dull, one each from Danks and Barhorst and a California error. A Cutura kill stopped the run at 17-13. A Barhorst-Dull block cut the margin to three at 17-14. At 18-15, a Johnson kill and a triple block from Wiley, Lloyd and Murrey made it 20-15 Golden Bears. California held the lead to reach match point at 24-19 off a Cutura kill. A Golden Bear error stopped the match point at 24-20. A Cutura kill won the set, 25-20, to give California a 3-1 win in the match and a berth in the Gainesville (Fla.) regional semifinals. The Golden Bears hit .296 for the set to .128 for Ohio State.

For the match, California hit .364 to .231 for Ohio State. The Buckeyes had a 59-57 edge in kills and recorded four ace serves in the match, holding the Golden Bears scoreless in aces. Ohio State gave up nine service errors to three for California. At setter, Lloyd posted a match-high 46 assists in the match while OSU's Hughes had 42. Defensively, the Golden Bears had a 49-41 advantage in digs with Cal's Kristen Kathan posting a match-high 20. OSU's Noble recorded a team-high 10 digs. At the net, California had a 16.5 to seven advantage in team blocks. Lloyd posted a match-high seven total blocks for California with two solos and five assist blocks. For Ohio State, Barhorst collected a team-high four assist blocks.

### OhioStateBuckeyes.com ###

NCAA volleyball tournament 2009 playoffs Dec 5: No. 15 LSU Volleyball Drops Five-Setter to Texas A&M

BATON ROUGE – Brittnee Cooper ripped a career-best 28 kills on a scorching .700 hitting percentage, while Sam Dabbs passed out a career-high 64 assists but No. 15 LSU volleyball team dropped a hard-fought 3-2 decision to Texas A&M [25-18, 24-26, 25-23, 23-25, 10-15] Saturday during the NCAA Tournament Second Round at the Maravich Center.

 

LSU concludes its season 25-7 as Cooper, Dabbs, Lauren DeGirolamo and Marina Skender finish their careers in the purple and gold. The Tigers have racked up an impressive 115-38 mark over the last season en route to five consecutive SEC Western Division championships and earned their first overall SEC championship since 1991.

 

The match featured an astounding 60 ties and 29 lead changes as the Tigers both outhit [.325 to .290] and outblocked [16-8] Texas A&M.

 

The deciding frame started with the two teams splitting the first 18 points. Neither team could extend its lead past a point. At 9-9, the Aggies used a Jennifer Banse kill and back-to-back spikes from Mary Batis on pair of long rallies to creep ahead 12-9.

 

After a Cooper spike cut the deficit to 12-10, Banse added a critical sideout and Dylan Faulkner notched a pair of aces for the final margin of 15-10. The Aggies (20-10) advance to the Sweet 16 where it will meet archrival No. 2 Texas next weekend in Omaha.

 

“I thought our kids played their hearts out tonight, and we just got beat. Credit Texas A&M because they played with great heart too,” head coach Fran Flory said. “We knew neither team was going to leave anything out on the court. The team that made the most big plays at the end was going to be the team that would succeed. Unfortunately for us, their outsides did a tremendous job, and their coaching staff did a great job of adjusting. This wasn’t the ending we hoped for, but we had a lot of proud moments. Our kids played as hard as they could, and I walk out of this building very proudly tonight.”

 

NCAA volleyball tournament 2009 playoffs Dec 5: Eighth-Seeded Bruins Upset by Baylor in Four

Dec. 5, 2009 

LOS ANGELES - Four Bruins had double-doubles, led by sophomore Amanda Gil’s 15 kills and 11 blocks, but eighth-seeded UCLA was upset by Baylor in four sets on Saturday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Pauley Pavilion. Scores were 23-25, 22-25, 31-29, 19-25. 

The Bruins conclude their season at 24-9, while the Bears, who advance to the Gainesville Regional, improve to 24-9. 

Senior Kaitlin Sather posted 13 kills and 15 digs to go along with six blocks, freshman Lauren Cook added 45 assists and 11 digs and freshman Bojana Todorovic recorded 11 kills and 14 digs. Junior Dicey McGraw was also in double figures in kills with 13. Sophomore Lainey Gera notched a career-high 30 digs. The Bruins hit .183 as a team with 13 blocks, but also had a season-high 11 service errors. 

In an opening set that featured 11 ties and six lead changes, Baylor staved off a late UCLA rally to win the first. The Bears had the first run, scoring four of the initial five points of the match, but the Bruins came back with the next five to take a 6-4 lead. McGraw, Sather and Gil had successive kills to start the 5-0 run, which was followed by a Baylor ball handling error and another spike by Gil. The Bears bounced back with four in a row to go up 8-6. 

The lead switched hands four more times before Baylor, down 15-14, went on a 6-2 run to take a 20-17 advantage. The Bears saw their lead get up to as many as five twice, getting their first set point at 24-19. UCLA dodged the first four set points on kills by sophomore Katie Camp and Gil and back-to-back combo blocks by Gil and McGraw and Gil and freshman Rachael Kidder to make it 24-23. But a Bruin service error ended the run and gave the Bears a 25-23 win. Gil had more than half of the kills for the Bruins in the first with seven. Baylor out-hit UCLA .273 to .200. 

UCLA jumped out to an early 5-1 lead thanks to a kill by Gil, a combo block by Gil and Sather and three Baylor attack errors. But the Bears responded with the next seven to take an 8-5 advantage. Although the Bruins would tie the set five more times, the Bears never trailed for the rest of the second. Down 11-7, the Bruins recorded six of the next eight to even the score at 13. McGraw had two kills during the run, Sather and Todorovic had one each and the Bears committed two errors. 

Baylor was ahead 18-15, but a 3-0 mini-run on kills by Sather and Todorovic and a Bear attack error squared things at 18. The teams exchanged the next six points, but the Bears scored four of the last five to take the second 25-22. Sather had six kills in the second, while McGraw added three. Despite dropping the set, the Bruins out-hit the Bears .267 to .240. 

The third set saw 19 ties, 11 lead changes, three Baylor match points and five UCLA set points before the Bruins posted a thrilling 31-29 victory. Neither team led by more than three. With the score tied at 16, the Bruins scored the next three on a McGraw kill, a Sather/Gil combo block and a Baylor error to go up 19-16. UCLA still led by three at 21-18, but Baylor came back with six of the next seven to earn its first match point at 24-22. 

The Bruins squelched Baylor’s first two match points on a ball handling error and a combo block by Gil and Kidder to even things at 24, while another dual roof by Gil and Kidder gave UCLA its first set point at 25-24. The Bears recorded the next two to go up 26-25 and earn their third match point, but back-to-back kills by Gil and McGraw put the Bruins back on top 27-26. The teams exchanged the next five points to tie the set at 29, but the Bruins closed out the set with kills by Sather and Todorovic to win it 31-29. McGraw paced UCLA with seven kills, while Gil had three kills and eight blocks. The Bruins were out-hit .131 to .111, but had nine blocks.

It was another back-and-forth affair in the fourth, but the Bears pulled away late to win the match in four. The Bruins took an early 6-4 lead, recording the points on two Sather kills, one each by Gil, McGraw and Todorovic and a Baylor ball handling error. The Bears came back with an 8-3 run to go ahead by three at 12-9 and didn’t trail for the rest of the set. 

UCLA closed to within one three times at 13-12, 14-13 and 16-15, but a 3-0 run by Baylor put the visitors up 19-15. The Bruins were unable to get closer than two the rest of the way, as the Bears scored six of the last eight points to take the set 25-19. Todorovic led UCLA with five kills, while Gil and Sather had three apiece. The Bruins were out-hit .438 to .186 and had no blocks after posting nine in the third set. 

Katie Sanders paced Baylor with 13 kills and was joined in double figures by Elizabeth Graham (12), Anna Breyfogle (11) and Torri Campbell (10). Sanders (12 digs) and Taylor Barnes (50 assists and 20 digs) each had double-doubles. The Bears hit .244 as a team with 10 blocks. 

--- UCLABRUINS.COM --- 

Volleyball Gifts: Beach Volleyball Sunglasses: Electric Sunglasses

check out this video featuring the electric sunglasses starring Bam Margera...

Volleyball Gifts: Beach Volleyball Sunglasses: Dragon Sunglasses

check out this video featuring surfer glen sullivan  

Volleyball Gifts: Beach Volleyball Sunglasses: Oakley Sunglasses

check out this So Cal beaches magazine video on Oakley sunglasses

NCAA volleyball tournament 2009 playoffs Dec 4: Baylor Volleyball Advances With Sweep Over Georgia Tech

Senior Katie Sanders led the Bears with 10 kills

 

LOS ANGELES – Baylor earned a spot in the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a first-round sweep (25-17, 25-22, 25-22) of Georgia Tech in Los Angeles, Calif., on Friday night. The win is just the second NCAA Tournament victory in program history, and first since 1999.

 

“I am proud of our players and coaches,” head coach Jim Barnes said. “Its all of the work we have put in and I am glad to see it pay off here tonight. We are healthy and we are playing our best volleyball of the season.”

 

Baylor took control of the match early in the first set, then held off each charge that Georgia Tech was able to put together. Katie Sanders was the only Baylor player in double digits with 10 kills. Senior setter Taylor Barnes filled the stat sheet with 29 assists, four kills, five digs, and two service aces.

 

The Baylor offense hit a spectacular .289 (39-13-91) and the defense held the Georgia Tech to just .207 (39-20-92). The Bears controlled play with their blocking game, totaling 9.0 blocks in the match. Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year Anna Breyfogle and middle blocker Elizabeth Graham each totaled six block assists.

 

“We were disciplined tonight, and we stayed on the girls about playing every point,” Barnes said. “Our seniors did a good job of not letting us lose focus. We kept the pressure on them, and if you keep the pressure on a good team you can eventually get them to break down.”

 

The first set of the match started off toe-to-toe with the teams trading points until Baylor broke away with the score tied at 11-11. The Bears strung together three straight points, including a block assist by Breyfogle and Graham and a Barnes second-touch kill. Georgia Tech battled back to tie it at 15-15, but a Torri Campbell and a Breyfogle service ace put Baylor back in control at 18-15. From there, Baylor went on a 6-0 run on the strength of two Barnes service aces sandwiched around a two kills by Campbell. Sanders finished off the set with a kill to make it 25-17.

 

In the second set, Chrissy DeMichelis got GT off to a 3-0 start, but Baylor answered with a 9-1 run. During the span, Graham had two kills and a block assist with Breyfogle to get the Bears back in control. Baylor held its five-point advantage until 20-15, when the Yellowjackets came out of a timeout with a 4-1 run to tie the score at 22-22. Baylor ripped off the next three points with two kills from Campbell around a GT error to take a commanding 2-0 lead.

 

Campbell picked up where she left off in the third set, getting Baylor out to a 3-1 lead with two kills. Baylor took a 14-10 advantage after a GT error, but the Yellowjackets didn’t go away, getting back to within two at 16-14. Baylor pushed the lead back to four at 21-17 with back-to-back kills by Sanders. Sanders added another kill before Ashlie Christenson finished off the match with a kill of her own.

 

The win marked the 100^th for Jim Barnes in his six seasons as the Baylor coach.

 

Baylor (23-9) will be back in action against the winner of the UCLA-Long Beach State matchup taking place following the Bears’ win. The second round match is scheduled for 7 p.m. PT/9 p.m. CT on Saturday, Dec. 5.

 

 

NCAA volleyball tournament 2009 playoffs Dec 4: Long island Blackbirds Fall to No. 4 Stanford in NCAA First Round

STANFORD, Calif. - The Long Island University volleyball team suffered a 3-0 (25-11, 25-15, 25-10) loss to No. 4 Stanford in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Senior Martina Racic (Pula, Croatia) turned in six kills to lead the Blackbirds.



Stanford came out strong in the first set, staking a 7-1 lead and forcing the Blackbirds into an early timeout. After the break the teams traded points three times before the Cardinal stretched its advantage to 15-5. Long Island responded with a kill by sophomore Ashley Rice (Marlton, N.J.) but Stanford's Janet Okogbaa recorded a kill of her own. Northeast Conference Player of the Year Svetlana Simic (Klek, Serbia) turned the tables again with a kill but Stanford again thwarted Long Island's attempt to build a run. The Blackbirds got to within nine points on two other occasions but that would be as close as they would get, dropping the first frame 25-11.



In the second stanza, Stanford built an early lead again, this time scoring eight of the first 10 points. The Blackbirds cut the lead to 11-6, scoring back-to-back points for the first time in the match on a Stanford attack error and a kill by Racic. After a service error and a Cardinal ace gave the home team a seven-point edge, Long Island was forced to call a timeout.



After the stoppage, freshman Breanna Cullity (Colorado Springs, Colo.) narrowly missed with an attack. After a Cardinal service error, Simic scored a kill and Cullity followed with an ace. Simic then tallied another kill to cut it to 14-10. A Blackbird service ace halted the 4-0 run and Stanford added a pair of points to reestablish a seven-point lead. Long Island was unable to mount another rally and Stanford took the second set, 25-15.



Things were a bit closer at the outset of the third frame, with Stanford taking a 4-3 lead. The Cardinal quickly scored 10 of out the next 12 points to build a 14-5 cushion. Stanford did not allow the Blackbirds to get within arm's reach from there, taking the match with a 25-10 victory.



Simic closed with five kills and Cullity added four for Long Island. Junior Zuzana Buchlova (Pelhrmov,  Czech Republic) led the Blackbirds with eight digs, sophomore Chelsey Stanton (Macungie, Pa.) added seven and Racic finished with six. Long Island hit -.043 for the match while Stanford hit .333 and enjoyed a 34-23 advantage in kills.



Stanford (22-7) was led by Okogbaa's 13 kills while hitting .812 for the match. Ailes Gabi turned in a match-high 11 digs.



The loss put an end to Long Island's school-record 12-match winning streak. The Blackbirds ended the season with a 21-14 record, including a 16-0 mark in NEC play en route to their sixth straight league title.

NCAA volleyball tournament 2009 playoffs Dec 4: Colorado State Rams Upset Huskies In NCAA Second Round

Miyashiro finishes ninth in NCAA history in career digs and Rowland breaks attack percentage school record despite defeat.

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The sixth-seeded Husky volleyball squad was off its game tonight, and in the NCAA Championships, one off-night is all it takes, as Washington was upended in the second round by Colorado State, 25-16, 25-22, 21-25, 25-19. The Rams had the home court advantage at Moby Arena in front of 2,750 fans and put Washington in a 2-0 hole for the first time all year. The Huskies fought to force a fourth set, but had trouble sustaining runs all night, and ended the season with a 24-6 record.

 

The Rams outhit the Huskies, .254-.225 tonight, and dug 58 balls to just 41 for the Dawgs. Washington had 12 blocks to six for CSU, but the biggest difference came at the service line where Colorado State had four aces and just three service errors, while the Huskies had three aces but 16 service mistakes. Junior Becky Perry led Washington with 15 kills and a .414 hitting percentage, while Salvo had 14 kills and sophomore Bianca Rowland tallied 13 and hit .435. Danielle Minch led all players with 19 kills while hitting .324 for Colorado State.

 

“CSU played well in almost every part of the game. I was proud of our team,” said head coach Jim McLaughlin. “I liked our energy and we competed but we didn’t play well enough to win the thing. I just want to congratulate CSU, they did what they had to do. We were tentative, and when you’re tentative good things don’t happen. You’ve got to win the serve-receive battle, and when we do that we win the match. We didn’t do that tonight.”

 

This was the final match for seniors Tamari Miyashiro, Jill Collymore, and Airial Salvo. Miyashiro, a two-time National Defensive Player of the Year, had 14 digs and fell just shy of the Pac-10 career record with 2,382 career digs, ninth-most in NCAA history. Collymore led the Pac-10 in aces the past two years and was a two-time Academic All-American, while Salvo started every match this year for UW and was All-Pac-10 honorable mention the past two seasons.

 

This was just the second time since 2003 that the Huskies did not advance to at least the NCAA Quarterfinals. Washington was last upset in the second round in 2007, but reached the Elite Eight last season. Still it was a tough loss for a team with Final Four goals all year long.

 

“We had some nice highs, and we had some lows. This is one of the lows, it’s a disappointment, but it comes with what we do,” McLaughlin said. “I’m proud of the women in this program. At Washington you want to get to the Final Four, and when you don’t get there it sucks, but I hope it’s always like that to be honest.”

 

The Rams grabbed a 3-1 lead in set one, but a Rowland kill and Carlson ace tied it back up. UW ramped up the defense to force a CSU error and then Rowland and Hagglund assisted on a bock for a 6-4 lead. The teams stayed in contact early on, with nine tie scores, the last one coming at 12-all. CSU took a 15-12 lead when the Huskies struggled to pass Danielle Minch’s serve. Washington continued to struggle with its own serve and that of the Rams, and called its first timeout trailing 19-14. The Huskies were unable to make a push, and the Rams took the first set, 25-16. Colorado State hit just .105 in the first set, but the Huskies had only six kills and six errors.

 

Lauren Barfield got UW off with a kill to start set two, but CSU earned the next four straight and Washington took time. Carlson and Rowland got a block out of the break to snap the run. A back row kill from Carlson tied it back up at 5-5. The Rams owned the lead through the middle part of the set, but too many service errors prevented a sustained run. A CSU block forced the Dawgs to take their last timeout trailing 13-16. Barfield and Hagglund earned a big block out of the break but CSU responded with the next kill. Washington finally strung two points together on a Carlson kill followed by her second ace, but her next serve was into the net for UW’s ninth service error. A Perry kill gave the serve to Collymore, and Salvo placed an attack in the corner on the next point to cut CSU’s lead to 22-20 and force their first timeout. CSU’s Dana Cranston got through the block on the next point, and another Ram kill brought up set point. Salvo saved the first two with her fifth and sixth kills of the match, and CSU used its final timeout leading 24-22. Kelly Holford missed her next serve out of the break, however, and Washington was staring at an 0-2 deficit for the first time all season. Washington had 10 service errors through two sets compared to just one for Colorado State.

 

The Huskies found themselves in an 0-3 hole to start set three, but Salvo got a kill to stop the run. Down 5-2, a Salvo kill was followed by a block by Carlson and Barfield then a Perry put-away and the Huskies got even. Finishes from Perry and Rowland kept things knotted up. A Rowland attack bounced into the crowd for a Husky point, then CSU’s Tessa Nelson missed wide and the Rams took time with UW leading 10-8. Collymore’s first serve out of the break dove straight to the floor for an ace, and an overpasses on the next two serves resulted in a Salvo kill then a Rowland finish and the Dawgs led 13-8 before Collymore finally missed. Two Husky errors trimmed the lead to 13-11 and the Dawgs called time. But CSU continued its run with two more to tie before Rowland put the Huskies back up 14-13 with a kill. Salvo went crosscourt for her 11^th kill and an 18-16 lead, then Perry finished for a three-point edge. Rowland tapped down another to boost the lead to 21-17 and CSU used its last break. Rowland stuffed a swing by Minch for a critical block to keep UW up 23-19. Colorado State claimed the next two points, however, and the Dawgs needed another timeout. Salvo banged one down out of the break to earn set point, and CSU’s next attack glanced wide off the antenna to get the Huskies on the board with the 25-21 win. The Huskies outhit Colorado State, .452-.250 in the third set, getting six kills apiece from Rowland and Salvo.

 

Once again the Huskies struggled early in the next set, losing four-straight after taking the first point, and needed an early timeout. Down 8-3, Salvo took a rip for a kill that spurred the Huskies on a 5-1 run including solo blocks from Carlson and Perry and CSU needed time leading just 9-8. Minch earned a Rams point to stop the run, but Rowland sided out with another swing from the middle. Rowland and Hagglund then rose up for another block to finally bring the set even at 10-all.  The Huskies took a one-point lead, but a 4-0 CSU run put them back up 14-11 and Washington needed its last timeout. The UW went to Rowland to end the run, but gave serve back on an error and CSU extended its lead to 17-12 with a kill on the next point. Hagglund earned her first kill and followed immediately with her second to make it 17-14. The Rams took a commanding six point lead with three-straight before Salvo got UW back on the board. Washington couldn’t get any momentum going on serve despite siding out well late. A kill from Perry made it 23-18, but another service miss gave CSU a slew of match points. The first was saved with Perry’s 15^th kill, but Jacque Davisson put down her next shot to end the set, 25-19, and the match.

 

ncaa volleyball tournament 2009 playoffs: Long Beach State Volleyball falls in first round at UCLA

LOS ANGELES – Facing a rematch of a regular-season matchup against the Bruins in the NCAA tournament, the 49ers found themselves on the opposite side of the result in a 25-20, 25-20, 25-16 loss in the first round at UCLA.  Eight UCLA aces helped the Bruins defeat the 49ers in three sets.

 

Kaitlin Sather tied with Dicey McGraw, as each finished with 12 kills for the Bruins. The Bruins outhit the 49ers overall, with UCLA outpacing the Long Beach State.290 to .178. For Long Beach State, Naomi Washington led the 49ers with nine kills, while Caitlin Ledoux added eight kills and 11 digs.

 

Trailing early in the first set, Long Beach State broke even with the Bruins at 5-5 and then the 49ers took their first lead at 7-6 after a block by Ledoux and Ashley Lee. UCLA quickly regained the lead at 8-7 after a Katie Camp ace, and used another ace by Lauren Cook to take a three-point lead at 11-8. A Libby Fontanilla brought the 49ers within one at 14-13, but a Kaitlin Sather kill finished a UCLA push out to 18-14 on the way to a Bruins 25-20 victory.

 

The 49ers were out in the lead early in set two, with a Ledoux kill giving The Beach a 6-3 lead. Sather brought the Bruins even with a kill for an 8-8 tie, and Dicey McGraw picked up an ace to give the Bruins an 11-9 lead. Long Beach State stayed close through a 15-15 tie, but three straight points including another ace gave the Bruins a lead they would hold for the rest of the set on the way to a 25-20 win.

 

In the final set, a Lee dump gave Long Beach State a 9-7 lead, but UCLA made a quick run to take a 12-10 lead after a Sather kill. From there, the Bruins controlled the momentum, opening a 22-15 lead and taking a 25-16 win on .348 hitting.

 

With the loss, Long Beach State finishes the season with an overall record of 22-9 following the team’s 23rd consecutive NCAA appearance. The team will have a banquet celebrating the 2009 Big West Championship season and the team’s two seniors, Naomi Washington and Brittney Herzog on December 14, 2009. The free portion of the event begins at 6 p.m. in the Walter Pyramid, and will be followed by a paid dinner at Spaghettini’s Bar and Grill in Seal Beach. 

NCAA volleyball tournament 2009 playoffs Dec 4: No. 2 TEXAS Volleyball sweeps TCU, advances to NCAA Omaha Regional

 

Senior Destinee Hooker connects for 21 kills on .606 hitting to lead Texas to its fourth straight NCAA Regional appearance.

AUSTIN, Texas – The second-ranked Texas Volleyball team used a 21-kill, 13-dig performance by

Senior All-America outside hitter Destinee Hooker to sweep past TCU and advance to the NCAA Omaha Regional. The Longhorns’ 25-15, 25-14, 25-18 victory improved UT to 26-1 on the season and dropped the Horned Frogs to 27-7. The win advances Texas to an NCAA Regional for the fourth-straight season.

 

Hooker took 33 swings on the night, committed one error and hit .606, en route to her match-high kill total. Junior All-America outside hitter Juliann Faucette added 10 kills in the victory and senior All-America setter/opposite Ashley Engle posted 30 assists, nine kills, seven digs and hit .467.

 

In the first set, a pair of early kills by Engle gave Texas a quick 6-3 edge, but TCU kept the tally tight until late in the frame. Hooker headlined a 6-1 UT rally down the stretch, hammering out four kills to push the Horns’ advantage to 23-14. A double-block by Faucette and freshman utility player Sha’Dare McNeal and a TCU miscue closed out the set 25-15.

 

Texas took charge to start the second stanza, taking advantage of an 8-1 run fueled by a pair of kills from freshman outside hitter Bailey Webster and two points from McNeal that put UT in front 12-5.  TCU rallied to shrink the margin to five, but Texas was too strong late in the frame as sophomore middle blocker Rachael Adams notched two kills and combined with Hooker on a double-block to close the set 25-14.

 

The Longhorns opened the third set on a 5-1 run with Hooker registering two kills during the rally. Four more kills by the senior All-American ballooned the lead to 16-11 and three straight TCU errors along with an Engle kill moved the score to 20-13. An Adams kill extended the lead to 23-16 and a TCU attack error forced match point. For the final point of the season at Gregory Gym, Engle looked to her classmate Hooker for the final kill of the home season and she didn’t disappoint, closing out the set 25-18.

 

Texas returns to action on Friday, Dec. 11 at the NCAA Omaha Regional against the winner of the Texas A&M/LSU match at the NCAA Baton Rouge Sub-Regional. The match time is TBA.

 

POST-MATCH NOTES

TCU

-TCU finished the 2009 season 27-7.

-TCU is 1-1 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.

-TCU is 0-1 all-time against Texas.

-TCU’s four-match winning streak ended

-The Horned Frogs concluded the season with a 13-2 record in their last 15 matches.

-Texas’ 54 kills were a season high by a TCU opponent.

-The Horned Frogs’ 0-3 loss marked their first sweep since a 0-3 loss at UNLV on Nov. 14, 2009, and just their third of the season.

 

Texas

-Texas improved to 55-22 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and 18-8 in NCAA Second Round appearances.

-The Longhorns secured their fourth-straight NCAA Regional appearance with the win over TCU.

-Texas improved to 26-1 in 2009, marking its third-straight 26-win season and 22^ndoverall.

-Seniors Ashley Engle, Destinee Hooker and Heather Kisner tied the Texas postseason record for most matches played (15).

-Destinee Hooker recorded her ninth double-double of the season and 22^nd of her career with 21 kills and 13 digs; the match was also Hooker’s fourth 20+ kill match of the season.

-Texas’ .490 hitting percentage was its second-highest of the season (.526 vs. Kansas, Nov. 28), and the highest of any TCU opponent during the 2009 season.

-Hooker improved to second all-time on Texas’ postseason career attacks chart with 442.

-Hooker improved to fifth all-time on Texas’ postseason career total blocks chart with 42.

-Ashley Engle improved to fourth all-time on Texas’ postseason career attacks chart with 369.

-Heather Kisner improved to second all-time on Texas’ postseason career chart with 152.

-Texas swept its sixth-straight opponent and its 21^st overall.

 

POST-MATCH QUOTES

Head coach Jerritt Elliott

General statement: First of all, congratulations to TCU and (head coach) Prentice (Lewis) on a fabulous season. I’ve known Prentice since growing up in my club days.  She took that program over, and I know how hard it is to get a program to be good, and to get her team to the first time in the tournament and to the second round is a fabulous job and a great job by the coaching staff.  I was very pleased with our team’s performance tonight.  I thought we were very focused and came in prepared.  We did a really nice job on the offensive side and at the service line.  We knew TCU was hot and they just finished a really good swing in California.  We have a lot of respect for their team and their program and I was proud of our team for how prepared they were because this is a very important time of the year. 

 

On Sha’Dare McNeal:  Sha’Dare is a phenomenal player and I think our staff had the most difficult time with the middle blocking crew.  Sha’Dare has been good enough to play.  We keep asking ourselves how we are keeping her out of the lineup, but we are very talented at that position and Sha’Dare has been better for us off the bench than she has as a starter. She’s been able to play a lot of different roles for us in terms of the left side and middle, and serving.  We can use her in a lot of different aspects.  We have so much confidence in her. We’ve been throwing her in a lot of matches when we’ve been struggling with other team’s middle blockers.

 

On the extent of Jennifer Doris’ injury:  She’ll be okay, she’s in good hands.  We have got the best trainer in the country and they’ll get her ready to come back and play.  Sha’Dare was more than capable of playing off the bench.

 

On how they were able to build leads:  I think our team stayed focus. They continued to play and our side-out percentages were extremely high. 

 

Freshman utility player Sha’ Dare McNeal

On her thoughts just before coming into the game:  I was just prepared for anything to happen.  We’re always on the bench telling each other to “be ready, be ready” and then when that moment came I was ready to go.

 

Senior setter/opposite hitter Ashley Engle

On having a friend on the other side of the net:  It was awesome. I love Christie (Hudson) so much and I’m so proud of what a great player she already was, but you can tell she has matured so much.  She has always been a really smiley girl and I love just looking over the net and still seeing her smile.  It was cool to finally know someone on the other side of the net.

 

On setingt Destinee Hooker the last two balls of the night:  I knew that I wanted to go do Destinee, it was the last point in Gregory Gym so that was a given.  It has just been such a great ride and I know that the last match was senior night, but since we did have these last two games it was great to be able to put a good win together for our fans.  We are definitely going to miss them.

 

On the injury to Jennifer Doris:  It’s always a scary thought.  Is it your knee, is it your ankle?  It’s tough, it happens all the time with people coming under and landing funny.  I’m glad she’s okay and I have so much confidence in Sha’Dare and all of the other players on our bench because we are all working hard and we’re playing against each other all the time. I know I don’t like playing against her, so it’s great having her on our side of the net and I don’t think we skipped a beat.

 

Senior outside hitter Destinee Hooker

On the importance of knowing that the set will always be there:  It definitely starts with having trust in your team and starts with practicing in the gym.  Working hard, building trust in your teammates, coming to the court and seeing your teammates do well.

 

On receiving the last two shots to end the game:  I’m honored that Ashley gave me the last ball to hit over the net.  She gave me the eye contact that signified to hit the ball and I did.  She gave me the ball and I think it was blocked, then it came back over and I hit it again.  It was a great finish to have at Gregory Gym.  I’m sad I won’t be back, but all the while I love Ashley Engle and am really thankful for that.

 

On being prepared for certain situations:  You would definitely have to say a rhythm.  You play like you do in practice to get ready for these kinds of situations.  And when those points come in the game I am ready for it because I worked so hard in practice.

 

TCU

Head coach Prentice Lewis

On the match overall: I felt like there were a lot of balls that we should have been digging and Texas out dug us. It’s tough when you don’t dig those shots and the easy balls. I also think we were in awe of the whole environment. Even though they saw it all last night as well, it is just a little tougher to play in it.

 

On matching up against Texas at Texas: We have played high-caliber athletes and have played in big time environments. But this is different, if you are in Texas, everybody talks about UT.

 

On how the tournament will help recruiting and next year: With our athletes that have been involved and have been able to play and participate, it is a building stone. Hopefully, the athletes come out and are ready to pursue the same goal next season. I don’t know about 27, but I think that is the goal obviously. We will have a good team next year. As we have been, we are young, but we are old in our lineup, so it will be a good team again.

 

On the loss overall: It wasn’t one player. We were not digging the balls. I think we ended up having only 31 digs and Texas had 41, and we did not serve as well tonight as we have most matches. We are number one in our conference in digs, and number one in service aces. Things just didn’t click all the time tonight, and for us to win at Texas, those things have to happen. Also, we didn’t challenge ourselves the same way defensively. Even the easy balls, they weren’t going for. But honestly, Texas is the best team we have seen this year. 

 

Senior outside hitter Lauren Otto

On the mindset coming into the match: I don’t think we ever had a doubt in our mind that we could play with Texas. So, we just prepared the same as we did for every game, and were ready to fight when we stepped out onto the court.

 

On how the match served the future program: I think for the younger classes, they know what it feels like to make it here, and they know what it feels like to sit on the sideline and not have their name called. I really think that will motivate them that much more.

 

On the match overall: Obviously we knew Texas was a good team, they are the best in the nation, so we knew that we were going to have to play the best that we could to give them a game. There were a lot of balls that we should have been digging that we didn’t, and it was things like that, that slowly knocked the wind out of us tonight.

 

Senior defensive specialist Katelyn Blackwood

On how the tournament served the future of the program: We paved the way. It was the first time we have ever been to the tournament; we are the winningest class TCU has ever had. We set the bar for the team’s after us, if not at least to do the same, then hopefully, to do better. We were picked to finish fifth in our conference and we finished second. That will get a better recruiting class.

 

On the game overall: I think there was a lot of over-pursuit tonight. I think because we knew we could play with them, there was a lot of over pursuing the balls that we usually wouldn’t have tonight and that hurt us.

 

On matching up against Destinee Hooker: We have played a lot of teams that usually have that one great hitter. And when you are over, you are going to get your kills, but one person can’t win a game. So we still played the match the same as any other. We rolled the ball back and played the game.

ncaa volleyball tournament 2009 playoffs: Women's Volleyball: Buckeyes Advance to Second Round of the NCAA Championship with a 3-1 victory over Cincinnati

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio State (25-9 overall) women's volleyball team came away with a 3-1 (25-20, 16-25, 25-15, 25-23) victory over Cincinnati (25-11) Friday night in St. John Arena. The first round match of the NCAA Championship was the second of two played in Columbus. Ninth-seeded California (19-10) defeated Lipscomb (28-4), 3-0 (25-15, 25-22, 25-9) in the first match and will face the Buckeyes in the second round at 7 p.m. Saturday. That winner advances to the Gainesville Regional semifinals.

The Buckeyes received a team-high 17.5 points from Katie Dull with 16 kills (.400), one ace serve and one assist block. Emily Danks posted 14.5 points with 13 kills (.600), one solo block and one assist block and Kristen Dozier had 10.5 points with nine kills (.368), a solo block and one assist block. For Cincinnati, Stephanie Niemer recorded a match-high 19.5 points with 17 kills (.342) and five assist blocks. Missy Harpenau added 17.5 points with 13 kills, four ace serves and one assist block. Emily Hayden contributed 10.5 points with seven kills, one solo block and five assist blocks.

Tied at three in set one, a Jordanne Scott kill and an OSU error gave Cincinnati a 5-3 lead. Trailing, 16-12, Ohio State scored the next four points to tie the set at 16. The run began with a kill from Danks, a Susan Halverson ace serve, another kill from Danks and a second Halverson ace serve. Tied at 19, kills from Dozier and Dull gave Ohio State a 21-19 lead. A Scott kill made it 21-20. The Buckeyes made it 22-20 with a kill from Dull. A Cincinnati error made it 23-20. The Buckeyes reached set point with a Dull kill at 24-20. A Bearcat error ended the set to give Ohio State a 25-20 win and a 1-0 lead in the match. Ohio State hit .286 for the set to .133 for Cincinnati.

Cincinnati broke a 4-4 tie in set two off an OSU error, a Harpenau kill and a Becca Refenes ace serve to take a 7-4 lead. A UC error made it 7-5. The Bearcats, with a five-point run, broke open the set to take a 13-5 lead. OSU closed to within five at 19-14 but Cincinnati kills from Niemer and Harpenau and a Megan Turner ace serve quickly made it 22-14. A Hayden kill gave the Bearcats set point at 24-15. OSU stopped the set point with a kill from Allie Schwarzwalder at 24-16. Cincinnati, off an OSU error, won the set, 25-16, to tie the match at one game each. The Bearcats hit .350 for the set to .243 for Ohio State.

From a 3-3 tie in set three, Cincinnati took a 5-3 lead with a Harpenau kill and a Jaime Frey ace serve. A kill from Dull made it 5-4 and started a six-point Buckeye scoring run. An Anna Szerszen kill tied the set at five and a kill from Danks gave OSU a 6-5 lead. Two Cincinnati errors and a Barhorst kill gave OSU a 9-5 lead. A Harpenau kill made it 9-6. A kill and an ace serve from Barhorst and a solo block from Dozier gave OSU a 12-6 lead. The Buckeyes held the lead to reach set point with a Dozier kill at 24-15. Ohio State won the set, 25-15 with a Szerszen kill to take a 2-1 lead in the match. The Buckeyes hit .385 for the set and held Cincinnati to .036.

Ohio State opened set four with a five-point run with two kills from Dull, one from Ashley Hughes and two Cincinnati errors for a 5-0 lead. Trailing, 10-4, Cincinnati scored the next five points to cut the margin to one at 10-9. The run began with a Niemer kill, a Harpenau ace serve. An Annie Fesl-Hayden block and one from Niemer-Hayden was followed by a Harpenau ace serve to cut the lead to one. OSU responded with kills from Szerszen, Hughes and Dozier and with a Cincinnati error to hold a 14-9 lead. At 20-15, an OSU error, a Harpenau ace serve and a Fesl-Neimer-Hayden block cut the margin to two at 20-18. A Bearcat error, a Dull kill and a Halverson ace serve opened a 23-18 Buckeye lead. A Niemer kill and a Lindsay Upton ace serve made it 23-20 Buckeyes. Ohio State reached match point at 24-20 with a kill by Hughes. A Niemer kill and Scott-Megan Turner block and a Buckeye error stopped three match points to cut the lead to one at 24-23. Ohio State won the set, 25-23, on a Dull kill to win the match, 3-1. The Buckeyes hit .407 for the set to .250 for Cincinnati.

Ohio State hit .320 for the match to .205 for Cincinnati. The Buckeyes had a 58-45 margin in kills while the Bearcats had a nine-to-five advantage in ace serves. Ohio State gave up nine service errors to six for Cincinnati. At setter, OSU's Hughes posted a match-high 40 assists with Fesl recording 37 for Cincinnati. Defensively, the Buckeyes had a 51-44 margin in digs with OSU's Chelsea Noble posted a match-high 15. At the net, Cincinnati had a 10.5 to four margin in team blocks. Hayden posted a match-high six total blocks (one solo, five assists) for Cincinnati.

### OhioStateBuckeyes.com ###

 

NCAA volleyball tournament 2009 playoffs Dec 4: Dayton Women's Volleyball Falls To Illinois In NCAA Second Round

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. –  The University of Dayton Flyers saw their postseason run end, falling 3-1 to No. 5-seeded Illinois (28-26, 8-25, 17-25, 18-25-X).

It had all the makings of an upset, but the result. The last two times Dayton faced Illinois, they came out victorious. Even more, both times the Flyers had trailed 2-1 in the match heading into the fourth set. This time the Flyers were unable to pull ahead against the fifth-seeded Fighting Illini.

“I thought this was a great team that we played tonight. Their block was awesome. It was really tough for us to score,” said head coach Kelly Sheffield.

Amanda Cowdrey led the Flyers with 17 kills on the night, posting her 17^th double-double as she also tallied 12 digs.

All-American middle blocker and Atlantic 10 Co-Player of the Year Lindsay Fletemier had five block assists.

The Flyers opened up and led most of the opening frame, until the Illini charged back late in the first to knot the game at 22 apiece. Dayton faced set point twice before pulling back ahead of Illinois and capturing the first set 28-26.

“Lauren DeBruler came out blazing. Game one was a battle and we were playing pretty well. We could have capitalized on some over balls, and that let them back into the game,” Sheffield said. “

In the fourth game, we were a point or two away from making this interesting. Great teams find a way to finish and that is what they did. I thought our team battled.

Illinois’ block became UD’s Achilles Heel in the second set. Dayton’s attack was stuffed six times as the Illini battled to even up the match.

The Flyers picked up three blocks in the third set as Cowdrey picked up steam adding four kills. However, UD could not pick up enough steam to overcome the Fighting Illini’s .344 efficiency in the third set falling 17-25.

UD battled in the fourth set trying to regain momentum, however, the Illini’ block did not subside tallying 6.5 blocks in the final frame.

“Next year is exciting because we have all of our starters back.  Obviously we wanted to make it a little bit further than we did, but I think Illinois is a great team and we can only learn from tonight. We will get after it for next season.”

Dayton ends the season 30-4 with two of their losses coming against Top 10 AVCA Teams. The Flyers will return every starter next season, including A-10 Co-Player of the Year Fletemier and the Most Outstanding Player of the A-10 Tournament Amanda Cowdrey.

NCAA volleyball tournament 2009 playoffs Dec 4: Washington State Volleyball Falls to No. 20 Northern Iowa in NCAA First Round

 

LINCOLN, Neb. -- In their first post-season competition since 2002, the Washington State volleyball team ended its season with a 26-24, 25-21, 25-20 loss to No. 20 Northern Iowa in the first round match of the NCAA Championship tournament at the Nebraska University Coliseum Friday afternoon.

 

WSU (18-13) was led by freshman Rachel Todorovich with a career-high 15 kills, a .556 hitting percentage (0 errors on 27 attacks) and 10 digs. Sophomore Meagan Ganzer added 13 kills. Kelly Hyder led the Cougs with 13 digs and Renee Bordelon had 35 assists. Brittany Tillman had five kills and led the match with five blocks.

 

Shannon Aschoff and Michelle Burrow combined for 26 kills to lead Northern Iowa (31-2). Ellie Blankenship led the match with 18 digs. Bre Payton added 38 assists and 14 digs. Krista DeGeest and Payton each had two blocks.

 

“I was concerned with the confidence that they (Northern Iowa) had coming in,” Cougar Head Coach Andrew Palileo said after the match. “Any time a team comes in with that type of winning streak (28 matches), you always come in with a sense of air and confidence. Even if they fell behind, I knew they were going to be a tough team to overcome from the standpoint of just their defense, especially in the first set, I was impressed with that. Their hitters did a good job of using our blockers in certain situations and I thought they came out ready to play a little bit more than we did. They made some plays when they needed to in that first set and that really set the tone for what they really wanted to try to do against us and put us on our heels a little bit. So I give a lot of credit to UNI.”

 

UNI Head Coach Bobbi Peterson said, “There were a lot of things we thought we needed to do in order to be successful and I think our kids really stepped up and did those things. I think I’ve talked all year about our defense and what our defense has been able to do. I really thought they did a nice job of putting pressure on Washington State. We’ve seen physical kids all year, but when you look through their lineup they are very big and physical. The other thing is they were in system a lot and we tried to get them out of system with our serve, but I thought they did an excellent job of passing. It really put a lot of stress on our defense; I thought we did a nice job of committing when we were supposed to and our defense going one on one with their hitters. I also thought that on the other side of that, our offense was probably the best it has been in transition all year. To me it was a good team effort.”

 

WSU took a 13-7 lead in the first set only to see it disappear and UNI scored eight of the next 11 points to leave the Cougs with a 16-15 lead. Ganzer landed an attack out of the WSU timeout but UNI grabbed two quick points off of WSU errors and tied the set at 17-all. This time the Cougars went on the run, scoring five of the next seven points to take a 22-19 lead. UNI came out of a timeout and Burow landed an attack and a tip while Bordelon had the block for the Cougs. With WSU up 23-21, attacks by Aschoff and Payton tied it up at 23-all. Ganzer’s kill put WSU serving for set at 24-23 but the Cougars committed three consecutive attack errors and UNI took the first set 26-24. WSU hit .130 for the set while UNI hit .188. Todorovich had six kills and hit .545 in the opener. Aschoff (.444) and Burow each had five kills for the Panthers

 

Northern Iowa jumped out to a 15-8 lead and the Cougars fought back to within three at 22-19 but could not close the gap any further. Tillman had two kills at the end of the set but WSU lost 25-21. Panther setter Bre Payton had four kills and hit .375 for the set while Burow had four kills and hit .400. Albright had five kills in the second set and Todorovich had four kills and hit .667. UNI hit .357 and WSU hit .191.

 

WSU took an 12-9 lead to open the third set but Northern Iowa scored four consecutive points for a 13-12 lead. The teams tied at 14 and at 17 when UNI tallied three straight for a 20-17 lead. The Cougars could only score two more points as the Panthers went on to a 25-20 win. Todorovich added five more kills and hit .500 in the set while Ganzer had five kills and hit .375. UNI was led by Burow and Discher’s four kills.

 

Cougar Todorovich was asked after the match about being on the team that made it to the NCAAs after seven years, “It was definitely a process. I thought the freshmen came in really looking up to the seniors and taking on their leadership on how Palilieo’s system worked. Coach Palileo threw us into that system in the summer, which really got us going. It was a lot easier. A lot of credit goes to the other players and just how they helped us to bring us to the next level.”

 

COUGAR NOTES:

Senior Kelly Hyder ends her four-year career with a school-record 1,773 digs.

Senior Renee Bordelon ends her two-year career with 2,093 assists, sixth-best on WSU all-time standings.

Senior Jackie Albright ends her four-year career with 998 digs, eight-best on the WSU career digs list.

Senior Cassie Robbins ends her four-year career with 49 solo blocks, 299 block assists and 348 total blocks, all 10th on the WSU career standings.

Freshman Oceana Bush tallied 531 digs this season, second-best in WSU’s single season standings.

 

MORE VOLLEYBALL QUOTES FROM THE WSU-UNI FIRST ROUND MATCH:

Coach Palileo:

On UNI’s style of play compared to other teams Washington State has played this year

“We’ve played teams like UNI – Missouri and Utah and even Oregon and UCLA. But they (UNI) are just a little smaller, so some of the places they were using us was along our triceps down here, so we were trying to adjust the block a little bit so we were trying to touch the ball with our hands and not get too them so much. They’re a good team. Again, winning 30 matches is always a great accomplishment, but we had a few problems with their outsides swinging.”

 

On UNI’s blocking adjustments

“I think we kind of helped them out a little bit because we didn’t pass the ball very well and if you look at our season stats, our middles are really involved with our offense. We weren’t passing bad as far as getting aces, but we were passing the ball 10 to 12 feet off of the net, which takes our middles away and they were already trying to take our middles out of the match. We had to become outside-heavy. They did a good job picking up. Ellie (Blankenship) does a good job with digging up those balls back there and she swallowed up a lot of them. Once they put that in there, they just kind of tooled and worked the ball around the block and just dictated what lanes they were going to hit the ball to based on what we were setting up.”

 

Renee Bordelon:

On what it was like to make the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2002

“I’m happy with our season, but it’s hard to be happy right now. I know the seniors and I put in a lot of hard work, as well as everybody else that was here the last two years, to build up to where we were this year. It’s just hard for me right now to put a smile on my face. I am happy about some of the accomplishments we have done. It’s been a fun season. It’s been really fun playing under the Pac-10 Coach of the Year as well as some of the other awards my teammates have gotten this year. Kudos to them.”

 

www.wsucougars.com

 

NCAA volleyball tournament 2009 playoffs Dec 4: Duke Falls 3-1 At No. 24 Tennessee In NCAA First Round

 

December 4, 2009

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Nikki Fowler and Kayla Jeter combined for 35 of Tennessee's 54 kills to lead the 24th-ranked Volunteers to a 3-1 (25-18, 25-23, 17-25, 25-12) first-round victory over Duke in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Thompson-Boling Arena.

Jeter led the team with 18 kills, while Fowler put down 17 and also recorded a double-double with 12 digs. Those two were part of a Tennessee (24-7) team that posted 17.5 blocks and hit .270 against a Duke squad that came in holding opponents to an ACC-low .156 hitting percentage.

Tennessee middle blocker Leah Hinkey dominated the nets with 10 blocks, seven kills and a .357 hitting percentage, while Fowler also put back seven blocks. Duke (27-6) struggled to get anything past the Volunteer front, hitting .146. Tennessee libero Chloe Goldman also gave Duke trouble, collecting 20 digs without a single receiving error.

Tennessee opened by winning the first two sets, but could not stop Duke from winning game three 25-17. Duke ended that game with a 9-1 rally - their biggest run of the night - before the Volunteers came out in the fourth set and put the match away with a 25-12 victory.

Senior Rachael Moss and junior Becci Burling provided the bulk of Duke's offense with 12 kills apiece, while setter Kellie Catanach dished out 45 assists and four kills. Burling led the way with a .321 hitting percentage, making just three errors while also racking up five blocks. Moss, meanwhile, recorded her 14th double-double of the season with 13 digs, giving the 5-10 outside hitter 69 double-doubles in her four-year career.

Moss leaves Duke as one of the most decorated players in school history, finishing third at Duke in kills, fourth in digs and fourth in service aces. Also a first team Academic All-America, she became only the third Blue Devil in school history to earn All-ACC honors four times and the first to earn a spot on the Academic All-America first team.

Defensively, Duke libero Claire Smalzer did her best to limit the Tennessee offense and picked up 23 digs, including seven in Duke's 25-17 third-set victory. Smalzer also put down two service aces in that set, giving her a team-leading 40 at season's end. She was the only Blue Devil with a service ace in the match, however, as Tennessee - which gave up the fewest aces in the SEC - picked up all but two of Duke's 79 serves.

Led by a 7-for-14 effort from Jeter in the opening set, the Volunteers took game one 25-18. After falling behind by as much as five points, Duke mounted a late rally that trimmed the deficit to two points at 17-15, but then gave way to an 8-3 run that sewed up the opening win for Tennessee. The Vols picked up two of their last three points with blocks, both of which involved Fowler, to give them five stops in the set.

The second set featured a hard-fought battle that saw the lead change six times. Tennessee, however, came out on top 25-23 after overcoming a 21-18 deficit on the strength of a combined 10 kills from Jeter and Powe, who combined for just one attack error. Duke broke away late, breaking a 21-21 tie with consecutive kills from Christiana Gray and Burling to jump ahead 23-21, but then gave up consecutive points on a kill from Farren Powe and a block from Hinkey and Kylie Marshall to allow Tennessee back into the set. Tied at 23-23, Duke called a timeout, but Tennessee came out ready and forced two attack errors - including another block from Marshall and Hinkey - to wrap up the set and take a 2-0 lead.

The Blue Devils came back with a vengeance in the third game, however, and blew past Tennessee 25-17. Duke relied heavily on Burling, sending her eight attacks which she converted into five kills and a .625 hitting percentage for the match. She also put back five blocks, four of which came after Tennessee tied the score at 16-16. Her second block - alongside sophomore Sophia Dunworth - put Duke back on top 17-16 and sparked a 9-1 run that took Duke all the way to the third-set win.

Despite the lopsided third-set loss, however, Tennessee could do no wrong in the fourth set. The Vols broke out with a 16-4 lead to open the fourth set before Duke finally got back on track. By then, however, the deficit was too big to make up and Duke saw its 2009 season end with a 25-12 fourth-set loss. Tennessee hit .522 in the final game while piling up five more blocks.

The win propels the Volunteers into the second round of the NCAA Tournament where they will face No. 11 seed Minnesota, which defeated Louisville 3-1 in the first round.

With the loss, Duke finishes the 2009 season 27-6 overall for its fourth consecutive 25-win season. Duke's senior class leaves the Blue Devil volleyball program with a four-year record of 106-26, which is a school record.

NCAA volleyball tournament 2009 playoffs Dec 4: UK Rolls into Second Round Behind Sweep of Michigan State

 

Kentucky advances to the second round for the first time since 2006

 

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Behind a balanced offensive attack the 13^th ranked Kentucky volleyball team rolled into the second round of the NCAA Tournament behind a 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-20) sweep of Michigan State in front of 1,653 fans at Memorial Coliseum on Friday evening.

 

Juniors Lauren Rapp and Sarah Mendoza tallied 14 and 13 kills, respectively, to lead a balanced UK attack that registered 46 kills on the night. UK posted a .214 hitting clip and five players had four or more kills in helping the Blue and White advance to the Second Round for the first time since 2006. Senior setter Sarah Rumely dished out 39 assists and sophomore Gretchen Giesler accounted for a team-high five blocks. Freshman Stephanie Klefot added 13 digs from the back row to pace the defensive effort.

 

UK (28-4) will face Oregon (20-9), the tournament’s 14^th overall seed, at 7 p.m. ET in Memorial Coliseum Saturday night. Oregon advanced behind a 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-20) win over Clemson in the first matchup of the day.

 

“It is a great win,” Kentucky coach Craig Skinner said. “NCAA Tournament wins are always good. I like the way that we finished off sets tonight. We were very good at that most of the season, and I think that we did a good job of that tonight. That is a sign of a veteran team and a team that believes in each other. It is a great way to start the NCAA Tournament.”

 

Tonight’s match marked the second consecutive season that Lexington has played host to the NCAA Tournament and the Wildcats did not disappoint the home crowd. Mendoza posted her third consecutive double-double effort as she tallied 11 digs to accompany her 13 kills. Junior Blaire Hiler added six kills and senior BriAnne Sauer accounted for 11 scoops as well in adding to the Wildcat cause.

 

The Wildcats opened the match with a 25-23 set one victory. UK used a match-high .325 hitting clip in the opening frame and Mendoza and Giesler each struck for five kills.

 

After Michigan State opened the scoring with a kill, sophomore Becky Pavan posted a kill to give the Wildcats their first point of the night. The match was close throughout the first set as neither team led by more than three. Kentucky took its largest lead at 14-11 behind a kill from Rapp, but the Spartans quickly stormed back to tie the score at 15. Kentucky did not shake free until a 3-0 run made the score 23-20 in favor of the home team. Michigan State came back and knotted the score at 23, but the Wildcats would go on to score the final two points to take the set. Mendoza closed out the set for UK with her fifth kill of the frame giving UK a 25-23 win.

 

“It is important (to get off to a good start) but I didn’t think that if we lost the first set that we were in danger of losing the match,” Skinner said. “We have done that before and battled back in a lot of difficult situations. It was a good start and it built our confidence and helped make us believe that we can play well. It gives us confidence to finish sets and we did that tonight.”

 

Michigan State earned the first two points of the second set behind back-to-back kills. However, UK would quickly respond with back-to-back points of its own to tie the score at two. Kentucky grabbed the lead at 18-17 and would never trail the rest of the stanza. Hiler tossed down the final kill of the set to give the Wildcats a 2-0 advantage into the break after its second straight 25-23 victory.

 

Kentucky had a .154 attacking clip and struck for 17 kills in the second set. Mendoza led the way with six kills in the frame. Klefot had 10 digs to ignite the defensive effort for the Wildcats as UK limited Michigan State to just .125 hitting and 11 kills. However, the Spartans were able to account for five blocks in the set to keep the scoring close.

 

For the third time in the match the Spartans opened the scoring with the first point in the third set behind a kill. Rapp gave UK its first point of the decisive third set with a kill of her own. Kentucky captured a lead at 2-1 after another Rapp hammer and the Wildcats would control the set from that point on. Kentucky earned its largest lead at 17-12 after a 4-0 run lifted the home team to a comfortable advantage. In the stretch Giesler got in on the scoring with a kill. UK’s middle blocker would serve up a pair of aces to help the Wildcats close out the victory as she accounted for point’s No. 23 and 24. Kentucky’s defense forced the Spartans into a bad attack to end the match and lift the Wildcats to a 25-20 win in front of their home crowd.

 

Kentucky tallied 11 kills, led by four from Rapp in the final frame. UK used a .176 attacking percentage and had a match-high five blocks to stave off the Michigan State offense. The Spartans had 10 hitting errors and posted a .029 hitting clip in the set.

 

The Wildcats will return to action tomorrow night against Oregon. The two squads will be vying for a slot in the Sweet 16 in the Minneapolis Region next week.

 

A Tournament Central site is available at UKathletics.com with information on all four teams, a seating chart and parking information. Follow along all week at Kentucky’s official homepage for up-to-date information and news regarding the NCAA Volleyball Tournament.

 

 

NCAA volleyball tournament 2009 playoffs Dec 4: Arizona Wildcats Fall to Aggies, 3-1

Arizona takes opening set, then gives up next three in deflating loss to Texas A&M

 

BATON ROUGE, La. – Playing in its first NCAA Tournament in four years, the No. 19 Arizona volleyball team fell to unranked Texas A&M in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. The Cats claimed set one easily, then faltered against efficient serving and passing from the Aggies.

 

After giving up the first point to the Aggies, the Wildcats ripped off five consecutive points to take a 5-1 early lead in the first set and never looked.  The lead would grow to six after Tiffany Owens tallied a kill to make it 8-2 Arizona. A&M would come back though and trim UA’s lead to four.  Arizona took an eight-point advantage after Stephanie Snow’s attack went wide, but the Aggies were called for a net violation.  The Cats took the set after Courtney Karst and Snow blocked an Aggie attack to make it 25-18 Arizona. 

 

Arizona twice led by nine points as they hit for an average of .333 over set one.  Owens had six kills to pace UA while Whiney Dosty had four kills and a block assist.  Weber had 12 assists for the Wildcats who had a 66 sideout percentage.

 

In set two, Texas A&M raced out to a fast start to take their own 5-1 lead.  The Wildcats would signal time and regroup.  But the Aggies kept the pressure on eventually leading 12-5 to preempt Arizona’s second timeout.  With TAMU leading 20-14, Dosty slammed a kill to cut the lead to five and ignite a Wildcat comeback.  The lead would be cut to one, but A&M hung on for a 25-23 win to earn a split 1-1.

 

Arizona took a 8-4 lead to begin set three as Jacy Norton and Paige Weber teamed up on two rejections early.  Following two attack errors, the Aggies asked for time with the score 11-5 in favor of Arizona. A&M then captured the next three points on kills from Jennifer Banse and a Kelsey Black block. The Aggies then knotted the score at 15 behind a Black kill. Texas A&M won the set, 25-21, on a kill from Banse to push her team ahead 2-1. 

 

In the fourth set, both teams remained tied up early at nine apiece.  Karst rattled off a kill then to make it 12-10 in favor of Arizona. The Aggies, as they did in set three, came back however to lead 18-15.  Down four, UA attempted to stem the tide, but couldn't find itself.  The Aggies eventually took the set 25-23 and the match 3-1 to end Arizona's season.

 

Dosty and Owens both tallied 18 kills while Weber had 44 assists and 15 digs in a losing effort.  Alanna Resch posted a career-high 29 digs in her final college match.  Karst had 14 kills to join Owens and Dosty in double digit kills.

 

Arizona finishes the season with a 19-11 mark.

 

 

ncaa volleyball tournament 2009 playoffs: TCU Women's Volleyball Historical Season Ends in 3-0 Loss to No. 2 Texas

 

Otto leads team with kills 10 in her final match.

 

AUSTIN, Texas – The TCU volleyball team saw their magical season come to an end in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in a 3-0 (15-25, 14-25, 18-25) loss to No. 2 Texas Friday night. The Frogs completed the best-ever season in school history with a 27-7 record. Four seniors played in the final game of the season in Lauren Otto, Kourtney Edwards, Katelyn Blackwood and Victoria Hernandez.

 

Otto paced the team with 10 kills and finished with seven digs. Megan Munce led TCU defensively with eight digs and tallied 25 assists. Edwards pitched in with six kills, while Irene Hester, Christy Hudson and Kristen Hester all finished with five apiece. Blackwood picked up five digs in her final match.

 

The Longhorns used a 5-1 run early in the first set to build an 8-4 lead and held off the Frogs as they tried to rally. Two kills from Irene Hester and a Longhorn hitting error brought the Frogs back within two, 14-12, but another 3-0 run by the Longhorns made it a five-point set, 17-12.

 

A mini 2-0 run by TCU on kills from Irene Hester and Otto made it just a four-point set, 18-14. The Longhorns answered with a devastating 5-0 run that gave them a commanding 23-14 lead. Hudson tried to swing the momentum back to the Frogs with her second kill of the set, but two straight hitting errors by TCU gave Texas the 25-15 first set victory.

 

In the second set, the Frogs again tried to keep the set close in the early goings. After Texas took a 2-1 lead, a blast from Hudson tied the set at two. Twice more Texas would take a one-point lead, but Edwards and Otto had an answer in the form of kills.

 

The Longhorns found their groove and went on an 8-1 run to open up the set. TCU tried to rally with a 3-1 run of their own on kills from Kristen Hester and Edwards, but another 3-0 run gave Texas a 16-8 lead. Another mini 2-0 run by the Frogs, highlighted by an Otto blast, kept the set within reach at 16-10, but the Frogs were unable to string together multiple points the rest of the way and Texas took the 25-14 set two victory for the commanding 2-0 match lead.

 

Texas stormed out to an early 5-1 lead, but the Horned Frogs held strong as they fought their way back into the set. Otto got things rolling with her ninth kill of the match and back-to-back hitting errors by the Longhorns made it a two-point contest, 6-4. The Frogs worked hard to keep the deficit at two as the Longhorns committed two more hitting errors and Hudson dropped in her fourth kill of the match to make it just a 9-6 contest.

 

Another 5-2 run by the Longhorns stretched the lead out to five, but strong defensive play brought the Frogs back within three. Edwards dropped in a kill and Irene Hester notched solo block to make it 14-11. After a Longhorn service error, Kristen Hester slammed a kill off a back court defender to make it a 16-13 contest.

 

After Texas opened up a 22-14 lead, the Frogs showed their fight with a 4-2 run to cut into the lead. Irene Hester notched a kill and served up an ace, while Hudson knocked down a kill, but Destinee Hooker’s 21^st kill of the match locked up the 25-18 set three win for Texas.

 

TCU ends the 2009 season with a 27-7 record.