Volleyball Voices

Week 9: Kansas University Women's College Volleyball Team News

 

For a complete set of game notes go to http://www.kuathletics.com/sports/w-volley/spec-rel/102309aaa.html.

 

Kansas Hosts Missouri In Border Showdown Saturday

LAWRENCE, Kan. - In its first of three-straight home contests, the University of Kansas volleyball team (11-8, 4-6 Big 12) will host the Lawrence edition of the Border Showdown on Saturday, Oct. 24 when it welcomes Missouri (12-9, 4-6 Big 12) in a 7:30 p.m. match. Fans that bring their ticket stub from Saturday’s KU-Oklahoma football game can get into the volleyball match for $3.

 

Free live stats as well as a webstreaming of the event (for a fee) will be available on the KU Athletics website at www.KUAthletics.com.

 

Quick Hits

» Following back-to-back sweeps at Kansas State and Texas Tech, Kansas recorded its first consecutive Big 12 Conference road sweeps in program history.

» Kansas head coach Ray Bechard recorded career victory No. 900 with the team’s win at Kansas State on Oct. 17.

» KU’s victory versus the Wildcats also gave the Jayhawks their first conference road win of the 2009 season and snapped a four-match skid.

 

About Kansas

Coming off back-to-back Big 12 road sweeps for the first time in program history, KU is 11-8 overall and 4-6 in the Big 12 heading into the second half of conference play. Two Jayhawks are averaging over three kills per game in Karina Garlington (3.52 kps) and Allison Mayfield (3.39), who rank fifth and seventh in the Big 12, respectively. Mayfield has averaged a team-high 3.62 kps in Big 12 matches. Paige Mazour is hitting a team-high .330 attack percentage, seventh among conference players. Nicole Tate continues to guide the offense with the league’s third-best assists average of 10.92 aps. Melissa Manda holds down the KU defense with 4.24 dps. During Big 12 action, the Jayhawks’ libero is even better with 4.71 dps. Freshman Tayler Tolefree is averaging just over a block per set with 1.04.

 

Jayhawks For a Cure

Kansas volleyball will participate in the 2009-10 “Jayhawks For a Cure” campaign on Tuesday, Oct. 27 when it hosts UMKC for a 6:30 p.m. match. Fans wearing pink to the contest will be admitted for just $3.

 

Fans can make a donation at the door with all donations benefitting the Komen Foundation and Breast Cancer Research. Fans can also choose to make a pledge per dig by filling out a pledge form found on the KU volleyball website at www.KUAthletics.com. In addition, Kansas Athletics’ new concessions partner, Centerplate, will donate $1 for every soft drink purchased during the match.

 

Along with Kansas volleyball’s match on Tuesday, several “Jayhawks For a Cure” events are scheduled for the 2009-10 academic year. The KU soccer team held its event on Oct. 11, while Kansas swimming and diving will highlight breast cancer awareness and collect donations on Oct. 30 when it hosts Missouri. Kansas women’s basketball will also host its annual WBCA Pink Zone game in Allen Fieldhouse on Feb. 7 when it faces Kansas State.

 

Home Sweet Home

Kansas will play seven of its last 11 matches of the 2009 season at home in the friendly confines of the Horejsi Family Athletics Center. The Jayhawks play well in the Horejsi Center as the team is 92-61 since the building opened for the 1999 season.

 

Up Next

Kansas continues its homestand into next week when it hosts UMKC Tuesday, Oct. 27 at 6:30 p.m. in the “Jayhawks For a Cure” match. KU then welcomes Texas A&M on Saturday, Oct. 31.

 

 

-Go Jayhawks!-

Week 9: Samford University Women's College Volleyball Team News

--- Bulldogs look to take momentum from Chattanooga win to South Carolina this weekend ---

 

Oct. 9, 2009

 

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford University volleyball team will head to South Carolina to take on Wofford and Furman this weekend, Oct. 24 and 25. These will be the second and third stops on a five-match road swing for the Bulldogs in the second half of Southern Conference play.

 

Samford (13-10, 7-2 SoCon) comes off a great 3-0 win over Chattanooga Wednesday that included a second set comeback from a nine-point deficit. The Bulldogs look to take that momentum into South Carolina this weekend in order to continue to be successful and gain confidence after a rough start to the year on the road. Before Wednesday’s win, Samford had only won two matches away from home.

 

“It was nice to start a very difficult road trip with a win and I think the confidence gained from the Chattanooga win will carry over to this weekend,” Samford head coach Derek Schroeder said. “I think Wednesday night was a big step in the right direction of how to play on the road.  We have been taking little steps and finally our hard work was rewarded with some success.” 

 

Samford was lead again on Wednesday by Sheriden Stangohr. The senior middle blocker led the Bulldogs for the eighth straight match notching 15 kills while hitting .333. She and freshman Allie Bettinger lead the Bulldogs in kills and hitting on the year. Bettinger averages a team-high 3.25 kills per set while Stangohr holds a .325 hitting percentage so far this year. Stangohr also leads in blocks with 1.29 per set. Hillary Fountain has dished out a team-high average of 8.94 assists per set while Alexis Bauer leads the back row with 3.62 digs per set.

 

Samford will take on Wofford on Saturday for only the second time in school history. Last season when Wofford visited Samford, the Bulldogs came out on top, 3-0. This season, Samford visits Wofford and looks to continue its success on the road.

 

“Wofford will be a typical SoCon team that will fight hard and try to make things as nasty as possible,” Schroeder said.

 

Wofford (16-8, 3-5 SoCon) comes off a weekend in which it split matches with Appalachian State and Western Carolina. After losing three in a row, the Terriers fell to Appalachian State, 3-1, before bouncing back with a 3-2 win over Western Carolina. Wofford’s three league wins came in sweeps over Davidson and the Citadel as well as the win over Western Carolina.

 

The Terriers are led by Stacy Byrd who averages 3.14 kills per set. Joanna Suddath leads in hitting with a .263 attack percentage while also averaging a team-high 8.80 assists per set. Arden Anderson leads in blocks with 0.93 per set while Sarah Palmer and Shanna Hughes lead the back row with 3.84 and 3.17 digs per set, respectively.

 

Furman (16-3, 8-0 SoCon) is the only undefeated team left in the Southern Conference now. The Bulldogs and Paladins have met 10 times in the history of the series with Samford only winning once. Last season’s sweep of the Paladins at the Pete Hanna Center was Samford’s first-ever win over Furman. The Paladins are currently riding a nine-match winning streak. Their last loss was at Clemson on Sept. 19.

 

“Furman is young like us and big and talented,” Schroeder said. “I like their team and am excited to give them a tough match in their little barn on campus. It should be a great atmosphere.” 

 

The reigning Southern Conference Tournament Champions are led by six players who average over two kills per set – Kelly Kirby (2.59), Caroline Adams (2.51), Alexis Shaffer (2.48), Natalie Braun (2.34), Katherine Hall (2.29) and Chandler Anbrester (2.07). Braun also leads her team in aces with 23 on the year while ranking second on the team in digs with 3.14 per set. Adams leads in blocks with 1.05 per set with Kirby (0.62) and Shaffer (0.56) right behind. Stephanie Smith leads the back row with 3.66 digs per set, and Kelsey Salava leads the conference and is 36^th in the nation in assists per set with 10.82.

 

Match play between the Terriers and the Bulldogs begins at 1 p.m. CT on Saturday. Furman and Samford will then face off on Sunday at noon before heading home to prepare for UNC Greensboro and Elon next week. Fans can follow the action for both matches via live stats and streaming through links at the Wofford and Furman athletic websites. A full recap and results will be available on www.samfordsports.com upon the completion of each match.

 

*** SAMFORD BULLDOGS ***

 

Week 9: Kansas University Jayhawks Women's College Volleyball Team News

Oct. 23, 2009

MATCH 22

AT KANSAS STATE  •  Oct. 24, 2009  •  Ahearn Field House (Manhattan, Kan.)

INTERNET AUDIO: live broadcast stream at BaylorBears.com

LIVE STATS: Live GameTracker stats at BaylorBears.com

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
• Kansas State enters the match with a 8-11 record on the season, including an 2-7 mark in league play under ninth-year head coach Suzie Fritz. Fritz has compiled a 171-79 mark in her first eight seasons.
• The Wildcat attack is quarterbacked by setter Soriana Pacheco, who is averaging 10.04 assists per set.
• OH Julianne Chisholm leads the team with 3.04 kills per set, while Kelsey Chipman is averaging 2.62, while freshman Kathleen Ludwig is averaging 2.46. Chipman is the second-leading hitter in the Big 12 hitting at a .368 clip.
• On defense, libero Lauren Mathewson leads with 4.27 digs per set, while Chipman is KSU's leading blocker, ranked sixth in the Big 12 at 1.12 blocks per set.
• The Wildcats have served opponents aggressivley, ranked fourth in service aces in the Big 12 with 1.16 per set, led by Ludwig's 0.28 average.

LAST TIME AGAINST KANSAS STATE
No. 24 Baylor's defense came up big time after time to help the Bears to a four-set victory (25-10, 20-25, 25-13, 25-22) over Kansas State on Saturday afternoon inside the Ferrell Center. The match came down to Baylor's defense, which totaled 65 digs and 11 blocks, led by Allison King's 19 digs and Anna Breyfogle's 11 blocks. Baylor forced KSU into a .061 hitting percentage (41k-32e-147) with spectacular play at the net and in the back row.
Along with King, Katie Sanders had double-digit kills with 17, while Taylor Barnes andJordan Rice each had eight. At the net, six Bears had at least two blocks. Along with Breyfogle's six, Ashlie Christenson and Torri Campbell each had four, while Taylor Barneshad three and Sanders and Elizabeth Graham each had two.
Christenson led the Bears' offense with 14 kills and only three errors on 34 swings (.324). Sanders had her seventh double-double of the season added 11 kills to her 17 digs.

LAST TIME OUT...
No. 19 Baylor battled back from down a set twice against Oklahoma, but fell short in a 3-2 (13-25, 25-21, 17-25, 25-19, 12-15) loss at Oklahoma on Saturday afternoon. Baylor came out sluggish, dropping a 25-13 first set, but found some offense in the second and fourth sets. Forcing a fifth set, Baylor couldn't convert opportunities to tie the score in the deciding set. Oklahoma took advantage of a late BU service error and took the match.
Led by right side Suzy Boulavsky's 21 kills and 20 digs, Oklahoma also got 11 kills and nine blocks by Sarah Freudenrich.t. Baylor, meanwhile, had four players in double figures led by Katie Sanders' 12 kills. Anna Breyfogle and Torri Campbell each had 11 kills, whileAshlie Christenson had 10. Setter Taylor Barnes had a solid match for BU with a double-double of 50 assists and 12 digs to go along with seven kills.
The big difference of the match came in the hitting percentage as Baylor hit just .166, frustrated by Oklahoma's block and back row play. The Sooners had 14 blocks and 93 digs, while Baylor managed nine blocks and 76 digs.

Week 9: Duke Blue Devils Women's College Volleyball Team News

October 22, 2009

 

DURHAM, N.C. – Currently tied for second place in the ACC, the Duke volleyball has a shot to regain the top spot in the conference standings this weekend as the Blue Devils travel south to take on Clemson and Georgia Tech on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 23-24.

 

After going 1-1 last weekend with a 3-0 win over NC State and a 3-1 loss at North Carolina, Duke (17-4, 7-2 ACC) is tied for second in the conference with Georgia Tech (13-6, 7-2 ACC) and is just one game behind conference leader and 17^th-ranked Florida State (17-2, 8-1 ACC). The Blue Devils held the top spot until last Friday when the Tar Heels stunned Duke with a 3-1 win in front of a crowd of nearly 13,000 at the Dean E. Smith Center.

 

Duke bounced back the next night, however, to roll through NC State on the road, outscoring the Wolfpack 75-50 over the three-set sweep. The 3-0 win was the 10^th sweep of the season for the Blue Devils, with six of those coming against ACC teams.

 

While Duke is 6-2 on its home court in Cameron Indoor Stadium, the Blue Devils have been even more successful on the road this year heading into the weekend trip to Clemson and Georgia Tech. Duke is a combined 11-2 this season when playing on opposing or neutral courts and had won eight straight matches away from home prior last Friday’s loss to the Tar Heels.

 

It will not be easy for the Blue Devils to get past Clemson (15-6, 5-4 ACC) and Georgia Tech, however, as the Tigers and Yellow Jackets have a history of playing spoiler to the Blue Devils. While Duke went 2-0 against Georgia Tech and 1-1 against Clemson on the way to an ACC Co-Championship in 2008, at least one of those teams has beaten Duke every year since 2001.

 

The Blue Devils have a full head of steam heading into the matches, however, having gone 8-2 over their last 10 matches. Led by senior outside hitter Rachael Moss and sophomore setter Kellie Catanach, Duke boasts one of the best offenses in the ACC, ranking second with a .260 hitting percentage, first with 1.63 service aces per game and among the top four with 12.67 assists and 13.63 kills per set.

 

Moss reached yet another milestone last weekend by pounding her 1,500^th career kill to become just the fourth player in school history to reach that mark. Moss, who currently ranks fourth all-time at Duke in kills, also stands among Duke’s top four in career service aces (156) and career digs (1,365). The only other player in school history to appear among the top five on all three lists is former ACC Player of the Year and All-America Ashley Wacholder.

 

But while Moss has been Duke’s top option with a team-leading 492 attacks, several other Blue Devils have also stepped up offensively to help keep opposing defenses spread out. Junior middle blocker Becci Burling leads the team with 208 kills and has posted double-digit kills in six straight matches. Sophomore Sophia Dunworth is also high on the team leaderboard with 186 kills, while freshman Christiana Gray (133) and sophomore Amanda Robertson (126) have also surpassed 100 kills. Catanach has also had a much to do with the all-around effort, effectively distributing the ball to average 10.35 assists per set.

 

Georgia Tech is not short on offense either, as the Yellow Jackets lead the conference in assists and rank second in kills. Georgia Tech boasts the ACC’s top setter in Mary Ashley Tippins, who is the conference’s only setter averaging over 11.00 digs per set. Tippins has benefited from an array of weapons around her, including outside hitters Bailey Hunter and Monique Mead, who are among the ACC’s top 10 in kills per game, and middle blocker Asia Stawicka, who ranks fifth with a .371 hitting percentage. It will be up to Duke’s middle-blocking trio of Gray, Burling and Robertson to redirect Georgia Tech’s attack into the hands of libero Claire Smalzer and defensive specialists Nailah Waterfield and Alex Sall if Duke wants to slow down Georgia Tech’s dynamic offense.

 

Clemson, meanwhile, has also put up solid offensive numbers, but has been even more impressive defensively. The top blocking team in the ACC, the Tigers lead the conference with 220 blocks and are the only team to surpass 180 blocks on the season. Led by ACC blocks leader Alexa Rand and top-10 blocker Sandra Adeleye, Clemson has held opponents to a .159 hitting percentage, which is just behind Duke’s ACC-leading .151 mark.

 

Following the two road contests, Duke returns to Cameron Indoor Stadium for a pair of home matches against Boston College and Maryland on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 30-31. Duke will be looking for its first sweeps of the season against those two teams after taking them both down 3-0 earlier in the season.

 

-d-u-k-e-

 

Week 9: Ohio State Buckeyes Women's College Volleyball Team News

Homecoming Parade, Nike Human Race and Zac Brown Band Concert to impact Campus Friday

Related:    Homecoming Parade Map    Nike Human Race Map

Courtesy: OhioStateBuckeyes.com           Release: 10/22/2009

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Fans planning to attend the Ohio State - Purdue women's volleyball match at 7 pm. Friday in St. John Arena should be aware of several events that will impact travel around campus. The Ohio State homecoming parade begins at 6 p.m. on Woody Hayes Drive to the south of St. John Arena. The Nike Human Race will begin after 7 p.m. and run thru most of campus. At the Schottenstein Center, a 7 p.m. concert by the Zac Brown Band will complete the evening. Individuals coming to the volleyball match should anticipate significant traffic delays and plan accordingly. Parking could be limited to the north side of St. John Arena (Lane Ave.) due to a number of roads shut down between 5:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. WVB: Saturday Match to Honor Former Volleyball Players Saturday Tickets: Buy one volleyball admission and get one free with your Minnesota football ticket. COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio State women's volleyball will host an alumni weekend for former players. Returning players will be honored during Saturday's match against Indiana. Individuals with Minnesota football tickets will be able to get a free ticket to the match with the purchase of a ticket. ### OhioStateBuckeyes.com ###  Read more college volleyball news, stories, volleyball quotes, and information on volleyballvoices.com!

Week 9: University of Houston Cougars Women's College Volleyball Team News

HOUSTON -- The University of Houston volleyball team will continue league action on the road this weekend against Tulsa and SMU. 
 
Houston will face off against Tulsa on Friday and SMU on Saturday. Both matches are scheduled for a 7 p.m. first serve. 
 
Gametracker and live video streaming will be available for both matches by going to the volleyball schedule page at UHCougars.com. 
 
The Cougars return to action after falling to Southern WMiss and sweeping UCF on the road last weekend to move to 7-17 on the year and 3-5 in Conference USA play. 
 
The Golden Hurricane enter the weekend with a 17-5 overall record and a 6-2 mark in C-USA action. They knocked off Oral Roberts on Tuesday in three sets and have won their last seven matches. Earlier this season, Houston lost a five-set match to Tulsa at the Athletics/Alumni Center. Senior Kinsey Cave recorded a double-double with 27 kills and 12 digs in the earlier contest. 
 
Statistically, Tulsa is led by Tyler Henderson’s 333 kills, while Rachel Vukson paces the team with 495 assists. All-time, Houston is 5-4 against the Golden Hurricane. 
 
On Saturday, UH will look to even the series against the Mustangs this year, bouncing back from a 3-0 loss on Oct. 9 in Houston. The match on the Cougars’ home court was the team’s “Dig Pink” match that raised $1,117.50 for breast cancer awareness and the Side Out Foundation. 
 
Dana Powell leads the Mustangs with 325 kills and Kendra Kahanek is one block away from reaching 100. SMU enters the weekend with a 15-7 record and they stand at 5-3 in the league standings. Houston is 9-5 in the all-time series against SMU.  
 
Houston will return to the Athletics/Alumni Center on Oct. 30-31 for their home finale against Marshall and East Carolina. 

Week 9: University of Texas Longhorns Women's College Volleyball Team News

Texas Volleyball preview: Colorado

 

The second-ranked Longhorns look to push their record to 16-0 when they host Colorado on Saturday, Oct. 24. First serve is set for 4 p.m. Central

 

Match 16: No. 2/2 TEXAS (15-0, 10-0 Big 12) vs. Colorado (6-13, 1-9 Big 12)

When: Saturday, Oct. 24 at 4 pm Central

Where: Austin, Texas (Gregory Gymnasium)

Live Stats: GameTracker on TexasSports.com

Internet Audio/Video: Watch Texas Volleyball home matches FREE on TexasSports.TV

 

SERIES INFO

All-Time Series Record: Texas leads Colorado, 23-8 (H: 11-4, A: 11-4, N: 1-0)

Last meeting with Colorado: Texas defeated Colorado, 3-0 (25-14, 25-18, 25-8) on Sept. 23, 2009

Current Streak: Texas has won the last 11 meetings

 

TEXAS IN THE AVCA POLL

The Longhorns are ranked No. 2 in the most recent AVCA Division I Coaches Poll (Oct. 19) ... UT received seven first-place votes ... Texas’ No. 2 preseason ranking was its highest ranking in the AVCA poll since UT finished the 1995 season ranked second ... UT has now been ranked in the Top 10 for 51 straight weeks ... UT opponents in the poll include, No. 3 Hawaii,  No. 5 Nebraska, No. 14 Iowa State, No. 15 California, No. 21 Texas A&M, No. 22 San Diego, No. 23 Baylor and No. 24 Saint Louis, .

 

HORNS IN THE VOLLEYBALL MAGAZINE POLL                   

Texas holds the No. 2 spot in the current Volleyball Magazine Poll (Oct. 20) ... the Horns trail two-time defending NCAA Champion Penn State in the poll by 12 points 277-to-269 ... Big 12 foes Nebraska and Iowa State hold the No. 6 and No. 13 positions, respectively ... three of Texas’ non-conference opponents are ranked (No. 4 Hawaii, No.15 California).

 

TEXAS No. 1 in NCAA RPI

In the most recent release of the NCAA RPI (Oct. 19), Texas ranks No. 1 ... No. 2 Florida State, No. 3 Penn State, No. 4 Illinois and No. 5 Washington round out the top five ... Big 12 rivals Iowa State and Nebraska rank No. 15 and No. 17, respectively.

 

TOUGH ROW TO HOE

Texas is 15-0 on the season with eight of its wins coming against ranked opponents ...  Texas’ season-opening streak of seven wins against ranked opponents was the longest in program history, while the seven straight matches against ranked opponents tied a UT record set in 1995 ... the Horns have defeated No. 4 Hawaii, No. 6 Nebraska, No. 10 Iowa State, No. 10 California, No. 15 San Diego, No. 19 Saint Louis, No. 23 Long Beach State and No. 24 Baylor in 2009.

 

HOT START

Texas is off to the third-best start in UT history ... its 14-0 start is the best since 2004 when the Horns began the year 16-0 ... the Texas record was set in 1990 when UT opened 26-0.

 

STREAKING

Texas is currently riding a 24-match regular-season winning streak that dates back to Nov. 1, 2008 against Texas A&M ... the regular-season streak is the second-longest in program history (record is 26 in 1990) ... Texas currently owns a 15-match home winning streak at Gregory Gym dating back to Nov. 1, 2008.

 

TEXAS IN THE NCAA STATS

In the most recent addition of the NCAA statistics (Oct. 19), Texas ranks No. 2 in the country in blocks per-set, averaging 3.10 stuffs each set ... the Horns also rank second nationally in hitting percentage with a  .317 mark ... senior outside hitter Destinee Hooker ranks third with 5.67 points and fourth with 4.77 kills per-set.

 

SUCCESS IN BIG 12 PLAY

In 14 years of Big 12 Conference play the Longhorns own a 202-65 (.757) mark in league action ... Texas’ all-time Big 12 record ranks second to only Nebraska ... during head coach Jerritt Elliott’s nine-year tenure, Texas has posted a 127-42 (.751) record against Big 12 foes ... the Longhorns 19-1 record in 2007 was its best mark since the inception of the league.

 

 

Hook'em

 

Week 9: Samford University Women's College Volleyball Team News

--- Bulldogs look for good fortune on the road versus conference rival Mocs ---

 

Oct. 20, 2009

 

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford University volleyball team begins a five-match road swing Wednesday at Southern Conference rival Chattanooga. All eight remaining matches for the Bulldogs are against league opponents; six are on the road.

 

So far this season, Samford has struggled on the road, holding a 2-4 record away from home. Only one of those losses has been to SoCon foe, Appalachian State, with the remaining three coming to NCAA Tournament teams Belmont and Dayton and in-state rival Troy.

 

“The road has not been good to us,” Samford head coach Derek Schroeder said, “but even after some tough losses the last few weeks, we are much better prepared for road tests. We have grown up a bit through this stretch and seen where we need to go.” 

 

After beginning the season 3-0 at home, Samford went on a seven-match skid, falling in every match at the Belmont Tournament and the Dayton Flyer Classic. The Bulldogs picked things up with three straight wins at the Memphis Invitational before tacking on four more wins against SoCon opponents at home and a conference win on the road. Since then, Samford has lost three out of four, two of which were on the road.

 

Samford (12-10, 6-2) comes off a weekend in which it split conference matches with the Citadel and College of Charleston at home. The Samford Bulldogs defeated the Citadel Bulldogs in four sets last Saturday before being swept by College of Charleston in three sets. The loss to College of Charleston ended a 22-match undefeated streak at home for the Bulldogs.

 

Both College of Charleston and Samford were picked to defend their respective division titles this year. Currently, the league standings have both teams in second place in their divisions. UNC Greensboro, whom Samford will play on the road Nov. 1, leads the North Division while Furman, whom Samford plays on the road Oct. 25, leads the South Division.

 

Schroeder is not hesitant to point out that this season’s standings are much different than last year’s. The league is more competitive and there are several surprise teams. However, Schroeder sees his team as one of those surprises.

 

“I think we are one of those surprise teams,” Schroeder said. “Our peers wanted to pick us as preseason North Division Champions but that does not negate the fact we have four freshman making major contributions in every match.  We need time and experience to compete at a high level and we have four weeks and eight matches to gain it. Our girls know that nothing worth doing is easy, and we are prepared to put in that work.”

 

Those four freshmen are Allie Bettinger, Elizabeth Neisler, Alexis Bauer and Casey Garvey. Bettinger, a Junior Olympics 18-National title contender in 2009 with Texas Advantage, currently leads her team in kills, averaging 3.20 per set. She also averages 1.95 digs per set and has posted six double-doubles on the season. Neisler, the 2009 Alabama Gatorade Player of the Year, ranks third on the team in kills with 1.85 per set and fourth in blocks with 47 on the year.

 

Bauer, the 2006 Junior Olympic Most Valuable Player, averages a team-leading 3.59 digs per set. She is just 125 digs away from tying Brook Skinner’s (1994) and Courtney Gay’s (2008) 416 digs, which is second on the single-season record list. Garvey, a three-time AAU All-American, is second on the team in assists, averaging 1.72 per set. She also leads the team in aces with 24 on the season and is fourth on the team in digs with 1.58 per set.

 

Senior Sheriden Stangohr leads the Bulldogs in hitting with a .325 percentage while four of her last seven matches have resulted in a hitting percentage of .550 or higher. She also leads her team in blocks with 105 on the year, averaging 1.30 per set which still ranks her 30^th in the nation in that category. Junior Hillary Fountain leads her team in assists, averaging 8.82 per set, and is second in digs with 2.17 per set.

 

The last time Samford and Chattanooga met up on Sept. 30 in Birmingham, the Bulldogs swept the Lady Mocs to capture their third conference win and keep their home streak alive. Samford now leads the all-time series, 14-9. Chattanooga is currently fifth in the North Division standings with a 3-5 league record.

 

“Chattanooga is a conference opponent that wants to make the championship tournament and needs to win this to stay in the hunt,” Schroeder said. “I expect we will get their best game of the year.” 

 

Chattanooga (11-9, 3-5 SoCon) comes off a weekend in which it also split a weekend series with College of Charleston and the Citadel. The College of Charleston defeated the Lady Mocs, 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-23) on Saturday before Chattanooga swept the Citadel, 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-21). The Lady Mocs have lost three of their last five matches and hold a 3-6 record at home.

 

The Lady Mocs are led by Courtney Barnes who averages 2.73 kills per set and is ranked 43^rd in the nation in hitting percentage with a .369 percentage. Paula Passmore leads the conference and is ranked eighth in the nation in digs, averaging 5.58 per set while Ellie Kuhn is ranked 46^th in the nation in blocks with 1.21 per set.

 

Match play starts at 6 p.m. CT, at Maclellan Gym on the Chattanooga campus. Fans can follow all the action via live stats and video streaming through links at www.gomocs.com. A full recap and results can be found at www.samfordsports.com upon the completion of the match.

 

*** SAMFORD BULLDOGS ***

 

Week 9: Ohio Valley Conference Women's College Volleyball Team News

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20

Austin Peay at SIU Edwardsville  - 7:00 p.m

Southern Illinois at Southeast Missouri - 7:00 p.m.

 

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22

Eastern Kentucky at Morehead State*  - 6:00 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)

 

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23

SIU Edwardsville at Morehead State*  - 6:00 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)

Eastern Illinois at Austin Peay*  - 7:00 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)

Jacksonville State at UT Martin*  - 7:00 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)

Tennessee Tech at Murray State*  - 7:00 p.m.

Southeast Missouri at Tennessee State*  - 7:00 p.m.

 

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24

SIU Edwardsville at Eastern Kentucky  - 1:00 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)

Southeast Missouri at Austin Peay*  - 2:00 p.m.

Eastern Illinois at Tennessee State*  - 2:00 p.m.

Jacksonville State at Murray State*  - 2:00 p.m.

Tennessee Tech at UT Martin*  - 2:00 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)

 

 

* - OVC Games

ALL TIMES CENTRAL

 

 

 

2009 OVC Players of the Week - October 19, 2009

 

Offensive:

Emily Hughes, MB, Jr., 5'11

Memphis, Tenn. - Southeast Missouri

 

Hughes tallied 4.83 kills per set last week while only recording one attack error as the Redhawks went 2-0. She finished with a match-best 16 kills and set a season-high with a .536 attack percentage as she committed just one attack error on 28 swings in a 3-0 victory over SIU Edwardsville. Hughes accounted for a match-high 17.5 points after also chipping three block assists to lead all players. In the win over Eastern Illinois, she did not commit an attack error as she posted a match-high 13 kills. She finished with a .464 attack percentage and four block assists to lead all players.

 

Defensive:

Kayleah Sauer, DS, So., 5'6

Louisville, Ky. - Murray State

 

Sauer finished the match against Austin Peay one dig shy of the 30 mark. She added 21 digs versus Tennessee State while also tallying a career-high three service aces.  She finished the week with 50 digs.

 

Setter:

Brooke Schumacher, S, Jr., 5'7

Lake In the Hills, Ill. - Jacksonville State

 

Schumacher averaged 13.0 assists per set last week as she helped the Gamecocks post a .281 hitting percentage. She dished out 55 assists in the win over Morehead State and posted 49 assists in the three-set sweep of EKU. She averaged 16.3 assists per set versus the Colonels. She assisted on all 19 kills for JSU in the first set versus EKU which saw JSU record no errors and hit .633. She also dropped to the back row and picked up 22 digs for a pair of double-doubles.

 

2009 Ohio Valley Conference Volleyball Team Notes

 

Austin Peay (8-2 OVC; 14-6 overall): Austin Peay fell to Murray State (25-15, 21-25, 16-25, 25-27) before defeating UT Martin (25-17, 23-25, 25-16, 25-23) last week. The loss to the Racers marked the Lady Govs' first road defeat of the season. Senior Stephanie Champine tallied 16 kills in the loss at Murray State and followed that up with 18 versus UT Martin to run her streak of double-digit kills to 16 matches. Junior Jessica Mollman continued her steady season-long improvement, recording 10-plus kills in both matches. She recorded 11 kills at Murray State and a season-high 12 against UTM. Junior Sarah Alisaleh registered 89 assists last week, including 52 in the match with the Skyhawks. The Lady Govs conclude a four-game road trip on Tuesday at SIU Edwardsville before returning home to host Eastern Illinois on Friday and Southeast Missouri on Saturday. The match with Eastern Illinois can be seen on OVCSports.TV.

 

Eastern Illinois (1-10 OVC; 8-16 overall): Eastern Illinois fell to Southeast Missouri (18-25, 18-25, 19-25) before snapping a nine-match losing streak with a win over SIU Edwardsville (26-28, 25-21, 25-12, 25-23). Sophomore Melaine Boykins and junior Alex Zwettler each finished the week with 23 kills. Zwettler had 31 digs for the week while Boykins chipped in 12. Eastern Illinois will travel to Austin Peay on Friday and Tennessee State on Saturday. The match with Austin Peay can be seen on OVCSports.TV

 

Eastern Kentucky ( 4-6 OVC; 4-15 overall):  Eastern Kentucky had its two match winning streak snapped as the Colonels fell to Tennessee Tech (22-25, 19-25, 17-25) and Jacksonville State (18-25, 19-25, 17-25) last week. Junior Abby O'Connor tallied 14 digs versus Tennessee Tech to move into the school's career top-10 list. Also against Tech, junior Autumn Harms had a team-high 14 kills and two block assists while junior Kelsey Rose contributed a match-best 17 digs. In the match against JSU, junior Lauren Snyder led the Colonels with 10 kills while Harms finished with five kills and hit. 308. O'Conner contributed a team-high 14 digs versus the Gamecocks. Eastern Kentucky will travel to Morehead State on Thursday and host SIU Edwardsville on Saturday.  Both matches can be seen on OVCSports.TV.

 

Jacksonville State (11-0 OVC; 18-5 overall): Jacksonville State improved to 11-0 in OVC action with wins over Morehead State (21-25, 25-20, 25-19, 21-25, 15-10) and Eastern Kentucky (25-18, 25-19, 25-17). Freshman Alyx Schulte had the best weekend of her young career as she tallied 29 kills and hit .393. In the win over Morehead State, Schulte registered a career-high 16 kills and a career-best 20 digs. Sophomore Lauren Harkins had 49 kills over the two matches, including 30 in the win over Morehead State. Junior Brooke Schumacher averaged 13.0 assists per set last week. She had 49 assists versus Eastern Kentucky, including assisting on all 19 of JSU's kills in the first set versus the Colonels. Jacksonville State will travel to UT Martin on Friday and Murray State on Saturday. The match with UT Martin can be seen on OVCSports.TV.

 

Morehead State  (8-3 OVC; 15-7 overall):  Morehead State dropped matches at Jacksonville State (25-21, 20-25, 19-25, 25-20, 10-15) and Tennessee Tech (22-25, 14-25, 25-18, 18-25) over the weekend. Senior Kristina Schoo recorded her 2,000th career dig against Jacksonville State, marking a feat that only four other players in the history of the OVC have done. With 22 more digs against Tech, Schoo now sits only 56 shy of the school career record of 2,082. Sophomore Emma Keough hit .429 and led the team with 25 kills. Freshman Annie Grueschlaeger upped her league-leading block total to 113. She had 10 total blocks at Jacksonville State. Morehead State hosts Eastern Kentucky on Thursday and SIU Edwardsville on Friday. Both matches can be seen on OVCSports.TV.

 

Murray State (5-5 OVC;  5-15 overall):  Murray State picked up wins over Austin Peay (15-25, 25-21, 25-16, 27-25) and Tennessee State (25-16, 25-23, 25-15) last week. Junior Becca Lamb led the team in kills (15) and hitting percentage (.455) against Austin Peay. She recorded her first career service aces against the Lady Govs and followed that up with one against the Tigers. Sophomore Kayleah Sauer finished the APSU match one dig shy of 30 and added 21 against Tennessee State. Sophomore Jade Guo dished out 80 assists over the two matches while junior Sara Hayden registered a career-best .750 attack percentage against TSU. Senior Cassie Cheney returned to action against Austin Peay after missing 12 matches due to injury. The Racers will host Tennessee Tech on Friday and Jacksonville State on Saturday.

 

Southeast Missouri (4-6 OVC; 8-12 overall): Southeast Missouri defeated SIU Edwardsville (25-20, 25-23, 25-19) and Eastern Illinois (25-18, 25-18, 25-19) last week. The Redhawks recorded a season-best .250 attack percentage against Eastern Illinois. Junior Emily Hughes recorded just one attack error over the two matches. She led all players with 16 kills and hit a season-best .536 versus SIUE. Senior Molly Davis had 30 digs last week and has now recorded double-digits in digs in all but one match this season. Junior setter Kelly Benacka averaged 13.33 assists per set last week, including dishing out 43 in the match with EIU. Senior Karleigh DeLong averaged 4.17 kills while junior Claire Keaton chipped in 4.33 digs per set last week. Southeast Missouri will host Southern Illinois on Tuesday before traveling to Tennessee State on Friday and Austin Peay on Saturday.

 

SIU Edwardsville ( 1-19 overall): SIU Edwardsville dropped matches to Southeast Missouri (20-25, 23-25, 19-25) and Eastern Illinois (28-26, 21-25, 25-12, 25-23) last week. Junior Karie Downing recorded 19 kills and 20 digs last week. Senior Tiffany Turner tallied 34 digs, including 26 versus Eastern Illinois. The Cougars have a busy week ahead as they have three matches including a pair of road contests. SIUE will host Austin Peay on Tuesday before traveling to Morehead State on Friday and Eastern Kentucky on Saturday. The matches with Morehead State and Eastern Kentucky can be seen on OVCSports.TV.

 

Tennessee State (2-7 OVC; 3-18 overall): Tennessee State was swept by UAB (23-25, 24-26, 17-25) before going 1-1 in OVC action last week. The Tigers defeated UT Martin (25-20, 25-19, 25-18) and fell to Murray State (16-25, 23-25, 15-25).  Sophomore Shaquita Williams tallied 30.5 points and had double-digit kills in two of the three matches last week, including 13 in the win over UT Martin. Junior Santia Sanders registered a season-best 22 digs against UAB to finish with 39 for the week. Senior Yamari Padilla-Collazo had 79 kills, 22 digs, 10 kills and 12.5 points over the three matches last week. Tennessee State will host Southeast Missouri on Friday and Eastern Illinois on Saturday.

 

Tennessee Tech (7-4  OVC; 8-12 overall):  Tennessee Tech defeated Eastern Kentucky (25-22, 25-19, 25-17) and Morehead State (25-22, 25-14, 18-25, 25-18) last week. In the win over EKU, junior Leah Meffert averaged 6.0 kills per set. She finished the week with 33 kills on a .284 attack percentage. Junior Katie Kenline recorded 15 digs versus Eastern Kentucky and followed that up with 27 in the Morehead State match. She extended her double-digit dig streak to 18 matches. Junior Melanie Culp dished out 81 assists to help the Golden Eagles hit .261 last week. Tennessee Tech will travel to Murray State on Friday and UT Martin on Saturday. The match with UTM can be seen on OVCSports.TV.

 

UT Martin (2-9 OVC; 7-14 overall): UT Martin dropped a trio of matches last week, falling to Memphis (23-25, 14-25, 25-23, 25-21, 14-16), Tennessee State (20-25, 19-25, 18-25) and Austin Peay (17-25, 25-23, 16-25, 23-25).  Junior Jenna Kragt tallied 24 kills last week, including 13 against Memphis. Sophomore Britany Wilburn registered 16 blocks over tea three matches. She recorded a career-best nine rejections against Austin Peay. Sophomore Jenna Miller dished out 115 assists on the week while also picking up 27 dig. Against Memphis, she tallied 44 assists and 11 digs for her fourth double-double of the year while also recording a career-best four blocks. UT Martin will host Jacksonville State on Friday and Tennessee Tech on Saturday. Both matches can be seen on OVCSports.TV.

 

OVC News and Notes

 

OVCSPORTS.TV:  All home matches for Austin Peay, Eastern Illinois, Tennessee Tech and UT Martin will be available on OVCSports.TV. Other select matches will also be web streamed throughout the season. Volleyball packages are available for $24.95 which includes all matches that are streamed and the OVC Championship.  For more information and to sign up visit www.ovcsports.com.

 

 

 

 

Week 9: Southland Conference Women's College Volleyball Team News

Sam Houston State owns the Southland's longest current win streak at seven matches, its best stretch since the 1994 Bearkat squad won 11 in a row. The 7-1 conference record is the best start for Sam Houston State since joining the Southland in 1986.

Sam Houston has moved into first place in the West Division and has outscored its opponents 21-7 in the previous seven matches including three sweeps.

During the Bearkats win streak, senior Anna Ferguson, leads the league with 180 kills, ranks third with 3.91 kills per set and her .331 hitting percentage ranks third.

Sophomore Carli Kolbe, the current Southland kills leader (339), ranks fourth with 173 kills. Freshman Michelle Miller leads the league with 522 assists and ranks second with 10.65 per set.

Sophomore Kim Black ranks third with 45 blocks including four solo and is seventh with 1.05 blocks per set.

During the win streak, Kolbe leads the league with nine double-doubles and has a Southland best 14 on the year.


SFA Coach Debbie Humphrey Wins 500th Career Match
In a five-set win over the visiting UTSA Roadrunners, Stephen F. Austin Coach Debbie Humphreys won her 500th career victory.

The win puts Humphreys in elite company nationally as she is one of only 35 active coaches in the nation to have 500 career wins, which is only about 10 percent of all teams in the country.

She is the first Southland coach to reach 500 wins as a member of the league and is the all-time winningest coach in the history of the Southland.


Central Arkansas Unbeaten in Conference Play
Central Arkansas is the only unbeaten team in conference play with an 8-0 mark against league opponents marking the best start by the Sugar Bears as a member of the Southland.

During conference play the Sugar Bears have outscored league members by a combined 24-7 including three sweeps.

With senior Evaree Franklin hitting a league-leading .347 and junior Chloe Smith ranked second with 328 kills, UCA leads the Southland with a .248 team hitting percentage and ranks second with 1,063 kills.

Central Arkansas leads the Southland with 12.71 assists per set due in large part to senior Robyn Smith's league-high 802 assists thus far this season. 


Robyn Smith on Verge of Southland Record
Central Arkansas senior Robyn Smith is the current league leader in assists with 802 and in per set at 11.30.

Smith has led the Southland in assists in each of the last two seasons with 1,387 (12.50) in 2007 and 1,255 (11.11) in 2008, receiving setter of the year honors last season.

If Smith continues on her current pace she will be the first player in Southland history to lead the league in assists for three consecutive seasons. 


Carli Kolbe Leads League with 14 Double-doubles
Sam Houston State sophomore Carli Kolbe leads the Southland with 14 double-doubles. The league's current kills leader (322), Kolbe has recorded a double-double against 13 different opponents this season with two coming against Lamar in conference play. In those 14 matches, Kolbe has 226 kills and 171 digs for a 16.14 kills and 12.21 digs average. Kolbe's 28 kills vs. Texas State are the most by a player in a conference match this season.


Sarah Cartie Nearing 4,000 Career Assists
McNeese State senior Sarah Cartie needs 14 assists to become the third player in Cowgirl history to cross the 4,000 career assists barrier.

Cartie currently ranks third in McNeese history with 3,986. She has 655 assists thus far this season and ranks second in the Southland with 9.78 assists per set. 


Adrianne Meengs Records Second Triple-Double
Lamar senior Adrianne Meengs recorded her second triple-double of the season and seventh of her career against Nicholls in a 3-2 win October 14.

Meengs has posted both of the Southland's triple-doubles this season and is one of seven players in NCAA Division I with two triple-doubles this year.

 

 

Week 9: Ohio State Buckeyes Women's College Volleyball Team News

Week 9: Ohio State Buckeyes Women's College Volleyball Team News

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio State (15-6 overall, 3-5 Big Ten, tied for sixth) women's volleyball team returns to St. John Arena to host Purdue (11-8, 3-5, tied for sixth) and Indiana (14-8, 3-5, tied for sixth). The Buckeyes face the Boilermakers Friday and the Hoosiers Saturday in 7 p.m. matches. Last week, Ohio State defeated Michigan State, 3-1 (25-21, 27-25, 16-25, 25-21) and lost to 11th-ranked Michigan, 1-3 (26-24, 23-25, 17-25, 22-25) in road matches.

ALUMNI WEEKEND FOR WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Women's volleyball will host an alumni weekend for former players. Returning players will be honored during Saturday's match.

A LOOK AT OHIO STATE
Geoff Carlston is the head coach of the Buckeyes. Ohio State is 15-6 overall and is 3-5 in the Big Ten. Last week, the Buckeyes defeated Michigan State, 3-1 (25-21, 27-25, 16-25, 25-21) and lost to 11th-ranked Michigan, 1-3 (26-24, 23-25, 17-25, 22-25) in road matches. Katie Dull has a team-high 4.53 points and 3.91 kills per set average. Kristen Dozier ranks second in points (2.95) and kills (2.46) per set. Emily Danks is hitting a team-high .307 with Dozier second at .296. At setter, Amanda Peterson is averaging 9.18 assists per set with Ashley Hughes at 8.73 and Betsy Hone at 8.71. Peterson has a team-high .49 aces per set with 24. Danks ranks second at .41 with 30. Defensively, Chelsea Noble leads the squad with a 3.37 digs per set average. Dull ranks second at 2.32. At the net, Dozier has a .79 blocks per set average to lead the team. She has nine solos and 51 assists. Danks is second at .61 with four solos and 41 assists. Dull is third at .58 with 13 solos and 31 assist blocks. Ohio State is hitting .267 and is averaging 16.64 points, 13.09 kills and 12.99 assists per set. The Buckeyes average 1.58 aces, 13.08 digs and 1.96 blocks per set. Opponents are hitting .176 and average 13.83 points, 10.84 kills and 9.90 assists per set. Buckeye opponents average 1.17 aces, 11.51 digs and 1.82 blocks per set.

A LOOK AT PURDUE
Dave Shondell is the head coach for the Boilermakers. Purdue has an 11-8 overall record and is 3-5 in the Big Ten. Last week in home matches the Boilermakers defeated Wisconsin 3-1 (16-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-21) and Iowa, 3-0 (25-23, 25-12, 25-22). Carrie Gurnell leads the team in points per set at 3.87. Ariel Turner ranks second at 2.93. Gurnell is the team leader in kills at 3.43 per set with Turner second at 2.58. Leading the team in attack percentage at .380 is Tiffany Fisher. Jaclyn Hart ranks second at .298. At setter, Hart is averaging 10.31 assists per set. Blair Bashen is the team leader at .24 aces per set with 18. Turner (8 aces) and Lisa Pierce (5 aces) are tied for second at .11 per set. Defensively, Blair Bashen has a team-high 3.84 digs per set average. Ranking second at 2.33 is Emily Ehlers. At the net, Gurnell leads the team with .61 blocks per set with 14 solos and 32 assists. Hart ranks second at .53 with six solos and 34 assists. Purdue has a .227 attack percentage and averages 16.12 points, 13.11 kills and 12.03 assists per set. The Boilermakers average .80 aces, 13.22 digs and 2.21 blocks per set. Purdue opponents are hitting .178 and average 14.55 points, 11.87 kills and 11.01 assists per set. Opponents average .79 aces, 11.93 digs and 1.89 blocks per set.

PURDUE-OHIO STATE SERIES 
Ohio State has a 38-34 lead in the series with Purdue. In Columbus, the Buckeyes are 18-11 and 7-6 in neutral site matches. OSU trails 13-17 in matches played at Purdue. The Boilermakers have won the last four matches in the series. Last season, Purdue won 3-1 (20-25, 25-21, 25-22, 25-18) in Columbus and 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-18) in West Lafayette.

A LOOK AT INDIANA
Sherry Dunbar is the head coach for the Hoosiers. Indiana has a 14-8 overall record and is 3-5 in the Big Ten Conference. Last week the Hoosiers defeated Iowa, 3-0 (25-23, 25-14, 25-18) and lost to Wisconsin, 2-3 (20-25, 25-15, 22-25, 25-17, 11-15) in home matches. Ashley Benson leads the team in points (4.32) and kills (3.46) per set. Jordan Haverly ranks second in points (3.97) and kills (3.44). Benson has a team-high .376 attack percentage withTaylor Wittmer second at .327. At setter, Mary Chaudoin leads the squad with a 7.24 assists per set average. Whiteny Grando ranks second at 5.77.Laura Matula has a team-high .29 aces per set average with 24 aces. Caitlin Cox ranks second at .27 with 22. Defensively, Cox leads the team in digs per set with a 3.88 average. Haverly ranks second at 2.13. At the net, Wittmer has a team-high 1.18 blocks per set average. She has four solos and 67 assists. Benson ranks second at 1.15 with 11 solos and 80 assist blocks. Indiana is hitting .235 and averages 17.23 points, 13.38 kills and 12.45 assists per set. The Hoosiers average 1.29 aces, 13.48 digs and 2.57 blocks per set. Opponents are hitting .190 and average 14.60 points, 11.65 kills and 10.75 assists per set. Indiana opponents average 1.04 aces, 13.24 digs and 1.90 blocks per set.

INDIANA-OHIO STATE SERIES 
Ohio State leads the series, 39-25, with Indiana. The Buckeyes are 22-8 in matches played in Columbus and 4-2 in neutral site matches. Indiana has a 15-13 margin in matches played in Bloomington. The Hoosiers have a two-match winning streak with 3-1 wins in Bloomington (22-25, 25-15, 25-18, 29-27) and Columbus (14-25, 25-23, 25-20, 25-21) last season.

DULL HAS A MATCH-HIGH 22 POINTS AT MICHIGAN STATE
Katie Dull collected a match-high 22 points at Michigan State with 19 kills, one ace serve, a solo block and two assist blocks. She added nine digs in the contest. At Michigan, Dull recorded 12.5 points with 11 kills and three assists blocks. She posted a double-double in the match with 10 digs. Dull has had double-figure kills in her last 19 matches and has six double-doubles (kills-digs) this season. A starter in all 21 matches, she leads the team in points (4.53) and kills (3.91) per set. Dull averages .25 aces, 2.32 digs and .58 blocks per set while hitting .262.

DANKS RECORDS A CAREER-HIGH FIVE ASSIST BLOCKS AT MICHIGAN
Emily Danks recorded a career-high five assist blocks in the Michigan match. She had 13.5 points in the match with eight kills (.438), three ace serves and five assist blocks. Danks added four digs against the Wolverines. At Michigan State, she posted 12.5 points with nine kills, two ace serves, three block assists and five digs. Danks has started 18 matches this season and played in all 21. She is averaging 2.84 points, 2.11 kills, .41 aces, .64 digs and .61 blocks per set.

DOZIER POSTS A MATCH-HIGH SIX BLOCKS AT MICHIGAN
Kristen Dozier recorded a solo and five assist blocks at Michigan for a match-high six total blocks. She added six kills and a dig for 9.5 points against the Wolverines. At Michigan State, Dozier had seven points in the match with six kills and two assist blocks. For the season, she is the team leader in blocks per set with a .79 average with nine solos and 51 assists. Dozier is averaging 2.95 points and 2.56 kills per set in starting all 21 matches this season.

BARHORST, A STARTER IN 19 MATCHES 
Kelli Barhorst has started in all 19 matches she has played in this season. At Michigan State last week, she had 7.5 points with four kills, one ace serve, a solo block and three assist blocks. Barhorst had 4.5 points at Michigan with three kills and three assist blocks. She had four digs at Michigan and one at Michigan State. Barhorst is averaging 2.20 points, 1.70 kills, .61 digs and .66 blocks per set.

SZERSZEN COMES OFF THE BENCH
Anna Szerszen, after four consecutive starts, returned to a coming off the bench role for the Buckeyes. She had four points (four kills), while playing in two sets against Michigan State. Szerszen had seven points at Michigan with six kills, an ace serve and four digs. Playing in all 21 matches this season, she is averaging 2.12 points, 1.27 kills, .19 aces, .55 digs and .27 blocks per set.

HUGHES HAS A SEASON-HIGH SIX KILLS AT MICHIGAN STATE
Ashley Hughes had a season-high six kills in the Michigan State match. She added one ace serve for seven points in the match and had 37 assists. At Michigan, Hughes had 29 assists and added two kills, a solo block and one assist block. Hughes has started the last five matches at setter and has six starts on the season in the 10 matches she has played in. She is averaging 8.73 assists, .90 points, .69 kills, 1.65 digs and .27 blocks per set.

NOBLE LEADS OSU IN DIGS PER SET AT 3.79
Chelsea Noble has a team-leading 3.79 digs per set average this season. She has a team-high 292 digs. Last week at Michigan State, Noble had a co-match-high 16 digs and added three assists. She handled 31 of 32 serve reception attempts. Noble had a team-high 12 digs at Michigan and added two assists. She handled 22 of 24 serve reception attempts. A starter at libero in all 21 matches, Noble is averaging 3.79 digs, .16 aces and has a team-high .958 serve reception percentage handling 635 of 663 attempts.

MIGNIN HAS HER FIRST STARTS AS A DEFENSIVE SPECIALIST
Sarah Mignin had her first starts of the season last weekend against Michigan State and Michigan. She previously had two starts in 2008. Mignin posted seven digs, one ace serve and handled 22 of 23 serve reception attempts at Michigan State. She posted a season-high 10 digs at Michigan and handled 21 of 23 serve reception attempts. Mignin has played in 18 matches this season and is averaging 1.51 digs per set. She has a .949 serve reception percentage handling 187 of 197 attempts.

OHIO STATE IN THE BIG TEN STATISTICS
In Big Ten Conference only statistics, Katie Dull ranks fourth in points per set at 4.42. She ranks second in kills per set at 3.97. At setter, Ashley Hughesranks eighth in assists per set at 9.39. Emily Danks is third in aces per set at .37. Chelsea Noble, with a 3.90 digs per set average, ranks fourth.

In team statistics, the Buckeyes rank fourth in aces per set at 1.03. OSU is sixth in kills at 12.80 and is eighth in digs at 12.87 per set. Ohio State ranks fourth in attack percentage at .216, is eighth in assists at 11.67 and is 10th in blocks at 1.63. The Buckeyes rank seventh in opponent attack percentage at .244.

In Big Ten statistics for all matches, Katie Dull ranks fourth in points per set at 4.53 and in kills at 3.91. Amanda Peterson, in aces per set, ranks second at .52 and is 10th in assists at 9.18 per set. Emily Danks ranks fifth in aces per set at .41 while Chelsea Noble is ninth in digs per set at 3.79.

In all matches, Ohio State ranks second in aces per set at 1.58 and is second in attack percentage at .267. The Buckeyes are ninth in kills (13.09) and assists (11.99). OSU is ninth in blocks (1.96) and eighth in digs (13.08) per set. OSU ranks sixth in opponent attack percentage at .176.

OHIO STATE IN THE NCAA STATISTICS
In the current NCAA statistics release, Katie Dull ranks 46th in points (4.53) and 55th in kills (3.91) per set. Emily Danks is 54th in aces per set at .41. In digs per set, Chelsea Noble ranks 186th at 3.79. Danks ranks 162nd in attack percentage at .307 with Kristen Dozier at 203rd at .296 and Danks, 229th at .291.

In team statistics, Ohio State ranks 14th nationally in attack percentage at .267. The Buckeyes are 54th in aces per set at 1.58. OSU ranks 81st in kills (13.09), 97th in assists (11.99), 146th in blocks (1.96) and 243rd in digs (13.08) per set.

EMILY DANKS NAMED BIG TEN CO-FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK (Sept. 21)
Ohio State's outside hitter Emily Danks has been named the Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week (with Purdue's Ariel Turner). Danks was named to the all-tournament team at the Sports Imports Classic, hitting .592 and averaging 3.1 kills per set as the Buckeyes went 3-0 over the weekend with wins against Bowling Green (25-19, 25-20, 25-13), Cleveland State (24-26, 25-20, 25-11, 25-15) and Xavier (27-25, 25-18, 25-6). The freshman opened the tournament by hitting a career high .714 against Bowling Green with 10 kills in 14 attempts. She also added an ace serve, an assist block and a dig. The following day against Cleveland State, she tallied 14 kills on .565 hitting with another ace and a pair of blocks (one solo, one assist) before adding on seven kills on .500 hitting with four digs and two assist blocks in the tournament finale vs. Xavier.

OHIO STATE HAS THREE MATCHES ON THE BIG TEN NETWORK
Ohio State will have three Big Ten matches telecast live on the Big Ten Network this season. Both Penn State matches and OSU's home match with Illinois will be broadcast. The Buckeyes hosted Penn State Oct. 7 and return the trip to Penn State at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28. The Buckeyes will host Illinois at 7 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14 in St. John Arena in a match that will be broadcast at 8 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 15.

HEAD COACH GEOFF CARLSTON
Geoff Carlston is in his second season at Ohio State. He came to Ohio State after spending five years as head coach of Ohio University where he built an outstanding program. His squads played in five NCAA tournaments, reaching regional play in 2005. At Ohio, Carlston guided the Bobcats to five-consecutive Mid American Conference championships with an overall record of 144-22. He had a MAC conference record of 78-2 and was 14-1 in the conference tournament, winning four of five. 

Carlston was named the MAC Coach of the Year four times and was twice named the Mideast Region Coach of the Year.

He began collegiate coaching with three years at Concordia-St. Paul (Minn.) where he posted a 49-42 record. His career record is 219-87.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Ohio State will play at top-ranked Penn State (20-0, 8-0, 1st) Wednesday in a match that will be carried live by the Big Ten Network at 7 p.m. The Buckeyes return home for a 7 p.m. Saturday contest against sixth-ranked Minnesota (15-5, 6-2, tied for 2nd).

***OhioStateBuckeyes.com***

Week 9: Oregon State Women's College Volleyball Team News

LOOKING AHEAD — The Oregon State Beavers (11-8, 2-5 Pac-10) head to Los Angeles to first face the No. 18 USC Women of Troy (13-6, 2-5 Pac-10) on Friday at 6:00 p.m. before taking on the No. 13 UCLA Bruins (14-6, 4-3 Pac-10) on Saturday at 7:00 p.m.

 

TRACKING THE BEAVS — Full results from this weekend’s matches can be found through the newly redesigned osubeavers.com. Gametracker will be available for all three matches and can be found by clicking on the ‘Gametracker’ link located on the volleyball schedule page. Free audio and video will be available for Saturday’s match against UCLA at UCLABruins.com.

 

TWITTER AND BLOGS — Follow the Oregon State volleyball program this season on Twitter. “Beavsvolleyball” provides updates throughout matches and the week. And follow the team on road trips through daily blogs on osubeavers.com, where different players will give their insight on the team and what goes on when they travel.

 

MATCH 20: NO. 18 USC (13-6, 2-5 PAC-10) — Friday, Oct. 23 (6:00 p.m.): Oregon State is 8-38 all-time against the Women of Troy. The two teams split last season, both winning at home and both matches going to five sets.

 

The Women of Troy fell a pair of spots in this week’s AVCA Coaches Top 25 Poll after falling in both matches in Washington. USC was swept by Washington State on Friday before battling to a five-set loss at No. 4 Washington. Sophomore Alex Jupiter paces the Women of Troy offense with 289 kills (4.38 kps) and is second on the team for digs 176 digs (2.67 dps). She also individually leads the Pac-10 for kills (5.04 kps) in conference play only. Senior libero Alli Hillgren leads the defense with 266 digs (4.16 dps), while sophomore middle blocker Lauren Williams has 50 blocks on the season (0.82 bps). Mick Haley is in his ninth season as head coach with a 217-50 overall program record.

 

MATCH 21: NO. 13 UCLA (14-6, 4-3 PAC-10) — Saturday, Oct. 24 (7:00 p.m.): Oregon State is 3-43 all-time against UCLA. The Bruins have won the last three with the last Beaver win being October 12, 2007 in Westwood.

 

UCLA fell one spot this week in the AVCA Coaches Top 25 Poll after splitting in Washington last weekend. The Bruins fell in four to No. 4 Washington but rebounded with a dominating sweep of Washington State. Junior outside hitter Dicey McGraw currently leads the team with 218 kills (3.30 kps), while defensively sophomore libero Lainey Gera has 314 digs (4.42 dps). Sophomore middle blocker Amanda Gil leads not only the conference in blocks but also the nation with 103 (1.58 bps), averaging 1.83 blocks per set in Pac-10 play alone. Andy Banachowski is in this 43rd year as head coach with a 1096-298 overall career record.

 

REWIND TO LAST WEEK — Oregon State was unable to handle the Bay Area schools last weekend, taking a set from No. 5 Stanford but losing in three to No. 14 California. Friday evening against the Cardinal was Spike Out Cancer night, drawing the third largest crowd (2,928) in legendary Gill Coliseum in school history. Approximately $1,000 was donated to the Corvallis Clinic’s Project H.E.R.

 

Senior Rachel Rourke racked up 37 total kills on the weekend, while junior Jill Sawatzkyhad a strong match against the Cardinal with her sixth double-double of the season with 20 kills and 15 digs. Senior Lexie Rathgeber had a solid match on both sides of the ball against California with nine kills and a season-high tying seven blocks.

 

ODDS & ENDS — Oregon State’s 76 kills is the most to date in a single match in the conference. Senior Rachel Rourke currently has scored the most points in a single match in the Pac-10 with 34.0 against Oregon.

 

It is believed that this is the first season that Oregon State has defeated three ranked opponents since 1995.

 

Oregon State is 3-2 against ranked opponents this season, defeating No. 24 Colorado State, No. 6 Michigan and No. 7 Oregon.

 

The Beavers snapped a six-match series winning streak by Oregon on Friday, Oct. 2, defeating the seventh-ranked Ducks in five. Oregon State snapped another six-match series winning streak on Oct. 10, defeating Arizona State in Tempe in five.

 

The Civil War match on Friday, Oct. 2, set a new school record for attendance with 3,576 in legendary Gill Coliseum. The previous record of 3,547 was set at the last Civil War in 2008.

 

Oregon State snapped Michigan’s 52-match non-conference regular season winning streak with the sweep on Saturday, Sept. 19. The win also ended the Wolverines’ perfect 13-0 season starts that date back to the 2005 season.

 

The win over sixth-ranked Michigan marks the first win over a top 10 opponent since No. 4 USC in 2008 on October 3 at home, and the first win on the road since No. 4 UCLA on October 12, 2007. It is believed that this win is over the highest ranked non-conference opponent on the road in school history.

 

The Beavers are currently 7-2 in three-set matches and 5-1 on the road.

 

Senior Rachel Rourke was the first ‘everyday champion’ of the 2009-10 school year. Rourke, a sociology major and the volleyball program’s first ever All-American, was on the KJOE 1240 AM Joe Beaver Show with hosts Mike Parker and Jon Warren. And she was featured on the first episode of Beavers All Access for the school year, while also being interviewed by KPAM 860 AM out of Portland. Senior Lexie Rathgeber is currently the ‘everyday champion’ the week of Sept. 28-Oct. 2.

 

The Beavers are a perfect 5-0 in their season openers under head coach Taras Liskevych. The team has won its season opener in seven of the last eight years.

 

In home openers, Oregon State has won its last three, defeating Seattle this season, Wyoming last season and Washington State in 2007.

 

Senior Rachel Rourke earned three All-Tournament nods this season, including one Most Valuable Player honor at the Michigan ADIDAS Invitational, and junior Jill Sawatzky was named to two All-Tournament teams with Most Valuable Player honors at the Active Ankle Challenge.

 

PAC-10 PLAYER OF THE WEEK — Senior Rachel Rourke was named the Pac-10 Player of the Week for Sept. 15-21. It marks the second time in her career that she’s received the honor. And she is the eighth player in school history to earn it, 12th overall school honor.

 

NATIONAL ATTENTION — The Beavers received 15 votes in this week’s top 25 poll, good to tie for 33rd. The Beavers were tied for 34th last week with 14 votes. The Beavers reached as high as 24th in the 2008 season after not being ranked in the top 25 since 1996.

 

START THE COUNTDOWN — Senior Rachel Rourke is on track to breaking the school record in kills, attacks and possibly total points. She currently boasts 1,715 career kills - second on the list - and is just 48 from the school record. As a freshman she racked up 387 kills, 505 as a sophomore and 497 as a junior.

 

FACING OFF AGAINST THE NATION — Two Oregon State players are ranked in the top 50 in the nation for their stats in blocks, kills and points, as of October 19. Junior Kiersten Sambrailo is the 48th best blocker in the country, averaging 1.20 blocks per set, while senior Rachel Rourke is 10th for kills per set (4.59) and sixth for points per set (5.25 pps). As a team, Oregon State is sixth for blocks (2.90).

 

IT’S FINALLY OFFICIAL — The NCAA released its first official RPI on October 12 with the Oregon State volleyball team ranked 28th. In the RPI released on October 19, the Beavers dropped to 35th. All 10 conference teams are in the top 66 with Washington leading the way at No. 5. Washington State and Arizona State trail the Beavers. In the Rich Kern Power Index (RKPI), the Beavers are ranked 33rd. The Beavers finished the 2008 season ranked 82nd.

 

ATTENDANCE AVERAGE — The Beavers are currently averaging 1,596 on the season, unofficially 21st in the country. The team is currently only behind Stanford, UCLA and Washington, and the Civil War ranks 51st in single-match attendance. Oregon State finished the 2008 season 36th in the country for attendance, averaging 1,037 per match. The Beavers were fifth in the conference behind Stanford, Washington, USC and Oregon. The Civil War in Corvallis ranked the 86th highest single-match attendance of the season.

 

SPIKE OUT CANCER — The Beavers are proud to host the second annual Spike Out Cancer, in conjunction with Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The event will take place on Friday, Oct. 16, against the Stanford Cardinal in legendary Gill Coliseum at 7:00 p.m. Admission is only $1, and mini pink volleyballs are available for purchase for $12 with part of the proceeds going to the Corvallis Clinic. Overall, approximately $1,000 was donated to the Corvallis Clinic’s Project H.E.R.

 

GET YOUR TICKETS — Season tickets are on sale now for the 2009 Oregon State volleyball season. The adult price is $63 and the youth/senior price is $40 for all 12 home matches, including all of the tough Pac-10 matches. Tickets can be purchased by calling 1-800-GOBEAVS or by visiting osubeavers.com.

 

Single-match tickets are also available for purchase. The cost is $7 for adults, $5 for children and seniors and $2 each for groups of 20 or more.

 

CAN’T MAKE IT TO A MATCH? — Oregon State will be televised once this season on the road. The Civil War in Eugene will air live nationally on FSN on Friday, Oct. 30, at 7:00 p.m., via tape delay.

 

All home matches will be webcast for free through Beaver Nation Online (BNO), the audio/visual service of osubeavers.com.

 

BRING OUT THE WELCOME WAGON — The Beavers welcome six freshmen to the 2009 roster, including athletic legacies Dianni Freeman and Megan McBride. Freeman’s father, Shawn, played basketball at Oregon State in 1987-88, while McBride’s father, Kevin, played football for the Beavers for a pair of seasons. Adding to the mix is Camille Saxton, whose parents Don and Mylène both played on the Canadian National Team. Rounding out the freshmen are Alyssa O’Neil, Ashley Eneliko and Tami Brown, who is from Eugene and was highly recruited for basketball, being named a McDonalds All-American nominee as a senior in high school.

 

OREGON STATE VS. RANKED OPPONENTS — Oregon State will face eight opponents this season ranked in the AVCA Coaches Division I Top 25 Preseason Poll with its first test coming in the ASICS Classic against No. 24 Colorado State. The Pac-10 boasts six teams, Stanford, USC, California, UCLA, Washington and Oregon, in the top 25 with all six in the top 14. Other top teams the Beavers will face this season are Pepperdine, Wisconsin, Cal Poly and Arizona, who fell just outside the top 25 with substantial votes.

 

PAC-10 PRESEASON POLL — The Beavers were voted to finish ninth in the Pac-10 Preseason Volleyball Poll with 31 total points ahead of Washington State. Washington was voted to finish first receiving nine first place votes and 90 total points.

 

LOOKING BACK AT THE LAST SEASON — The 2008 season started with high hopes as the Beavers got off to their best start since 1996. Oregon State easily cruised through its first five matches, sweeping the first four. After a pair of tough losses to No. 17 Colorado State and Pepperdine in the ASICS Classic, the team recovered with a six-match winning streak, defeating tough opponent, No. 13 Wisconsin, on the road. The stretch earned the program individual and team accolades beginning with junior Rachel Rourke becoming 11th honoree in school history to earn Pac-10 Player of the Week honors for her three 20-plus kill matches in the Marquette Cheese Bowl. Additionally, the Beavers received votes in the top 25 for the first time during the season.

 

The season continued to progress in successful fashion with a huge upset over No. 4 USC in Oregon State’s conference home opener, leading to the program’s first top 25 ranking since 1996. Oregon State climbed to as high as No. 24 during the season. The Beavers nearly stunned No. 5 UCLA the following evening, falling to the Bruins in a five-set heartbreaker. The rise of the program’s talent boosted home attendance, setting a new school record against No. 8 Oregon in the second Civil War match of the season with 3,547 spilling into legendary Gill Coliseum.

 

But the Beavers didn’t stop as they picked up a win on the road over Washington State before hosting Arizona for Spike Out Cancer Night on October 24. The team shut down the Wildcat attack to tally the sweep. However, despite strong showings at No. 12 USC and Arizona State and at home against Washington State, Oregon State was unable to muster another win, falling just three matches shy of its goal of its first NCAA berth since 2001.

 

That didn’t stop Rourke from accumulating a handful of firsts for the program. The 6-foot-5 outside hitter from Queensland, Australia first earned the program’s inaugural All-Pacific Region selection, being named to the honorable mention squad. She then went on to earn 2008 Under Armour/Volleyball Magazine All-America Honorable Mention accolades. She added these two honors to her All-Pac-10 First Team recognition, the first for Oregon State since 2000.

 

60TH ANNIVERSARY OF LEGENDARY GILL COLISEUM — Legendary Gill Coliseum is the home to Oregon State’s volleyball, men’s and women’s basketball, gymnastics and wrestling teams. The arena seats 10,400 for competitions on Ralph Miller Court. The building which opened in the winter of 1949-50 has seen several refurbishment projects in recent years and is on the docket for a major renovation. Gill has seen over 3,000 victories, 150+ All-Americans and more than 25 individual and team titles. The Oregon State Athletic Department is celebrating the 60th anniversary of legendary Gill Coliseum.

 

WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE BEAVERS — Oregon State stays on the road next week, but it doesn’t head far as it travels south to No. 12 Oregon. The match is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. and will be televised by FSN via tape delay.

 

Support Oregon State University Athletics by making your tax deductible donation to the Beaver Athletic Student Fund.  For more information follow this link or call 541-737-2370. You can make an “everyday champion.”  Follow Beaver Athletics on twitter.

 

 

Week 9: Pac-10 Women's College Volleyball News

The Conference race reaches the halfway point this weekend with WASHINGTON looking to keep its lead in the standings as it travels across the state to square off against rival WASHINGTON STATE... For the sixth straight week at least seven Pac-10 teams are ranked among the AVCA Top 25 - No. 4 WASHINGTON, No. 6 STANFORD, No. 12 OREGON, No. 13 UCLA, No. 15 CALIFORNIA, No. 16 ARIZONA, and No. 18 USC. Also receiving votes were WASHINGTON STATE (No. 26) and OREGON STATE (tNo. 33)... This week’s FSN televised match features No. 12 Oregon at No. 13 UCLA. Pac-10 teams are making the most of the television exposure as three of five matches televised by FSN this season have gone five sets.

PAC-10 NOTES 

• Around the League... ARIZONA snapped a 17-match conference road losing streak with a four-set win at rival Arizona State. JR OH Whitney Dosty paced the Wildcats with 19 kills, hitting .467, and adding 10 digs. During Arizona’s three-match win streak, Dosty has tallied 44 kills (3.67 kps). JR S Paige Weber has started all 80 matches during her career and has played all 278 sets.. ARIZONA STATE will look to snap a six-match losing streak. If it wins the first set, there’s a good chance the Sun Devils could snap that streak as they are 9-0 this season after winning the first set... CALIFORNIA’s three-set sweep over Oregon State gave coach Rich Feller his 500th career victory... OREGON SR MB Neticia Enesi hit a combined .558 with 32 kills (4.00 kps) and just three errors in wins over No. 14 California (hit .667) and No. 5 Stanford (hit .514) . The win over Stanford was the first for the Ducks since 1989, and the third ever.... Despite dropping six of seven sets in a pair of losses to the Bay Area schools, OREGON STATE hung tough, averaging 22.1 points in the seven sets. With 1,715 kills, SR OH Rachel Rourke needs 48 kills to set the OSU career mark.... STANFORD JR L Gabi Ailes tallied 59 digs (6.56 dps) in two matches last weekend, including a school-record 32 digs at Oregon. Ailes has played in 309 consecutive sets - every possible set during her career. JR OH Cassidy Lichtman recorded her sixth triple-double of the season with 17 kills, assists and digs at Oregon. She leads the team with 12 double-doubles in 17 matches.... UCLA SO MB Amanda Gil tallied 14 blocks (2.00 bps) in a split with the Washington schools. Gil leads the nation in blocks, averaging 1.83 bps, and tops the Pac-10 by nearly half a block over Cassie Robbins of Washington State  (1.36 bps).... USC has lost four in a row for the first time since dropping five straight in 1990. SO OH Alex Jupiter posted 45 kills (5.63 kps) in a pair of losses to the Washington schools. She’s posted a double-double in four of the last five matches.. WASHINGTON JR OH Kindra Carlson tallied 36 kills (4.00 kps), 18 in each win over UCLA and USC, as well as 29 digs (3.22 dps). SR L Tamari Miyashiro has played every set possible during her Husky career - 401 sets... WASHINGTON STATE knocked off No. 16 USC for its third win over a ranked opponent this season. The win pushed the Cougars’ record to 4-4 in Pac-10 play. WSU won a total of four matches in Pac-10 play the past two seasons combined. SO OH Meagan Ganzer continues to have the hot hand for the Cougars as she’s led the team in kills in six of the last seven matches, posting 93 kills (3.72 kps).

Week 9: Eastern Washington Women's College Volleyball News

EWU Volleyball - Eagles Back Home for Pair of Matches

In the midst of a road-filled month-long stretch, Eastern Washington plays only two home matches of that span this weekend

Notes Package

The Eastern Washington University volleyball team commences the second half of its Big Sky Conference slate this weekend in a three-way tie for first place in the league standings with Portland State and Northern Colorado. All three teams are 6-2 in Big Sky play, while the Eagles are 12-7 overall.

To start off this portion of the schedule, Eastern Washington will play host to Weber State and Idaho State at 7 p.m. on Friday (Oct. 23) and Saturday (Oct. 24), respectively. Over the weekend, the Eagles fell to Northern Arizona 3-2 before knocking off UNC 3-1 to create that three-way stalemate at the top of the standings.

There was a pair of statistical rarities in those two matches.

Chenoa Coviare had 12 blocks in the NAU contest, the most by any Eagle since Keva Sonderen had that total against Weber State on Nov. 9, 2002.

Then Ashley Hamilton had the first triple-double by an Eagle in seven years, as that incredible feat was last accomplished on Sept. 14, 2002, by Janelle Ruen against George Washington in Boise, Idaho.  Hamilton had 43 assists to go with 11 kills and 14 digs. She also hit at an outstanding .526 clip (11-1-19).

Weber State (5-15, 3-5 BSC) will ride a two-match winning streak into Friday's match, most recently beating Seattle University 3-0 and Idaho State 3-1. The Eagles swept the Wildcats 3-0 in the team's meeting on the WSU campus on Sept. 26, their fifth-straight win over Weber State.

Idaho State (9-11, 3-5 BSC) went 1-2 last week, defeating Seattle 3-0 and falling to WSU as well as Utah Valley in five. The Eagles took a 3-2 thriller that went down the wire (fifth set was 15-13) in Pocatello, Idaho, on Sept. 25. That win was the second-consecutive for Eastern against the Bengals.

 

Dig Deep for Pink!                                                                                                                    

The Eagles are playing host to a "Dig Deep for Pink" evening on Friday (Oct. 23) in the contest versus Weber State. At the match, there will be information on breast cancer and what can be done to help combat it.

Also, players, families and friends, as well as those involved with EWU's Health, Wellness & Prevention Services office, have been raising money on campus and will continue to do so leading up to Friday evening.

The money that is raised will be presented to the Susan G. Komen foundation.

 

Hamilton has 1st Triple-Double in 7 Years   

Senior setter Ashley Hamilton had an outstanding match on Saturday (Oct. 17) in helping the Eagles to a 3-1 road win over Northern Colorado, who had entered the match in sole possession of first place and ended it tied for the top spot with the Eagles as well as Portland State.

In that contest, she recorded the first triple-double accomplished by an Eagle in seven years. Hamilton had 43 assists, 11 kills and 14 digs in the contest. The Alpine, Utah, native also hit at a very high percentage with just one attack error in 19 attempts, .526 (11-1-19).

Janelle Ruen had Eastern's last triple-double, when she contributed 10 kills, 10 assists and 14 digs to a 3-0 win over George Washington on Sept. 14, 2002, in Boise, Idaho.

In fact, Hamilton had an impressive week, hitting at a .577 clip (16-1-26) to go with 9.67 assists, 2.22 digs and 0.67 blocks per set in Eastern's two matches against the Bears and Northern Arizona.

 

Hills in Second on Career Kills List                                

Senior outside hitter Hayley Hills has climbed into the second spot on Eastern Washington's career kills list, as she now has 1,304. Her total only trails the school record of 1,860, set by Kim Exner (1995-98).

Hills is also currently second in school history in kills per set, embedded into that slot with a 3.88 average. Holding the record is Exner (4.43), while in third is Juli Argotow (3.42).

Hills earned her 1,000th kill in a 3-1 win at Sacramento State on Nov. 21 of last year. That gained her entry to the 1,000-kill club, becoming the eighth Eagle in history to reach that pinnacle.

Following her impressive performance in wins over Montana and Montana State on Sept. 18 and 19, respectively, Hills was named the Big Sky Conference Player of the Week.

Those two matches, she averaged 4.71 kills and 3.14 digs per set in helping the Eagles to 3-1 and 3-0 respective wins over the Grizzlies and Bobcats.

In the Montana State match, she had 21 kills, especially impressive considering the match went just three sets. It is tied for the 13th-most by a Big Sky player in a match of any length so far this year and is the highest total attained in a three-set contest.

Hills also earned POW honors on four occasions a year ago.

 

Big Sky Championship in Cheney                                

After claiming the Big Sky Conference's regular-season title in 2008, the Eagles earned the right to play host to the 2009 Tournament.

The semifinals will take place at 5 and 7 p.m. on Nov. 27, while the title contest will take place at 7 the following evening.

The winner of that match will earn the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament, which starts the following weekend.

 

Petroni Rides 33-Digs to POW Honors              

After tallying 57 career digs leading into the final week of September, sophomore liberoLindsey Petroni nearly doubled that total with 47 in two matches in helping the Eagles to 3-1 wins over Idaho and Sacramento State on Sept. 30 and Oct. 2, respectively.

She was then rewarded for her outstanding performances with Big Sky Conference Co-Player of the Week accolades. In doing so, Petroni became the first defensive-focused player in Eastern Washington history to ever earn the award.

Most notably, she tallied 33 digs in the Idaho contest, a total that tied for the seventh-highest total in school history. In fact, it tied for the second-most in school annals in a match less than five sets long. That feat earned her the 17th spot in Eastern's 30-dig club.

Her dig total in that match is also tied for the fifth-most by any NCAA Division I player this year in a contest four sets or fewer (most recent national statistics are through matches played on Oct. 12). It is also the most by any Big Sky player so far in 2009 in a match that did not go the maximum five sets and just one off the highest five-set sum.

The Spokane, Wash., native then followed that up with a solid 14-dig performance in the Big Sky win over the Hornets two days later. For the week, Petroni averaged 5.88 digs per set. She also contributed seven assists and two service aces in the two matches.

Incredibly, every single one of her 57 career digs leading into the UI match had come away from home.

Petroni shared the week's award with Idaho State's Emily Waldron.

 

Hamilton Named Big Sky POW                          

Senior setter Ashley Hamilton was an all-around offensive force in helping the Eagles to a pair of road victories from Sept. 25-26.

She helped lead the team to its best hitting percentage of the season (and second-best by any Big Sky team so far in 2009), .390, in a 3-0 sweep of Weber State after setting the team to a dramatic comeback from 2-0 down at Idaho State in a 3-2 win.

Individually, the Alpine, Utah, native averaged 12.25 assists per set, but also was an intimidating offensive threat herself, as she hit at a .600 clip in the two road matches (14-2-20). Defensively, she was solid, averaging 2.50 digs and 0.62 blocks per set in the two contests.

In the five-set win in Pocatello, Hamilton had 55 assists, her highest total of the season and the eighth-highest total by a Big Sky player in 2009. Hamilton hit .500 (8-2-12) that night. She also did the job defensively, as her 14 digs that night was a career high for the setter.

Hamilton had 43 assists in the sweep of the Wildcats, which is a very impressive number for a match just three sets long. It actually comes out to a higher assists-per-set ratio then she achieved the night before (14.33 versus 11.00). She also hit at a .750 clip (6-0-8) in that WSU match.

The award is the first for Hamilton.

 

Eagles Rank Nationally in Attendance                    

The Eastern Washington Eagles have earned the attention of the greater Spokane area and it has shown, as the team is averaging 956 fans per contest, an average that ranks the squad 42nd in the country.

EWU ranks ninth among all West Coast teams (i.e. those located within the Pacific Time Zone).

The highlight of the home schedule came on Oct. 9 when 1,440 saw the Eagles take on Portland State in a first-versus-second battle. That crowd was the largest for a home contest since Sept. 23, 2006, when 1,484 saw Eastern take on Northern Colorado.

The Eagles have ranked in the top 40 in attendance in 11 of the past 12 years.

Eastern Washington has won 14-of-15 contests at Reese Court.

 

Comeback From 2-0 Down                                                          

The Eastern Washington Eagles went into the locker rooms in their match at Idaho State on Sept. 25 down 25-17, 25-21, but rallied to complete an impressive 3-2 victory with 25-21, 25-17, 15-13 set victories.

The rally from 2-0 down was the first for head coach Miles Kydd since he took over the Eagles at the beginning of the 2008 campaign and was the initial one for the EWU program since a 25-30, 23-30, 30-18, 30-19, 15-10 victory over Colgate on Aug. 31, 2007.

 

Busy First Month for Eagles                                                  

The Eagles played some pretty impressive competition the first three weeks of the season, including three teams currently ranked in the top 25, each on its home courts.

To conclude the pre-conference portion of the schedule, the Eagles played well in a trip to the Bay Area with its two defeats coming to a pair of teams who are either nationally ranked or receiving votes for the top-25 poll.

Following a couple tight sets in a 25-13, 25-23, 29-27 road loss to Saint Mary's, who is now 12-4 and receiving votes in the AVCA Coaches Top 25 Poll, the Eagles rallied to beat San Jose State 21-25, 25-22, 26-24, 25-20.

Eastern then took 19-12 and 18-12 leads in the first and third sets, respectively, before falling on the road to California, currently ranked 15th, by 25-22, 25-19, 25-20 scores.

The previous weekend, EWU defeated opponents from Conference USA (Houston) and the Western Athletic Conference (Nevada) by 3-1 scores before battling No. 16 Arizona, the host of the Marriott University Park Wildcat Classic, in an exciting four-set affair the undefeated Wildcats took 3-1.

The Eagles opened their season on Aug. 28 with a 3-1 defeat of Missouri State. The Bears had played in the 2008 NCAA Tournament and are receiving top-25 votes, as well. Eastern's two losses that weekend came to teams that played in the 2008 NCAAs, No. 12 Oregon and San Francisco.

 

Coviare Named to All-Oregon Classic Team                  

Chenoa Coviare had an outstanding opening weekend for the Eagles and was rewarded for her efforts with All-Oregon Classic accolades.

In the three matches played from Aug. 28-29, she hit .365 (25-6-52) and contributed 1.20 blocks and 0.70 digs per set.

Coviare helped Eastern to a 3-1 win over Missouri State and tough-fought losses to No. 12 Oregon and San Francisco.

 

Coviare and Hamilton Named All-Tourney                 

For the second weekend in a row, Chenoa Coviare was named to an all-tournament team, this time at the Marriott University Park Wildcat Classic. She was joined on the squad byAshley Hamilton.

Coviare had 2.25 kills and 0.83 blocks per set in Eastern's three matches at the tournament.

Arizona transfer Hamilton played well in her old stomping grounds, averaging 6.58 assists per set and hitting at a .296 clip (12-4-27).

The talented duo helped the Eagles to an impressive 2-1 showing at the tournament, which included 3-1 wins over Houston and Nevada and a good showing in a 3-1 loss to host and currently No. 16 Arizona.

 

Coviare and Hills Earn Tourney Honors                     

After helping the Eagles to a second-place showing at the Molten/Hilton Garden Inn Classic, Chenoa Coviare and Hayley Hills earned All-Tournament honors.

In the two matches, a 3-1 win over San Jose State and a 3-0 loss to host and 15th-ranked California, Coviare hit at a .343 clip (19-7-35) to go with 1.43 blocks per set.

Hills had a team-high 3.00 kills per set. She also contributed 2.14 digs and 0.29 blocks per set.

Against SJSU, Coviare had 12 kills and hit .455 (14-4-22), while Hills contributed 14 digs.

Versus the Golden Bears, Hills tallied 13 kills and hit .290 (13-4-31), while Coviare had three blocks.

 

Eagles Beat 2008 NCAA Participant                                 

The Eagles started off their 2009 campaign on a high note, outlasting Missouri State 25-22, 25-20, 17-25, 25-21 at the Oregon Classic on Aug. 28.

The win was especially impressive, as the Bears played in the 2008 NCAA Tournament and are receiving votes in the AVCA Coaches Top 25 Preseason Poll.

Eastern Washington controlled the first two sets and then had to battle back from significant deficits in the third and fourth sets.

The Eagles did so successfully in set four, rallying from 5-0 and 10-3 deficits and then pulling away from a 21-21 tie with the final four points of the contest.