Volleyball Voices

(video)New Mexico Lobos Volleyball Team: Outside Hitter Lisa Meeter Shows That Height Doesn't Matter

New Mexico Lobos Volleyball Team: Outside Hitter Lisa Meeter Shows That Height Doesn't Matter

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(video)University of Dayton Volleyball Senior Day Post Match Interviews With Becky Novacek, Lindsay Fletemier

University of Dayton Volleyball Senior Day Post Match Interviews With Becky Novacek, Lindsay Fletemier

University of Dayton seniors Becky Novacek and Lindsay Fletemier give their thoughts on sweeping Saint Louis on Senior Day to cap off an undefeated 15-0 conference season in the Atlantic 10

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Kansas State Volleyball Team Falls to Baylor in Four Sets

 

Kansas State Volleyball Team Falls to Baylor in Four Sets

Kansas State Volleyball Team(10-17, 4-12 Big 12) lost to the Baylor Bears in four sets Saturday night 3-1 (25-17, 25-23, 21-25, 25-23).

The Wildcats next play Texas A&M in Ahearn fieldhouse on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Shot and edited by Anthony Drath.

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Sun Belt Volleyball Championship Seeds and Schedule Announced

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Sun Belt Volleyball Championship Seeds and Schedule Announced
 
NEW ORLEANS - With the regular season complete, the Sun Belt Conference released its seeds and schedule for the upcoming 2010 SBC Volleyball Championship.
 
Middle Tennessee became the SBC's regular season champions for the first time since 2007 with a sweep over Western Kentucky on Friday to finish with a 15-1 conference record. With the win, the Blue Raiders clinched the No. 1 seed in the SBC Tournament.
 
After an Arkansas State win over Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday, the Red Wolves captured a share of the the West Division title to become co-West Division Champions along with North Texas. ASU won more games head-to-head over North Texas and therefore earned the No. 4 seed.
 
1. Middle Tennessee 15-1 (.938)
2. Western Kentucky 14-2 (.875)
3. FIU 12-4 (.758)
4. Arkansas State 11-5 (.688)
5. North Texas 11-5 (.688)
6. Denver 8-8 (.500)
7. Louisiana-Lafayette 7-9 (.438)
8. South Alabama 6-10 (.375)
 
The championship will be held November 18 through 20 on the campus of Middle Tennessee in Murfreesboro, Tenn. All games will be available for webstream on SBC Extra and fans can purchase a tournament pass for only $9.95 to tune-in. The championship match at 3 p.m. (CT) will also be broadcast by the Sun Belt Network (times subject to change due to television demands).
 
Championship Schedule
 
Thursday, November 18, 2009 - QuarterfinalsMATCH 1
No. 2 Western Kentucky vs No. 7 Louisiana-Lafayette
12:00 PM
 
MATCH 2
No. 3 FIU vs No. 6 Denver
2:30 PM
 
MATCH 3
No. 1 Middle Tennessee vs No. 8 South Alabama
5:00 PM
 
MATCH 4
No. 4 Arkansas State vs No. 5 North Texas
7:30 PM
 
Friday, November 19, 2009 - SemifinalsMATCH 5
Winner of Match 1 vs Winner of Match 2
5:00 PM
 
MATCH 6
Winner of Match 3 vs Winner of Match 4
7:30 PM
 
Saturday, November 20, 2009 – ChampionshipMATCH 7
Winner of Match 5 vs Winner of Match 6
3:00 PM*
 
*Should Middle Tennessee or WKU earn a spot in Saturday’s SBC Volleyball Championship game, the championship game time will be moved back to 7:30 p.m. CT time slot, a change from the originally scheduled 3 p.m. time slot.
 
 

(video)Temple Volleyball Team: Bob Bertucci Steps Down as Volleyball Coach

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Temple Volleyball Team: Bob Bertucci Steps Down as Volleyball Coach
Longtime coach resigns after 16 years with the Owls

PHILADELPHIA – After 16 years as the head coach of Temple volleyball, Bob Bertucci has announced his resignation. The three-time Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year took the Owls to 14 straight conference tournaments prior to this season.

With 315 wins at Temple, Bertucci leaves as the winningest coach in program history. The Owls struggled in 2010, finishing their season today with a record of 4-25.

A 32-year coaching veteran whose teams have made numerous trips to the NCAA Tournament, Bertucci led Temple to seven A-10 regular season titles. In his 16 years as head coach at Temple, Bertucci's teams posted 20 or more wins nine times and earned four automatic NCAA Tournament bids, advancing to the Sweet 16 in 2002.

His career record of 667-383 includes an eight-year stint at the University of Tennessee (1979-86), where he led the Lady Vols to four NCAA appearances and three Southeastern Conference titles. He was the SEC Coach of the Year in 1984.

Bertucci has coached 10 All-Americans and 59 all-conference selections in his career. Most recently, he coached Temple’s Yun Yi Zhang to an honorable mention All-American honor in 2009. Zhang led all players in NCAA Division I a year ago in kills per set at 5.55, and was an A-10 First Team selection.

-Temple Owls-

Alabama Volleyball Team Topped by No. 1 Florida 3-0

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Alabama Volleyball Team Topped by No. 1 Florida 3-0
 
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Alabama volleyball team fell 3-0 (25-17, 25-10, 25-17) to No. 1 Florida on Sunday in the O’Connell Center. The loss drops the Crimson Tide to 10-17 overall and 2-15 against Southeastern Conference opponents, while the win improves the Gators season record to 24-1 and 17-0 in the league.
 
“We struggled to pass the ball all weekend, and we need to get that fixed before our next match,” Alabama Head Coach Judy Green said. “We are all looking forward to finishing our season at home.”
 
Freshman Shelbi Goode had a team-high six kills in the match, while redshirt sophomore Leigh Moyer added five. Senior Kayla Schmidt had 11 of Alabama’s 21 assists as well as a team-best nine digs.
 
The first set went back and forth in the early stages until a 5-1 run midway through put Florida ahead 19-15. Alabama would score the next two points before the Gators closed out the set with six unanswered points.
 
Florida began the second with three consecutive points before a kill by senior Alyssa Meuth put the Tide on the board. From there, the Gators strung together an 11-4 run for its largest lead of the match to that point. Florida continued to rack up the points outscoring the Tide 11-4 down the stretch to take the second 25-10.
 
Alabama scored the first two points of the third thanks to a Gator attack error followed by a kill from Goode, however Florida would soon begin to distance itself from the Tide going up by as many as 10 in the set. Alabama fought off a trio of set-points until a kill from junior Kelly Murphy put the set and match away 25-17.
 
The Tide hit just .062 in the match, while the Gators put up a .371 percentage. Florida also collected seven blocks and five service aces and had zero reception errors.
 
Alabama will play its final three matches at home beginning with Auburn on Friday, Nov. 19. Opening serve is slated for 7 p.m. CT in the CAVE.
 
--UA--

Temple Volleyball Concludes Season With Senior Day Loss to Fordham

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Temple Volleyball Concludes Season With Senior Day Loss to Fordham

Owls honor five seniors playing in the final match of their careers

PHILADELPHIA – After honoring five seniors who played in their final match today, the Temple volleyball team suffered a 3-0 loss at the hands of Fordham to conclude the 2010 season. The Rams won by scores of 25-22, 25-16 and 25-13.

Fordham concludes its regular season at 17-17 overall and 7-8 in the Atlantic 10, while Temple finishes at 4-25 overall and 1-14 in the conference.

The match was the last for 16th-year head coach Bob Bertucci, who announced his resignation today. Bertucci led Temple to 315 wins in his time with the Owls, making him the winningest coach in program history. The three-time Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year took Temple to 14 straight conference tournaments prior to this season.

With efficient hitting throughout the match, Fordham finished with a hitting percentage of .317 compared to Temple’s .133. The Owls rallied near the end of the first set to make things interesting, but could not quite catch up.

Temple senior Ashley Carr led the Owls with eight kills. Senior Jovana Radojevic knocked down six kills with zero errors, senior Jess Antosz recorded five kills with only one error, and both players tallied a team-high four blocks. Senior Ariel Pierre led the Owls with 13 digs.

Fordham was led by Brittany Daulton with 14 kills and Maria Rodenberg with 21 digs.

-Temple Owls-

No. 15 LSU Volleyball Team Upended at Kentucky

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No. 15 LSU Volleyball Team Upended at Kentucky

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Desiree Elliott belted a career-high 20 kills on a .395 hitting percentage, but it wasn’t enough as the No. 15 LSU volleyball team dropped a 3-2 battle to Kentucky [23-25, 25-21, 23-25, 25-18, 11-15] Sunday in-front of 1,791 fans at Memorial Coliseum.

“We have to credit Kentucky because they played with great heart and great tenacity,” head coach Fran Flory said. “Their defensive effort was outstanding. They did a fantastic job of controlling the ball and creating in transition. Offensively, they brought it, and we didn’t have an answer.”

The Tigers (23-3, 14-3 SEC) were handed their fourth straight defeat in Lexington dating back to the 2006 season. LSU also had its SEC Western Division lead trimmed to 1.5 matches after Ole Miss claimed a five-set victory at Auburn. 

Elliott powered home 19 of her 20 kills during the final four frames and became the fourth different player to reach the 20-spike plateau this season. She also recorded four blocks.

Brittney Johnson equaled a career-best 12 kills on a .500 hitting ratio and passed out 47 assists for her 10th double-double of the season. Her nine digs placed the Baton Rouge native just shy of her first career triple-double.

“The greatest thing about Desi’s performance was they were keying on her, and she was still able to be successful,” Flory said. “Brittney and Desi connected really well. I thought Brittney got back to being a great athlete who is playing the setting position.”

Michele Williams slapped 11 kills and added five blocks, while Tania Schatow ripped a season-high nine kills on a .562 hitting ratio.

Madie Jones tacked on nine kills and four blocks. For the second consecutive match, Angela Bensend was forced into a negative hitting mark with seven kills and nine errors but tallied 10 digs.

Lauren Waclawczyk racked up 24 digs and pushed her streak to 13 consecutive matches with double figure digs. The San Antonio, Texas, native also surpassed the 20-scoop watermark for the sixth time in 2010. Meghan Mannari sprawled out for 12 digs and tied a career-high with four assists. 

Kentucky (16-12, 10-8 SEC) connected for 13 kills on 26 swings without an attack error and converted on 9-of-11 sideout attempts during the deciding fifth set.

At 4-4, the Wildcats surged ahead with four straight points aided by kills from Whitney Billings, Blair Hiler and Gretchen Giesler.

LSU stayed within three points on four different occasions. At 11-8, Kentucky reeled off back-to-back kills from Lauren Rapp and Hiler to grab a five-point advantage. 

The Tigers fought back to 13-10 and 14-11 before Hiler delivered the final blow to vault UK into the winner’s circle. It marked the first time in four matches that LSU lost a five set match in 2010. 

Kentucky was headlined by a trio of double-doubles from Billings [18 kills and 14 digs], Rapp [17 kills and 10 digs] and Christine Hartmann [52 assists and 16 digs]. HIler cranked 11 kills, while Giesler chipped in 10 kills. Defensively, Stephanie Klefot notched a match-high 29 digs. 

After splitting the first 20 points of the opening set, Kentucky took advantage of Elliott and Bensend hitting miscues coupled with a Rapp kill to go up 13-10. The Tigers fired back with 10 of the next 14 points sparked by two Johnson kills and an ace to move ahead 20-17. After a timeout, UK used an 8-3 finishing kick capped by consecutive HIler spikes to pick up a 25-23 win.

LSU regrouped and jumped out to a 14-8 edge to start set two. Johnson set Elliott, Jones and Williams to multiple kills to highlight the run. The Wildcats pulled within 18-17, but Elliott answered with three more quick spikes to push to make it 21-18. Williams provided the finishing touches for the 25-21 victory to even the match at a set apiece.

Out of the halftime break, Kentucky ran ahead 14-7 to open the third set. The Tigers pieced together 13 of the next 18 points as Bensend led the charge with three kills to turn the tables in favor of LSU, 20-19. Kentucky’s defense forced the Tigers into three hitting errors along with a pair of Billings kills to take a 25-23 decision.

Once again, the Tigers battled back in set four. LSU raced out to a 17-9 lead as Elliott and Jones clocked a trio of kills each. Kentucky would get no closer than five points, the latest at 23-18. The Tigers forced a deciding frame on a Johnson-Williams stuff to close out a 25-18 triumph.  

“This was a NCAA Tournament type of match,” Flory said. “It was a tough match both physically and mentally. Certainly, it’s nice to be in that type of match late in the season and would have been more productive for us to come out with a ‘W’. There’s no doubt it hurts a little bit.”

LSU returns home Friday to face South Carolina to open its final regular season home weekend. First serve is slated for 7 p.m. inside the Maravich Center.

Live video and live stats for the match are available on LSUsports.net in the Geaux Zone. Fans also can follow live in-match updates on the team's official blog at http://lsuvolleyball.posterous.com.

Maryland Upsets First-Place Duke Volleyball Team 3-1

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Maryland Upsets First-Place Duke Volleyball Team 3-1
 
November 14, 2010
 
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Kara Bates, Brittney Grove and Mary Cushman combined for 44 kills, and Maryland hit .338 as the Terrapins upset first-place Duke 3-1 (21-25, 25-16, 27-25, 25-20) on Sunday afternoon in Comcast Pavilion.
 
Those three combined for a .411 hitting percentage as Maryland (19-10, 10-7 ACC) hit .338 for the highest hitting percentage of any team against Duke this season. The Blue Devils entered the match holding opponents to a season-low .163 hitting percentage, but could not stop a Maryland offense that totaled 66 kills and only 16 attack errors.
 
“Maryland played very well tonight, and we just didn’t match their level of intensity,” Duke head coach Jolene Nagel said. “I feel like we didn’t execute like we’re capable. I think it all stemmed from a lack of communication and mistiming our blocks. We weren’t able to touch a lot of balls to slow things down for our defense, and then we weren’t able to transition from there to our offense. It all goes hand-in-hand.”
 
Despite the loss, which snapped a five-match win streak, Duke (22-5, 14-3 ACC) still owns a two-match lead for first place in the ACC. With three ACC matches remaining, Duke hosts Virginia Tech and Virginia on Nov. 19-20, before taking on Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, N.C., on Nov. 23.
 
“We have some areas where we need to improve as a team,” Nagel said. “As disappointed as we were today, I know this team cares about everything, and we’re going to get better as a result of it. We’ll be better because of this going forward as we prepare for our last home weekend, the final ACC Stretch and the NCAA Tournament. It will be a huge motivating factor for us.”
 
Defensively, Maryland used 24 digs from libero Bethany Springer and 10.5 blocks to hold Duke to a .243 clip. Springer had at least five digs in every set while middle blocker Lisa Scott racked up five blocks for the match. The Terrapins also got four blocks apiece from McBain and Grove to snap a nine-match win streak for Duke in the series. The win was Maryland’s first over the Blue Devils since 2005.
 
The Blue Devils got 14 kills from junior Amanda Robertson and 13 more from classmate Sophia Dunworth, but it was not enough outpace the play of Maryland setter Remy McBain who dished out 54 assists. McBain directed four of her hitters to hitting percentages over .300, including Cushman who went 11-for-22 with no errors.
 
For Duke, senior Becci Burling posted eight kills, four blocks and a .316 hitting percentage while setter Kellie Catanach dished out 46 assists. Libero Ali McCurdy also turned in 20 digs for the 13th time this season.
 
-d-u-k-e-

University of Denver Pioneers Volleyball Team Tabbed as No. 6 Seed in SBC Volleyball Championships

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University of Denver Pioneers Volleyball Team Tabbed as No. 6 Seed in SBC Volleyball Championships
Denver will face No. 3 Florida International on Thursday, Nov. 18 at 1:30 p.m. MT in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
 

NEW ORLEANS – The University of Denver volleyball team (14-17, 8-8 SBC) was tabbed as the No. 6 seed in the 2010 Sun Belt Conference Volleyball Championships that will be held on the campus of Middle Tennessee in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, from Nov. 18-20, it was announced Sunday by the league office. The Pioneers will face the Florida International Golden Panthers on Thursday, Nov. 18 at 1:30 p.m. MT.
 
Middle Tennessee became the SBC's regular season champions for the first time since 2007 with a sweep over Western Kentucky on Friday to finish with a 15-1 conference record. With the win, the Blue Raiders clinched the No. 1 seed in the SBC Tournament.
After an Arkansas State win over Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday, the Red Wolves captured a share of the the West Division title to become co-West Division Champions along with North Texas. ASU won more games head-to-head over North Texas and therefore earned the No. 4 seed.
 
Sun Belt Volleyball Championship Seeds:
1. Middle Tennessee 15-1 (.938)
2. Western Kentucky 14-2 (.875)
3. FIU 12-4 (.758)
4. Arkansas State 11-5 (.688)
5. North Texas 11-5 (.688)
6. Denver 8-8 (.500)
7. Louisiana-Lafayette 7-9 (.438)
8. South Alabama 6-10 (.375)
The championship will be held November 18 through 20 on the campus of Middle Tennessee in Murfreesboro, Tenn. All games will be available for webstream on SBC Extra and fans can purchase a tournament pass for only $9.95 to tune-in. The championship match at 3 p.m. (CT) will also be broadcast by the Sun Belt Network (times subject to change due to television demands).
CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Thursday, November 18, 2010 - Quarterfinals
MATCH 1       No. 2 Western Kentucky vs No. 7 Louisiana-Lafayette              12 p.m.
MATCH 2       No. 3 FIU vs No. 6 Denver                                                   2:30 p.m.
MATCH 3       No. 1 Middle Tennessee vs No. 8 South Alabama                     5 p.m.
MATCH 4       No. 4 Arkansas State vs No. 5 North Texas                             7:30 p.m.
 
Friday, November 19, 2010 - Semifinals
MATCH 5       Winner of Match 1 vs Winner of Match 2                                5 p.m.
MATCH 6       Winner of Match 3 vs Winner of Match 4                                7:30 p.m.
Saturday, November 20, 2010 – Championship
MATCH 7       Winner of Match 5 vs Winner of Match 6                                3 p.m.*
*Should Middle Tennessee or WKU earn a spot in Saturday’s SBC Volleyball Championship game, the championship game time will be moved back to 7:30 p.m. CT time slot, a change from the originally scheduled 3 p.m. time slot.
 
- PIONEERS - 
 

Charlotte 49ers Volleyball Team Earns A-10 Tournament Berth with Five-Set Win at Duquesne

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Charlotte 49ers Volleyball Team Earns A-10 Tournament Berth with Five-Set Win at Duquesne

PITTSBURGH -- The Charlotte 49ers won on the final day of the regular season to solidify a spot in this weekend’s Atlantic 10 Conference Volleyball Championships and avenged an earlier home loss with a five-set win at Duquesne (22-25, 25-23, 25-19, 23-25, 15-8) Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh. Charlotte finished with a 16-14 record and a 7-8 league mark for a tie with Fordham for fifth place in the A-10. Duquesne drops to 22-9 overall, 10-5 in the league. The loss dropped the Dukes out a tie for third in the league on the last day of the season.

Charlotte will take the sixth seed in the Tournament, and will face three-seed Saint Louis on Friday night at 5 p.m. in the opening match of the weekend. The matches will be held at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati, hosted by Xavier.

“We pulled it out today in another five-set match,” said head coach Chris Redding, who takes his second-straight team to the tournament. “I am very excited for this team. We held together with all of our injuries this year. It all came down to this last one and we played our best volleyball. We had balance and great team play. I am excited that we earned a spot to the tournament and we are excited to get back and start getting ready.”

Overall, the match featured 50 ties and 19 lead changes in over two hours. The Niners finished with a side out percentage at 63.4, outhitting the Dukes by 45 points, with four more assists and 17 more digs in the match.

Charlotte had six more blocks than Duquesne (13-7) and recorded five more aces (8-3) in the five-set thriller.

In the final set, Charlotte scored the first two points, gave up a kill to Duquesne, and reeled off seven-straight points to grab a 9-2 margin to cruise to the match victory. Charlotte dropped a five-set match to the Dukes at home on October 2, with a 15-12 fifth-set result.

Two 49ers added to their season double-double totals. Sophomore Bianca Rouse (Columbia, S.C. / Keenan HS) had a team-best 17 kills to go with a career-high 15 digs for her fifth double-double this season. Senior co-captain Kat Hicks (Kaneohe, Hawai’i / Kalaheo HS) also had her fifth double-double of the year with 11 kills and 17 digs.

Freshman Amanda Videmsek (Highland Heights, Ohio / Beaumont School) recorded 10 kills and only one error on 22 attempts for a team-high .409 attack percentage. Sophomore libero Jenna Litoborski (Lemont, Ill.) added 15 digs with defensive specialist Abbie Rees (Cincinnati, Ohio / Mount Notre Dame HS) contributing 13 digs.

Ball State Women's Volleyball Team Ends Regular Season With 3-1 Win Over Akron

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Ball State Women's Volleyball Team Ends Regular Season With 3-1 Win Over Akron

MUNCIE, Ind. - - The Ball State women's volleyball team completed the 2010 regular season and celebrated senior night with a 3-1 (21-25, 25-19, 25-17, 25-17) victory over Akron Saturday evening at Worthen Arena.
   The Cardinals conclude the 2010 regular season with a 24-4 (14-2 Mid-American Conference) record, which ties as the best 28-match record in program history. The Zips dropped to 15-13 (7-9 MAC) with the loss.
   "While it took us a little while to get going, I thought we played really well tonight," said BSU head coach Steve Shondell. "Akron is a nice ball club, extremely well coached and led the East Division for a few weeks this year. I knew it would take an outstanding effort to beat them, especially coming off the emotional Thursday night MAC Championship win."
   Leading BSU's senior group on the court was libero Alyssa Rio (Wayne, Ill./St. Francis H.S.) who picked up a match-best 29 digs. She also tallied a service ace and picked up a kill to help the Cardinals complete a perfect 12-0 home record this season. With the 29-dig effort, Rio raised her team-leading digs-per-set average to 5.88. She entered the match ranked second in the nation at 5.82.
   Seniors Charde' Phillips (Elyria, Ohio/Elyria H.S.), Hannah Sillivan (New Albany, Ind./New Albany H.S.), Karin Caudill (Selma, Ind./Burris Laboratory School) and Alexis Shonkwiler (Marion, Ind./Eastbrook H.S.) also contributed in the victory.
   "We sent our seniors out in style tonight," added Shondell. "We were able to get them all on the floor and it was exciting to pick up a win for them after all the hard work and dedication they have given us. We had a great crowd tonight, and they really got behind our seniors and team."
   Offensively, three Cardinals finished the contest with double-digit kills, led by 14 from freshman outside hitter Whitney Heeres (Flushing, Mich./Flushing Senior H.S.).
   Junior right side hitter Jennifer Boyd (Evans City, Pa./Seneca Valley H.S.) added 13 kills and hit a team-best .522 (13-1-23). Freshman outside hitter Kylee Baker (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North H.S.) added 10 kills in the contest, while collecting eight digs.
   Also turning in a solid all-around effort was junior middle blocker Kelsey Brandl (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North H.S.) with seven kills and a .312 (7-2-16) hitting mark. She also blasted a match-best four aces, including three straight in the final set to give BSU match-point.
   Freshman middle blocker Mindy Marx (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven H.S.) also tallied seven kills, while tying Brandl for match-high honors with four total blocks.
    Junior setter Brittany McGinnis (Fraser, Mich./Fraser H.S.) guided the Ball State offense to a .276 (55-20-127) rate of success for the match, handing out 47 assists, while adding seven digs, three kills and three aces.
   As a team, Ball State limited the Zips' offense to a .175 (49-24-143) mark, with Tina Dimitrijevs collecting a team-high 13 kills. Chelsea Harvey added a team-best 16 digs.
   The 2010 MAC Regular season champions, Ball State has earned the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye in the upcoming MAC Tournament and will play in the third quarterfinal match at 4:30 p.m. Friday at the SeaGate Centre in Toledo, Ohio.
   "The MAC Tournament is going to be a great challenge for all the teams who are there," said Shondell. "All eight teams that make it Toledo could win, there is that much parody in the league. We are not taking anything for granted. I hope we can go in, compete and play well. There is no clear-cut favorite going into the tournament, it is wide open."
 

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Volleyball Team: Panthers Douse Flames In Three Sets In Regular Season Finale

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University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee volleyball team: Panthers Douse Flames In Three Sets In Regular Season Finale
Regular season champs head into post-season with efficient effort
 
MILWAUKEE, Wis. (Nov. 13, 2010) – Kerri Schuh had 11 kills, 17 digs and five aces and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee volleyball team held UIC to a school-record low five points in the second set as the Panthers rolled past the Flames 25-18, 25-5, 25-22 Saturday evening at the Klotsche Center.
 
With the win, Milwaukee secured its 12th 20-win season in 14 years and capped the league slate with a 15-1 mark. UWM had already claimed the league regular season outright last weekend. Meanwhile, UIC fell to 13-17 and finished with an 8-8 league record.
 
“I think this was the best match we’ve had all season,” Milwaukee head coach Susie Johnson said. “I’m so excited because this is the best time to be good, the best time to be at our peak. This team is ready and very focused and I was very proud of them tonight because we had already locked up first place. I maintained we still needed to push, this is an important match, too. They agreed and it was like the whole plan worked, to play with purpose, and that’s what they did tonight.”
 
Elizabeth Egerer joined Schuh in double-figure kills with a team-high 12. Both players were efficient in their attacks, as Egerer hit .435 and Schuh .400. As a team, UWM hit .284 for the match after hitting at a .324 clip in the first set and .333 in the second. Morgan Potter added 14 digs for a defensive effort that held UIC to a .116 hitting percentage for the match and -.081 in the second set.
 
Nicole Allgood led the Flames with eight kills, while two other players tallied seven apiece. On the defensive side, Taylor Szatkowski led the team with 14 digs and Kelsey Sanfranek had 11.
 
The school-record second set actually started off tighter than the first or third, as the teams trading points until Schuh took over the serve with Milwaukee leading 4-3. She would serve for 16-straight points as UWM raced out to a 20-3 lead. Schuh had four aces during the run, including three-straight at one point, to lead the way. The Panthers then closed out the set with four-straight points on three Egerer kills and a Potter ace.
 
The five points Milwaukee allowed eclipsed the school mark for fewest points that the team set last season when it allowed just seven to Alcorn State.
 
The Panthers took control out of the gates in the opening set, scoring the first six points of the match and nine of the first 10. They would push their lead to 10 on four occasions. UIC would stave off set point for three rallies, but fell in the end, 25-18.
 
In the third set, UWM used a 6-0 run to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 7-2 lead and it looked like the home team would run away with another set. But, UIC bounced back to stay close with the Panthers and take the lead a brief lead at 20-19. After the teams traded points and the set was tied at 22-22, Milwaukee put the set and match away with three-straight kills.
 
With the regular season complete, Milwaukee now awaits its Horizon League Championship opponent. As the No. 1 seed the Panthers have hosting rights for the tournament and a bye into the semifinals. They will play the lowest seed to advance out of the quarterfinals next Saturday at 1 p.m. The tournament kicks off with quarterfinal on Friday at the Klotsche Center.

Wake Forest Volleyball Team Sweeps Boston College in Dominating Fashion

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Wake Forest Volleyball Team Sweeps Boston College in Dominating Fashion
 
Deacons hold Eagles to 14 points or fewer in all three sets
 
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – The Wake Forest volleyball team completely controlled a three-set sweep over Boston College, never allowing the Eagles to score more than 14 points in any set on Sunday afternoon at Power Gym.
 
The Demon Deacons improve to 17-11 overall and 9-8 in the ACC with the 25-14, 25-12, 25-14 victory. Boston College falls to 8-21 overall and remains winless in the ACC with an 0-16 record.
 
Wake Forest hit .312 as a team and won despite not having any one player break the double-digit mark in kills. The Deacs were led by their middle hitters on offense with nine kills from junior Carlin Salmon and eight kills from sophomore Andrea Beck. Salmon also contributed five blocks, while Beck turned in a career-high .615 hitting percentage.
 
Senior Kelsey Jones did a nice job distributing sets to the offense with 32 assists. She also notched eight digs, three kills and tied a season-high with four block assists.
 
Senior Kristen White was the only Demon Deacon to reach double figures in digs with 10 on the afternoon.
 
The Wake Forest defense did a great job against the Eagle offense by holding Boston College to only a .040 hitting percentage, including a .000 hitting percentage in Set 2. The Demon Deacons had eight total blocks and forced the Eagles into 22 hitting errors.
 
Boston College had small leads early on in all three sets before the Demon Deacons were able to pull away.
 
The Eagles scored the first point of the match in Set 1, but Wake Forest promptly rattled off seven straight thanks to an ace by White, three kills and three BC hitting errors. Wake Forest held a 10-5 lead before going on another large run, scoring six consecutive points to take a 16-5 lead. Each team scored nine points down the stretch to give Wake Forest the 11-point set victory.
 
The Demon Deacons gave up their fewest points in Set 2 and took control early once again. Wake forced Boston college to call timeouts at 9-3 and 16-6. The Eagles kept the deficit in single digits as last as 19-10, but the Deacs ended the set on a 6-2 run to take a 2-0 lead.
 
Boston College held a lead in Set 3 as late as it would all match at 3-1. The Demon Deacons again rallied for seven straight with kills from Beck and Jones and five BC hitting errors. Two of those hitting errors were on blocks by Salmon and Jones. Wake’s final run of any length came with the score 12-7. The Deacons scored six in a row and held an 18-7 advantage.
 
Wake Forest will wrap up the regular season with three straight home matches, beginning with Virginia Tech on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Reynolds Gym.