Volleyball Voices

(video)Minnesota Gophers Volleyball: Lauren Gibbemeyer Senior Ceremony

(video)Minnesota Gophers Volleyball: Lauren Gibbemeyer Senior Ceremony

 

 

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(video)University of Washington Volleyball Player Junior Lauren Barfield talks about UW's 3-0 win over No. 24 Oregon

University of  Washington Volleyball Player Junior Lauren Barfield talks about UW's 3-0 win over No. 24 Oregon

 

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NCAA Volleyball Tournament Selection Show-Watch UNI Volleyball Team Reaction

NCAA Volleyball Tournament Selection Show

UNI reacts to earning the No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament and hosting Missouri in the first round.

 

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(video) Missouri Valley Conference Volleyball Tournament Semifinal - UNI vs. Illinois State

Missouri Valley Conference Volleyball Tournament Semifinal - UNI vs. Illinois State

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(video)University of Northern Iowa Head Volleyball Coach Bobbi Petersen Talks about 40 Wins

University of Northern Iowa Head volleyball Coach Bobbi Petersen Talks about 40 Wins

University of Northern Iowa head volleyball coach Bobbi Petersen
talks about the Panthers winning 40 straight matches against MVC opponents

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No. 10 Illinois Volleyball Team Falls at Purdue, 3-1

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No. 10 Illinois Volleyball Team Falls at Purdue, 3-1

Fighting Illini Volleyball

PURDUE POWERS PAST ILLINI IN FOUR
Johannah Bangert hits .688 for Illinois

West Lafayette, Ind. – No. 10 Illinois ended the season with a four-set 25-19, 25-27, 25-19, 28-26 loss to Purdue in West Lafayette. The Illini complete the regular season with a 22-8 overall record and 14-6 and in second place in the Big Ten Conference. Purdue improves to 21-10 overall and 12-8 in the league.

Illinois senior middle blocker Johannah Bangert hit .688 with 11 kills and five block assists a night after a 9-kill, five-block performance against Indiana. Colleen Ward paced Illinois offensively with 17 kills with Michelle Bartsch collecting 15. Setter Hillary Haen had 44 assists and seven digs.

“Jo played her heart out and competed hard,” said Illinois head coach Kevin Hambly of Bangert, who stands 16 block assists shy of the all-time Big Ten record in that category. “She played like a senior.”

The Illini couldn’t slow down a Purdue attack that hit .311 for match, including .357 and .341 in the first and second sets, respectively. Anna Drewry led the Boilermakers with 17 kills while hitting .367. The Illini hit .214 for the match, but improved considerably in the second and fourth sets, hitting .333 and .312, respectively. Purdue had a slight lead in blocks at 12-11 and the Illini amassed 27 hitting errors.

“I like the way we competed, but again we had too many errors,” Hambly said referring back to Friday’s loss at Indiana.

Purdue dominated the first set, hitting .379 compared to .172 for Illinois. Purdue out-blocked Illinois 3-2 and was paced offensively by Drewry’s, five kills. The Illini recovered offensively thanks to five kills and a .400 attack percentage from Ward. The Illini led just once at 1-0 before Purdue scored the next five points. Purdue extended the margin to 10-6 and 16-9 and the Illini could get no closer than four after that.

The key point for Illinois in set two came down 23-22. Purdue had continued to side out on the first ball and hit .341 for that set overall. The Illini inserted Nicole Kump in to block for setter Hillary Haen and got that point before a Johnson and Kump block for point 24. After the teams sided out, Jazmine Orozco scored from the back row to end it. The set saw a number of swings. The Illini darted out to 13-9 lead before Purdue tied it at 15-15. The Boilers took a 20-19 advantage and extended it to 23-21 before Illinois fought back. Bangert was especially strong in the set, hitting .750 with six kills. Bartsch hit .417 with five kills for the Illini.

Purdue jumped out to a 14-7 lead in set three and never looked back. Illinois got as close as 17-14 after a kill on an overpass from Bangert and one of two Ward aces on the night, but Purdue used a 5-1 run to take a commanding 22-15 lead.

The Illini found their offense in set four, leading most of the set and jumping to leads of 14-10 and 19-14. Ward and Orozco came up big for Illinois with six and five kills, respectively, but Purdue used the arm of Ariel Turner and Catherine Rebarchak to battle back and close to within one at 20-19 and tie the set at 24-24. Haen gave Illinois a set point with a kill off the overpass, but Purdue scored the final three points to take the match.

Illinois now awaits the NCAA tournament parings, which will be released Sunday afternoon at 2 pm on ESPN News. The first and second rounds are Dec. 3-4 on campus sites.

(video)Baylor Volleyball Team: Seniors Final Game

Baylor Volleyball Team: Seniors Final Game

Saturday's 3-1 win over Texas Tech was the final game played for four seniors on the Baylor volleyball team. Sic 'em Sports Productions talks to some of those players after the final game.

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NCAA Women's Volleyball: Northern Illinois Volleyball Team Falls to Marquette in Four Sets

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NCAA Women's Volleyball: Northern Illinois Volleyball Team Falls to Marquette in Four Sets

 

Huskies end regular season with first four-set loss of the year
 
MILWAUKEE, Wis. - In the final regular season match of the season, the Northern Illinois volleyball team lost to Marquette in four sets (25-23, 28-30, 25-20, 27-25) at Al McGuire Center on Saturday evening in the regular season finale.
 
Prior to the match, the Huskies had not lost any of the six four-set contests they have played in.  The Golden Eagles (23-9) denied NIU its chance of totaling the program’s most wins since 1993, as the Huskies end the regular season with a 27-8 record, the most victories since 1998.  The win total is the highest achieved by ninth-year head coach Ray Gooden and marks his third season with 20 or more triumphs.   
 
“For us to play 35 times this year, with a group as inexperienced as ours, pretty much going through a baptism by fire phase of development,  I think the season can be called a success,” Gooden said.  “The unfortunate part is we moved into an area where we are so close where it can be a little bit more painful than celebratory right now [being on the fringe of making the NCAA Tournament].  But this group has done some amazing things this year.  I’m really fortunate to be a part of it.”
 
Now, the Huskies will rest on the outcome of Sunday’s NCAA Tournament selection TV show that airs at 2:00 p.m. (CT) on ESPNEWS to see whether or not their historic season will continue.
 
In improving to 9-2 at home, Marquette fashioned a .280 hitting percentage and 68 kills, holding the Huskies down to a .195 hitting percentage and 54 kills.  The Golden Eagles were also stout at the net, amassing 12 blocks to NIU’s five. 
 
“From the little information we had about Marquette, if we were able to play games for a long period of time, we had a chance to be successful,” said Gooden.  “We unfortunately had a few too many negative runs throughout the match.  But I also thought we had some pretty positive stretches of volleyball to make the match very competitive.”
 
Freshmen Lauren Wicinski (Geneva, Ill./Geneva) and Sarah Angelos (Waukegan, Ill./Waukegan) both led the Huskies with 15 kills.  Wicinski added 11 digs in producing her 16th double-double.  Angelos’ kill total marked her highest of the season as she also had a proficient .636 attack percentage.
 
“Sarah had a fantastic match and a fantastic season,” said Gooden.  “She and [setter] Kristin [Hoffman] developed a very positive relationship this year, which I feel has the beginnings of something special for the future.”
 
Junior setter Kristin Hoffman (Batavia, Ill./Batavia) notched her eighth double-double with 46 assists and 12 digs.  Sophomore Mary Kurisch (La Crosse, Wis./West Salem) reached double figure kills for the offense as well, tallying 10.    Junior outside hitter Allison McGlaughlin (Morton, Ill./Morton) was one kill shy of a double-double, as she registered nine kills and 12 digs.
 
The Huskies fell behind 5-0 to start the match but fought their way back with a late rally.  Down 21-16, NIU came out of a timeout with a successful slide by Kurisch and an ace by Hoffman.  A wide shot down the left line by Marquette brought the Huskies within two points, 21-19.  The Golden Eagles pushed ahead again to take a 24-20 lead after a block on McGlaughlin.  With the help of another timeout, the Huskies rallied back.  Following an MU attack error, sophomore outside hitter Meghan Romo (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso) roped a ball down the middle of the court and Angelos scored on a quick set to pull with one, 24-23.  But the Golden Eagles capitalized on their fourth attempt at set point, ending the set on the next sequence with a kill off an NIU block.  In an otherwise even set, the main difference was NIU’s seven attack errors to Marquette’s five.
 
In a crucial second set, the Huskies found themselves down 17-11 but mounted a 9-3 run to knot the game.  Romo and Wicinski each had two kills during the run.  From there, the teams exchanged points until NIU flipped the momentum with the score tied 26-26.  The Huskies broke the trend with help from a long attack by the Golden Eagles.  After exchanging points two more times, Wicinski tied the match with a shot that MU was unable to fully control after barely digging it up.  Despite being outblocked 6-0, the Huskie defense came up huge with a 16-8 digs advantage to help win the set.
 
Tied 7-7 in the third set, Marquette took momentum back on its side with a 10-5 run to claim a 17-12 advantage and didn’t look back.  MU held an 18-7 kills edge in the swing set and hit .278 to NIU’s .154.
 
In the fourth set, NIU grabbed hold of an 18-13 lead after a huge combo block by Angelos and Wicinski, but Marquette fought its way back.  With the Huskies ahead 23-19, the Golden Eagles put together a 4-0 run to tie the score, 23-23.  MU then negated two set points before putting away a pair of kills to seal the match, outkilling the Huskies 19-13 in the final set.
 
-NIU-

TCU Volleyball Team Seniors Lead Frogs To Season-Ending Victory Over USF

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TCU Volleyball Team Seniors Lead Frogs To Season-Ending Victory Over USF

Irene Hester leads team with 16 kills

FORT WORTH, Texas – The 2010 season concluded on a positive note as the TCU volleyball team dominated USF in a 3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-20) victory. The Horned Frogs were led by their seniors as Irene Hester finished with a match-high 16 kills, while Christy Hudson totaled 20 assists.

Irene Hester added two aces, nine digs and two blocks to her stat line. Hudson pitched in with four kills, eight digs and a solo block. Jordan Raines had a solid afternoon with eight kills, 11 digs and two blocks. Kristen Hester totaled six kills, three aces, four digs and three blocks. Yvonne Igodan racked up seven kills, four digs and two blocks. Meghan Horio had a kill to go along with 14 assists and six digs. Sloane Sunstrum tallied two kills and a block. Kay Lin Connolly paced the Frogs with 12 digs.

The Horned Frogs dominated the first set en route to a 25-16 victory. The serving of Irene Hester quickly gave TCU a 3-0 lead as she served up two aces around a kill from Horio. USF battled back to within two, 6-4, but a 9-6 run by the Frogs opened up a five point lead. Irene Hester blasted back-to-back kills to start the rally. Sunstrum came through with a kill to make it a 10-6 game. A loud denial on the outside by Igodan and Irene Hester followed by kills from Raines and Irene Hester capped the run for the Frogs.

USF kept the deficit manageable as the set worked its way to 20-16, but a kill from Raines set the Frogs on the path to victory. The blast started a 5-0 run that would lock up the win for the Frogs. Kristen Hester served up an ace and Igodan pitched in with a kill. An attacking error by the Bulls gave the Frogs the win.

A much tighter game took place in the second set as the teams battled through four ties and one lead change. The Bulls jumped out to an early 6-4 lead, before the Frogs went on a 5-0 run that would turn the deficit into a lead they would never relinquish. Kristen Hester started the rally with a blast before taking over behind the service line. Igodan and Irene Hester knocked down kills followed by a denial in the middle from Igodan and Sunstrum. Irene Hester capped the rally with a blast from the outside.

The Frogs held their lead as the Bulls matched them point for point through the middle portion of the set. TCU was finally able to extend its lead to five, 19-14, on kills from Irene Hester and Kristen Hester. Horio served the Frogs to a 22-15 lead. An attack error by the Bulls gave the Frogs set point and soaring high in the middle, Igodan put an exclamation point on the 25-18 set two win with her third kill of the set.

USF refused to go quietly as it battled tough in the third set, holding a lead 12-11 lead. A service error by the Bulls, one of 10 in the game for USF, knotted the score and a block by Raines and Kristen Hester put the Frogs in front. Kristen Hester broke a 14-14 tie and set the Frogs on a 5-0 run. Raines blasted a kill and teamed with Kristen Hester on another block during the run.

A kill from Irene Hester, one of six for the senior in the set, forced a Bulls timeout. Hudson delivered back-to-back kills out of the break to give the Frogs set point and a kill from Irene Hester sealed the 25-20 win.

The Frogs wrap up the season with a 15-16 overall record.

No. 7 Penn State Volleyball Team Suffers Setback to No. 15 Minnesota in Five-Set Thriller

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No. 7 Penn State Volleyball Team Suffers Setback to No. 15 Minnesota in Five-Set Thriller

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., Nov. 27, 2010 – The Penn State women’s volleyball team, 2010 Big Ten Champions, closed out the conference season at Minnesota with a 3-2 (25-14, 25-21, 24-26, 23-25, 12-23) setback. It was just the third five set match of the year for the Nittany Lions (26-5, 16-4 Big Ten).
 
Senior Blair Brown (Purcellville, Va.) led the Nittany Lions with a career-high 24 kills and also had 13 digs and three blocks. Freshman Ariel Scott (Ridgewood, N.J.) posted a personal-best 21 kills, while freshman Deja McClendon (Louisville, Ky.) had 15 and senior Arielle Wilson (Broadview, Ill.) registered 12.  Sophomore setter Kristin Carpenter (Mechanicsville, Va.) had a career-high 70 assists and 15 digs. Senior libero Alyssa D’Errico (Byron, N.Y.) had a match-high and career-best 35 digs. Freshman Ali Longo (Littleton, Colo.) was second on the team with a personal-best 16 digs and senior Cathy Quilico (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) was fifth on the team with 11 digs. Senior Fatima Balza (Merida, Venezuela) led Penn State with eight total blocks, while McClendon was second on the squad with five.
 
Penn State registered a .278 attack percentage, while the Gophers (24-8, 14-6 Big Ten) hit .217. Penn State totaled 81 kills, five aces, 102 digs and 12.0 total team blocks. Minnesota finished the match with 73 kills. Six aces, 90 digs and 12.0 team blocks.
 
Penn State opened the match taking a 5-2 lead, but three straight Nittany Lion errors had the score tied at 5-5. A kill by Scott put the Lions back in front and Penn State increased its lead to five, 13-8, when the Gophers took their first time out. Minnesota fought to within two, 13-11, but a 7-1 Nittany Lions run had Penn State with a comfortable 20-12 advantage. Scott had three kills in the run for PSU. A service error cut off the run for the Nittany Lions, but kills by Wilson and Carpenter and two Minnesota errors had the Lions in set-point position, 24-13. Lauren Gibbemeyer put down a kill for Minnesota before Wilson pounded a kill to give PSU a 25-14 first set win.
 
The Nittany Lions took control early in the second frame, but Minnesota never let PSU develop a substantial lead. With a 7-5 edge, kills by McClendon and Brown moved the Nittany Lions ahead by four, 9-5. Back-to-back kills by Minnesota’s Katherine Harms had the Gophers back within two, 9-7, before a 3-0 PSU run pushed Penn State ahead by five, 12-7. A block, an ace and a kill moved Minnesota within two once again, 12-10, but a 3-1 run by the Lions had Penn State’s lead at four, 15-11. PSU’s lead continued to grow and soon a Minnesota ball handling error and a McClendon kill had the Nittany Lions leading by six, 19-13. Minnesota embarked on a 5-2 run to cut the gap to three, 21-18, and force a Penn State timeout. A Gibbemeyer kill had the Gophers trailing by only two, 21-19, but three kills by Brown had the Lions at set point, 24-20. Scott closed out the set with a kill for a 25-21 victory.
 
Minnesota grabbed a 4-2 lead early in the third stanza. Penn State fought back to tie it up at 5-5 and again at 6-6, but two PSU errors and a kill by Tabi Love had the Gophers up by three, 8-5. Wilson put down a kill for PSU, but four straight points by the Gophers had Minnesota leading, 12-6. The Nittany Lions fought to within three, 14-11, with two kills by Brown and one each from Balza and McClendon. A Gibbemeyer kill and a PSU attack error kept the Gophers up by four, 16-12, but a 3-0 PSU run cut the gap to one, 16-15. Scott had two kills and Brown had an ace to aid PSU. After a Minnesota timeout, a Gopher attack error had the score knotted at 16-16. Gibbemeyer put the Gophers up by one, 17-16, with a kill, but Scott fired back with a kill to tie the score at 17-17. A Quilico ace gave the Nittany Lions their first lead of the set before a Minnesota error had the Lions up by two, 19-17. Penn State’s lead increased to three with a Wilson kill and the Gophers called a second timeout. Love followed the break with a kill, but Carpenter dumped it over the net for a kill to give the Lions a three-point lead, 22-19. A 3-1 Minnesota run had the Gophers behind by only one, 23-22, and Penn State taking a timeout. A PSU error had the score tied at 23-23, but a kill by Brown put the Lions back in front, 24-23. Three consecutive points by the Gophers gave them set three, 26-24.
 
Minnesota’s momentum continued into set four as the Gophers jumped out to an 8-5 lead. A 4-0 Nittany Lions run had Penn State with a slim 9-8 lead. A kill by Tori Dixon made it 9-9, but a second 4-0 run by the Lions had Penn State with a 13-9 lead. Following a Minnesota timeout, Dixon pounded a kill before a 4-1 PSU run had Penn State’s lead at six, 17-11. Minnesota took a second timeout and the Gophers tallied five straight points to be within one of Penn State, 17-16. The Nittany Lions called a timeout to slow Minnesota momentum. Brown put down a kill to give Penn State some breathing room, 18-16, but Ashley Wittman answered back to cut it to one, 18-17. The Gophers managed to tie the score three times, forcing Penn State to take a timeout with the score at 23-23. A Gibbemeyer kill and a PSU error closed out set four for the Gophers, 25-23.
 
The Nittany Lions took a 2-1 lead to start the fifth set, but the Gophers used two kills and a PSU attack error for a 4-2 advantage. A 3-1 PSU run had the set knotted at 5-5 before a Wilson kill put Penn State back in the lead, 6-5. The score tied twice more before a used a 3-0 run for a 10-7 advantage. McClendon cut off the run with a kill, but the Gophers fired right back to keep the three-point lead, 11-8. McClendon closed the gap to two with another kill, but Minnesota made it three with a kill, 12-9. Two Brown kills had Penn State within one, 12-11, and Minnesota taking a timeout. A Gopher attack error allowed Penn State to tie the score at 12-12. A block by Scott and Balza that gave Penn State a 13-12 edge sent Minnesota back to the bench. Penn State got into match point position, but two Gibbemeyer kills had the score tied up at 14-14. A Minnesota kill had the Gophers at match point, 15-14, but a Brown kill kept Penn State in the set. A ball handling error had the Lions in front, 16-15. Minnesota pounded a kill before a block by Wilson and Scott put Penn State in the lead again, 17-16. A Gopher block keeps the set going with the score at 17-17, but a Brown kill moved Penn State in the lead, 18-17. A kill and an ace by Minnesota had the Gophers leading 19-18, but McClendon tied it up at 19-19 with a kill. The score tied twice more before two straight Minnesota kills secured the fifth set for Minnesota, 23-21.
 
What’s Next?
Penn State awaits its fate in the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Tournament Selection Show airs tomorrow from 3-3:30 p.m. on ESPNews. Penn State University and Rec Hall will serve as one of four host sites for the NCAA Regionals on Dec. 10-11. 
 
For more information on the Penn State women’s volleyball team, please visit GoPSUsports.com. The Penn State women’s volleyball 2010 season is presented by Rockvale Outlets and The Outlets at Hershey.
 
 
 
 
 

UNLV VOLLEYBALL NEWS: Rebels End Season On A Rocky Mountain High

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UNLV VOLLEYBALL NEWS: Rebels End Season On A Rocky Mountain High

Rebels rally for a 3-1 win at Air Force behind Sara Nehf’s 12th career double-double.

USAF ACADEMY, Colo. (UNLVRebels.com) – The UNLV Rebels (10-20, 5-11 MWC) rallied for a 3-1, season-ending victory against the Air Force Falcons (4-25, 1-14) Friday night at the USAF Academy, Colo. Sara Nehf and Kendra Glendenning were instrumental in UNLV’s win with both registering double-doubles in the affair. The Rebels claimed the match with set scores of 20-25, 25-23, 29-27, 25-16.

The victory pushed UNLV’s winning streak in the head-to-head series to 23 straight, although Air Force claimed a set win for the first time in 11 tries.

UNLV out-hit Air Force by a .205 to .150 margin and registered two more kills (55-53) with six less errors (23-29). The Rebels hit .200 or better through the first three stanzas before they notched a .176 efficiency in the fourth and final frame. The Falcons, on the other hand, opened up with a .325 effort, but fell off by a large margin in the remaining three sets. Their middle ones were .158 and .133 in the second and third, respectively, before a paltry -.027 finale.

Nehf picked up her 12th career double-double and fifth of the season in the win, as she combined 18 kills and 20 digs. She reached double figures in kills 20 times this season and on 42 occasions in her career. This was the second time that she amassed 20 digs in a match this season. She also contributed four total blocks (two solo), two aces and one assist.

Madeline Westman joined Nehf in double-digit kills with 12 of her own off of .409 hitting. Westman also chipped in six assisted blocks, two digs and one ace.

Glendenning picked up her sixth double-double this season conjoining 19 assists and 10 digs. She had one ace, as well.

Amanda Alles led the Rebels in assists with 21 and added two digs, one solo block and one kill.

Including Nehf’s and Glendenning’s defensive output, the Rebels had four players rack up 10 or more digs with Kela Lau Hee and Nile Te’o rounding out the quartet with 11 apiece.

After the Falcons staked themselves to a quick 1-0 lead, the two teams fought back and forth in the second set. The pair traded three lead changes and had 10 ties between them. The teams were tied at 13-13 before the home team scored six of seven for a 19-14 lead. UNLV rallied back to within one, 19-18, with five straight points and then never relinquished the lead after it claimed a 21-20 advantage. The score was tied two more times with the last at 23-23 before the Rebels scored two straight to knot the match at one set apiece before intermission.

The third frame followed its predecessor’s lead with 11 ties and five lead changes of its own and also went into extra time. Air Force had four consecutive set-point opportunities, but watched as UNLV canceled each one out down the stretch. After the Rebels tied the frame for the 11th time, they scored two more points to claim a 2-1 edge.

The fourth set could not get over fast enough for UNLV, as they scored the first five points and seven of nine for a comfortable lead. The visitors gradually increased the lead to 10 before ending the stanza by nine, 25-16.

In all, the match featured 25 ties and 10 lead changes.

Air Force got a double-double from Caroline Kurtz, who had a match-high 20 kills and 16 digs. Annalyse Schmitt and Emily Frick also reached double digits in kills with 11 and 10 of their own, respectively. Jessica Hillman dished out a match-high 49 digs and added five digs, three kills and an assisted block. Maiya Perich and Kelly Spencer each had 13 digs apiece.

-UNLV-                                          

No. 6 USC Women’s Volleyball Team Closes Regular Season With Five-Set Win At No.9 UCLA

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No. 6 USC Women’s Volleyball Team Closes Regular Season With Five-Set Win At No.9 UCLA

LOS ANGELES – Freshman outside hitter Falyn Fonoimoana tied a season-high with 23 kills Friday as the No. 6 USC Women of Troy finished the 2010 regular season with a five-set win against the No. 9 UCLA Bruins (20-25, 25-21, 25-20, 20-25, 15-13) in Pac-10 Conference action at Pauley Pavilion.  The Trojans registered a season-high 18 blocks against the Bruins as USC improved its record to 7-1 this season in five-set matches.

Junior All-American Alex Jupiter had another double-double for USC (25-4, 14-4) with 17 kills and 15 digs while junior setter Kendall Bateman posted 63 assists with seven digs and four blocks.  Lauren Williams had 12 kills with seven blocks while freshman Alexis Olgard had eight kills and added a season-high nine blocks for the Trojans.

Bojana Todorovic led UCLA (21-8, 11-7) with 21 kills and 12 digs while hitting .366 as setter Lauren Van Orden had 63 assists with 10 digs and three blocks.  Dicey McGraw had 19 kills, but hit .185 in her final home match.

The 28 digs by UCLA libero Lainey Gera and 27 digs by USC libero Natalie Hagglund was another indicator of how even the match was between both teams.

USC’s attack error gave UCLA an 8-5 lead in the first set.  Fonoimoana started five straight for the Women of Troy as Jupiter hit a soft shot from the back row for the 10-8 USC advantage.  The Trojans would push the lead to four points at 15-11.  Kidder put two down for the Bruins as back-to-back hitting errors by USC had UCLA with five straight of its own and the 16-15 lead.  Foniomoana made it 18-17 before McGraw had two kills combined with two more USC hitting errors with UCLA leading, 21-18.  UCLA finished the set with an 8-2 run as two more errors hurt the Women of Troy late.

In the second set, USC opened with a 6-2 run.  Foniomoana pushed it to six points with a kill at 9-3.  The Bruins chipped away as Todorovic made it 10-8 in favor of USC.  Rachael Kidder used a kill and followed with a solo block on a slide from Olgard to tie it a 12-12.  Jupiter came out of the USC timeout and sparked the 6-1 run as Williams had two kills and a solo block for the 18-13 USC lead.  McGraw aided the Bruins’ recovery with two kills as UCLA got within two at 21-19.  Fonoimoana gave a much-needed kill for the Women of Troy as Jupiter figured for the final two kills as USC evened the match.

It was a battle in the first part of the third set with USC hanging on for the 10-8 lead.  With a block and a kill, Foniomoana kept the Trojans ahead by two at the media timeout, 15-13.  Bateman registered a solo block on the right side and USC leading, 17-14.  Back-to-back hitting errors by the Bruins pushed the Trojan lead to five at 20-15.  Fonoimoana added two more kills to finish the set with seven kills and two solo blocks as USC took a 2-1 match lead.

Set four mirrored the start of the third set with both teams working to a 12-12 tie.  McGraw pushed the Bruins ahead by two at the media timeout, 15-13.  Williams had a solo block to tie it at 15-15, but Todorovic hit back-to-back kills with UCLA up at 19-16.  Todorovic added two smart kills for the Bruins, who went on to send the match into a fifth set.

The Bruins opened with a 3-0 start in the fifth, but Williams went back-to-back as the Trojans evened the score at 3-3.  Mariana Aquino started a 4-2 run for UCLA as USC took a timeout with the Bruins ahead, 7-5.  USC took advantage of two straight hitting errors by UCLA and Williams used a solo block to give the Trojans an 8-7 lead.  Fonoimoana added two kills to her match total, but McGraw helped the Bruins pull ahead at 11-10.  Fonoimoana answered again for the Trojans and a key joust put USC back in the lead at 12-11.  Olgard and Bateman notched the Trojans’ final block of the match to make it 13-11 before USC let UCLA back in with a service error.  Olgard went off in the block in the middle and it was Williams who later finished off the victory for USC.

The 2010 NCAA Women’s Volleyball Tournament bracket will be released this Sunday (Nov. 28) at approximately noon on ESPN NEWS.

Notes: USC has recorded 25 wins in a season for the eighth time during head coach Mick Haley’s 10-year tenure with the Women of Troy…with 533.5 points, Alex Jupiter is now in fifth place on USC’s single-season list for points…Jupiter has 15 double-doubles this season with 12 of them coming in Pac-10 Conference play…Kendall Bateman now has 1,343 assists on the season, placing her fifth on USC’s single-season list for assists…Lauren Williams, who entered the match by leading the nation with a .435 hitting percentage, hit .280 tonight against the Bruins…Natalie Hagglund was one dig away from her season high of 28 digs…Alexis Olgard’s previous best for blocks this season was six (recorded twice)…with tonight’s win, USC is assured of 10 points in the Gauntlet standings against USC by sweeping the season series for women’s volleyball.

USC       20-25-25-20-15
UCLA      25-21-20-25-13

Records: USC (25-4, 14-4), UCLA (21-8, 11-7)
Kills: Falyn Fonoimoana 23 (USC), Bojana Todorovic 21 (UCLA)

Team:   USC     UCLA
1       .175    .303
2       .205    .225
3       .282    .100
4       .263    .375
5       .238    .038
Match   .236    .225

No. 10 Illinois Volleyball Team Falls to Indiana, 3-1

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No. 10 Illinois Volleyball Team Falls to Indiana, 3-1

INDIANA DOWNS ILLINOIS IN FOUR SETS
Illinois wraps up regular season at Purdue Saturday

Bloomington, Ind. – No. 10 Illinois got 19 kills from Colleen Ward and 16 kills from Michelle Bartsch, but Indiana pulled out a 25-20, 22-25, 25-20, 25-22 victory over the Illini in Bloomington. The Hoosiers have now beaten the top four teams in the conference in their gym – Penn State, Illinois, Minnesota and Michigan and improve to 20-11 overall and 8-11 in the conference. Illinois, who ends the regular season on Saturday night at Purdue, has clinched second place in the conference with a 14-5 record in the league and 22-7 mark overall.

Indiana hit .285 for the match compared to just .184 for Illinois. The Hoosiers committed just five unforced errors in four sets.

“The difference in the match were the errors,” said Illinois head coach Kevin Hambly. “We are going to have to do a better job of limiting those errors. We got impatient and tried to score right away. They, on other hand, hit for a high percentage and played real low error volleyball. That’s how you should have to play.”

Indiana All-Big Ten performer Ashley Benson was really tough, hitting .469 with 18 kills and six blocks. Indiana out-blocked Illinois 13-11 with Bartsch leading the Illinois defense with six block assists. Johnson and Johannah Bangert had five block assists apiece. That gives Bangert 591 block assists for her career, which is just 21 shy of the all-time Big Ten record. The senior from Washington, Mo., hit .500 with nine kills offensively.

Indiana hit .306 in taking the first set behind a balanced attack. Benson got going midway through the set, hitting .667 with six kills on the opening frame. The Illini struggled to get their outside attack going, hitting just .054 with the left side contributing just two of Illinois’ eight kills in the set. Bartsch had five of Illinois’ nine kills in the set. Illinois had a brief lead at 4-3 before Indiana went on a 5-0 run, taking an 8-4 lead. The advantage reached 14-9 and 16-11 and the Illini could get no closer than three after that.

Ward had seven kills and Bangert added four kills in the second set. The Illini hit .214 in the set and were able to limit Benson’s swings as she had just two kills and hit .000. Illinois started strong, taking an 11-6 lead before Indiana came storming back to tie it at 13-13. The set had eight ties, including at 19, 20, 21, and 22. Illinois scored the final three points of the set, the last two off the serve of Jackie Wolfe. Ward was in on three of the final four Illinois, including on a solo block to end it.

Benson was able to score at will in the third set, hitting .600 with six kills. Illinois countered with five kills from Ward and four from freshman Jazmine Orozco. The Hoosiers out-hit the Illini .275-.163. Indiana used a pair of runs to win going away, using a 4-0 run to go up 14-6, then after Illinois closed to within 16-13, scored five straight points to take a commanding 21-13 advantage.

Indiana used another run late in the fourth set to pull away. Tied at 14-14, the Hoosiers scored six straight points to take a 20-14 advantage. Illinois held off three set points until Benson finished it off with a kill out of the middle.

Hambly emphasized the key to ending the season on a high again will be limiting the errors.

“Our effort and our competitiveness were there, we just have to execute.” he said.

University of Houston Volleyball Team Preps For Season Finale Against Rice

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University of Houston Volleyball Team Preps For Season Finale Against Rice
Cougars Take On Cross-Town Rival On Nov. 17

HOUSTON – The University of Houston volleyball team will play its 2010 season finale against cross-town rival Rice at 7 p.m., Saturday at Tudor Fieldhouse.

The Cougars enter the weekend with a 19-12 record and a 13-6 mark in Conference USA play. The Owls stand at 15-16 on the year and 10-9 in league play.

Live stats will be available for the match by logging on to UHCougars.com and going to the volleyball schedule page. The live video streaming link will be available on the All-Access site.

Rice defeated the Cougars 3-0 earlier this season in their league opener at the Athletics/Alumni Center. Despite the loss, Houston holds a 58-17 lead in the all-time series.

Earlier this week, junior Lucy Charuk and sophomore Chandace Tryon were named to the All-Conference USA First Team. Tryon leads the league with a .363 hitting percentage and has started 28 matches this season. Charuk is second in C-USA with 141 blocks and is second on the team with a .347 hitting percentage.

Nancy Cole leads the Owls with 359 kills on a .322 hitting percentage. The 2010 C-USA Libero of the Year, Tracy Lam, leads the team with 667 digs and setter Meredith Schamun paces the team with 1,181 assists.

Houston will be looking for its first 20-win season since 2008 when they play the Owls. With their 13 C-USA wins, the Cougars have also reached the 13-win mark in league action for the first time since 1999.