William and Mary Volleyball Women Blow By
James Madison on Senior Night, 3-0
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The FIU volleyball team clinched the Sun Belt Conference regular season title on Saturday night at Alumni Memorial Gym with a 3-1 (26-24, 25-22, 22-25, 26-24) victory over Middle Tennessee. The Panthers are winners of 19 straight matches and improve to 26-2 (16-0 SBC) on the season with the win.
The squads battled to a 12-12 tie in the first set before the Blue Raiders pulled ahead, 17-14. Following an FIU timeout, MTSU got another point before the Panthers tallied one of their own to make it 18-15. Senior Olga Vergun took a pass from junior Natalia Valentin and slammed home a kill to pull FIU within two, but a Panther hitting error put the gap back to three at 19-16.
FIU then recorded four of the next five points to knot the score at 20-20 and force a Blue Raider timeout. After the break, MTSU came through with a pair of points to go ahead by two and a Rosa kill was off-set by a Panther service error as the Blue Raiders went ahead, 23-21, but FIU would not go away as Rosa recorded a kill and a service ace to tie the score at 23-23.
The Blue Raiders tallied a point to reach set-point position at 24-23 and FIU called a timeout. Following the break, Bjelica slammed home a kill and with the score tied at 24-24, Rosa came through the middle for a kill to put FIU ahead, 25-24. An MTSU attack error ended the set and the Panthers came away with a 26-24 first-set victory to go ahead, 1-0, for the match.
The second set saw the same intensity as the first, as both teams fought to numerous ties and lead changes. With the score knotted at 16-16, FIU tallied four straight points to go ahead 20-16. MTSU retaliated with a pair of points but Vergun and Rosa each scored on tips over the net to pull ahead, 22-18.
Following a Blue Raider timeout, MTSU tallied two points to come within two at 22-20 but Rosa slammed home a kill from the left side to put FIU up by three at 23-20. A Blue Raider kill once again brought them within two at 23-21 but Rosa struck from the right side this time to put FIU in set-point position at 24-21. MTSU gained one more point but Bjelica tallied a kill to give FIU a 25-22 second-set win and a 2-0 lead for the match.
Set three matched the competitiveness of the first two stanzas and with the score tied at 17-17 MTSU went ahead, 18-17, to force an FIU timeout. Out of the break, Bjelica came through the middle for a kill to knot the score at 18-18 before a Blue Raider attack error and an MTSU violation put the Panthers on top by two at 20-18.
The Blue Raiders then scored five consecutive points to take the lead at 23-20. The Panthers countered with two hard kills to come within one at 23-22, but MTSU retaliated with a pair of points to take a 25-22 set win.
Up 2-1 for the match, FIU held a 17-15 lead in the fourth set. MTSU tallied a point but Rosa retaliated with a kill. The Blue Raiders then recorded two points to knot the score at 18-18 before Bjelica connected from the right side and Vergun and senior Ines Medved combined for a block to give the Panthers a two-point advantage at 20-18.
After an MTSU timeout, Vergun and Medved teamed up again for a stop at the net to put the Panthers on top, 21-18. The Blue Raiders gained a point but Bjelica retaliated with a kill to make the score, 22-19. MTSU got another tally before Vergun recorded a score to put the score at 23-20.
The Blue Raiders recorded a pair of points to force a Panther timeout and out of the break, MTSU tied the score at 23-23. Rosa slammed home a kill from the left side to put FIU in match-point position but MTSU came back with a kill to tie the score at 24-24. A pair of Blue Raider service errors then gave the Panthers a 26-24 set victory and a 3-1 win.
Three Panthers reached double digits in kills on the night, as Rosa recorded 21 kills and Vergun and Bjelica added 18 and 14 kills, respectively. Valentin tallied 52 assists while Vergun led the FIU defense with six blocks. Lakovic had another outstanding night as she tallied four kills compared to zero errors for a hitting percentage of .500. She also added a pair of block assists.
FIU will return to the court on Wednesday, Nov. 11, as the Panthers host non-conference foe Florida Gulf Coast at 6:30 p.m. at the U.S. Century Bank Arena. FIU will then travel to Boca Raton, Fla., on Saturday, Nov. 14 to face Florida Atlantic in the squad’s SBC regular season finale. First serve versus the Owls is set for 7 p.m.
-FIU-
Panthers Volleyball Team Clinch SBC Regular Season
Title With 3-1 Win Over MTSU
FIU wins 19thstraight match, Panthers improve to 26-2 overall
VCU RALLIES PAST GEORGE MASON, 3-2; RAMS IN CAA DRIVER’S SEAT
RICHMOND, Va. – Freshman Michala Kvapilova (Liberec, Czech Republic) blasted eight of her 19 kills in the final two sets to spearhead Virginia Commonwealth University’s 3-2 (25-17, 22-25, 13-25, 25-15, 15-13) come-from-behind victory over George Mason Saturday at the Verizon Wireless Arena.
VCU has won seven straight and improves to 22-8 overall and 10-2 in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Rams have pulled even with Delaware for first place in the CAA. However, VCU owns the tiebreaker with the Blue Hens, by virtue of its 3-2 victory earlier this season.
George Mason slipped to 20-8 overall and 9-4 in CAA play.
Kvapilova hit .750 in the final two sets and did not record an error as the Rams hit .393 and .292, respectively. Freshman Marisa Low (Carlsbad, Calif.) was critical at libero Saturday, registering 20 digs, many in spectacular fashion.
The Rams were teetering on disaster by the end of the third set, as they watched the Patriots record eight blocks in a 25-13 blowout to take a 2-1 advantage in the match.
However, VCU was able to refocus and pick up a victory that may end up deciding the CAA regular season champion.
“We were ready to play today, but Mason made some great adjustments,” VCU Head Coach James Finley said. “A lot of teams, when you get beat like that in game three will fold. But the girls were determined not to let this one get away. I’m proud of the way they gutted it out in game four to give us a chance.”
Also for VCU, junior Mariel Frey (Lititz, Pa.) logged 11 kills and 18 digs, while senior Ivana Rich (Cumberland, Va.) kicked in 10 kills and .450.
Holly Goode sparked George Mason with 13 kills, 15 digs and seven blocks. Kelsey Bohman added 11 kills and nine blocks, including six in the third set alone.
The Rams will look to clinch their first CAA regular season title with a pair of matches next weekend. On Friday, Nov. 13, VCU will meet Georgia State in Atlanta at 5:30 p.m. On Sunday, Nov. 15, the Rams face UNC Wilmington at 1 p.m.
- The senior class was honored before the match, and then stepped to the fore and led the William and Mary volleyball team to a dominating 3-0 sweep of James Madison in the final home match of the 2009 season on Saturday night. With the win, the Tribe improves to 16-10, 8-4 in the CAA, while the Dukes fall to 11-18, 4-9 CAA.
Box Score
"What a terrific way to send our seniors out of the Hall," coach Melissa Aldrich Shelton '91 said. "[The seniors] KG, Lindsey, Pita, and B all had terrific performances tonight. Our team played loose and with purpose, such a turnaround from last night. I couldn't be prouder."
Senior Katie McCarney (Dallas, Texas) hit a career-high .700 with eight kills and two blocks to lead her team to the win. Classmate Lauren Powell (Tulsa, Okla.) also hit amazingly well, scoring eight kills and no errors on a .500 attack, while adding seven digs, two aces, and two blocks. Lindsey Pflugner (Sarasota, Fla.) continued to make her case for all-conference honors, providing a match-high 18 digs. Senior Bryana Carey (Balboa Island, Calif.) was also very effective coming off the bench to provide a steadying influence on the court, and the senior class finished the night hitting .500 with 16 kills, 27 digs, four blocks, three assists, and two aces.
The underclassmen also played extremely well, as the team hit .409 with 42 kills and only six errors, the 13th-best attacking performance in school history. It was also the best performance since the Tribe hit .451 against Hampton in 2006, when the seniors were freshmen.
Junior Erin Skipper (Yorktown, Va.) scored a team-best 10 kills on a .474 attack, and added four digs and three service aces. SophomoreLindsay Kresch (Moon Township, Pa.) had nine kills and no errors on a .429 attack, and added 12 digs and tied Ginny Bray (Cary, N.C.) with three blocks. Bray was the third underclassmen to hit better than .400, totaling six kills and one error for a .455 attack. Junior setter Cassie Crumal (Castle Rock, Colo.) directed the offense with 32 assists on 62 attempts, and added six digs and an ace.
JMU was able to hang close early in the first set, but the Tribe blew open the game with a 10-2 run to go up 17-7, and closed the set on a 7-1 run to win 25-12. W&M hit .448 in the opening stanza, led by McCarney's 5-for-5 performance and Kresch's 4-for-9, including the final two points of the set.
The College hit even better in the second set, totaling 13 kills on a .476 attack, and again closed on a 7-2 run to win 25-13. While there wasn't an extended run in the middle of the frame, W&M was very methodical and unstoppable in putting together two- and three-point rallies against one-point efforts for the Dukes. Crumal had 11 assists on just 21 attack attempts in the set, as Skipper hit four kills in five attempts.
Coming out the break, James Madison managed to find their attack, but it was simply not enough as the Tribe hit .342 with 15 kills and broke open a close set with a 6-1 run in the middle of the stanza to go up 15-11. A renewed Dukes attack began the close the gap, getting as close as one at 20-19, but the College put together a 5-2 run to close out the match and win the set, 25-21. Crumal had 14 assists, and Skipper had five kills on a .500 attack to go with two aces, three digs, and a solo block.
The Tribe will hit the road next weekend to close out the regular season at UNC Wilmington and Georgia State. With one more win, William and Mary can clinch a spot in the CAA Championships for the third year in a row, and will seek that victory either Friday night at UNCW at 7 p.m., or Sunday in Atlanta at 12 p.m.
Georgia State Volleyball Falls to Northeastern in Four
Boston, Mass. - For the second straight night the Georgia State
volleyball team stepped up and played some of its best defense of the
year. Unfortunately, the Panthers could not overcome a pair of Huskie
triple-doubles as the Panthers fell 3-1 (27-25, 24-26, 25-22, 25-22) to
Northeastern on Saturday night.
Junior Ashley Jones scored her 16th double-double of the season to lead
the Panthers. Jones landed 10 kills and 14 assists, as well as nine
digs, falling one dig shy of her seventh triple-double of the season
which would have tied her with Stanford’s Cassidy Litchman for the
national lead. Jones has missed five triple-doubles this season by just
one dig.
The loss dropped Georgia State to 16-12 and 3-9 in the CAA. The win
improved Northeastern to 14-11 and 7-5 in the CAA. The Huskies still
have an outside shot to qualify for the CAA Championship which will only
take the top four teams this season with one week to play.
Redshirt-junior Audrey Cantrell scored 23 digs to move within 29 of the
single-season record held by Kumi Ishiyama since 2002. Cantrell has 484
digs this season, the third-most in a single season. The Rockwall, Texas
native also moved within 37 of Ana Paul Ferreira (2003-07) for fourth on
the all-time digs list.
Freshman Jamiee Freeman finished one kill shy of a career-high with
nine, while adding 18 of the Panthers 83 digs. Freeman also scored four
total blocks as Georgia State finished the match with three block solos
and 20 block assists.
Junior Raquel Jones, who has continued to see more playing time since
transferring to State, scored four kills and seven total blocks, one shy
of a career-high.
Senior Jocelyn Waldern, playing her final road match for the Panthers,
finished with six kills and 11 digs, along with a pair of service aces.
Georgia State entered the weekend fifth in the NCAA in service aces per
set, scoring a total of five on Saturday evening.
Sophomore Muki Kangwa finished the match with five kills and seven
digs, while fellow sophomore Chelsea Perry added a team-high 16
assists.
Redshirt-sophomore Vineece Verdun added six kills and five total blocks
for State.
Northeastern scored triple-doubles from Britney Brown and Jessica
Tkachuk. Brown scored 20 kills, 22 assists and 14 digs, while Tkachuk
finished the match with 14 kills, 25 assists and 19 digs.
Leah Neubeck added a 34 digs as the Huskies swept the Panthers in the
season series.
The Panthers return home for Senior Weekend next Friday, for the final
weekend of the regular season. Georgia State will take on VCU at 5:30
p.m., before closing the season against William & Mary on Sunday at
noon. State will honor lone senior Jocelyn Waldern in pre-match
ceremonies on Friday night.
---www.GeorgiaStateSports.com-
Mavs Volleyball Women Knock Off Lamar, Clinch SLC Tourney Bid
November 7, 2009
ARLINGTON, Texas – Three players finished with double-figure kills and Alicia Shaffer led UT Arlington with a career-high 26 digs in the Mavericks 11-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-17 victory over Lamar on Senior Night at Texas Hall on Saturday. The victory secures UT Arlington (11-15, 7-7 SLC) a spot in the Southland Conference Tournament while Lamar drops to 13-12 overall and to 8-6 in the SLC.
“I think it was a very exciting match,” UT Arlington head coach Diane Seymour said. “I don’t necessarily think it was a consistently well played match by either team throughout the match. I told our players that we need to make a strong statement against this team, because we might be seeing them in the conference tournament. Our team did a good job of that tonight.”
Amanda Aguilera led all players with 14 kills, Tara Frantz had 13 kills and equaled a career best four blocks while Bianca Sauls recorded her third double-double this season with 10 kills and 14 digs. Shaffer’s 26 digs are the most by a Maverick since Nov. 10, 2007.
A lackluster first set saw the Lady Cardinals post a 25-11 victory. UTA never led in the set and had six hitting errors (.059) as Lamar used 15 kills to take a 1-0 lead in the match. Shaffer put up eight digs in the first set.
UT Arlington took the second set, 25-23, after the Mavericks and Lady Cardinals had 14 ties and seven lead changes in a set that neither team led by more than two points. Aguilera had four kills on six swings and Sauls notched four kills with one hitting error on nine swings. Shaffer tallied five digs and setter Raegan Daniel collected 13 assists in the frame.
Daniel finished with her 10th double-double of the season with 40 assists and 12 digs to go with six kills and a pair of blocks.
The Mavericks trailed 19-20 late in the pivotal third set before Frantz sparked the Mavericks with five kills to guide UTA to the 25-21 victory.
Frantz recorded kills in all five swings with no errors while Aguilera chipped in four kills in the third set and Shaffer added six digs.
The Mavericks trailed 11-12 before going on a 9-3 run that put UT Arlington in the lead for good. During the run, UTA used kills from Aguilera, Daniel, Sauls and Christy Driscoll and capitalized on two Lamar hitting errors.
UT Arlington recognized senior Teena Sobczak prior to the match, who is the lone senior for the Mavericks. With the Mavs trailing 21-22 in the second set, Sobczak recorded a kill to tie the set, but went down on the play and did not return. She also recorded two digs in the match.
UT Arlington finishes the regular season on the road with a pair of matches next week at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Nov. 13 – 7 p.m.) and UTSA (Nov. 14 – 3:30 p.m.).
MATCH NOTES:
UT Arlington improves to 49-26-2 all-time against Lamar with a dominating 22-3 record over the Lady Cardinals in Arlington... the victory snaps a four-match losing streak to Lamar (last win on 10/14/06).
Mavericks finish season 7-1 in SLC matches at home... In SLC play, UTA went 6-1 at home in 2007 and had a perfect 9-0 record at Texas Hall in 2006.
Third time this season UT Arlington had three players with at least 10 kills and the first time since Sept. 26... also had three players with double-figure kills against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and had four players with at least 10 kills against UTSA (Sept. 24).
Mavericks’ second straight match with at least 10 blocks, as UTA finished with 11.0 against Lamar... UTA has nine matches this season with at least 10.0 blocks and are 9-0 in those matches.
It was the 13th time this season that UTA has limited its opponent to below a .200 hitting percentage... Lamar hit .204 on Saturday... UTA has held seven opponents below a .100 hitting percentage, which is the most since 2006 (7 times in 2006).
It was Bianca Sauls’ 15th career double-double and third this season... UTA is 3-0 this season when Sauls puts away a double-double.
Raegan Daniel collects her 21st career double-double and 17th career match with at least 40 assists (40 vs. Lamar)... She now has seven matches this season with at least 40 assists... Daniel had 10 matches with 40 or more in 2008.
Amanda Aguilera led the Mavericks in kills for the second straight match and for the fourth time this season.
Alicia Shaffer has now led the Mavs in digs 11 times this season, including four of the last five matches... Shaffer has six career (4 this season) matches with at least 20 digs... Previous career-high was 25 at Sam Houston State this season on Oct. 3, 2009.
For more information on Mavericks Volleyball check out their new official website @ http://www.utamavs.com/sports/
No. 2 TEXAS Volleyball Women sweep past Missouri
Texas hits .371 and notches 11.0 team blocks in its 3-0 win over the Tigers.
COLUMBIA, Mo. – The second-ranked Texas Volleyball team hit .371 as a team and notched 11 blocks in its sweep of Missouri, Saturday evening at the Hearnes Center. The 25-21, 25-8, 25-23 victory improved the Longhorns to 19-1 on the year and 14-1 in the Big 12, while the Tigers dropped to 15-11 overall and 6-8 in conference matches.
Texas led early in the first before a 4-1 Missouri rally erased the Horns’ advantage and tied the set at eight. The Longhorns answered immediately with a 5-1 run capped by a kill from senior All-America outside hitter Destinee Hooker to take a 13-9 lead. A 4-1 rally paced by three MU miscues allowed Texas to push the advantage to 19-12. The Tigers narrowed the margin to 19-15, but three straight points, including a back row kill from Hooker gave UT a 22-15 edge. Missouri rallied late to shrink the lead to 24-21, but a Hooker kill ended the set 25-21.
In the second, Texas led from the start and used a 9-1 run headlined by two kills and a solo block from junior middle blocker Jennifer Doris to balloon the lead to 13-4. A 5-0 run paced by three Texas blocks stretched the margin to 19-6. After allowing one Mizzou point, Texas went on a 6-1 run to close the frame, taking advantage of two of its seven second-set blocks to seal the set 25-8. Sophomore middle blocker Rachael Adams recorded five block assists in the set and senior All-America opposite hitter Ashley Engle notched four block assists.
The Longhorns used a quick 6-0 run paced by a kill and a block from Doris to grab a 7-1 lead to start the third set. Missouri battled back to narrow the lead to four, but a 4-1 Texas run led by two Doris kills pushed the Texas lead to 19-12. The Tigers answered with an 8-3 run of their own to move the tally to 22-20. Two Mizzou errors and a Hooker kill forced set point at the 24-20 mark, but Texas did not close the match until Hooker connected for her 17th kill of the match to end the set 25-23.
Hooker paced the Texas attack with a match-high 17 kills on .400 hitting, while Doris notched eight kills on 11 error-free swings and equaled a career-best with a .727 attack mark. Engle and junior All-America outside hitter Juliann Faucette each tallied six kills, with Engle adding 17 assists, nine digs and four blocks.
Texas returns to action on Wednesday, Nov. 11 when it plays host to Texas Tech. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m. Central.
POST-MATCH NOTES
· Texas’ win improves its record to 18-10 all-time against Missouri.
· Jennifer Doris equaled her season-best effort with eight kills against Mizzou and equaled her career-best hitting percentage with her .727 attack mark.
· The Longhorns notched seven total blocks in its 25-8 second-set win.
· Texas out-hit Missouri 11.0-to-4.0 and out-hit the Tigers .371-to-.075.
POST-MATCH QUOTES
Head coach Jerritt Elliott
General statement: I am very pleased and I feel like we bounced back really well. We had two very good days of practice and it showed tonight in a place that we have struggled in the past. I thought our team did an excellent job of managing our new system. We got a lot of good production from a lot of people. This is a fun team to coach.
On Texas’ offensive balance: It has been a focus for us. Against Iowa State we got pretty predictable and didn’t have as much balance as we needed. This new lineup gives us an opportunity with players getting healthy and it lets us get more from the middles and our right pin.
On Texas’ efficiency: We blocked really well in game two and our production was really good in all three games. We made a few too many errors in game three and in rally scoring that can let the other team back in the game. You need to be efficient on both ends of the ball. We earned 22 points in game three and when you do that you should win handily.
Blackbirds Get by Saint Francis (Pa.), 3-1
LORETTO, Pa. – The Long Island University volleyball team held off a late Saint Francis (Pa.) charge and took a 3-1 (25-17, 23-25, 25-21, 29-27) victory on the road to extend its conference unbeaten streak to 13 matches. Three Blackbirds registered double figures in kills, led by senior Martina Racic (Pula, Croatia) with 18.
In the first set, the Blackbirds (16-13) jumped out to an 8-2 lead and never looked back en route to a 25-17 win. Saint Francis battled back in the second stanza, narrowing the match at one set each with a 25-23 win. Long Island answered back with a 25-21 win in the third frame.
The fourth set was tight from the get-go, as the teams traded points from the outset. As it turned out, the allotted 25 points would not be enough to decide the set. With the score knotted at 27-27, Racic scored a kill, followed by an attack error by Saint Francis’ Shirley Miller, giving the Blackbirds a 29-27 victory in the set and a 3-1 win in the match.
Long Island hit .248 for the match and enjoyed a 57-53 advantage in the kills column. Racic also finished with a team-high 14 digs. JuniorZuzana Buchlova (Pelhrmov, Czech Republic) added 13 kills and senior Svetlana Simic (Klek, Serbia) chimed in with 12 of her own.
Saint Francis dropped to 7-21 (4-8 NEC). The Red Flash hit a chintzy .159 for the match. Saint Francis was led by 18 kills from Lauren Wingard and 15 digs from Miller.
Long Island will return to action on Sunday, Nov. 8 with a visit to Robert Morris at 1:00 p.m.
- LIU -
Mastodons Sweep Leathernecks
Rebekah Roehm picks up double-double with 15 kills and 11 digs
Macomb, IL – The IPFW Mastodons swept the Western Illinois Leathernecks on Saturday evening 25-23, 25-20, 25-22, shrugging off any after-effects of the team’s tough three-set loss the night before, moving one step closer to earning their third Summit League Tournament bid in as many years in the league.
Rebekah Roehm tied for the match-high with 15 kills, as Maya Schlindwein added 10. Taryn Parker and Stephanie Lamberti were each near the double-figure mark with seven kills each. Roehm led the team with 11 digs for her 35th career double-double, which ties the senior for the fifth most career double-doubles in school history.
Schlindwein led the team with four blocks, as Alli Hook and Parker had three apiece. Schlindwein also added a trio of service aces, as freshman setter Megan Steenhuysen dished out 41 assists, as 44 of the team’s 45 kills were assisted on the evening.
With the evening’s win, the Mastodons improve to 10-6 in the Summit League, and have moved into third place in the league standings with one weekends’ worth of contests remaining. North Dakota State has secured the regular season title, and IUPUI has a slim lead on the IPFW and Oakland for the second seed. The Jaguars are 11-6 in the conference, while the Mastodons and Grizzlies are both 10-6, with IPFW holding the tiebreaker over their travel partner.
IPFW trailed on just one occasion in the opening set, when the hosts scored the match’s first point, leading 1-0, before the Mastodons ran off runs of 5-0 and 3-0 to lead by six at 18-12. Ahead by six at 24-18, the Leathernecks fought back, scoring five straight points to put the set in doubt, but a Roehm kill ended the comeback hopes for the hosts in the 25-23 opening-set win.
Early goings in the second set were a tight effort, as the teams found themselves tied at every increment from two to six, and again at eight before the hosts ran off three straight points to lead 11-8. The Western Illinois lead grew to as many as four at 17-13, before the ‘Dons mounted a comeback, ending the set on a 12-3 run, putting IPFW ahead 2-0 heading into the between-set intermission.
Western Illinois jumped ahead early in the third set, but would lead by only as many as two on a pair of occasions, until IPFW scored six straight points to lead by five at 11-6. The ‘Dons would not trail again; however, the feisty Leatherneck squad fought back, and eventually tied the set at 20 and 21. With the team’s knotted at 21, IPFW put its foot on the gas pedal, and scored four of the match’s last five points to secure the sweep.
Cait Egan led Western Illinois with 15 kills, as Krissy Bergquist added 13. Ellen Miller had a match-best 20 digs, with Lindsay Muehlbauer adding 14. Miller, in addition to her high dig total, dished out 40 assists to pace the Leathernecks.
The Mastodons host UMKC and Southern Utah to cap the 2009 regular season at the Hilliard Gates Sports Center.
~Dons~
