An inspirational volleyball news hub with a gift and shopping directory for girls and college volleyball players, parents and fans to learn about the indoor and sand game and its female heroes, with inspiring volleyball players stories, self-coaching and training information, volleyball pictures and videos.
Find sites with the Volleyball Voices Search Engine
Volleyball Voices is the doorway to the Volleyball web. Our search engine focuses on volleyball web sites. Can't find what you are looking for? Just use the search box to find what you need on the volleyball web.
College Volleyball Team News
As a service to Volleyball Voices readers, we will provide verbatim texts of selected press releases issued by volleyball-related organizations, federations, schools and universities, businesses and sponsors.
These press releases will appear as sent to Volleyball Voices and are not edited for spelling, grammar or punctuation.
Blog Directory www.free-seo.jp free SEO guide & Free SEO techniques about various Search Engine Optimization resources available around us on the internet. Submit your url, Add reciprocal link exchange directory.
Cal Poly Women's Volleyball Team Completes Road Slate with Five-Set Loss at UC Davis
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 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 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 5:00 p.m.
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.
Week 12: Today's Women's College Volleyball News, Scores, Standings and Stats from Georgia State, Xavier, Maryland, Quinnipiac, Hofstra, Kentucky, Alabama
Audrey Cantrell Sets Digs Record as Georgia State
Women's Volleyball Team Falls to William & Mary
ATLANTA - Redshirt-junior Audrey Cantrell set a trio of digs records on Sunday afternoon as the Georgia State volleyball team fell 3-1 (40-38, 18-25, 17-25, 20-25) to William & Mary at the GSU Sports Arena. Cantrell established a new single-season digs mark with 531 and set the four-set match record with 36, while establishing a career-high.
A wild first-set, that included 78 total points, 26 ties and 12 lead changes, unfortunately could not give State enough momentum heading into the second set. Georgia State scored 29 kills in the set, led by redshirt-sophomore Vineece Verdun who had eight. Sophomore Chelsea Perry earned 22 assists in the set, while Cantrell scored 14 digs.
“The first set shows that we are capable of playing with anyone,” commented head coach Mike Webster. “We are a very athletic group and when we put our minds to it, can do anything against really good competition. Unfortunately, we could not carry that play over into the second, third and fourth sets.”
The loss concluded the 2009 season for Georgia State. The Panthers finished the year 16-14 overall, 3-11 in the CAA. With the win, William & Mary improved to 18-10 overall, 10-4 in the CAA. The Tribe will advance to next weekend’s CAA Championship to be hosted by either Delaware or VCU.
The Rockwall, Texas native eclipsed Kumi Ishiyama’s 2002 record of 513 digs in a season. Cantrell also moved into fourth place on the all-time digs list on Sunday with 1162 in her career, surpassing Ana Paula Ferriera (2003-07). She will need 466 digs during her senior season to catch Christen Garcia’s (2003-06) all-time mark of 1628.
Cantrell finished the match with a Panther season-high 36 digs. It broke Samantha Walker’s record of 32 set at Stetson on October 1, 1998. The redshirt-junior also broke her previous bests of 30 digs in a match set twice during the 2008 season.
“I am really excited for Audrey,” stated Webster. “She has been among the top of the CAA the last two years and we could not have accomplished what we did this season without her success.”
Senior Jocelyn Waldern, playing in her final match in a Panther uniform, scored a double-double in her final performance, tying a career-high with 12 kills, adding 10 digs and three service aces.
Waldern finishes her career with 479 kills, 451 digs, 106 service aces and 52 assists.
Junior Ashley Jones, who finishes the season with 16 double-doubles and six triple-doubles, scored 15 kills and six digs in the loss. Verdun finished the match with 13 kills and three total blocks, while Perry scored a career-high 45 assists.
Freshman Jamiee Freeman finished her first year in impressive fashion, scoring eight kills and 18 digs.
Sophomore Muki Kangwa added six kills and seven digs.
The Tribe was led by Erin Skipper’s 22 kills, while Lindsay Kresch added 18 kills and 19 digs.
Cassie Crumal scored a match-high 60 assists, while Lauren Powell also added a double-double of 16 kills and 28 digs.
Sunday’s match concludes the 2009 regular season. Continue to follow the Panthers at GeorgiaStateSports.com as the off-season gets underway. Among the things to watch for will be the CAA awards, which will be announced later in the week.
CINCINNATI - Seniors Lauren Kaminsky, Hillary Otte and Kelly Ruth closed out their final home match in style as the Xavier volleyball team swept visiting Charlotte, 3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-16), Sunday afternoon in Cintas Center. Otte and Ruth both recorded double-digit kills in the match for the Musketeers.
Junior Claire Paszkiewicz tallied a double-double for the Musketeers with a match-high 34 assists and 14 digs while Stephanie Vorherr got under a match-high 16 digs. XU held CHA to a minuscule .009 hitting percentage for the match as the 49ers committed 19 errors to their 20 kills.
Xavier (19-11, 11-4 A-10) took a quick 9-3 lead to open the first set and never looked back. Charlotte scored three straight to pull within three, 9-6, but that would be as close as the Niners would get. The Musketeers led by as many as 10 in the game and was able to take the set on a 49er service error, 25-16.
Charlotte (15-16, 6-9 A-10) kept the second set closer in the early going and held an 8-5 advantage after a service ace from Cincinnati native Abbie Rees. A Musketeer attack error gave the Niners a three-point lead, 13-10, before XU rallied for four straight to take over the advantage. Xavier rattled off five straight to end the frame with a 25-18 win.
The Musketeers went up 8-3 on the Niners in the third set but Charlotte was able to go ahead 11-10 after five consecutive Xavier attack errors. The XU lead was four at 19-15 and the Musketeers used a 4-0 run to push their lead to eight, 23-15. Ruth sealed the third-set win with a kill as XU took the frame, 25-16, and the match, 3-0.
The 49ers were lead by Jennifer Webb with seven kills and Kaitlin Knight with 13 digs.
With the conclusion of the regular season, the Musketeers will next be in action at the 2009 Atlantic 10 Championship which is being held in Dayton, Ohio, Nov. 20-21 at UD's Frericks Center. The third-seeded Musketeers will face the sixth seed of the tournament in the first match on Friday.
Terrapins cap unbeaten weekend with 3-0 win against Wolfpack.
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The senior trio of Katie Usher, Hayley Hanson and Christina Paul enjoyed a victorious Senior Day, as the University of Maryland volleyball team swept visiting NC State Sunday afternoon at Comcast Pavilion, 25-15, 25-21 and 25-20.
Sophomore Lisa Scott led the Terrapins with a match-best 13 kills on .435 hitting to lead Maryland to an unbeaten weekend in conference play, as the Terps ousted North Carolina, 3-1, Friday evening.
The Terps (13-17, 5-12 ACC) more or less cruised in the opening set. With the Wolfpack (7-25, 0-17 ACC) leading 4-3, Maryland responded with an 8-1 run to take an 11-5 lead and force an NC State timeout. The Wolfpack battled within three points on a couple occasions, but never closer. The Terps hit .333 in the stanza and freshman Remy McBain continued her solid play with 10 assists on 16 Maryland kills. Scott posted six of her 13 kills in set No. 1.
Maryland wasn’t as sharp in the second set. The Wolfpack scored the first three points and led 7-3. But the Terps clawed their way back and caught up, 13-13, before grabbing their first lead at 14-13 on an Usher service ace.
NC State never led again in the set, but was within one at 21-20 before Maryland scored four straight points to take a 2-0 lead.
The Wolfpack had the Terps down late in the third set, 18-16. Similarly to the previous set, though, the Terps answered with a big run to put the match away. Maryland ripped off seven consecutive points with three coming on kills by Scott.
Receiving match point at 24-20, the day came to a fitting end as Usher notched the clinching kill on a set from fellow senior Hanson.
McBain continued her solid freshman season, flirting with a triple-double on 23 assists, eight kills and seven digs. Freshman Kara Bates added eight kills of her own. Hanson finished with 14 assists and freshman Sam Rosario led all players with 20 digs.
Keri DeMar led the Wolfpack with nine kills.
The Terps embark on their final road trip of the season next weekend with matches Friday and Sunday at Miami and Florida State, respectively.
HAMDEN, Conn. – Sophomore Kelby Carey (Surfside, Calif.) tied her career-high with 24 kills while also adding a career-high 21 digs as the Quinnipiac University volleyball team came from behind to defeat Saint Francis (Pa.), 3-2, on Senior Day Sunday afternoon at the Burt Kahn Court. With the win, the Bobcats improve to 4-25 (3-13 NEC), while the Red Flash falls to 7-25 (4-12 NEC). The double-double was Carey’s 12th of the season, and her first 20-20 performance.
“After the first two sets, it would have been easy to hang our heads. But, the team stayed calm and focused. It was fantastic to see them put together three solid sets in a row. This match epitomized the hard work and dedication that this team has shown all year. I couldn’t be prouder of them,” said Quinnipiac Head Coach Robin Sparks.
After falling behind, 2-0, through two sets, the Bobcats regrouped to win the final three sets. Saint Francis took the first two sets, 25-23 and 29-27, respectively, before Quinnipiac won the final three sets, 25-21, 25-19 and 15-11.
Chelsey Pachoud (Riverview, Fla.) and Kayla Lawler (Richmond, Ind.) also added a double-doubles. Pachoud tallied 14 kills and 12 digs, while Lawler had a team-high 42 assists and 16 digs. Logan Riker (Bowling Green, Ohio) had a career-high 25 digs. Senior Erin Overdevest (Bridgeton, N.J.) finished her career with 10 digs, while Alyssa Naylor (San Diego, Calif.) added 10 kills. Taylor Payne (Warwick, N.Y.) added eight kills and four blocks.
Hempstead, NY - In its final match of the 2009 season, the Hofstra Volleyball team gave a valiant effort before dropping a heart-breaking five-set decision to Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) co-regular season champion Delaware on Sunday afternoon in the Physical Fitness Center. The two teams combined for 49 tie scores and 19 lead changes in the two-hour and 21-minute match.
Junior middle blocker Anissa Whitney led the Pride with 18 kills, while also adding five blocks. With the loss, Hofstra ends its 2009 campaign with a record of 13-19 overall and a CAA mark of 7-7.
Delaware, which won the match by scores of 32-30, 25-27, 23-25, 25-19 and 16-14, improves to 19-7 and 12-2 in conference play and will be the #2 seed in the CAA Championship next week.
Hofstra would drop a tough first set as Delaware earned a 32-30 victory behind six kills on 11 attempts from Kim Stewart. Delaware looked to be in control as they led 19-13 before Hofstra rallied and eventually tied the score at 22 on a kill from Whitney. The two squads would go back and forth with each team having an opportunity to take the first set before the Blue Hens used back-to-back errors from the Pride to take the narrow victory.
Looking to tie the match, the Pride jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the second set as senior outside hitter Monica Knight and redshirt freshman middle blocker Carolyn Jenkins each contributed kills to lead the early run. Delaware would battle back, though, as the Blue Hens finally knotted the score at 18 on a service ace from Paige Erickson. A Delaware error would give Hofstra the lead back and kills from Whitney and graduate student outside hitter Marina Markovic pushed the Pride advantage to 21-18. The teams would be tied up once again, this time at 25, before a service error from Delaware and a kill from Markovic tied the match at one set apiece.
Hofstra would take a two sets to one lead in the match as they defeated Delaware, 25-23, in the third stanza behind four kills from Knight. Another tight set saw the score tied at 23 before Markovic put the Pride back in the lead at 24-23 and a bad set by Delaware gave Hofstra the victory.
In the fourth set, Delaware used a 4-1 run midway through the stanza to break a 16-all tie and lead 20-17 following an ace from Alissa Alker. That would all the breathing room Delaware would need as they closed the set by scoring nine of the final 12 points to win 25-19.
Hofstra looked to be in control in the final set, jumping out to a 5-1 lead after a kill from Jenkins. Delaware quickly regrouped and eventually tied the score at six following a ball handling error by the Pride. The two teams would go back and forth over the next few points until the match was once again tied at 14 after back-to-back kills from Whitney. Katie Dennehy put the Blue Hens back in front with a kill and an attack error by the Pride would end the match.
Today's match was the final one in the careers of the Pride's three seniors - setter Chrissey Cruz, right side Francesca Garay and outside hitter Monica Knight. Cruz finished with 57 assists and 19 digs, while Knight had 15 kills and a career-high 25 digs.
Freshman libero Kylee Maneja picked up a career-high 33 digs in the match for Hofstra.
Delaware was led by 14 kills from Stewart and Dennehy, while Stewart also added 20 digs. Jess Chason had 45 assists and 15 digs for the Blue Hens.
AUBURN, Ala. – Senior setter Sarah Rumely became Kentucky’s all-time record holder in career assists while a season-high 15 blocks enabled the 11th ranked Wildcats to fend off Auburn for a 3-1 (22-25, 25-22, 25-11, 25-12) road victory. Rumely posted 40 assists increasing her career total to 5,438 and overtake Laura Linder on the school’s all-time chart.
Kentucky (26-2, 16-1) matches its win total from a season ago behind a season-high xx blocks led by sophomore Gretchen Giesler’s career-best 10 total. Junior Blaire Hiler matched her career-high with 14 kills and added five blocks in UK’s win.
Junior Sarah Mendoza had a double-double effort with 11 kills and 13 digs. Junior Lauren Rapp added eight kills and sophomore Becky Pavan matched that total. Rumely also had a double-double as she posted 10 scoops while senior BriAnne Sauer had 19 digs in the win.
With the teams each possessing a set victory, Klefot got the Wildcats going to start the third set by opening the set with consecutive service aces. Auburn quickly responded with a kill and an ace of its own, but the Blue and White would go on to score the next two points to reclaim the lead. After consecutive kills from Auburn to tie the score at five apiece, UK rallied for a 7-0 run to grab a 12-5 advantage. In the stretch of points, Giesler and Hiler teamed up for a pair of rejections and Hiler tossed down two kills to ignite the rally. With the two stuffs, Giesler set a career-high in blocks with nine at that point.The Wildcats continued to put on a blocking assault as the visitors combined for four total blocks in a seven-point scoring run.
Rumely broke the school assist record in that same stretch when she fittingly found Mendoza for a kill to make the score 17-9 in favor of the Blue and White.
With the momentum clearly on its side, UK continued to impress both offensively and defensively rolling to a 25-11 set three win and grabbing the 2-1 set advantage. Kentucky’s offense was at its best in the third set, but it was the defensive unit that really provided the difference. Kentucky accounted for six blocks in the stanza and forced Auburn into nine hitting errors and a -.067 hitting clip. Offensively, UK hit a match-high .542 and tossed down 13 kills in the stanza.
Pavan gave the Wildcats the opening point of the fourth set with a kill. After trading points back and forth Kentucky used a 4-0 run with kills from Rumely and Giesler to grab a 6-2 advantage. Auburn opted to burn a very early timeout with Kentucky’s offense finally exploding. The Blue and White continued to thrive laying down six kills in its first 11 points to take a convincing 11-3 lead. Auburn chose to use its final timeout of the set with Kentucky striking quickly.
Hiler matched a career-high in blocks with a solo rejection to help UK push its lead to 13-3. From that point on it was UK’s offense that carried the squad to its 26th win of the season. Kentucky capped the match with a 25-12 win behind 15 kills and .382 hitting.
The Wildcats gained the first point of the match after an Auburn hitting miscue. The teams would trade points back and forth until UK broke free with a 3-0 run that was highlighted by an ace and a kill from Mendoza. Hiler and Giesler also teamed up for a block in the stretch to give the Wildcats some breathing room. UK stretched its lead to five at 12-7 behind consecutive kills from Mendoza and Rapp forcing Auburn into an early timeout.
Giesler and Rumely teamed up for a rejection and then in an odd rally Kentucky earned a point when Auburn could not return a ball sent over the net off of a dig to take a 15-8 edge. Auburn opted to use its final timeout of the stanza after the crazy play. Kentucky earned a six-point advantage at 17-11, but Auburn was able to string together three straight points which included a pair of blocks to pull to within 17-14. Despite a timeout from the Wildcats, Auburn continued to battle with the visitors and inched to as close as 18-17. Mirroring the success of the entire season UK’s offense came up with a timely kill from Rapp to once again give UK a two-point cushion.
The Tigers would not go away though as the stingy defense of the home team enabled them to tie the score at 21 a piece after forcing the Wildcats into consecutive hitting errors. After another UK timeout, Giesler responded with a powerful slam to once again give Kentucky the lead. Auburn responded with a kill of its own after Mendoza’s block attempt fell out of bounds. The cushion was all the more the Tigers would need to claim an early-set upset as the Tigers captured the final three points of the set behind an ace, a block and forced UK into a hitting error to take the set 25-22.
Kentucky’s offense was ineffective for perhaps the first time all season as the Wildcats were limited to just 11 kills on .070 hitting. Auburn was not much better, but it was enough as the Tigers tossed down 14 kills on .179 hitting. Defensively, the squads were fairly even with Auburn totaling 16 digs and UK 15. Both teams had a pair of blocks. Kentucky committed eight hitting errors while the Tigers posted seven erroneous attempts.
Rapp began the scoring in the second frame with a kill, but Auburn quickly responded to even the score. The teams would continue to exchange points throughout the stanza until Kentucky strung together back-to-back kills from Rapp and Hiler to gain an 8-6 edge. Auburn continued to fight, never allowing UK to take a lead larger than two points at a time. Consecutive kills enabled the home team to tie the score once again at 11.
Immediately following the back-to-back kill efforts the home squad got a stuff to take the lead for the first time in the set. However, Hiler responded in a big way with an authoritative slam and then Rumely and Pavan teamed up for a rejection to once again give UK a lead at 13-12.
Kentucky took its largest lead at 17-14 after benefiting from consecutive Auburn errors. After the squads traded kills, the team of Giesler and Mendoza combined for a block to give UK a 19-15 advantage forcing Auburn into the first timeout of the stanza. Out of the break, Giesler paired with Rapp for another Big Blue block to give UK a five-point edge. Auburn responded with a 4-0 run that featured a pair of Tiger kills and two hitting mistakes by the Wildcats to allow the home team to pull to within 20-19.
UK opted to take a timeout to attempt to halt the home team’s string of points. The strategy worked as the Wildcats scored on back-to-back possessions with kills to earn a 22-19 advantage. Auburn then took its final timeout of the set. The squads would trade kills for the rest of the set, but the strategy worked to UK’s advantage as the Blue and White pulled out a 25-22 set two victory to even the match after Hiler ended the frame with the final kill.
The Wildcats attacked with a .289 percentage in the second frame and totaled 14 kills in the frame. Auburn hit .231 and registered 17 kills, but it was UK’s defense that propelled the Blue and White to the set two win with five game-changing blocks in the stanza.
UK will return to action for its final two-match homestand of the regular season. The Wildcats welcome South Carolina to Memorial Coliseum at 7 p.m. ET on Friday. Kentucky will then have its Senior Day and play the final regular season home match against Florida on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET. That match will be aired live on FS South (Lexington – Channel 52).
For the most up-to-date news, highlights and features about the Kentucky volleyball team please visit UKathletics.com.
‑ GO CATS ‑
Alabama Crimson Tide Women's Volleyball Team Falls to
Arkansas in 3-2 Heartbreaker in Last Home Match of 2009
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama volleyball team saw its comeback bid fall just short as it dropped a five set heartbreaker to Arkansas 3-2 (25-18, 25-17, 20-25, 25-27, 15-13) Sunday afternoon in the last home match of the 2009 season. Three seniors suited up for the last time in front of the home faithful. After the match the Crimson Tide moves 8-20 overall and 6-12 in Southeastern Conference play. The Razorbacks improve to 12-16 on the season and 6-11 in SEC matches.
“Arkansas was one of the only teams this season that did a really good job defending Alyssa Meuth,” Alabama head coach Judy Green said. “I thought we did some real nice things with our blocking schemes as well but we did not hit well enough to win the match. We came back and played good defense after the break. I am proud of our seniors and I wish there was a better outcome for them on Senior Day.”
The Tide was led by senior Brooks Webster who notched 13 kills and six digs, her third double-double of the season. Junior Alyssa Meuth also posted 12 kills and six digs. Freshman Kelsey Anderson and junior Kayla Schmidt had 18 and 10 digs, respectively.
In the first set, Alyssa Meuth got Alabama on the board first with a kill off of a Kayla Schmidt assist. The Razorbacks scored four of the next five points to go ahead 4-2. Calli Johnson stepped up offensively late with a big kill to get the Tide within six at 23-17 but Arkansas took the set at 25-18. Meuth led Alabama in the first set with four kills and two digs, with Kayla Schmidt doling out nine assists.
The second set was tied up early at 4-4 before Arkansas put together a four point run. Mary Catherine Aune delivered a timely service ace at 11-8. Kelsey Anderson also earned a service ace late to make the score 20-13 in favor of the Razorbacks. Arkansas took the second set 25-17, despite two kills and two digs for both Meuth and Frazier.
Schmidt started the third set off with a service ace and a Kayla Fitterer kill put the Tide on top 4-2. Webster threw down a kill to put Alabama on top 12-6 and another to give Alabama an 18-17 advantage later in the set. Fitterer gave Alabama the set, 25-20, with a big kill, one of her six for the afternoon.
In the fourth, the Razorbacks scored the first three points before Webster got the Tide on the board with a kill. The set was close, with another Aune service ace tying it up at 8-8. A Razorback kill tied the set again at 11-11 before Meuth and Sarah Machen teamed up for a big block to put the Tide up one. Kayla Fitterer put Alabama on top 15-12 before the Razorbacks were able to tie the set again at 15-15.
The fifth set was another close one, with the three ties before Meuth and Machen posted back-to-back kills to put the Tide up 9-8. A Webster kill made it 12-11 before the Razorbacks earned a kill and service ace to go up two and eventually take the set at 15-13.
Webster, Jennifer Weber and Elizabeth Salstrand were recognized for their four years of commitment to the Alabama volleyball team in a ceremony after the match. Alabama will close out its season on the road as it will face LSU on Sunday, Nov. 22 and Mississippi State on Friday, Nov. 27.
-UA-
Charlotte Women's Volleyball Team Drops Final Regular Season Match at Xavier CINCINNATI -- The Charlotte 49ers finished the 2009 regular season on the road and were swept by Xavier in a 3-0 final (25-16, 25-18, 25-16), Sunday afternoon at the Cintas Center. Xavier seniors Hillary Otte and Kelly Ruth both recorded double-digit kills in the match for the Musketeers. Charlotte finishes the season 15-16 overall, with a 6-9 Atlantic 10 mark. The Musketeers are 19-11, with an 11-4 league record.
This matchup repeats itself on Friday night as Xavier and Charlotte will face one another in the opening match of the A-10 Tournament on Friday in Dayton.
Xavier took a quick 9-3 lead to open the first set and never looked back. Charlotte scored three straight to pull within three, 9-6, but that would be as close as the Niners would get. The Musketeers led by as many as 10 in the game and was able to take the set on a 49er service error, 25-16.
Charlotte kept the second set closer in the early going and held an 8-5 advantage after a service ace from local star Abbie Rees (Cincinnati, Ohio / Mount Notre Dame). A Musketeer attack error gave the Niners a three-point lead, 13-10, before XU rallied for four straight to take over the advantage. Xavier rattled off five straight to end the frame with a 25-18 win.
The Musketeers went up 8-3 on the Niners in the third set but Charlotte was able to go ahead 11-10 after five consecutive Xavier attack errors. The XU lead was four at 19-15 and the Musketeers used a 4-0 run to push their lead to eight, 23-15. Ruth sealed the third-set win with a kill as XU took the frame, 25-16, and the match, 3-0.
The 49ers were led by seniors Jennifer Webb (Tuckasegee, N.C. / Smoky Mountain HS) with seven kills and Kaitlin Knight (Englewood, Colo. / Cherry Creek HS) with 13 digs.
(sponsor link)
(Sponsor link)
Now you can shop, compare prices and find coupons for
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio State (21-8 overall, 9-7 Big Ten) women's volleyball team lost, 3-1 (25-17, 25-8, 18-25, 25-21) to fifth-ranked Illinois (21-4, 13-3) Sunday afternoon in St. John Arena. OSU's Katie Dull posted a team-high 15.5 points in the match with 13 kills, one ace serve, one solo block and one assist block. Kylie McCulley, for Illinois, had a match-high 17 points with 15 kills, one ace serve and two assist blocks.
Tied at two in the first set, Illinois scored five consecutive points to open a 7-2 lead. The Illini expanded the lead to 18-7 before an Amanda Peterson-Kristen Dozier block and two ace serves from Sara Mignin cut the lead to eight at 18-10. Illinois reached set point at 24-16 with a Laura DeBruler kill. A Dozier kill stopped the set point at 24-17. A Buckeye error ended the set at 25-17 to give the Illini a 1-0 lead in the match. Illinois hit .250 for the set to .000 for Ohio State.
An Illinois error gave OSU a 1-0 lead in set two. The Illini then scored eight consecutive points to take an 8-1 lead. Illinois expanded the lead to reach set point at 24-7 with a McCulley kill. OSU stopped the set point with a kill from Dull at 24-8. McCulley closed out the set with a kill at 25-8 to give the Illini a 2-0 lead in the match. Illinois hit .400 for the set to -.190 for the Buckeyes.
With set three tied at one, a kill from Dull and two Illini errors gave Ohio State a 4-1 lead. Illinois, with kills from DeBruler and Johannah Bangert and a Bangert-Michelle Bartsch block tied the set at four. OSU took a 6-4 lead with a Dull-Kelli Barhorst block and an Peterson ace serve. Trailing, 9-8, an Erin Johnson kill and a Rachel Feldman ace serve tied the set at nine for Illinois. Tied at 11, kills from Dull and Barhorst and a Mignin ace serve gave Ohio State a 14-11 lead. At 22-16, OSU, two Illini errors gave the Buckeyes set point at 14-16. Two McCulley kills stopped two set points to cut the lead to 24-18. Ohio State won the set with a kill from Dozier at 25-18 to trail in the match, 2-1. The Buckeyes hit .355 for the set to .107 for Illinois.
Set four was tied at three when a kill from Dull and an ace serve from Peterson gave OSU an early 5-3 lead. Trailing, 8-6, a McCulley kill and an OSU error tied the set at eight. Tied at nine, two kills from Bartsch, one from McCulley and a Bangert-McCulley block opened a 13-9 Illini lead. Trailing, 19-12, Buckeye kills from Dull, Allie Schwarzwalder and Emily Danks and an Illinois error cut the lead to three at 19-16. A Johnson kill made it 20-16. The Illini held the lead to reach match point at 24-20 with a kill from McCulley. A Barhorst kill stopped the match point at 24-21. A Buckeye error ended the set, 25-21, for Illinois, giving them a 3-1 victory in the match. The Illini hit .429 for the set to .256 for Ohio State.
In the match, Illinois hit .297 to .143 for Ohio State. The Illini had a 49-38 margin in kills while each squad posted seven ace serves. OSU's Mignin posted a match-high three aces. The Buckeyes gave up 10 service errors to six for Illinois. At setter, Hillary Haen recorded a match-high 44 assists for the Illini. Ohio State Amanda Peterson had 29 assists coming off the bench and playing in three sets. Defensively, Illinois had a 51-41 advantage in digs. McCulley posted a match-high 14 for the Illini. At the net, Illinois had a 10-6 margin in team blocks. Bangert recorded a match-high five assist blocks for Illinois.
Ohio State returns to the road next week playing at Indiana (15-15, 4-12) Friday and at Purdue (12-15, 4-12) Saturday in 7 p.m. matches.
Auburn Women's Volleyball Team Comes Up Short In 3-1 Loss To No. 11 Kentucky
AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn volleyball team struck first, but could not hold on as the Tigers fell 3-1 (25-22, 22-25, 11-25, 12-25) to No. 11 Kentucky at the Student Activities Center Sunday. Auburn is now 15-13 overall and 7-10 in the SEC.
“The scores do not show how the match went and I think we played really well,” Wade Benson, head volleyball coach, said. “We accomplished a lot this weekend in beating Tennessee and really taking it to Kentucky. We’ve already exceeded our goal this year and we’re going to keep pushing.
“We have three important matches from here on out, with two of them on the road. Our expectation is to win all three for a 10-10 finish in the SEC, which would be Auburn’s best finish in a long time.”
Freshman Sarah Bullock finished with 13 kills and eight digs to lead Auburn. Junior setter Sara Shanks picked up her second-consecutive double-double, recording 21 assists and 10 digs. Libero Liz Crouch led the Tigers with 17 digs on the day.
Blaire Hiler tallied a match-high 14 kills, while Sarah Mendoza finished with 11 kills and 13 digs for Kentucky (26-2, 16-1 SEC). Libero BriAnne Sauer had a match-best 19 digs and Sarah Rumely recorded 40 assists.
The Wildcats took a 6-3 lead at the start of the first set and pushed ahead to go up 12-7. Down seven at 15-8, a pair of kills from Bullock brought Auburn within five and at 17-12, a kill from Morgan Johns sparked a Tiger run. A kill by Kelly Fidero cut the Kentucky lead to one at 18-17 and a kill by Katherine Culwell tied the set at 21 apiece. The Tigers rattled off a 4-1 rally to win the set 25-22.
The teams battled through the beginning of the second set, seeing six ties and a pair of lead changes. At 6-6, the Wildcats pulled ahead on a pair of kills to take the 8-6 advantage. A kill from Alyssa Davis triggered an Auburn run and a Kentucky attack error gave the Tigers the 12-11 lead. A Wildcat rally put the visitors up 20-16, but a pair of kills from Culwell brought Auburn within one at 20-19. Kentucky, however, held on and took the set 25-22.
A kill from Jonelle Wallace tied set three at five, but Kentucky rebounded quickly and rattled off a seven-point rally to take a 12-5 advantage. A kill from Johns brought Auburn within six at 17-6, but another Wildcat run solidified the 25-11 win for Kentucky.
Kills by Courtney McDonald and MacKenzy Harper locked the score at two apiece early in the fourth set before Kentucky pushed a seven-point run to go up 9-2. A kill by Brittney Rhude stopped another Wildcat rally at 15-4, but Kentucky went on to win 25-12.
The Tigers head out on their last roadtrip of the regular season, traveling to Arkansas on Nov. 20 for a 7 p.m. match. Auburn then faces Ole Miss on Nov. 22 at 1:30 p.m. in Oxford, Miss.
COLUMBIA, S.C. Sam Dabbs distributed 34 assists, tallied 12 digs and set the No. 19 LSU volleyball team to a .311 hitting percentage en route to an efficient 3-0 sweep [25-20, 25-16, 25-15] of South Carolina Sunday at the Volleyball Competition Facility.
LSU (22-5, 16-2 SEC) pushes its winning streak to seven matches and have emerged victorious in 15 of its last 16 outings. The Tigers also remained a half-match behind Kentucky, a 3-1 winner at Auburn, in the overall SEC standings.
The .311 hitting performance marked the 12th time that LSU has reached over a .300 clip this season. The Tigers also outblocked South Carolina (14-13, 5-12 SEC) by a healthy 9-2 margin and limited the Gamecocks to a .086 ratio.
Im proud of how we responded and our kids played extremely hard today to follow up the win at Florida, head coach Fran Flory said. We were shaky at times with our ball control but once again we showed great poise.
Marina Skender cranked a match-high 10 kills and added nine digs, while Angela Bensend powered home nine kills on a .467 hitting percentage.
Angela took some great swings and provided one of her best performances of the season, Flory said. We dont avoid her, we just pick-and-choose when to use her on offense. She was on-fire, took some huge swings and also had a great finesse game to complement her power.
Michele Williams recorded eight kills to go along with a match-best seven blocks. Williams has provided at least five blocks in 10 of her last 15 matches. Brittnee Cooper also popped six kills on a .545 clip for the Tigers.
Lauren Waclawczyk reeled in 16 digs and slapped two aces to anchor the back row. Lauren DeGirolamo posted another strong all-around performance with five kills, seven digs and three blocks.
The Florida win would have meant nothing if we didnt follow it up like we did today, Waclawczyk said. We played pretty good, but we know we still have some things to work on.
South Carolina crept out to a 16-12 advantage in the first set as Olivia Ryder provided three kills for the Gamecocks. The Tigers regrouped with four quick points capped by a Williams-Bensend block and a Williams transition spike to even the tally at 16-16. After three ties and a pair of lead changes, LSU finished the frame with a 6-1 spurt to emerge with a 25-20 win. Dabbs fueled the run by setting Bensend, DeGirolamo and Williams to kills coupled with a Waclawczyk ace.
LSU continued its strong play into set two and at 11-9 broke the frame open with 12 of the next 14 points to surge ahead 21-11. The Gamecocks got back to six points on two occasions, the latest at 22-16. The Tigers charged back with three straight spikes from Williams, Bensend and Cooper, all from Dabbs, to close out the 25-16 victory.
LSU followed a similar script in the third set. After building an early 9-7 lead, the Tigers pulled together a 12-4 spurt to take a commanding 21-11 advantage. South Carolina sliced the deficit down to 22-15 before a pair of blocks, both involving Williams, put the finishing touches on the 25-15 triumph.
Ryder and Hannah Lawing paced the Gamecocks with eight and seven kills, respectively. Bridget Denson-Dorman tallied 14 assists and seven digs, while Sarah Cline corralled 12 digs for South Carolina.
We have to be simple at certain times when other teams get on a run, Flory said. Sam did an excellent job of grasping that today and created better opportunities for her hitters instead of trying to be tricky.
LSU returns home Friday to face off against Mississippi State. First serve is slated for 7 p.m. at the Maravich Center. Live video and live stats will be available on LSUsports.net. Fans also can follow in-match updates of the five-time SEC Western Division champions viawww.twitter.com/lsuvolleyball.
Robert Morris University Women's Volleyball Team
Overcomes Set One Loss against Pioneers to Win 3-1
Veith leads the Colonials with 13 kills on a .417 hitting percentage
Fairfield, Conn. - Nov. 15, 2009 – The Robert Morris University Colonials, led by seventh-year head coach Rob Thomas, won their second straight contest on Sunday afternoon against Sacred Heart at the Pitt Center. The Colonials struggled in the first set, but overcame the initial loss and won the next three sets for the match victory. With the win, Robert Morris improves to 14-19 overall and 11-5 in league play, while the Pioneers drop to 22-10 overall and 12-4 in the NEC.
The Pioneers stunned the Colonials in set one and tallied 16 kills to RMU’s five in route to a 25-9 victory. They hit at an impressive .467 hitting percentage and held the Colonials to a .000 clip. Sophomore Alyssa Bennett (Ramona, Calif. / Ramona) was the only Colonial to tally multiple kills in the loss with two.
The Colonials were able to recover the set one loss and took the next game 25-20. The Pioneers started the contest with a service ace, but followed it with a service error to set the score at 1-1. The set remained within one until a kill by Bennett and an error by the Pioneers gave RMU a 15-13 lead. They Colonials never let go of the lead and two kills by Amanda Graham (Melbourne, Fla. / Eau Gallie) and a Pioneer error ended the set with an RMU victory. Graham led the Colonials with four kills on five attempts.
The third set looked very similar to set two with Robert Morris winning 25-19. The Colonials started to pull away when score was knotted at 2-2 when Graham went on a five point run to gain an 8-3 lead. Senior outside hitter Jessy Nelko (Aliquippa, Pa. / Hopewell) captured three kills during the run. The Pioneers attempted to get back into the set, but they were unable to stop the Colonial attack. Both sophomore Hannah Veith (Columbus, Ohio / Worthington) and freshman Lindsey Monger (Rising Sun, Md. / Rising Sun) made zero errors in the third set and captured five and four kills, respectively in the win.
The Pioneers started off the fourth set with a 4-1 lead and soon escalated that lead to 9-3 off several kills from Brittany Best and Elise Sage. Sacred Heart continued to lead, but Robert Morris slowly crept within reach of the Pioneers throughout play. At 19-17 in the Pioneers favor, SHU recorded two errors, which tied the game for the first time at 19-19. The remainder of play was a battle between the two squads. With Sacred Heart leading 22-20, the Colonials tallied two kills and a service ace to earn their first lead of the contest at 23-23. Back-to-back SHU errors ended the set with a 25-23 RMU win.
Veith led the Colonials with 13 kills on a .467 hitting percentage and added six blocks in the win. Graham also put in a strong showing with eight kills on zero errors and a match-high eight blocks. Bennett finished the match with eight kills, 27 assists and 14 digs.
The Colonials head to Long Island next week to compete in the NEC Tournament as the No. 4 seed. Robert Morris will take on No. 1 Long Island on Saturday, Nov. 21.
UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE LADY VOLS WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL TEAM REACHES 20 WINS WITH FIVE-SET VICTORY AT GEORGIA
Junior Nikki Fowler Records Career-Best 29 Kills
ATHENS, Ga.– It took a full five sets, but the University of Tennessee volleyball team (20-7, 13-4 Southeastern Conference) was able to hold off an ornery Georgia squad (15-13, 6-11) in its final road match of the season to reach the 20-win mark for the seventh time in the last 10 years and 18th time in school history. The Lady Vols also remained perfect in television matches, moving to 5-0 in 2009 with the 24-26, 25-17, 25-18, 19-25, 15-10, triumph, which was broadcast live on Comcast Sports Southeast Sunday from the Ramsey Student Center in Athens, Ga.
“I am extremely proud of our players for reaching 20 wins, especially with how they have had to persevere through some injuries and a very tough schedule,” UT Head Coach Rob Patrick said. “We’ve played 17 of our last 24 matches on the road, and the fact that we’ve had as much success as we have just shows the toughness that this team plays with.
“Georgia is a much-improved team from earlier in the year and we were able to take their best shot and still come out with a win on the road today,” Patrick said. “I felt we had a chance to control most of the match, but we lost some focus and made some unforced errors at inopportune times that allowed Georgia to gain some momentum at the end of the first and fourth sets.
“When our team focuses in on at the task at hand, we are very difficult to play against,” Patrick said. “I was very happy with the focus our team brought to the fifth set. They did a nice job of carrying out the game plan to close out the match.”
Junior Nikki Fowler put on a show for the 602 fans in attendance, recording her 11th consecutive double-double and narrowly missing her second career triple-double. The Dallas, Texas, native smashed out a career-best 29 kills in the victory with just eight errors on eight swings for a stellar .382 hitting percentage. She also tallied 13 digs and tied her season-high with eight blocks.
“Nikki was outstanding as usual,” Patrick said. “A lot of her success was because she was able to find the seams in Georgia’s block. I was excited to see Kelsey (Mahoney) and Nikki connect as well as they did to help us side-out at a fairly high percentage and score some real points. Nikki was a force all over the court and was able to help our team digging, blocking and passing.”
Both sophomore Kayla Jeter and junior Leah Hinkey also reached double-digits in kills with 12 and 10, respectively, while redshirt freshman DeeDee Harrison took full advantage of her first career start, collecting eight kills and seven blocks. Coming into Sunday’s match, Harrison had just two putaways and three blocks all season.
“DeeDee has been practicing at a consistently high level and earned a starting spot in today’s match,” Patrick said. “She will be a tremendous side-out attacker in time, but I was proud of how well she stayed organized when she was blocking and in transition. She did a very nice job today and her future is extremely bright.”
Also matching or setting career highs were senior Kylie Marshall and sophomores Amanda Friday and Kelsey Mahoney. A 5-11 outside hitter, Marshall recorded a personal-best eight blocks, while Friday and Mahoney tallied career highs of 10 digs and 57 assists, respectively. Mahoney just missed out on her third-straight double-double with nine digs as well. As a team, the Lady Vols tied their season high with 68 kills and set new campaign-bests with 63 assists and 19 blocks.
“Kelsey did a very nice job of running our offense today,” Patrick said. “She set the ball with consistent tempo and found the right hitters most of the time. Running a 5-1 is far different than a 6-2 and Kelsey has done a terrific job making the transition and helping our offense run consistently.”
Despite holding a 24-21 lead and having three opportunities to win the set, the Orange and White dropped the opening frame as Georgia scored the final five points to emerge victorious, 26-24. Fowler got off to a hot start offensively for UT, pounding out a set-high six kills on 10 swings with just one error for a .500 hitting percentage. That was not even the best attack average on her own team though, as Harrison was near-perfect, hitting .800 with four putaways on just five swings.
Trailing 6-3 early on, Tennessee put together its first good run scoring five out of six points to go ahead by one at 8-7. Fowler opened the spree with a cross-court blast from the back row before a Bulldog ball-handling error gave UT another score. Following a kill by UGA’s Simone May, a service error by Kathleen Gates gave the ball back to the Big Orange. Harrison slammed home a kill off an overpass on the next play and the Lady Vols grabbed the lead on an attack error by Valentina Gonzalez.
Although Georgia responded with consecutive scores to regain the advantage, the Orange and White came roaring back with a 5-0 tear, featuring a quintet of kills from three different players. Harrison kicked things off with a laser down the right-side line and Fowler immediately followed with a monstrous shot that UGA libero Carla Tietz was unable to handle. Harrison added another putaway on the next play before Jeter hammered out consecutive kills to put UT up 13-9, prompting Bulldog Head Coach Joel McCartney to call his first timeout.
While the short break in play did net his squad one score, Tennessee went right back on the offensive, getting kills from Fowler and Marshall and a block by Fowler and Harrison to extend its lead to six at 16-10. The Big Orange continued to roll after another Bulldog point, claiming four of the next six scores to go up, 20-12. Fowler added another blast and then joined forces with Hinkey to send back a swing by Erica Clark. Ann Dylla tallied a point for UGA with a kill that landed wide off the block, but Clark gave it right back with a service error. Fowler then finished off the 4-1 run with a shot from the back row that split a pair of Georgia defenders.
It was all Bulldogs from that point on, however, as they rattled off eight of the next 10 scores to move within one at 22-21. Despite the late Georgia push, Tennessee still had three opportunities at set-point after a Jeter kill and an attack error by Gonzalez put the tally on the scoreboard at 24-21 in UT’s favor. The Lady Vols were unable to take advantage of the opportunity though, as UGA stormed back to claim the final five points and the set, 26-24.
Despite the unfortunate finish to the opening frame, Tennessee was able to shake it off and hold the Bulldogs to a -.029 hitting percentage in the second set, which it eventually won 25-17 to tie the match up heading into the intermission. Fowler continued her offensive onslaught, smashing out six more kills, while Hinkey got in on the action with four putaways on seven attacks for a .429 hitting percentage.
It was a battle of runs in the early goings, as Georgia answered a 3-0 UT spree with four straight scores of its own to go up 5-4. The Lady Vols immediately responded with a 4-0 spurt, however, to take a lead it would not relinquish the rest of the way. Fowler kicked off the run by smashing one wide off the left-side block and Hinkey followed by cutting one cross-court. Following an attack error by Dylla, Hinkey crushed an overpass to move the score to 8-5 in the Orange and White’s favor.
The two teams proceeded to battle back-and-forth over the next 10 plays, but the Big Orange lead remained three as they reached the 13-10 mark. At that point, another UGA attack error sparked a four-score tear that featured solo blocks by both Harrison and Marshall. Now up 17-10, the finishing touches were all that were left for UT. Just moments later, they closed the frame out by scoring the final three points, with the last two coming on a pair of Fowler kills.
The Orange and White came alive offensively in the third frame, hitting .385 as a team, while limiting Georgia to a .077 attack average en route to a 25-18 triumph. Both Fowler and Hinkey continued to impress, collecting five kills and three blocks each. Marshall joined them with three putbacks as well, while senior Chloe Goldman recorded a set-high four digs.
Georgia’s only lead of the entire set came after it won the initial point. UT took control after that, using a pair of 3-0 runs, separated by just two UGA scores, to claim the lead back for good. Fowler jumpstarted the first spree with a shot that landed wide off the block and Harrison and Marshall followed by joining forces to send back consecutive Gonzalez attacks.
Although the Bulldogs tied it back up at 3-3 with back-to-back scores, Fowler was responsible for three straight UT points as she unleashed consecutive kills from the right side and teamed up with Hinkey on a sharp block. The Tennessee lead remained three until it broke the frame open with a 4-0 spree that moved the score to 17-10 in its favor. Harrison opened the run by skying high to send home a kill of a one-handed set by Mahoney. Hinkey then stuffed consecutive Bulldog attacks, teaming with Fowler for the first and Marshall for the second, before Fowler shot a laser down the right-side line to end it.
The Lady Vols continued to run away with the set, eventually finding themselves at set-point with a 24-15 lead. The Bulldogs were not done yet, however, tallying three straight scores before Fowler dashed any hopes they had of a comeback by crushing one down the line to the back-left corner of the court to give UT the 25-18 victory.
Despite another six-kill performance by Fowler, the Lady Vols dropped the fourth frame to the Bulldogs, 25-19, to head to a decisive fifth set for the second time on the weekend. Even after falling behind by six at the halfway mark, 15-9, the Big Orange refused to go away without a fight, using a pair of 4-0 runs in the span of 11 plays to regain the advantage at 18-17.
Fowler continued to assert her presence all over the court in the first run, starting it off with a thunderous blast from the outside, which she immediately followed with an equally impressive block on the next play. After Marshall notched a kill by tooling the Bulldog block and the first Georgia timeout of the set, Fowler sent one crashing down the right-side line to move UT within two at 13-15.
The Lady Vols completed the comeback from down just moments later when they used another Fowler kill, back-to-back blocks by Marshall and Hinkey and a shot by Marshall that was blocked into the antenna to go up by one, 18-17. Unfortunately for fans of the Orange and White, Tennessee would score just one more point the rest of the way as Georgia finished the set on an 8-1 run to send the match to a fifth and final frame.
Playing in their second fifth set match in two days, Tennessee raced out to an early lead and never looked back en route to winning the frame 15-10. As she had done all match, Fowler carried the load offensively for UT, collecting six of the team’s nine kills, while hitting at a blistering .500 clip.
The 6-2 outside hitter got things rolling for the Big Orange with consecutive kills right out of the gate. Friday’s second ace of the 2009 season then made it 3-0 before a solo block by Marshall gave UT a commanding four-point lead, forcing McCartney to burn his first timeout in an attempt to steady his troops.
The tactic worked as the Bulldogs cut their deficit in half with consecutive scores. Once again, Tennessee turned to Fowler to get them back on track and she did just that, blasting a kill down the line and joining up with Hinkey to send back a Gonzales attack. A UGA attack error then gave UT a commanding 7-2 advantage.
After Georgia scored four out of the next five points to move within two, the two squads traded eight consecutive scores to bring the tally on the scoreboard to 12-10 in the Lady Vols’ favor. At that point, Tennessee turned to Fowler once again to finish things off. She was up to the challenge too, closing out the match with a pair of kills and a block.
The Orange and White will return home to close out the 2009 regular-season slate with its longest homestand of the year. The Lady Vols will first take on No. 10 Florida at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 20. A 1:30 p.m. contest against South Carolina will follow two days later, before 11th-ranked Kentucky makes the trip to Rocky Top to finish off the regular season. The UT-UK face-off is set to take place at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 25.
##LADY VOL VOLLEYBALL##
Tribe Volleyball Women Close Out Regular Season with 3-1 Win at Georgia State
ATLANTA, GA - After falling in a marathon first-set, 38-40, the William and Mary volleyball rolled through the next three sets Sunday afternoon to defeat Georgia State 3-1 on the road in the regular season finale. With the win, W&M improved to 18-10, 10-4 in the CAA, while Georgia State fell to 16-14, 3-11 in-conference.
"It was another terrific game today for the Lindsa(e)y's [Kresch and Pflugner] and Lauren Powell," said coach Melissa Aldrich Shelton '91. "Our defense continues to be the cornerstone of our success as our offense comes alive in spurts. We're looking forward to playing our best volleyball yet at the CAA Championships next week."
Senior Lauren Powell (Tulsa, Okla.) led the team with a career-high 28 digs, and added 16 kills on a .382 attack and two service aces to point the Tribe to victory. Sophomore Lindsay Kresch (Moon Township, Pa.) and junior Cassie Crumal (Castle Rock, Colo.) also picked up double-doubles, Kresch scoring 18 kills to go with 19 digs, and Crumal posting a season-best 60 assists to go with 11 digs and two blocks.
Senior Lindsey Pflugner (Sarasota, Fla.) also played at her customarily high level, providing 26 digs and four assists to raise her season average to 5.23 digs per set. Junior Erin Skipper (Yorktown, Va.) had a match-high 22 kills to go with seven digs, and classmateGinny Bray (Cary, N.C.) hit .389 with 10 kills, three digs, and a pair of blocks. Senior Katie McCarney (Dallas, Texas) led all players with three blocks, and added five kills on the offensive end.
The College rallied from an early 14-10 deficit in the first set to go up 21-19, and from there, one of the all-time great runs ensued. The biggest lead the rest of the way for either team was a single points, and the Tribe and Panthers survived 16 match points before Georgia State was finally able to claim the 40-38 win. W&M hit .282 in the set with 28 kills, led by eight kills from Skipper and six apiece from Kresch and Powell. Crumal had an almost-unfathomable 24 assists in that set alone, and Pflugner added in 11 digs to lead the defensive effort.
In marked contrast, the second set almost breezed by, with W&M taking a 17-6 lead before the Panthers were able to respond. GSU put together a decent run to close the gap to four at 19-15, but W&M was able to fend them off and even the match with a 25-18 win. Pflugner again had 11 digs, with Skipper scoring seven kills and Bray hitting .625 with five kills and no errors.
The third set was much closer earlier, both teams matching run for run until the score was knotted at 13-13. From there it was all Tribe, out-scoring the home team 12-4 for a 25-17 win. Powell led the team in the frame with five kills and five digs.
It was Kresch's turn at the fore in the fourth set, as the sophomore hit .316 with eight kills to lead W&M to a 25-20 win. The Tribe started the set on a 10-2 run, and added an 8-3 run late to go up 24-16. FreshmanShaylin O'Connell (Leesburg, Va.) was key on the second streak, stepping onto the court as the run began and contributing three kills in the final five points. Georgia State rattled off a four-point mini run at the very end, but it was not enough as Skipper closed out the match with a feed from Crumal.
William and Mary's effort will rank highly in several four-set, single-match record lists, including as the third-most kills ever at the College with 77. The team's 68 assists is tied for fourth all-time, and the 97 digs is tied for the eighth-best effort ever. Individually, Skipper's 60 attack attempts is sixth-most ever for a four-set match, as is Crumal's 60 assists. Skipper's 22 kills is tied for eighth-best in school history.
The Tribe now has a week to prepare for the CAA Championships, which will be held in Richmond, Virginia on Monday, November 23rd, and Tuesday, November 24th. W&M is the No.-4 seed in the event, and will take on tournament host and No.-1 seed VCU Monday evening at 7 p.m. The winner will take on the winner of No. 2 Delaware and No. 3 George Mason at 7 p.m. on Tuesday night, with an automatic bid to NCAA Championships on the line. W&M hasn't lost in the capital city since 2007, downing VCU 3-2 on its home court by a 3-2 count both earlier this year and last season.
