DAVIS – Sophomore outside hitter Catie Smith matched a career high with 17 kills to lead four Mustangs in double-digit figures, but the Cal Poly volleyball team still dropped a 26-28, 28-26, 25-23, 22-25, 15-6 decision against UC Davis during its final road match of the 2009 campaign at The Pavilion.
Junior middle blocker Dominique Olowolafe added 16 kills, freshman middle blocker Jennifer Keddy totaled her fourth-straight double-digit outing with 14 and freshman outside hitter Molly Pon recorded 10 for Cal Poly (8-20, 4-11), which fell to 3-7 in five-set matches this season. The Mustangs, also 1-5 this year in five-set matches they’ve led at some point, outhit UC Davis (19-10, 10-5) .253 to .241.
Saturday’s opening set featured 18 deadlocked scorelines, the last of which was broken at 26-26 as Cal Poly freshman setter Anuhea Keanini recorded both her lone kill and ace of the night on consecutive points to hand the Mustangs the match advantage.
Cal Poly led game No. 2, 26-25, but a kill from Aggies sophomore middle blocker Katie Denny and back-to-back hitting miscues by Olowolafe yielded both the 10th lead change of the frame and the set to UC Davis.
Cal Poly hit .303 during the third set and led as late as 20-17, but the Aggies finished the game with an 8-3 run. The Mustangs returned during set No. 4 to hit a match-best .351. Neither team led by more than two points during the fourth set until Cal Poly claimed four of the final six points to prevail, 25-22.
The Mustangs, however, failed to lead at any point during the deciding set.
Keanini finished with a career-high 63 assists for Cal Poly. Led by junior libero Alison Mort’s game-high 19, Cal Poly also featured four Mustangs with double-digit dig figures.
Cal Poly completes its 2009 campaign Friday, Nov. 20 against Cal State Northridge at 7 p.m. inside Mott Gym. Prior to the match, Cal Poly will honor its lone graduating senior player, setter Hailey Fithian.
University of Denver Women's Volleyball Team Tabbed as No. 6 Seed in SBC Volleyball Championships
Denver will face No. 3 Western Kentucky on Thursday, Nov. 19 at 3 p.m. MT in Bowling Green, Ky.
NEW ORLEANS – The University of Denver volleyball team (16-16, 11-7 SBC) was tabbed as the No. 6 seed in the Sun Belt Conference Volleyball Championships that will be held on the campus of Western Kentucky in Bowling Green, Ky., from Nov. 19-21, it was announced Sunday by the league’s office. The Pioneers will face the Hilltoppers on Thursday, Nov. 19 at 3 p.m. MT.
With a perfect 17-0 SBC record and the winner of the East Division Title, Florida International was chosen as the No. 1 overall seed, while Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky were picked No. 2 and No. 3 with 15-2 and 13-4 conference records, respectively.
Named the league’s West Division Co-Champions, New Orleans and Arkansas State were chosen as the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds with identical 12-6 conference records, ahead of the Pioneers.
All games will be available live via Web streaming on SBC Extra and fans can purchase a tournament pass for only $9.95 to tune-in. The championship match on Nov. 21 at 3 p.m. (CT) will also be broadcast by the Sun Belt Network and will re-air Nov. 22 at 5 p.m. (CT) on CSS and Nov. 23 on CST at 6 p.m. (CT).
Sun Belt Volleyball Championship Seeds:
1. FIU
2. Middle Tennessee 15-2 .882
3. WKU
* 4. New Orleans
* 5. Arkansas State 12-6 .667
6. Denver
7. UALR
8. North Texas
* New Orleans and Arkansas State tied for the West Division Championship and are declared co-champions. For the purposes of seeding New Orleans is the 4th seed and Arkansas State is the 5th seed because New Orleans defeated Arkansas State in both matches between the two schools this season.
Championship Schedule
Thursday, November 19, 2009 – Quarterfinals
MATCH 1 No. 1 FIU vs. No. 8 North Texas 12:00 p.m.
MATCH 2 No. 4 New Orleans vs. No. 5 Arkansas State 2:30 p.m.
MATCH 3 No. 2 Middle Tennessee vs. No. 7 UALR 7:30 p.m.
MATCH 4 No. 3 WKU vs. No. 6 Denver
Friday, November 20, 2009 – Semifinals
MATCH 5 Winner of Match 1 vs. Winner of Match 2 5:00 p.m.
MATCH 6 Winner of Match 3 vs. Winner of Match 4 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, November 21, 2009 – Championship
MATCH 7 Winner of Match 5 vs. Winner of Match 6 3:00 p.m.
As the host institution WKU can choose their first round match time. WKU chose the 5 p.m. match time.
- PIONEERS -
Long Island University Blackbirds Volleyball Team Close Out Undefeated NEC Season with Win Over Bryant
BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The Long Island University volleyball team made easy work of Bryant in the final regular season match of the year, handing the Bulldogs a 3-0 (25-8, 25-11, 25-21) loss on Senior Day at the Wellness Center. Senior Svetlana Simic (Klek, Serbia) led all players with 14 kills, including the 1,000th of her career. Simic is just the second player in Blackbird history to record 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs.
With the victory, Long Island completes an undefeated conference season, going 16-0 in Northeast Conference play (19-13 overall). The Blackbirds jumped all over Bryant in the first set, using an 11-0 run to take a 16-3 lead. Long Island never looked back en route to a 25-8 win.
In the second stanza, the Blackbirds scored the first six points and stretched their lead to 18-8 before nailing down the set, 25-11. Bryant (11-23, 6-10 NEC) made things interesting in the third frame, cutting a seven-point deficit to two at 22-20. Long Island responded with three of the next four points to end the match with a 25-21 victory.
Simic added seven digs as she joined former teammate Martina Wagner as the only Blackbirds to tally 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs. Senior Martina Racic (Pula, Croatia) added seven kills and three digs and classmate Dunja Milin (Pula, Croatia) tallied 19 assists and five digs.
Long Island hit .272 for the match and held a 33-23 advantage in kills. Bryant hit -.012. The Bulldogs were paced by six kills from Macy Metravich and a match-high 11 digs by Robyn Gardner.
The Blackbirds will return to action in a week, when they host the NEC Tournament. The two-day festivities begin on Saturday, Nov. 21.
- LIU -
SBC Volleyball Championship Bracket Announced
Florida International University Women's Volleyball team is the overall No. 1 seed and will take on No. 8 seed North Texas on Thurs, Nov. 19 at 1 p.m. ET
NEW ORLEANS - On the day after the FIU completed its perfect conference season, going 17-0 against league opponents, the Sun Belt Conference released the seedings and schedule for the upcoming 2009 Sun Belt Conference Volleyball Championship.
The championship will be held Nov. 19-21 on the campus of WKU in Bowling Green, Ky. All matches will be available for webstream on SBC Extra and fans can purchase a tournament pass for only $9.95 to tune-in. The championship match will also be broadcast by the Sun Belt Network and aired on Nov. 22 at 5 p.m. CT/6 p.m. ET on CSS, and on Nov. 23 on CST at 6 p.m. CT/7 p.m. ET.
Seedings and a complete schedule for the 2009 SBC Volleyball Championship are listed below, as FIU is the overall No. 1 seed for the tournament and will face eighth-seeded North Texas on Thursday, Nov. 19 at 12 Noon/1 p.m. ET in quarterfinal action. Should the Panthers advance, they will go up against the winner of a quarterfinal match between No. 4 New Orleans and No. 5 Arkansas State on Friday, Nov. 20 at 5 p.m. CT/6 p.m. ET. The championship match is set for Saturday, Nov. 21 at 3 p.m. CT/4 p.m. ET.
Championship Seeds
1. FIU | 17-0 | 1.000 |
2. Middle Tennessee | 15-2 | .882 |
3. WKU | 13-4 | .765 |
* 4. New Orleans | 12-6 | .667 |
* 5. Arkansas State | 12-6 | .667 |
6. Denver | 11-7 | .611 |
7. UALR | 10-8 | .556 |
8. North Texas | 8-10 | .444 |
* New Orleans and Arkansas State tied for the West Division Championship and are declared co-champions. For the purposes of seeding New Orleans is the No. 4 seed and Arkansas State is the No. 5 seed since New Orleans defeated Arkansas State in both matches between the two schools this season.
Championship Schedule
Thursday, November 19, 2009 - Quarterfinals | ||
MATCH 1 | No. 1 FIU vs No. 8 North Texas | 12:00 PM |
MATCH 2 | No. 4 New Orleans vs No. 5 Arkansas State | 2:30 PM |
MATCH 3 | No. 2 Middle Tennessee vs No. 7 UALR | 7:30 PM |
MATCH 4 | No. 3 WKU vs No. 6 Denver | 5:00 PM |
Friday, November 20, 2009 - Semifinals | ||
MATCH 5 | Winner of Match 1 vs Winner of Match 2 | 5:00 PM |
MATCH 6 | Winner of Match 3 vs Winner of Match 4 | 7:30 PM |
Saturday, November 21, 2009 - Championship | ||
MATCH 7 | Winner of Match 5 vs Winner of Match 6 | 3:00 PM |
As the host institution WKU can choose their first round match time. WKU chose the 5 p.m. match time.
No. 2 Seed University of Tulsa Women's Volleyball team to Open C-USA Championship vs. No. 7 UAB
Golden Hurricane (24-6, 13-3 C-USA) takes on Blazers at 2 p.m. Friday
TULSA, Okla. – The No. 2 seed University of Tulsa volleyball team will open the 2009 Conference USA Championship Friday against No. 7 seed UAB at 2 p.m. at Rice’s Tudor Fieldhouse in Houston.
The Golden Hurricane (24-6, 13-3 C-USA) defeated UAB (17-15, 9-7 C-USA), 3-0, on Oct. 18 at the Reynolds Center. Tulsa is 1-1 against UAB in C-USA Championship matches, losing, 3-1 in the 2006 semifinals, and winning, 3-2, in the 2007 Championship match to advance to its first ever NCAA Tournament.
TU is paired on its side of the bracket with third-seeded Tulane and sixth-seeded SMU, which open the tournament at noon Friday. The winners of each match meet in the first semifinal at 2 p.m. Saturday
No. 4 seed and host Rice plays No. 5 seed Marshall at 5 p.m., and No. 1 seed Southern Miss plays No. 8 seed Houston at 7 p.m. Friday. The winners of that side of the bracket will play the second semifinal at 4 p.m. Saturday. The championship match will take place Sunday at 1 p.m. and will be televised by CBS College Sports.
Tulsa advanced to the semifinals in 2006 and 2007, and won the tournament in 2007. The Golden Hurricane has been a top-four seed in four of the five years it has been a member of Conference USA. UAB has played in the championship match in each of the last three years, and it won the championship in 2006. Tulane won the tournament last season.
