college volleyball game results sunday november 7, 2009
- Alabama Crimson Tide Volleyball Falls on the road to Tennessee 3-0
- Denver Volleyball Women Close Out Weekend with 3-0 Win Over Warhawks
- Samford Volleyball Clinches Share Of North Division Title On Senior Day
- Blazer Volleyball Team Closes Road Weekend With 3-1 Win At ECU
- DOUBLE-DOUBLES BY MAHONEY, FOWLER PACE UT TO SWEEP OF ALABAMA
- Five Seniors Honored Before Billiken Women's Volleyball Team Sweeps Musketeers
Tulsa Volleyball Women See 12-Match Win Streak Snapped with
3-2 Loss at Southern Miss
No. 19 LSU Volleyball Women Grind Out Five-Sette
r at Arkansas
Alabama Crimson Tide Volleyball Falls on the road to Tennessee 3-0
Junior Kayla Schmidt notches ninth double-double of the season with 19 digs and 15 assists
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Alabama volleyball team ended its final full Southeastern Conference road weekend with a 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-23) loss at Tennessee Sunday in Thompson-Boling Arena. The loss drops the Crimson Tide to 7-19 overall and 5-11 against league opponents, while the Lady Volunteers improve to 19-6 on the season and 12-3 in the SEC.
“We gave a hard-fought effort for 80 percent of the match, but 80 percent effort isn’t good enough to beat any team at the top of the SEC.” said head coach Judy Green. “I thought we got very good play from our bench today, and that gave us a lift. We are going to expect, and need more, focus out of everyone over our last four matches.”
Junior Alyssa Meuth was the only Alabama attacker to notch double-digit kills as she finished the match with 10. Junior Kayla Schmidt collected her ninth double-double of the season leading the team in assists with 15 and digs with 19. Also scooping up double-figure digs in the match was senior Brooks Webster and freshman Kelsey Anderson with 10 a piece.
In the first, Alabama kept close eventually tying the set at 4-4 before Tennessee rattled off five unanswered points for the 9-5 advantage. The Lady Vols gradually built on their lead pulling ahead by as many as seven. The Tide notched back-to-back kills and capitalized on a pair of attack errors from Tennessee to cut the lead to three at 19-16, but the comeback would fall short as the Lady Vols closed out the frame on a block moments later by a score of 25-20.
Alabama found itself on top during the early stages of the second until a trio of Tide attack errors put Tennessee in front 7-6. Alabama led briefly again at 8-7 before Tennessee put together a 4-0 scoring drive to take the 11-8 edge. The Lady Vols managed to formulate another 4-0 mini run to extend their lead to six points at 15-9. Once again, the Tide would rally late in the set cutting its deficit to three, but Tennessee capitalized on solid hitting down the stretch for the 25-19 win in the second.
The Lady Vols started in front in the third, but a quartet of errors by the home team gave Alabama the 4-3 lead moments later. Tennessee rebounded with a pair of kills and found itself back on top, but that didn’t last long as the Tide countered with back-to-back kills from Webster to overtake the lead. Alabama continued to pace the frame until the midway point as the Lady Vols strung together a 5-0 run for the 14-13 advantage. After three additional lead changes, the Tide looked like it was primed to close out the third with a 22-19 edge, but Tennessee battled back and outscored Alabama 6-1 to finish off the match with a 25-23 victory in the set.
The Tide returns to Tuscaloosa for its final home weekend of the 2009 season when it hosts Mississippi and Arkansas. Alabama faces off with the Rebels Friday, Nov. 13 at 7:00 p.m. (CST) before taking on the Razorbacks, in a match to be aired on Fox Sports South, Sunday, Nov. 15 at 1:00 p.m. (CST). Prior to Sunday’s match, the senior class will also be recognized for its contributions to the program.
--UA--
Denver Volleyball Women Close Out Weekend with
3-0 Win Over Warhawks
Pioneers conclude home season with a 3-0 win over the ULM Warhawks and improve to 11-5 in SBC action
DENVER – The University of Denver volleyball team (16-14, 11-5 SBC) closed out its three-match Sun Belt Conference weekend with a 3-0 (25-17, 25-19, 25-20) sweep of the University of Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks (3-27, 0-15 SBC) on Sunday afternoon in Hamilton Gymnasium. Denver finished the week 3-0.
“We struggled a little bit with our ball handling today but I am really proud of the performance we got out of Jordan today,” said head coach Beth Kuwata. “She stepped up for us and really gave us a presence on the left side of the net.”
Sophomore Jordan Raines (Coppell, Texas) led the Pioneers with 13 kills and a .550 hitting percentage, while senior Emmy Davidsmeyer (Colorado Springs, Colo.) added 12 kills, a .524 attack percentage and three blocks. Playing in her final home match for the Pioneers, Davidsmeyer moved up to eighth on the all-time kills list in the DU record books with a career mark of 1,075 kills and currently ranks first with a .326 career-hitting percentage.
Also playing in her final home match for Denver was senior Alexis Ninos(Cypress, Texas), who finished the day with five kills, 11 digs and three blocks. Setter Kresson Vreeman (Raymond, Minn.) finished with 38 assists, while liberoKacie Wikierak (Crystal Lake, Ill.) added 12 digs.
Mari O’Neal led the way for the Warhawks with nine kills and five blocks, while Michelle Messing added six kills and nine digs.
The first set proved to be a closely contested match between both teams throughout much of the action. With the score tied 15-15, the Pioneers strung together an impressive 11-2 run to close out the set. Sparked by a service ace from Wikierak and a kill from Davidsmeyer, the Pioneers’ rally included solid serves from Ninos and kills from Raines and Vreeman.
The action continued to remain tight in the second set as the Pioneers were unable to pull ahead by more than two points until the Pioneers went on a four-point rally to take a 19-13 lead and force the Warhawks to call a time out. Coming out of the break, both teams exchanged three points apiece before Ninos sparked a three-point rally for the Pioneers to give them a 24-16 advantage.
After giving up two points to the Warhawks on service miscues, the Warhawks grabbed their final point of the match off a kill from O’Neal before the Pioneers closed out the set on a kill by Davidsmeyer to take a 2-0 advantage into the locker room.
Coming out of the intermission, the Pioneers sealed the match with a 25-20 win in the third set as Ninos and Davidsmeyer led the Pioneer offense with four kills apiece, while Raines and sophomore Alyssa Bonelli (Superior, Colo.) added three and two kills, respectively.
Denver closes out the regular season on the road as it faces Arkansas-Little Rock on the road on Friday, Nov. 13 at 3:30 p.m. (MT). The Pioneers then plays their final match of the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 14 against Arkansas State in Jonesboro, Ark., in a 6 p.m. (MT) match.
- PIONEERS -
Samford Volleyball Clinches Share Of North Division Title On Senior Day
--- Senior Bulldogs shine in 3-1 win over Western Carolina in home finale ---
Nov. 8, 2009
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford University volleyball team clinched a share of the Southern Conference North Division title Sunday in a 3-1 (25-11, 17-25, 25-19, 25-22) win over Western Carolina on Senior Day. The Bulldogs go into the final weekend of regular-season play with a 17-12 overall record, 11-4 in league play. The Catamounts fall to 3-25 overall, 0-14 in the SoCon.
“I am very happy that a rebuilding year has lead us to at least a share of a division championship,” Samford head coach Derek Schroeder said. “We have a long road trip ahead of us next weekend. Let’s see what we can do to win the North Division outright.”
The seniors shined Sunday in their final match at the Pete Hanna Center. After a pre-match ceremony to honor their hard work from the past four years, the trio led their team to clinch a share of the North Division title.
Sheriden Stangohr just missed matching a career-best in kills with 18, but led the Bulldogs in hitting with a .469 average while also grabbing four block assists, one solo block, two aces and one dig. Sarah Gardner notched a career-high seven aces, contributing almost half of Samford’s 15 aces served on the day, falling just five short of a team record. She also added seven kills and one assist while Katie Luckman posted a career-high .385 hitting percentage along with six kills on 13 attempts with only one error, two digs, and one block assist. She also sealed the deal for the Bulldogs, knocking down the final kill in set three to win the match for Samford.
Freshmen Allie Bettinger and Elizabeth Neisler were the other two Bulldogs to post double digits in kills against the Catamounts. Bettinger knocked down 13, hitting .214 while adding six digs, two block assists, two aces and one assist. Neisler posted 11 kills while hitting a career-high .350. She also added one dig and one block assist. Sophomore Rachel Gadberry posted six kills along with three block assists and one dig.
Freshman Casey Garvey and junior Hillary Fountain shared time at the setter position, dishing out 25 and 24 assists, respectively. Garvey also added one kill, two aces and four digs while Fountain grabbed three kills, one ace, five digs and three block assists. Freshman Alexis Bauer led the back row with 13 digs which brings her season total to 382, just 30 shy of matching Gardner’s 2006 record of 412. Samantha Bland grabbed two digs while Alicia Roth added one dig.
Western Carolina was led by Amanda Kerr who posted nine kills and hit .318. Katie Hennessey dished out a team-high 23 assists for the Catamounts while Liz Rondone led the back row with eight digs. Abbey Scroggins led in blocks with six block assists while Carrie Minogue added five block assists and Rebecca Stoltz had four block assists.
The Bulldogs will take to the road next weekend to wrap up regular-season play in Statesboro, Ga. Samford will take on Georgia Southern Saturday, Nov. 14, at 6 p.m., to see if it can capture the North Division for its own for the second year in a row.
Samford 3, Western Carolina 1
Stangohr opened up the match with a kill to get Samford on the board first but Western Carolina’s Hennessey knocked down a kill to even the score. Hennessey came back with another kill to put the Catamounts up by one but a WCU service error evened the score again. After a kill by Kara Lynzee Brooks, the Bulldogs posted four straight points to grab a 6-3 lead on a block by Fountain and Stangohr, back-to-back aces by Gardner and a kill by Fountain. The Catamounts called for a timeout but Samford continued to pile on the points, going ahead by 10 on a 10-3 run. After another Western Carolina timeout, Samford forged ahead with a 9-5 run to win the first set, 25-11.
Neisler opened up the second set with a kill to get the Bulldogs on the board first but Stoltz answered back with a kill to tie the score at one. The Catamounts then put together a 13-6 run to take a seven-point lead and force Samford to take its first timeout of the match. WCU came out of the break and tacked on three more points to go ahead by 10 before Samford found a way to cut it to eight on kills by Stangohr and Bettinger. However, the Catamounts pushed the lead back out to 11, forcing Samford to take another timeout. Samford came back with a 5-1 run to get within seven again. The Catamounts called another timeout and the Bulldogs came back with an ace by Bauer to get within three. Yet with a 23-17 lead, WCU gained match point on a serve error by Bauer, and a kill by Stoltz clinched the 25-17 for the Catamounts in the second set.
An ace by Garvey and a solo block by Stangohr put the Bulldogs up by two early in the third set. A WCU block and a Samford error tied the score at two, but the Bulldogs went on an 8-5 run to take a10-7 lead before the Catamounts called a timeout. Fountain served up an ace out of the break and although WCU got within two points briefly, Samford forced another timeout after taking a 20-14 lead on kills by Stangohr and Gadberry. WCU got within five on a Samford error after the break but Samford held the lead as each team went back and forth scoring two points each twice over. However, with match point at 24-19, Stangohr knocked down a kill to win set three, 25-19.
The fourth set was a back-and-forth affair until Samford tied the score at seven on a kill by Fountain. A service error by Bettinger gave the Catamounts the lead and WCU scored two more points to go ahead by three. However, Samford answered back and grabbed three straight points on a kill by Neisler, a block by Stangohr and Neisler and a kill by Luckman to tie the score at 10. That sparked a 4-1 run to take a three-point lead before WCU called a timeout. A 5-1 run out of the break moved Samford ahead by seven and after another Catamount timeout, the Bulldogs went ahead by 10 on kills by Bettinger and Fountain, a block by Gadberry and Bettinger and a couple of WCU errors. However, two straight Samford errors followed by three blocks by the Catamounts got WCU back within five. Though after a Samford timeout, the Bulldogs managed to hold off the Catamounts and Luckman fired off the final kill, winning the set 25-22.
*** SAMFORD BULLDOGS ***
Blazer Volleyball Team Closes Road Weekend With 3-1 Win At ECU
McDonald records sixth straight double-double in UAB victory
GREENVILLE, N.C. -- Jordan McDonald led three players in double-figure kills Sunday with a UAB career-best 17 as the Blazer volleyball team defeated East Carolina, 3-1 (25-21, 25-16, 26-28, 25-20) on the road.
McDonald, a Birmingham native who hit for a team-high .300 percentage in the match, extended her double-double streak to six straight matches by also recording 11 digs.
“Jordan played another great match both offensively and defensively,” UAB head coach Kerry Messersmith said. “She’s really played well over the past few weeks, and we’re starting to see her do the things we know she’s capable of.”
UAB evened its record at 15-15 overall (7-7 C-USA) with a win in its final road match of the year, while East Carolina fell to 9-18 (2-13 C-USA). The Blazers will close out the regular season this week with home conference matches Thursday against Marshall and Saturday against East Carolina.
In Sunday’s victory, Andrea Lalic finished with 11 kills and Savannah Pegg added 10 as the other Blazers to reach double-digits. Sam Serley was close behind with nine.
UAB setter Alison Woods posted a match-best 47 assists, while libero Heather Thomas led the Blazers with 19 digs. Thomas, who now owns 542 digs on the year, is exactly 50 shy of Brianna Galvin’s UAB single-season record of 592 digs, set in 2006.
UAB out-blocked East Carolina, 11-7, led by seven total blocks from reigning C-USA Co-Defensive Player of the Week Patty Paniagua.
The Blazers were on the verge of ending Sunday’s match in three sets, but a late rally in the third came up just short. Trailing 24-21, UAB fought off three set points to even the score at 24-24 and then fought off two more before East Carolina finally converted its sixth set point to win the frame, 28-26.
But UAB bounced back to finish the match off in four. The fourth set was tight until late with the Blazers holding just a 21-19 edge before rattling off four straight points to close out the match on two McDonald kills, a block by Paniagua and Pegg, and a Lalic service ace.
Lalic tied a career-high with four aces, and UAB piled up eight aces as a team compared to two for East Carolina. For the match, the Blazers hit for a .224 percentage compared to .117 for the Pirates.
East Carolina also put three players in double-figure kills -- Stephanie Turner with 12, Lizzy Bruin with 11 and Melissa Zentner with 10. Turner also led all players with 20 digs on her way to a double-double, while setter Hannah Fenker led the Pirates with 42 assists.
-- CALL US UAB --
DOUBLE-DOUBLES BY MAHONEY, FOWLER PACE UT TO SWEEP OF ALABAMA
Fowler Earns Ninth Straight Double-Double, Mahoney’s is her Fifth of the Season
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee volleyball team (19-6, 12-3 Southeastern Conference) added another sweep to its résumé Sunday, downing Alabama (7-19, 5-11) in straight sets, 25-20, 25-19, 25-23, behind the strength of double-doubles from junior Nikki Fowler and sophomore Kelsey Mahoney at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville. The 3-0 victory marked the Lady Volunteers’ second of the weekend and 12th of the season.
“This was a very good win for us,” UT Head Coach Rob Patrick said. “I thought we played some solid volleyball in the first two sets. Alabama has three outside hitters that are really, really good, but we did a tremendous job shutting two of them down early on. They had a little more success in the third set, but we kept fighting and were able to withstand their attack.”
Fowler’s double-double marked the ninth consecutive match in which she has accomplished the feat, while Mahoney’s was her fifth of the season and ninth of her career. A 6-2 outside hitter, Fowler finished the contest with 16 kills and 16 digs, to go along with two blocks, a pair of assists and an ace. Mahoney, meanwhile, tallied a match-high 21 assists and season-best 14 digs, as well as two aces and a kill.
“Nikki has just been playing unbelievably well the last few weeks,” Patrick said. “She’s about as steady as they come. Even when everybody in the arena knows we are going to give her the ball, she’s able to get kills. We ask a lot out of her. She’s going to pass a lot of balls, she plays the middle-back position as well as anyone and, obviously, she’s going to hit a lot of balls, whether it is in the front row or out of the back when we are out of system.
“I was also very pleased with how Kelsey played today,” Patrick said. “We’ve been concentrating a lot on our offense and running tempo, so we haven’t really spent a lot of time with our setters on defense. I thought Kelsey did a great job making the right moves and being in the right positions defensively, which helped us score some real points. She also did a great job both serving and running our offense. She got the ball to the right people and put it in spots where our hitters could take some strong swings.”
Seniors Chloe Goldman and Kylie Marshall and junior Leah Hinkey also stood out on the stat sheet for the Lady Vols on Sunday. A native of Monterey, Calif., Goldman notched a team-high 18 digs from her libero position, while Marshall delivered a 15-dig, four-kill, three-block performance. In the middle, Hinkey finished off a stellar weekend of play by hitting .500 with nine kills and just one error in 16 swings and blocking four Tide attacks. That effort comes just two days after she hit at a .600 clip (10-1-15) and posted three blocks in a sweep over Mississippi State.
The Big Orange kicked off the contest with a strong showing in the initial frame, hitting .303 en route to a 25-20 triumph. While Fowler tallied four kills and three digs, Hinkey also recorded four putaways, doing so on only five swings to give her an .800 attack average for the set. Marshall and freshman Natalie Guerra collected three digs each as well.
With the score tied at 4-4, back-to-back errors by Alabama jumpstarted a 5-0 Lady Vol run that also featured a kill by Fowler and a block by Hinkey and Marshall before a Tide attack landed long to finish it off and give the Orange and White a 9-4 advantage. After a UT miscue gave the ball back to Bama, a pair of Hinkey smashes, sandwiched around another putaway by Fowler, increased the Tennessee lead to seven at 12-5.
Although Ashley Frazier ended that spree with a kill from the outside, consecutive Tide attack errors and an ace by Mahoney that just snuck in the back-right corner of the court, kept the Lady Vols rolling. While Alabama would cut its deficit to three scores with a 4-0 run just moments later, sophomore Kayla Jeter dashed any thoughts of a comeback with back-to-back blasts from the left side.
After the two squads traded the next three points, a Kelsey Anderson service error and a kill by freshman Leslie Cikra gave the Big Orange six opportunities to put away the set. It would need just three, as Hinkey and Fowler joined forces to send back a Frazier attack to finish off the frame.
Fowler continued her offensive onslaught in the second set, pounding out five kills to lead Tennessee to a 25-19 victory. Goldman, Marshall and Mahoney recorded five digs apiece and Hinkey, Marshall and Jeter each tallied a pair of blocks to pace a strong defensive effort as well.
Mahoney opened the frame with an ace, but Alabama bounced right back with three straight scores to take its first lead of the afternoon. Just seven plays later, however, UT began to assert itself with a 3-0 spree of its own. Marshall and Powe got it started with a sharp block on a swing by Frazier. Following an attack error by Brooks Webster, Marshall stuffed Frazier again, this time teaming with Hinkey.
Tennessee continued to extend its lead shortly thereafter, going on a pair of 4-0 tears, separated by just a single Tide tally, to go ahead, 15-9. Once again, Alabama handed the Orange and White two scores as a Kelsey Anderson serve found the net and an attack by Kayla Schmidt landed wide. Jeter followed by smashing a set from Guerra to the back-right corner before joining up with Hinkey to block a shot by Sarah Machen, prompting UA Head Coach Judy Green to call her first timeout of the set.
Although the short break netted the Crimson Tide a score on a solo block by Machen, the Lady Vols picked up right where they left off. Hinkey got UT back on track with a laser down the right-side line and Fowler followed with a solo block on an attack by Frazier. She then dropped consecutive hammers from the right side to force Green to burn her final timeout.
This time, her tactic was successful in halting the Orange and White’s momentum, but it was too little, too late, as her squad would not get closer than three scores the rest of the way. With the scoreboard reading, 19-16, in its favor, Tennessee would effectively end the set with a 4-1 run. The first two scores came on a kill by Hinkey and a Jeter solo block, while the second pair were the result of another blast by Hinkey and a Fowler putaway. Just moments later, senior Farren Powe sent her team to the locker room with a 2-0 lead after she smashed one down the center of the court for a kill.
Both Fowler and Goldman seemed to save their best for last, as they registered totals of seven kills and 12 digs, respectively, in the third and final frame. Those efforts, along with three kills and seven digs from Marshall and seven assists and seven digs by Mahoney, helped the Big Orange earn its second sweep of the weekend, as it squeaked by Alabama, 25-23.
After a pair of comfortable sets for UT, a back-and-forth battle ensued in the third frame, which included 14 tie scores and eight lead changes. Alabama took control early on, using a 6-1 run to go ahead by four at the 12-8 mark. Just three play later though, the Orange and White jumped back out in front by putting five straight tallies on the scoreboard. A service error by Mary Catherine Aune gave the ball back to the Lady Vols which then took advantage of an Alyssa Meuth attack error before Marshall slammed home a set from Mahoney. Two more Bama miscues, a ball-handling error and another attack error, finished off the spree that put UT up 14-13.
That lead would be short-lived, however, as a service error brought the frame back to a deadlock. Neither team could find any breathing room until the Crimson Tide went on a 5-1 tear to take a three-point lead at 21-18. After Fowler and Frazier traded kills, the Tennessee deficit remained at a trio of scores.
At that point, the Big Orange decided it had seen enough and rattled off six of the final seven points to win the set, 25-23, and sweep the match. The first three scores came on a putaway by Hinkey and back-to-back blasts from Fowler. Although Frazier picked up another kill to put Alabama up 23-22, she gave the point right back with a service error on the very next play. Fowler followed with another kill, as Webster was called for a blocking error, and Marshall sent one crashing to the floor from the right side to end the contest.
Tennessee will close out the road portion of its schedule with contests at Auburn and Georgia next weekend. The Orange and White will first take on the Tigers at 4 p.m. CT on Friday, Nov. 13 in Auburn, Ala., before making the trek to Athens, Ga., for a 2 p.m. showdown against the Bulldogs on Sunday, Nov. 15.
##LADY VOL VOLLEYBALL##
Five Seniors Honored Before Billiken Women's Volleyball Team Sweeps Musketeers
Fonke leads all players with 11 kills, four aces
ST. LOUIS – Saint Louis enjoyed a successful Senior Day at Chaifetz Pavilion as it swept Atlantic 10 Conference rival Xavier (25-18, 25-19, 25-15) for the second time this season on Sunday. The Billikens (19-6, 12-1 A-10), who outhit the Musketeers .344 to .125, remain tied atop the A-10 standings, while the Musketeers fall to 17-11 overall, 9-4 in league play.
Bridget Fonke led all players with 11 kills and four service aces and added eight digs. Her four aces moved her into a tie for third on SLU’s career aces list (144). Whitney Roth dished out 34 assists and tallied seven digs, while Alyssa Deno registered nine kills and two blocks. Casey Chernin collected seven kills, and Megan Boken posted a team-high nine digs to go with four kills and two aces.
The teams traded points in the opening set before a Fonke ace and two kills from Deno put SLU in front 5-2. The Musketeers got as close as two points before the Billikens erupted for four consecutive points, including two Sammi McCloud kills, an ace from Boken and a kill from Fonke, to make it 11-5. XU scored three of the next four points prior to back-to-back kills from Fonke and Deno making it 14-8. Saint Louis was up 17-12 when it mounted a 5-0 run. The spurt that brought the score to 22-12 included three Musketeer hitting errors and kills from Roth and Fonke. Sally Warning and Fonke posted kills to give SLU its first chance at set point, but Xavier fought off four Billiken set points before Deno’s kill her team the win. Fonke powered SLU’s offense, which hit .424 in set one, with five kills, while Deno added four. Meanwhile, the Musketeers hit .143.
Xavier raced out to a 4-1 advantage in the second set after the Bills committed a pair of hitting errors and Kelly Ruth notched two kills and a block. Saint Louis was trailing 6-3 when kills from Roth and Fonke combined with a Musketeer hitting error tied the score at 6-6. XU scored four of the next six points to claim a 10-8 edge. The Billikens rallied for three straight points on a Deno-Fonke block, another Xavier hitting error and a Chernin kill to regain the 11-10 lead. The teams endured five more ties before a McCloud service ace and another Musketeer mistake put Saint Louis ahead for good at 18-16. Alex Smith’s kill sliced the lead to one, but Fonke terminated, Roth served an ace and Chernin put down a kill to push the lead back out to 21-17. Following a SLU service error, Fonke tallied a kill and served an ace to make it 23-18. Ruth’s kill kept her team alive but the Bills managed to score the final two points on a Deno kill and another XU hitting error to take the two-set lead.
The Musketeers scored the initial point of the final set but that would be the only lead they would hold in set three. A pair of Xavier errors and a service ace from Fonke put the Billikens on top 3-1. XU cut the deficit to one at 4-3 and that was as close as the Musketeers would get for the rest of the match as Saint Louis answered with a three-point burst sparked by a kill from Chernin and ending with a Whitney Behrensservice ace. SLU scored two points to Xavier’s single point building a lead of 11-5. Then Ruth ignited a 3-0 Musketeer run with a kill, followed by a Billiken hitting error and Ruth-Michelle Matia block to cut it to 11-8. Kills from Fonke and Chernin kicked off a 5-1 run that finished with two kills from Deno and another ace from Fonke to put SLU in control 16-9. Saint Louis got kills from six different players to complete the set, while Xavier was unable to score back-to-back points the rest of the way. The Bills hit at a .393 clip to the Musketeers’ .048 rate in the final set.
Duke Women's Volleyball Sweeps Miami 3-0
CORAL GABLES, Fla. - Christiana Gray totaled seven blocks and eight kills in just three sets to lead Duke to a 3-0 (25-17, 25-12, 25-18) win over Miami Sunday afternoon at the James Knight Complex.
Duke's season leader in hitting percentage, Gray hit .583 with just one attack error against the Hurricanes (15-10, 8-7 ACC). A 6-5 freshman middle blocker, Gray's team-leading seven blocks helped Duke (22-5, 12-3 ACC) surrender just 47 points to Miami, which is the fewest scored by an ACC team against the Blue Devils this season.
Setter Kellie Catanach led Duke to a .411 hitting percentage, dishing out 32 assists to reach 1,000 kills for the season. Catanach also took the offense into her own hands, connecting for six kills on 10 errorless attacks. She was one of seven Blue Devils to hit over .300 in the match, leading an effort that included a .429 (6-for-14) outing from Becci Burling, a .385 (7-for-13) day from Amanda Robertson, a .357 (11-for-28) showing from Rachael Moss and .312 (6-for-16) outing from Sophia Dunworth.
Duke made just six attack errors in the match while totaling four service aces, including three from Moss. Defensively, Duke held the Hurricanes to a .141 hitting percentage, thanks to 11 team blocks and a combined 25 digs from the defensive trio of Nailah Waterfield (11 digs), Claire Smalzer (9) and Alex Sall (5).
Miami got the bulk of its offense from ACC kills leader Lane Carico, who totaled 11 kills but hit just .194. Carico was the focus of the Hurricane gameplan, taking a team-high 31 attacks, but had trouble getting past Duke's block.
Duke hit at least .371 in every game, including a .483 clip in set two. The opening set saw Catanach account for 17 points, tossing out 12 assists while also spiking four kills and a block. In set two, Duke's attackers put down 12 of Catanach's 23 sets, including a combined eight kills from Moss and Robertson. Duke did not make a single attack error in the opening frame on the way to a 25-17 win.
Gray took over the final game, connecting on four of six attacks while also picking up two more blocks. Duke posted five blocks in the final frame, two of which were solo stops by Burling.
Duke continues its two-week road trip this Friday and Saturday, Nov. 13-14, in Virginia. Duke will face Virginia Tech on Friday in Blacksburg, Va., before trekking to Charlottesville, Va., on Saturday to face Virginia. Duke will then return home to Cameron Indoor Stadium for its final three matches of the season, all of which are against in-state rivals NC State (Nov. 20), North Carolina (Nov. 21) and Wake Forest (Nov. 24).
-d-u-k-e-
No. 19 LSU Volleyball Women Grind Out Five-Setter at Arkansas
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. Brittnee Cooper slapped 18 kills and added seven blocks as the No. 19 LSU volleyball team notched a gritty 3-2 victory over Arkansas [25-18, 27-25, 14-25, 21-25, 15-10] Sunday at Barnhill Arena.
Coopers 18 kills allowed her to become the 16th player in program history to eclipse 1,000 career kills. The Tigers have had a trio of players join this illustrious list over the last three seasons.
Brittnee was very effective, but we couldnt get the ball to her as often as we wanted to, head coach Fran Flory said. Our team did a great job of battling back and Cooper led the way for us.
LSU (20-5, 14-2 SEC) has won 12 of its last 13 matches and improved to 16-4 in five-set decisions against unranked opponents since the 2007 season. The Tigers also extended its winning streak to 28 matches over SEC Western Division foes.
Sam Dabbs distributed 46 assists and set the Tigers to a .389 hitting percentage in the fifth set. She also tacked on seven kills and six digs.
Arkansas (11-15, 5-10 SEC) was fueled by Jasmine Norton, who turned a solid all-around effort with a career-best 29 kills to go along with 17 digs, six blocks and four aces.
We finally got on track in the fifth set, but you have to credit Arkansas, Flory said. They pressured us and the biggest problem was we didnt have an answer for Norton. She was unbelievable and we couldnt stop her.
Marina Skender recorded 11 kills to go along with 11 digs and five blocks en route to her team-leading 11th double-double of the season. Angela Bensend chipped in 10 kills, while Michele Williams recorded nine kills and four blocks.
Lauren DeGirolamo matched a career-high with 16 digs. She also contributed a complete performance with five kills, six blocks and six assists. Lauren Waclawczyk tallied 17 digs and added three assists.
LSU raced out to 9-3 lead in set five as Dabbs passed out helpers to Bensend, DeGirolamo, Skender and Williams coupled with a trio of Arkansas miscues. The Razorbacks drew back to 12-9 before the Tigers regrouped with three of the final four points after a timeout. Bensend provided a pair of critical sideout spikes, while Cooper and Skender paired for the clinching block to secure the 15-10 triumph.
I thought Angela was the key, Flory said. She came through for us in the big situations and was the difference maker in the match that provided the key play when we needed to have it the most.
Our first contact was off for most of the match, but we got back in system in the fifth set, Waclawczyk said. We werent communicating and coach [Flory] told us we needed to open our months. We saw a huge change, and I think its a lesson learned on our part.
LSU racked up four blocks, three involving DeGirolamo, to grab a 7-5 edge in the early stages of the opening set. The Razorbacks responded with seven of the next 10 points aided by three LSU attack errors to go up 12-10. LSU fired back with a 10-4 spurt of its own capped by a DeGirolamo kill to surge ahead 20-16. Arkansas sliced the deficit within two points on three occasions, the latest at 24-22, before a Dabbs dump gave the Tigers a 25-22 victory.
Four different Razorbacks picked up multiple kills highlighted by three kills apiece from Norton and Kristin Seaton allowed Arkansas to build a 15-9 advantage to start set two. LSU chipped away and caught the Razorbacks at 18-18 after back-to-back Bensend and Cooper spikes followed by consecutive Arkansas attack errors. After six ties and three lead changes, LSU fought off two set points. At 26-25, Williams connected for a transition spike for the 27-25 win.
The two teams went back and forth to start the third set. At 12-10, Arkansas used a 13-4 finishing kick to pull away for the 25-14 victory. Norton belted seven kills and the Razorbacks converted on 13-of-15 sideout attempts in the frame.
The Razorbacks continued to ride Norton in set four. Arkansas grabbed a 17-12 edge and forced LSU to burn both of its timeouts. The Tigers charged back to 20-18 before Norton saved two of her seven spikes for the stretch run to close out the 25-21 win.
LSU opens the second leg of its four-match road swing Friday at No. 9 Florida. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. and live stats will be available on LSUsports.net.
The match also will be televised by Fox Sports Net Florida. It has yet to be determined if CST or FSN will pick up the match in the Baton Rouge area. Fans can follow in-match updates of the five-time SEC Western Division champions via www.twitter.com/lsuvolleyball.
Tulsa Volleyball Women See 12-Match Win Streak Snapped with
3-2 Loss at Southern Miss
Golden Hurricane (22-6, 11-3 C-USA) led by Henderson’s 31 kills and Adams’ 30 digs
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Freshman Tyler Henderson landed a career-high 31 kills and freshman Jessica Adams matched her career-high of 30 digs to lead The University of Tulsa volleyball team in a tough 3-2 defeat (9-25, 25-22, 22-25, 25-29, 15-17) at Conference USA foe Southern Miss Sunday afternoon at Reed Green Coliseum.
The Golden Hurricane (22-6, 11-3 C-USA) saw its 12-match win streak snapped. The winning streak tied for the longest in school history, matching a 12-win run by the 1976 team in the program’s first season of competition. Southern Miss improved to 25-4 overall and 13-2 in C-USA, and clinched first place in the conference. TU can finish no worse than third in the league standings.
Henderson’s 31 kills eclipsed her previous high of 26, which she reached twice this season. She added four blocks in the match. Adams’ matched her career-high 30 digs, which she set earlier this season at TCU.
“Terrific performance by Tyler Henderson with 31 kills,” Tulsa Head Coach Ed Allen said. “She has been a player that we can depend on all season.”
Senior Jennifer Eichler recorded her 11th double-double of the season with 13 kills and 12 digs, and sophomore Kelsey Hancock added 10 digs in the match. Sophomore Rachel Vukson tallied 36 assists and freshman Jordan Clampitt had 23 assists. Senior Julia Kenealy and junior Hannah Stout got five and four blocks, respectively.
Tulsa hit .205 in the match (66-28-185) with 66 kills, 63 assists, 71 digs and 10.0 blocks. Southern Miss hit .240 as a team (66-24-175) with 66 kills, 60 assists, 70 digs and 14.5 blocks.
“It was a tough weekend,” said Allen, whose team had to fight from behind on more than one occasion in a 3-1 win Friday night at UCF. “The kids were struggling to handle the travels. We had not been on the road in a while.”
Tulsa dropped the first set, 25-9, committing nine errors with just three kills in the set. The Golden Hurricane bounced back in the second set, however, to win 25-22. In the second frame, the Hurricane broke open a 10-10 tie to take an 18-12 lead. Southern Miss came back to pull to within three points, but TU won the set, 25-22.
Southern Miss won the third set, 25-22. The Golden Eagles went out to a three-point lead in the middle of the set, and kept its distance late, fighting off a TU attempt to rally, to win by the three-point margin.
Tulsa fought off defeat by winning the fourth set, 25-19. The Golden Hurricane broke a tight set to take a three-point lead at 16-13, and kept a two- to three-point margin until it held a 20-18 lead. From there, the Hurricane scored five of the next six points to close out the set.
The fifth frame featured 12 ties and three lead changes in the short set. Southern Miss scored two straight to break a 9-9 tie, but Tulsa came right back with two of its own to tie the score at 11 apiece. Once again, the Golden Eagles score two in a row to take a 13-11 lead, and the Hurricane got a kill to make the score 13-12. USM scored again, but two straight attack errors allowed TU to tie at 14-14. After trading off points to a 15-15 ties, Southern Miss scored the final two points to win, 17-15.
The Golden Hurricane returns home Thursday to face SMU in its final home match of the season. The TU volleyball team will honor its two seniors – Eichler and Kenealy – in a ceremony before the match. Tulsa and SMU will play again Saturday at 7 p.m. in Dallas to complete the home-and-home series and end the regular season.
