College Volleyball Tournament News Today: Magnolia Classic, Hilton Garden Inn Classic,Comcast Lobo Challenge
Southern Miss Volleyball Team Falls to Ole Miss in Five Set Thriller
OXFORD, Miss. – Sophomore Halie Ecker and junior Ashley Mell tallied 25 and 24 kills, respectively, but it wasn’t enough as Southern Miss fell 3-2 to Ole Miss in the nightcap of the Magnolia Classic Friday.
USM falls to 5-4 with the 25-21, 23-25, 21-25, 25-22, 15-17 loss. Ole Miss improves to 4-3. It marks the third time this season that Southern Miss has played a five-set match and is 1-2 in them. Lauren Sears had 11 kills with two aces and two blocks. Setter Kelsea Seymour had 61 assists and libero Lisa Knecht had 23 digs.
In the first set, Southern Miss popped out to a 6-1 lead before Ole Miss stormed back to tie the score at 7-7. The teams battled back-and-forth as Ole Miss got back-to-back kills for a 16-14 lead. Following a USM timeout, the Eagles had a 6-2 run to go up 20-18. Southern Miss was able to maintain a two-point advantage as the Rebels called their final timeout trailing, 22-20, but USM held on for the 25-22 win. The Eagles hit just .214 led by Mell’s eight kills.
In the second set, Ole Miss took a 9-3 lead early, but Southern Miss was able to chip away at the lead and managed to tie the set at 16-16. The Eagles only led once in the set, 1-0, to start the set. There were seven ties and only three lead changes. Ole Miss led all the way to 24-23 and then got to set point on a kill by Regina Thomas for the 25-23 win. Southern Miss hit .289 that set to Ole Miss’ .229 as the teams went into the break with tied a set apiece.
Down 6-2 early in the third set, USM went on a 15-10 run to up 17-16. The Eagles could not keep their momentum going and dropped the third set, 25-21. Ole Miss outhit the Eagles .234 to .109 and used the block effectively, recording 6.0 team blocks.
Southern Miss popped out to an 11-3 lead in the fourth set but Ole Miss kept chipping away and when they got to within four at 11-7, the Eagles called timeout. Southern Miss put down three kills while Ole Miss committed an error to fall behind 15-10. The teams traded points until Mell tallied a kill and ace, forcing Ole Miss to burn its last timeout at 18-14. The Golden Eagles pushed their lead to 24-19, but Ole Miss got three straight kills to get within two, 24-22, and forced the Eagles to use their final timeout. Ecker ended the set with a kill for the 25-22 win and a fifth set.
In the deciding set, Southern Miss powered out to an 8-1 lead before Ole Miss was able to tie the score at 13. The two teams traded points with Mell scoring the 15th point for the Eagles before Ole Miss’ Thomas recorded a kill to push the Rebels for match point and then an ace by Morgan Springer gave the deuce set to the Rebels.
Southern Miss concludes play against Samford at 11 a.m. Saturday.
Comeback Lifts Samford Volleyball Team Over Louisiana In Five Sets In Magnolia Invitational Volleyball Tournament
--- Bulldogs come back from down two sets to defeat Ragin’ Cajuns in five ---
Sept. 10, 2010
OXFORD, Miss. ---- The Samford volleyball team came back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat the University of Louisiana, 3-2, Friday afternoon on the first day of the Magnolia Invitational, hosted by Ole Miss. Samford won the match by scores of 26-28, 23-25, 25-22, 25-12, 15-12. The win was the 51st win of Samford head coach Derek Schroeder’s career at the helm of the Bulldog volleyball program.
After hitting .022 and .182 in the first two sets, the Bulldogs upped their game and hit .222 in set three, .458 in set four and .429 in set five.
“We are allowing too many outside factors determine our level of play early in matches,” Schroeder said. “A good team with lofty goals like ours can’t come out and hit .020 and .180. We are obviously capable of far more.”
Samford (6-3) had four Bulldogs in double-digit kills and digs while Lyndsey Holt and Hillary Fountain grabbed their second double-doubles of the season and Casey Garvey posted her first. Holt tallied 11 kills and 10 digs while also grabbing two service aces, a block assist and a solo block. Fountain dished out 17 assists and 10 digs while adding two kills and one block assist. Garvey led her team in assists with 29 while also posted 10 digs and four service aces.
Katie Murphy led the Bulldogs with 15 kills while hitting .438 and grabbing five solo blocks and a block assist along with a dig. Allie Bettinger and Elizabeth Neisler each posted 13 kills while Bettinger also added two aces and eight digs. Neisler also tallied five digs and two block assists.
“Murphy was great after sitting out all week with a sinus infection and Lexi was great at libero in sets three, four and five,” Schroeder said.
Alexis Bauer led Samford in digs with 18 while also posting five assists, a kill and an assist. Samantha Bland added an assist and seven digs while Rachel Gadberry tallied four kills, four digs, two set assists and three block assists.
Louisiana was led by Lesley Mrirarchi and Taylor Meade who posted 16 and 12 kills, respectively. Mirarchi also led in blocks along with Caroline Dufrene with five. Mandi Gavin posted a double-double, tallying 46 assists and 15 digs while Lindsay Brown led the Ragin’ Cajun back row with 27 digs.
Samford will conclude play in the Magnolia Invitational Saturday as it takes on Southern Miss at 11 a.m. and Ole Miss at 7 p.m. Fans can follow the action via live stats through link on the volleyball schedule page at www.samfordsports.com.
Samford 3, Louisiana 2
Louisiana scored the first point of the match but Samford answered back with a kill by Bettinger. The score was tied 10 times after that before Samford took a three-point lead on back-to-back blocks by Gadberry, Holt and Murphy followed by a kill by Holt. The Ragin’ Cajuns took a timeout but the Bulldogs came right back with a block by Neisler and Murphy to take a 17-14 lead. Louisiana went on a 4-3 run to cut the lead to one point, forcing Samford to take a timeout.
The Ragin’ Cajuns came out of the break with a kill to tie the score but Murphy would knock down a kill to take the lead back for Samford. However, a Louisiana block and kill would give the lead back to the Ragin’ Cajuns. Samford fought back to tie the score and then take the lead back, but Louisiana held Samford at two set points before tying the score again and taking the lead at 26-25. An attack error tied the score at 26 but Louisiana would go on to win set one, 28-26.
In set two, the score was tied for the first four points before Louisiana took a two-point lead. Samford fought back to tie the score several times before finally taking the lead on three straight kills by Murphy, Holt and Fountain to force the Ragin’ Cajuns to call a timeout. Murphy came out of the break with a kill to put the Bulldogs ahead by three, but Louisiana answered back with two straight kills to cut the Samford lead to one. A kill and block by Murphy put Samford back ahead by three but Louisiana would go on a 4-0 run to take one-point lead and force Samford to call a timeout.
A block by Murphy and Fountain out of the break tied the score at 18. The score was tied three more times before Louisiana took a one-point lead again on a set error by Fountain. Samford called its final timeout of the set, but the Ragin’ Cajuns posted back-to-back points to take a three-point lead. Two kills by Murphy and Gadberry cut the lead to one, but after one more timeout by Louisiana, the Ragin’ Cajuns would win set two 25-23 on an attack error by Neisler.
Louisiana opened set three with back-to-back points to take a quick lead and the Ragin’ Cajuns pushed that lead out to three before Samford went on a 7-0 run to take a four-point lead. Holt served for six straight points before the Ragin’ Cajuns called the first timeout of the set. Louisiana answered with a kill after the timeout to cut the lead to three but Samford eventually pushed its lead out to six on kills by Neisler, Holt and Murphy.
The Ragin’ Cajuns took another timeout and came back with a 4-1 run to cut the lead to three again. Samford called its first timeout of the set and came back with a 4-2 run to take a five-point lead. However, Louisiana answered back to trim the gap to two and force Samford to call its second timeout. The Ragin’ Cajuns knocked down a kill out of the break to get within one but back-to-back kills by Neisler and Murphy handed Samford its first set win of the match, 25-22.
Samford started the fourth set scoring three straight points to take a quick lead. The Bulldogs followed with an 8-5 run with the help of a block by Gadberry and Neisler and kills by Bettinger and Murphy to take a six-point lead and force Louisiana to take an early timeout. Samford came out of the time out roaring, going on a 7-2 run to take an 11-point lead capped off by back-to-back aces by Bettinger and a Ragin’ Cajun error. Louisiana called its last timeout, but Samford continued to press, going on a 7-5 run to win set four, 25-12, on kills by Murphy and Gadberry and an ace by Bauer.
Samford opened the final set with a 3-0 run sparked by Gadberry’s opening kill before Louisiana charged back with a 5-2 run to tie the score at five. Samford fought to keep the lead and maintained an 8-7 advantage at the switch. After back-to-back kills by the Ragin’ Cajuns, the Bulldogs called a timeout and came back with a block by Murphy after a Louisiana error to tie the game at 10. The Ragin’ Cajuns called a timeout and Samford answered with back-to-back kills by Bettinger and Murphy to take a12-10 lead. Louisiana then called its final timeout and came back with a kill but Murphy answered with a huge block and the Bulldogs would go on to win, 15-12.
*** SAMFORD BULLDOGS ***
Volleyball Falls To Southern Miss, Ole Miss On Day Two Of Magnolia Invitational
--- Sophomore libero Alexis Bauer named All-Tournament Team ---
Sept. 11, 2010
OXFORD, Miss. ---- The Samford volleyball team dropped its final two matches Saturday in the Magnolia Invitational. The Bulldogs fell to Southern Miss, 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-13), Saturday morning before being swept by Ole Miss (25-21, 25-20, 25-20) Saturday night.
Alexis Bauer was named to the All-Tournament Team after averaging 3.91 digs per set. She posted a weekend high of 18 against Louisiana on Friday and dished out 16 against Ole Miss Saturday night. She was joined on the team by Regina Thomas and Ashley Veach from Ole Miss, Ashley Mell and Halie Ecker from Southern Miss and Leslie Mirarchi from Louisiana. Ole Miss’s Miranda Kitts was named the Most Valuable Player.
Against USM, Katie Murphy led with 12 kills, hitting .296, while also grabbing two digs and one block solo. Casey Garvey dished out 29 assists and six digs and also dumped two kills. Allie Bettinger led the Bulldogs in digs with nine while also posting six kills and an assist.
Elizabeth Neisler also added six kills and one dig while Holt posted five kills and seven digs. Gadberry had three kills and a dig while Taylor Palmer had a kill and a dig. Hillary Fountain also posted three assists and three digs while Alexis Bauer added nine digs and an assist.
Southern Miss was led by Ashley Mell and Halie Ecker with 17 and 11 kills, respectively. Kelsea Seymour posted a team-high 33 assists while Lisa Knecht led the Golden Eagles in digs with 17.
“The team has forgotten what it is to win with heart, hard work and effort,” Samford head coach Derek Schroeder said. “We have far too many close plays we are just not making.”
Against Ole Miss, Bettinger and Neisler led the Bulldogs with 11 kills each. Neisler hit a team-high. 348 while also grabbing an assist, a dig and a block assist. Bettinger also posted five digs. Garvey dished out 17 assists while Fountain added 12. Garvey also had six digs while Fountain posted three along with two aces.
Murphy knocked down seven kills for the Bulldogs along with a solo block and a block assist while Palmer added six kills. Holt had three kills and six digs while Bland added one dig.
Ole Miss was led by Allegra Wells with 11 kills and two block assists followed by Thomas with nine kills, two solo blocks and four block assists. Amanda Philpot dished out 22 assists while Emily Kvitle had 10. Philpot also led the Rebels in digs with eight.
Samford will be back in action on the road next weekend as the Bulldogs wrap up preseason tournament play in the Rice Invitational II. There they will take on Stephen F. Austin, Rice and Arkansas State.
Southern Miss 3, Samford 0
Samford got on the board first in set one on a kill by Bettinger, but Southern Miss answered back quickly with its own kill. The Golden Eagles then took the lead but never led by more than three points. The Bulldogs fought back to tie the score at 18 but USM added three straight points on two kills and an ace to take a three-point lead again and force Samford to call a timeout. The Golden Eagles extended the gap to four after the break on an ace but Neisler cut it back to three on a kill. However, USM would tack on four straight points to take the first set, 25-20.
Southern Miss opened up the second set with a block to get on the board first but Gadberry responded with a kill to tie the score. The Golden Eagles then went on a 5-1 run to take a four-point lead and force the Bulldogs to call an early timeout. USM eventually pushed its lead out to six, going on back-to-back 3-0 runs before Samford called its final timeout of the set. Samford gained a point out of the break on a USM attack error but the Golden Eagles went on a 5-0 run to take a 23-13 lead. However, the Bulldogs answered back with a 4-0 run of their own to cut the lead to six, with kills by Gadberry and Neisler, and USM called its first timeout of the set. USM would come out of the break and score two points to win set two, 25-17.
In set three, Samford took a quick 3-2 lead on kills by Garvey, Holt and Murphy but USM put together a 5-0 run to take a four-point lead. Samford called a timeout but Southern Miss continued to press and went on a 15-5 run to take a 14-point lead. With the Golden Eagles leading 22-8, the Bulldogs fought for three more points, but USM would go on to win the third set 25-13 to capture the match win.
Ole Miss 3, Samford 0
Bettinger scored the first point of the match for the Bulldogs on a kill but Ole Miss quickly answered with one of its own. The score was tied four times before the Rebels scored three straight to take a three-point lead. However, Samford fought back and tied the score four more times before the Bulldogs took the lead on a couple of Rebel errors and kills by Neisler and Holt.
Ole Miss took a timeout and charged right back to tie the score at 19, forcing Samford to call a timeout. However, the Rebels continued to press, going on a 4-1 run to take a 23-20 lead. After another Bulldog timeout, Samford got within two points on an Ole Miss error but the Rebels would go on to win set one, 25-21.
The Rebels knocked down a block to score the first point of the second set but Murphy slammed a kill to even the score. The Bulldogs then took a two-point lead on back-to-back Rebel errors but Ole Miss answered back with a kill and a block to tie the score. However, Samford went on a 4-0 run to take a 9-5 lead on kills by Bettinger and Fountain but the Rebels came back with their own run to tie the score at nine.
Ole Miss eventually took a three-point lead and Samford took a timeout, but the Rebels forged ahead and extended the lead to six as Samford took another timeout. The Bulldogs went on a 5-3 run to get within four points, capped off by kill by Murphy but the Rebels answered back with a kill to win set two, 25-20.
In set three, Ole Miss jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead before Samford got within one point on a solo block by Murphy and a Rebel error. The Rebels moved back ahead but the Bulldogs tied the score on a kill by Bettinger and another Rebel error. However, Ole Miss went on a 4-0 run to take an 8-4 lead before Samford called a timeout.
Bettinger got Samford within three out of the break but the Rebels extended their lead and eventually took a 20-15 advantage as the Bulldogs called their final timeout of the set. The Bulldogs climbed back to within four points and held the Rebels at match-point twice but Ole Miss would go on to win the third and final set, 25-20.
*** SAMFORD BULLDOGS ***
No. 10 Golden Bears Volleyball Team Wins Fifth Straight in Sweep of UC Davis at Hilton Garden Inn Classic Volleyball Tournament
California volleyball sophomore opposite hitter Correy Johnson led the team with 10 kills against the Aggies
BERKELEY – California volleyball sophomore opposite hitter Correy Johnson logged a season-high 10 kills (0e, 19att) on a .526 attack percentage to lead the 10th-ranked Golden Bears (5-0) to a three-set sweep (25-21, 25-17, 25-16) of UC Davis (3-3) in the 2010 Hilton Garden Inn Classic at Haas Pavilion on Friday, Sept. 10. Cal has now won 15 consecutive sets and maintained status quo by attacking over .310 for the fifth straight match. Paced by senior setter Carli Lloyd’s match-high 32 assists, the Bears posted a .359 attack rate with 43 kills (10e) on 92 attacks. Lloyd also had five kills on five attacks without an error and added nine digs.
Cal registered nine blocks as a team and held the Aggies to a .142 attack rate (36k, 21e, 106att) in the match. Junior outside hitter Tarah Murrey had nine kills (3e, 22att, .273) and added nine digs. Freshman outside hitter Adrienne Gehan was an integral part of the offense with eight kills (4e, 20att, .200), as was sophomore middle hitter Kat Brown, who matched her season high with six kills (2e, 12att, .333). Five different Bears were in on at least three blocks on the night. UC Davis sophomore middle blocker Betsy Sedlak led the Aggies with nine kills (3e, 18att, .333) and three blocks while senior libero Kayla Varney led all players with 17 digs.
Midway through the first set, Brown took a ball from Lloyd and rocketed it to the ground to give the Bears a 10-7 lead. Gehan’s kill off a set from Murrey put Cal in front by five points at 16-11, but the Aggies pushed back to get within a point at 17-16 as Sedlak earned a kill. UC Davis would come no closer as the Bears pulled away to earn a 25-21 victory on a block assist by Johnson and Brown. Cal attacked at a .375 rate in the first set, with 16 kills (4e) on 32 attacks. The Aggies enjoyed a .250 outing as they registered 13 kills (5e, 32att).
The Bears took the first point in the second set and never trailed to run away with a 25-17 win. UC Davis held a tie score with Cal four times, but the last time was at six-all before another kill by Brown gave the Bears the only lead they would need. Sophomore middle hitter Shannon Hawari (2k, 1e, 7att, .143) connected with a back-set from Lloyd to get a kill down the line for a 22-16 Cal lead, but the Aggies couldn’t overcome self-inflicted wounds as errors surrendered the final three points to the Bears. Cal put up 11 kills (4e, 31att) to attack at a .226 rate in the second set. The Aggies had more kills with 12, but also had more errors (10) to log a .050 hitting percentage.
With the score tied a four all in the third set, Gehan terminated a play off a set from Lloyd to give the Bears a 5-4 lead. Cal started to pull away, but the Aggies stayed within striking distance before four straight points put the Bears in front, 19-10. The teams traded points the rest of the way, giving Cal the 25-16 victory. The Bears posted 16 kills (2e, 29att) for a .483 hitting percentage in the final set. The Aggies had 11 kills (6e, 34att) to register a .147 attack rate.
In the tournament’s first match, Fresno State (3-3) defeated Seton Hall (3-5) in four sets, 21-25, 25-21, 25-19, 25-17. The Bears draw Seton Hall while Fresno State and UC Davis meet in simultaneous matches at 11 a.m. PT on Saturday, Sept. 11. Tournament play continues as Cal and Fresno State meet at 4:30 p.m. before UC Davis and Seton Hall complete action with the 7 p.m. bout. Please check CalBears.com for Gametracker links.
No. 10 California Golden Bears Volleyball Team Sinks Pirates in Three
Led by 16 kills from junior outside hitter Tarah Murrey, the Golden Bears win their 18th consecutive set
BERKELEY – California volleyball junior outside hitter Tarah Murrey led the No. 10 Golden Bears (6-0) to their 18th straight set win with 16 kills (1e, 25att, .600) against Seton Hall (3-6) in the 2010 Hilton Garden Inn Classic at Haas Pavilion on Saturday, Sept. 11. Cal was incredibly efficient on the attack as it pummeled the Pirates in three sets (25-14, 25-15, 25-16) for a .436 hitting percentage (47k, 13e, 78att). On their own side of the net, the Bears denied Seton Hall any breathing room as they smothered the Pirate offense and allowed just 23 kills (16e, 76att) for a .092 attack rate.
Murrey wasn’t called on to carry the load all herself, however. Freshman outside hitter Adrienne Gehan enjoyed her best outing to date with 10 kills (1e, 11att, .818). Cal’s starting sophomore middle hitters Shannon Hawari (7k, 0e, 9att, .778) and Kat Brown (7k, 1e, 10att, .600) contributed 19 of Cal’s 60 points. Hawari led all players with four blocks while Brown added two. Senior setter Carli Lloyd had a match-high 37 assists to go along with four kills and four digs. Seton Hall junior opposite hitter Meghan Matusiak led the Pirates with eight kills (3e, 21att, .238) while sophomore libero Katie Marshall contributed with two service aces.
The Bears attacked at a .565 efficiency rate (15k, 2e, 23att) in the opening set to get out of the gates running. Brown connected with Lloyd to get a kill to break a four-all tie. Her next kill made the score, 7-5, for Cal. She then went on to serve the next 11 balls as the Bears took off on an 11-0 run to lead, 17-5. The Pirates made a couple of adjustments to go on a short spurt of their own, but the Bears proved to be too much as Brown’s third kill of the set finished Seton Hall off, 25-14. The Bears had three blocks in the first set and dug up nine balls to help hold the Pirate attack to a .103 rate (10k, 7e, 29att).
In the middle of the second set, Lloyd earned a point off a set from sophomore setter Elly Barrett to give the Bears a 13-6 lead, but Seton Hall stayed poised and gained control of things to pull within a point at 15-14. After a Cal timeout, the next Pirate serve registered an error before the Bears embarked on a 10-1 run to finish the set, 25-15. Cal posted 18 kills (7e, 28att, .393) in the second set and held the Pirates to just six kills (2e, 21att, .190).
Hawari put home four kills in the final set (0e, 5att, .800) to help the Bears to a 25-16 win and the sweep. Gehan also had four of her kills in the third set as Cal posted a .370 attack rate (14k, 4e, 27att). The Pirates had little chance as they registered as many errors as they had kills (7k, 7e, 26att) for a .000 hitting percentage.
Cal is back in action against Fresno State (3-4) in a 4:30 p.m. PT match today (Sept. 11). The Hilton Garden Inn Classic concludes with a matchup between UC Davis (4-3) and Seton Hall (3-6) at 7 p.m. PT. The all-tournament team will be announced after the final match. Please visit CalBears.com for more information and Gametracker links.
No. 10 California Bears Volleyball Team Wins Hilton Garden Inn Classic Volleyball Tournament
California volleyball junior outside hitter Tarah Murrey posted her third double-double of the season
BERKELEY – The No. 10-ranked California volleyball team (7-0) won the 2010 Hilton Garden Inn Classic as the Golden Bears defeated Fresno State (3-4) in three sets (25-12, 25-22, 25-18) at Haas Pavilion on Saturday, Sept. 11. Junior outside hitter Tarah Murrey led Cal to its 21st consecutive set victory as she logged her third double-double match of the season with 17 kills (5e, 30att, .400) and 10 digs. Sophomore middle hitter Shannon Hawari had an efficient match as she put away eight balls on 11 attacks without an error (.727).
Freshman outside hitter Lauren Loerch provided the Bears with a career-high six kills (2e, 14att, .286) while fellow frosh outside Adrienne Gehan put in five kills (1e, 12att, .333). Cal logged a .383 hitting percentage (42k, 11e, 81att) as senior setter Carli Lloyd notched 36 assists. Lloyd also had two kills and two service aces on the night. Sophomore libero Robin Rostratter tied for match-high honors with 10 digs. Fresno State sophomore middle blocker Marissa Brand led the Bulldogs with 14 kills (6e, 38att, .211) and senior libero Kelly Mason put up 10 digs.
The Bears claimed the first point of the opening set and never looked back to take a 25-12 victory. The Bears attacked at a .680 rate with 18 kills (1e, 25att) and earned sideout on all 13 opportunities. Lloyd’s quick-set to Hawari earned Cal a 10-5 lead midway through the set. Hawari put down two more balls to push the Bears’ lead to eight at 19-11. Fresno State had six kills in the set (5e, 23att) for a .043 hitting percentage as Cal ran away with the win on a cross-court kill by Murrey.
The Bulldogs put up a fight in the second set to hold the lead at 15-14 and 16-15, but the Bears took four of the next five points to lead, 19-17, as Gehan tooled a shot off the Bulldog block for a point. Fresno State continued to capitalize on Cal errors to pull into a 22-all tie before two kills by Murrey gave the Bears a 25-22 win. Cal had 15 kills (8e, 35att) with a .200 hitting percentage while the Bulldogs registered a .207 rate on 29 attacks (11k, 5e).
Cal had little trouble capturing a 10-5 lead in the third set but the Bulldogs stayed close to get within three points at 13-10. The Bears went up by five points again at 18-13 as Hawari connected on a quick-set from Lloyd for the kill. A kill by Murrey set Cal off on a four-point run for a 22-14 lead. The Bears claimed match point on a kill by Gehan that stopped a short 4-1 Fresno State run, but a service error did the Bulldogs in as Cal came up with the 25-18 win. The Bears had nine kills (2e, 21att) for a .333 hitting percentage and held Fresno State to a .000 attack rate in the final set with 11 kills (11e, 34att).
The Bears are back in action with a mid-week match against Cal State Bakersfield (0-9) at 5 p.m. PT on Tuesday, Sept. 14, at Haas Pavilion. Please visit CalBears.com for Gametracker and live video links.
University of New Mexico Lobos Women’s Volleyball Team Take 3-1 Wins Over Sac State And SMU In Comcast Lobo Challenge
Michaelsen moves into second place on UNM career assists list
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. --- The University of New Mexico women’s volleyball team had a good Friday in the first and second rounds of the Comcast Lobo Challenge. The Lobos bounced back from a four-match losing streak with 3-1 wins over Sacramento State and SMU at the Johnson Center. Four Lobos scored double-digit kills in both matches, while senior setter Jade Michaelsen took over second place on the UNM career assists list during the day. UNM improved to 4-4 on the season with the wins.
In the first match of the day, UNM beat Sacramento State, 3-1. Kelly Williamson, Taylor Hadfield, Ashley Rhoades and Lisa Meeter recorded double digit kills and Michaelsen had 48 assists to move into second place on the UNM career assists list. Michaelsen needed 17 to move into second place at the start of the day. With her 46 assists against SMU, Michaelsen has 3,361 career assists. She needs 434 assists to take over first place from former Lobo Janelle Torres (1996-99) with 3,794.
The teams stayed close in the first set until the Lobos went on a 6-0 run from 5-6 to 11-6, gradually increasing their lead to the final 25-16.
The second set was much closer even though UNM started off 4-0. The Hornets went on a 6-0 run to tie the set and take a two-point lead, 6-4. Sac State hung on to the lead until UNM tied it up at 16-16. A service ace by Michaelsen and two errors by the Hornets gave UNM a 19-16 lead. Sac State kept buzzing around, but the Lobos won the set 25-23 on a big double block by Michaelsen and Rhoades.
Sac State came out of the intermission on a tear and used several big runs in the third set to force an extra set, 25-21.
Whatever Lobo head coach Jeff Nelson said in the changeover from third to fourth set worked as UNM buckled down and swatted the Hornets away, 25-14.
Williamson led the offense with 16 kills while Hadfield had 15, Rhoades had 11 and Meeter had 10. Meeter recorded her third double-double in a row with 10 digs to compliment the 10 kills. Michaelsen also had a double-double with 13 digs. Allison Buck led the back row defense with 18 kills, while Rhoades led the front with six blocks.
Against SMU, the same four Lobos picked up double-digit kills with Meeter leading the way with 16, followed by Williamson and Hadfield with 14 each and Rhoades with 10. Hadfield picked up the double-double with a career-high 24 digs; her previous high was seven. Allison Buck also recorded a career-high with 22 digs.
It looked like SMU was going to stay at just one loss on the season, when they jumped out to an 8-3 lead to start the match. But UNM battled back, tying the set at 11-11 on a Williamson kill. For the rest of the set, neither team could get a lead larger than two with SMU taking the first, 25-23.
After SMU scored the first point in the second set, it was all Lobos. UNM went on a 9-2 run and kept pounding away at the Mustangs to a 25-11 romp that ended with a Meeter kill.
The Lobos took the lead early in the third set, 4-1, but SMU fought back. The Mustangs tied the set at 11, 15, 16, 17 and 18 before a Hadfield kill, an SMU error and a Meeter ace gave UNM a 21-18 lead. UNM held on to win the set 25-20 and lead the match 2-1.
In the fourth set, the teams scrapped back and forth to a 7-7 tie before an 8-3 run put UNM up 15-10. The Lobos held on to the lead for a 25-17 win on a Michaelsen kill.
The Comcast Lobo Challenge continues on Saturday, Sept. 11 with SMU vs. Sacramento State at 12 p.m., followed by New Mexico against UC Santa Barbara at 2:30 p.m. at the Johnson Center.
-UNM-
Lobos Lose To UC Santa Barbara, 3-2
Win the Tournament on tiebreaker; Michaelsen named tourney MVP
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. --- The University of New Mexico volleyball team lost to UC Santa Barbara today, 3-2, in the final match of the 2010 Comcast Lobo Challenge. The loss put UNM, UCSB and SMU in a three-way 2-1 tie for the championship, with the Lobos winning the tiebreak for the tourney title. Senior setter Jade Michaelsen earned tournament Most Valuable Player honors with senior hitter Taylor Hadfield earning all-tournament team honors. The Lobos drop to 4-5 overall on the season.
Michaelsen ended up with a triple-double of 11 kills, 44 assists and 11 digs for the Lobos. The Tucson, Ariz. native was one of four Lobos to record double digit kills in the match. Hadfield and senior Lisa Meeter had 15 each to lead the Lobos, while junior Kelly Williamson pitched in with 14. Meeter picked up another double-double with 13 digs. Junior Allison Buck led the back row defense with 19 digs, while junior Ashley Rhoades led the front row with four blocks.
UNM won the first set 25-20, but the Gauchos tied the match at intermission with their own 25-20 set win. UCSB took the third set 25-19 and UNM rebounded in the fourth for a 25-18 win to send the match into a fifth set for the second year in a row. The Gauchos finished up the match with a 15-10 win.
The Lobos return to action on Tuesday, Sept. 14 against New Mexico State in the 2010 chapter of the Rio Grande Rivalry. Match time at the Johnson Center is set for 7 p.m. It will be Love Red, Live Green night with fans learning sustainability measures.
2010 Comcast Lobo Challenge All-Tournament Team
Jade Michaelsen, New Mexico (MVP)
Taylor Hadfield, New Mexico
Sidney Stewart, SMU
Kelli Becerra, SMU
Stacy Schmidt, UC Santa Barbara
Charlene DeHoog, UC Santa Barbara
Breanne Menees, Sacramento State
-UNM-
