| saturday volleyBALL RESULTS |
Georgia 3, Florida A&M 0
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Arkansas 3, McNeese State 0
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South Carolina 3, Stony Brook 0
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| South Carolina 3, Temple 0 |
Texas 3, Ole Miss 1
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| Kentucky 3, Tulsa 2 |
| LSU 3, Jacksonville State 0 |
Auburn 3, Boston College 0
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| Kansas 3, Georgia 0 |
| Alabama 3, Texas State 2 |
Arkansas 3, Middle Tennessee State 0
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| Pepperdine 3, Ole Miss 0 |
Mississippi State 3, SE Louisiana 0
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Miami 3, LSU 2
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| Tennessee 3, Maryland 2 |
| Florida 3, North Carolina 2 |
Georgia Volleyball Downs Florida A&M, 3-0
ATHENS, Ga.—The University of Georgia volleyball team continued to open its season on a roll, as the Bulldogs won their second game of the Hotel Indigo Bulldog Invitational, 3-0, against Florida A&M Saturday at the Ramsey Student Center.
Georgia (2-0) took the sets over Florida A&M (0-2) by scores of 25-23, 25-21 and 25-11.
Georgia sealed the win behind sophomore Kathleen Luft’s 12 kills along with junior Briana Bahr and sophomore Brittany Northcutt’s eight kills each. Senior Kathleen Gates tabbed 34 assists while sophomore Allison Summers posted 13 digs. As a team, the Bulldogs out-blocked Liberty 10-2.
Also of note for UGA in the match, sophomore transfer Elena Perri and freshman Tirah Le'au made their Bulldog debuts. Perri notched four kills and two blocks while Le'au had two kills and four blocks.
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Strong offense leads Arkansas to first win
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Behind the eighth-best hitting performance in program history, the University of Arkansas volleyball team swept McNeese State (25-19, 25-19, 25-19) Saturday afternoon at Barnhill Arena. The Razorbacks posted a hitting percentage of .421 in the match and had six players with at least six kills. Roslandy Acosta and Jasmine Norton led the way with 11 and 10 kills respectively.
In the first set, six different Razorbacks had at least two kills as setter Raymariely Santos directed the Arkansas offense to a .469 hitting percentage. After an even start between the two sides, the home team used a four-point spurt to take a 13-8 lead on a kill by Norton.
Arkansas maintained a lead of at least three the rest of the set. Another four-point scoring run put the Razorbacks up by seven, 23-16, their largest lead of the game. A successful attack by Santos brought Arkansas to set point and Janeliss Torres-Lopez closed out the opener, 25-19, with a kill of her own. Offensively, Acosta led the way with four kills in the first set.
Game two played out in similar fashion with back-and-forth action during the early stages of play. With the score tied at 11, the Razorbacks scored six unanswered points to seize the momentum. Later in the set, Kelli Stipanovich found the floor to give Arkansas a 20-16 lead and force a McNeese timeout. Acosta had two of the final three points in the set, including a kill on the team’s second point. With the win in game two, 25-19, the home team went into the locker room with a two-set lead.
The Razorbacks’ hot hitting continued after the break but the visitors from McNeese started strong to win four of the first five points in game three. Arkansas fell behind by as much as five but back-to-back error by its opponent closed that gap to two and forced a timeout by McNeese. Consecutive tandem blocks by Santos and Kasey Heckelman evened the score at 16-all.
From that point, Arkansas won seven of the next nine points to take a 23-18 lead. Acosta brought the Razorbacks to match point with her 11th kill of the day. On the next point, Arkansas secured its first win of the year after an attack error by McNeese. From her setter position, Santos finished the match with 38 assists, six kills and six digs.
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Gamecocks Claim Temple Invitational Title after Sweep of Owls Sophomore outside hitter Juliette Thévenin named tournament MVP
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Behind another double-double from sophomore outside hitter Juliette Thévenin, South Carolina (3-0) swept past Temple (1-1) to claim the Temple Invitational championship.
Thévenin, the tournament MVP and most valuable attacker, had 10 kills and a match-best 19 digs in the win. Freshman outside hitter Hanna Forst tallied a team-best 12 kills and added nine digs. Junior setter Taylor Bruns had 35 assists and 10 digs, while sophomore libero Paige Wheeler and freshman outside hitter Bethanie Thomas added 12 and 10 digs, respectively. Collin Wallace led Temple with 13 kills and 12 digs, while Elyse Burkert and Gabriella Matautia both had 10 kills. Matautia led the Owls with 14 digs, while Tiffany Connatser and Chelsea Tupuola both had 11 digs.
The Gamecocks ran out to a 9-3 lead in the first, posting a four-point run to start the match and a three-point skein powered by Forst kills that caused a Temple timeout. The streak reached five on a back-row kill by Thévenin and an Owl blocking error, giving the Gamecocks an 11-3 advantage. Temple got within four before the Gamecocks pulled away again. Junior middle blocker Brandi Byers put away a kill to end the set at 25-15. Forst posted six kills in the frame and four digs, while Thévenin adds four kills and seven digs.
South Carolina streaked out to 7-2 and 11-6 advantages in the second, but Temple fought back to take a 14-13 lead thanks to a four-point run. The Gamecocks responded with their own four-point stand, bookended by Thévenin kills. The Owls tied it again at 19 after a solo block and kill by Wallace, forcing the Gamecocks to call timeout. The sides traded points before South Carolina posted three straight, the final two on a block assist and kill by Byers, causing another Owl timeout at 23-20. Temple posted two straight, but the Gamecocks posted two in a row as well, including the set ender by Thévenin off the Owl block that made it 25-22. The Gamecocks got four kills from Thévenin and three from Forst, while five Gamecocks had three or more digs.
Temple got a five-point run early to make it 8-5, but the Gamecocks responded by taking 10 of 12 to claim a 16-12 lead. Redshirt freshman Cara Howley had three kills and an ace in the sequence. South Carolina got another three-point run to make it 19-13, with kills from Vain and Thomas coming around an Owl error. Temple took four points in five to cause a Gamecock timeout at 21-18, and South Carolina regrouped to take the next four points to end the set, 25-18. Howley had the kills that started and ended the final stretch and posted six in the set overall.
The Gamecocks held an edge in every statistical category, including a 5-3 block advantage and a .217-.135 mark in hitting percentage.
Bruns garnered most valuable setter honors in the tournament.
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Gamecocks Take Down Stony Brook in Four
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – South Carolina (2-0) shrugged off a second-set loss to take a four-set victory over Stony Brook (0-3) in the first match on Saturday morning in the Temple Invitational.
Sophomore outside hitter Juliette Thévenin posted her second double-double of the season, making 17 kills and 12 digs. Sophomore libero Paige Wheeler added a match-best 18 digs. Sophomore middle blocker Frankie Vain posted her best match as a Gamecock, hitting .500 with 10 kills and three blocks. Freshman outside hitter Hanna Forst contributed seven kills and four blocks, while freshman outside hitter Bethanie Thomas also posted seven kills and nine digs. Alicia Nelson led the Seawolves with 16 kills and 11 digs. Laura Hathaway and Hailee Herc added 15 and 10 digs, respectively.
The Gamecocks took the first behind a balanced attack that saw four players record at least three kills each. South Carolina got some distance in the set when it took five of six points to make the lead 11-6. Another five-point run made it 17-9, with kills coming from four different Gamecocks in the stretch. Kills by Howley, junior outside hitter Christina Glover and Thévenin ended the frame at 25-15. In the set, the squad hit at a .417 clip while holding the Seawolves to a .133 mark. Thévenin had four kills and six digs, Glover had three kills and six digs, while Vain and redshirt freshman outside hitter Cara Howley tallied four kills each.
Stony Brook came back to take the second set, 25-19, hitting .464 in the process. The Seawolves just steadily moved away, never getting more than a three-point run. Nelson had seven kills in the set, while Slaughter added five.
South Carolina stretched early advantages in the third on Thévenin’s serve, gaining 4-1 and 13-9 advantages. But the Seawolves fought back, taking a lead thanks to a three-point swing that closed with consecutive kills by Hailee Herc. But the Gamecocks went on a run of their own, taking the final six points to claim the set, 25-19. Thévenin had two aces and a back-row kill, while Forst and Stenlund both were in on two blocks in the stretch.
The Gamecocks dominated in the fourth set, taking a 25-10 win. Holding an 8-7 lead, South Carolina took 17 of the final 20 points to win the set and clinch the match. Forst had five kills without an error in the frame, while Thévenin and Vain both added four. South Carolina hit .486 in the frame and held the Seawolves to a -.057 percentage, helped by four Gamecock blocks.
The Gamecocks won all but one statistical category again, including a .386-.157 advantage in hitting. The Seawolves only topped the Gamecocks in aces, 6-4.
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Rebels Fall To Fourth-Ranked Texas 3-1
AUSTIN, Texas – Junior right side hitter Allegra Wells put down 13 kills and sophomore outside hitter Kara Morgan added 12 kills, but the Ole Miss (0-1) dropped a tight match to No. 4 Texas (2-0) on Saturday by a score of 3-1 (22-25, 22-25, 26-24, 14-25).
Senior middle blocker Regina Thomas hit an efficient .385 in the match to go along with three blocks, while senior libero Morgan Springer came up with 19 digs to lead the back row defense.
“We did some good things, but Texas is one of the top teams in the country for a reason,” said Ole Miss head coach Joe Getzin. “It’s exciting to go play one of those top teams at their place. I think we learned about ourselves and we can build on this match. I look forward to taking the court again tonight against Pepperdine and seeing what we do.”
The Rebels jumped out of the gates in the first set and took a quick 4-0 lead on the Longhorns, but the home team fought back and chipped away at the lead before tying the score at nine. The squads traded scores back and forth with Texas grabbing its first lead at 11-10.
Ole Miss would keep things close from there, but was unable to ever reclaim the lead as the Longhorns inched ahead and claimed the first set by a score of 25-22.
The second set was a reversal of the first as Texas grabbed an early 5-1 lead on the Rebels to get things started. Ole Miss fought back, cutting the lead to one at 12-11, but the Rebels could never pull ahead of the Longhorns despite staying within striking distance. Texas claimed the second set by an identical score of 25-22 to take a two set lead heading into the break.
The third set was back and forth throughout with the two squads trading scores early before Texas would move out to a six-point lead on the Rebels at 14-8. Ole Miss did not back down, however, and continued to fight before tying the score at 20 on a kill from Kara Morgan.
Texas moved back in front, and with the pressure on, the Rebels fought off two match points to tie the score at 24 before a kill from Morgan and a service ace from Morgan Springer gave the Rebels the third set by a score of 26-24. Ole Miss ended the set scoring the final four points, sparked by a block from Thomas and Wells before a kill from Courtney Cunningham evened things at 24 and kept the Rebels alive on the way to claiming the set.
After winning the third set, the Rebels were unable to solve the Texas puzzle in the fourth. Despite a tight match early, the Longhorns put together a run to pull ahead of Ole Miss and never look back. Texas claimed the match with at 25-14 win in set four.
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Koberstein Directs Wildcats to Upset of No. 23 Tulsa
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Sophomore setter Elizabeth Koberstein dished out 70 assists, while seniors Becky Pavan and Gretchen Giesler had career-high kill outputs in a dramatic 3-2 win (22-25, 25-18, 21-25, 25-20, 15-13) over No. 23 Tulsa Saturday in Tallahassee, Fla. Koberstein becomes the first UK player to pass out 70 assists in a match since Sarah Rumely in 2006. Pavan had a match-high and career-best 19 kills, with Giesler also matching a career-high with 16 hammers in the victory.
“That was a positive step forward for us,” UK coach Craig Skinner said. “We responded from a poor outing last night and we got a win against a very good Tulsa team who is going to get a lot of victories this year. Our middles had a fantastic day and a fantastic tournament overall.”
With the win Kentucky improves to 2-1 on the season and Tulsa drops to 1-1 on the year. UK will return to action with a home match against Cincinnati, Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET.
Junior Ashley Frazier began the decisive fifth frame with a kill to give the Wildcats the early edge. Tulsa then responded with consecutive points to take the lead, but Kentucky fired back to score the next seven points and earn a commanding 8-2 advantage.
Back-to-back kills from Frazier and senior Ann Armes lifted the Wildcats to a 10-4 lead and forced Tulsa to use its final timeout. Kentucky earned match point at 14-6 following a block from the tandem of Giesler and sophomore Whitney Billings. Tulsa would then put together the largest run of the match to pull to within 14-13, but Giesler fired home with a rifling shot into the center of the court for the match winner.
Koberstein directed UK’s offense to 76 kills on .308 hitting. Four players totaled 10 or more kills in the match led by 19 from Pavan. Giesler had 16 and Frazier followed with 15. Armes was the final player to reach double-figures with 13 kills.
Junior libero Stephanie Klefot led the backline defensive effort that continued to stifle the offensive production of the nation’s leader in kills in Tulsa’s Tyler Henderson. Klefot posted a match-best 28 digs and freshman Jackie Napper added 13. Billings picked up 13 scoops to become the third player to reach double digits. A trio of players had three blocks in the match for the Blue and White in Giesler, Armes and Pavan.
With their backs against the wall the Wildcats responded in a big way with a 25-20 fourth set victory to force a decisive fifth frame. Kentucky had 16 kills on .324 hitting, led by five from the hand of Frazier.
UK jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but quickly let go of the lead as Tulsa charged ahead by a 7-3 margin. Kentucky did not falter, however, as the Blue and White responded with a 5-1 run to tie the score at eight highlighted by a pair of kills from Giesler.
Tulsa once again broke free for a three-point edge, but Kentucky’s four consecutive points in the middle of the stanza pushed the designated home team ahead at 16-14. UK had two kills from Giesler, a hammer from O’Conner capped off by an ace by Pavan in the run. The spurt was enough for the Wildcats, as the Blue and White finished the set behind three more kills from Frazier.
Kentucky earned a 4-3 advantage following an ace by Billings to take control of the second set and earned a lead it would never relinquish. The Blue and White surged ahead 15-11 after the tandem of Frazier and Armes scorched the Tulsa defense for consecutive kills. Tula pulled back to within two at 18-16, but the Wildcats led by the inspired play from Billings responded when the sophomore from Helena, Ala., smashed a kill for the final run. UK would allow just two more points scored by the Golden Hurricane, ending on a 6-2 run to cap off the set. A kill from the hand of Koberstein was the finishing touch for the designated home team in the frame.
UK put down 15 kills on .355 hitting in the set and Koberstein passed out 14 assists to lead the way. Billings had a pair of kills and three digs in the set to lead the charge. Pavan once again led the scoring with five kills and an ace in the set. Kentucky’s defense limited Tulsa to 11 kills on .258 hitting and constantly frustrated the Golden Hurricane attack.
In an ultra-competitive opening set, Tulsa outlasted Kentucky 25-22 to claim the first frame. The squads exchanged points for much of the opening set. Kentucky rode the right-arm of Pavan who had seven of Kentucky’s opening 12 kills in the set. The senior also laced an ace along the right line to aid her excellent start. The Golden Hurricane eventually shook loose to earn a five-point advantage at 22-17, but three straight kills from Giesler propelled the Blue and White back to within two to force Tulsa into a timeout.
Out of the break, Tulsa earned the first point. A pair of late-set kills from Frazier was not enough for UK as the Golden Hurricane outlasted the Wildcats in the late going. Pavan led the way with seven hammers on .778 hitting in the opening set. Koberstein directed the offense to 17 kills on .371 hitting, but Tulsa was able to produce 16 kills on .438 hitting to pull away.
Tulsa captured a 2-1 lead following a 25-21 third set win. The Golden Hurricane benefited from nine Wildcat miscues in the stanza, as UK limited Tulsa to just 13 kills on .270 hitting. Kentucky’s high-octane offense produced 17 kills, but it was not enough to overcome its own mistakes.
Kentucky found itself in a hole immediately falling behind 2-0 in the opening portions of the frame. An Armes hammer tied the score at seven, but that was the closest UK would get the rest of the set as Tulsa was able to fend off any charge by the Wildcat offense.
Kentucky’s Memorial Coliseum will play host to the NCAA Regionals Dec. 9-10. UK is one of four sites selected for Sweet 16 and Elite Eight matchups with one team advancing to the Final Four in San Antonio, Texas, from the Lexington Region. Tickets are on sale now through the UK Ticket Office.
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LSU Volleyball Stays Perfect; Sweeps Jacksonville State
BATON ROUGE – The LSU volleyball team racked up 14 service aces and 10 blocks to post its third consecutive sweep to open the 2011 season and dismissed Jacksonville State [25-9, 25-14, 25-12] Saturday at the Maravich Center.
Meghan Mannari cranked out a career-best seven aces, including four in a row during the third set to wrap up the sweep. She also corralled a match-high 10 digs as the Tigers (3-0) limited Jacksonville State to 14 kills and forced the Gamecocks (0-3) into a negative .041 hitting percentage for the match.
“We’ve really worked hard on our blocking in the preseason, and I was really disappointed yesterday in that phase of our game,” head coach Fran Flory said. “We’ve talked about trying to be a great serving and blocking team as one of our preseason goals. Yesterday, we didn’t show to be that type of team. However, this morning that phase of our game showed up. You know, with a young team, it’s hard to play with all facets this early in the season. I think this was definitely a ‘grow up’ moment for us.”
LSU’s back row garnered a stout 72 percent sideout efficiency. Sam Delahoussaye tacked on seven digs, and the Tigers won their eighth consecutive August match dating back to the 2009 season.
LSU’s offense was just as impressive. Malorie Pardo handed out 30 assists and sparked the Tigers to an efficient .403 hitting clip. Pardo also chipped in four blocks and four digs.
Madie Jones belted a match-best 12 kills on 18 swings with only one error to register a .611 attack ratio. From the middle, Desiree Elliott filled the stat sheet with nine kills, five blocks, four aces and four digs, while Michele Williams slapped eight kills to go along with three blocks.
“This team thus far has proven to be a team that once they step on the accelerator, they’re going to keep pushing and pushing,” Flory said. “We waivered a few times during this match. However, when we asked them to respond, they responded very quickly and decisively. The ability to come back today after two matches yesterday and play a game again early this morning is a tribute to their willingness to be out there. They’re ready to play and ready to win. Our offense is clicking right now, and it’s nice to see.”
LSU led wire-to-wire during the first set and fired out to an 8-2 advantage aided by a pair of Jones kills. At 15-9, the Tigers used a strong finishing kick and reeled off 10 consecutive points for a dominant 25-9 triumph. Elliott tallied three aces, while Jones and Williams connected for three kills each during the run.
LSU kept the momentum in set two and raced out to a commanding 16-3 edge. The Tiger front row totaled four blocks and forced JSU into three additional hitting miscues. A Pardo-Williams stuff capped the 25-14 victory.
LSU continued with its same formula of success and jumped out to a quick 11-3 lead to start the third set. The Tigers maintained their cushion as JSU got within seven points on two occasions before Mannari provided a flurry of four consecutive aces to finish off the 25-12 win.
“I think it was really important for us to play great and execute last night, but I think it was also important for us to realize that we had new matches today,” Mannari said. “We’re glad for the win, but now we’re ready to refocus and take on Miami.”
LSU concludes the Tiger Classic later tonight against fellow 2010 NCAA Tournament participant Miami. First serve is set for 7 p.m. at the Maravich Center.
“Miami is definitely a veteran team,” Flory said. “They play very calmly, they play with few mistakes and they don’t get rattled. They’re experienced in so many more positions than we are, so this is going to be a true test for us tonight. Honestly, they have a whole lot more experience and some players that have performed on a higher level for a longer period of time. We’re going to have to come with a different and even higher level of intensity tonight and put it all together. Our offense and defense are going to have to show up on both sides today.”
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Auburn Earns Sweep Over Boston College
GAINESVILLE, Fla. –Rick Nold earned his first victory as Auburn’s head volleyball coach on Saturday afternoon as the Tigers defeated Boston College 3-0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-18) at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center in the team’s final game of the Active Ankle Challenge.
The Tigers (1-1) led virtually the entire match and outhit Boston College (0-2) by a .309-.012 margin. It was a stark contrast from Auburn’s match against North Carolina on Friday when the Tigers managed only a .048 hitting percentage.
“We were inconsistent in a lot of areas, but I thought we did a good job of not letting that get us down,” Nold said. “Not everything is going to go your way. But you have to keep your head on straight and stay together, and good things will happen.”
Auburn was led by sophomore outside hitter Vesela Zapryanova, who tied a career high with nine digs and shattered a previous career-best with eight kills in the contest as she hit .353 on the day. But the best hitting percentage belonged to fellow sophomore Chloe Rowand, who hit .750 (9 kills on 12 attacks with no errors), setting a career-high in kills for the second straight match.
Senior Kelly Fidero fell just short of double-digit kills with nine on the day, hitting .316 (9-4-16), and sophomore Kathia Rud set a career-high with nine digs in the match. MacKenzy Harper, starting at libero for the first time, had seven digs and a pair of service aces. Senior setter Christina Solverson had 21 assists on the day.
Auburn came out hitting much better in today’s match, swinging at a .357 clip in the first set as they took a 25-15 win to open the match. The Tigers took the first three points and never trailed, increasing their lead to 15-10 after MacKenzy Harper served up two straight aces, forcing an Eagle timeout. The Tigers then scored four more straight points to make it a 7-0 run, forcing another Boston College timeout. After having set point at 24-14, the Eagles rolled off three in a row before a setter dump from Chelsea Wintzinger ended the set at 25-17.
Game two was much more closely contested, but the Tigers held the Eagles to a negative hitting percentage and overcame six service errors to win 25-23. Auburn jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, but saw that evaporate as Boston College went on a 5-1 run to tie the score at 6-6. It would again be tied at 14-14 before Auburn went on a 7-3 run, forcing a pair of Eagle timeouts and taking a 21-17 lead. However, the Eagles would fight their way back and tie things up at 23-23. But a kill from Rowand gave the Tigers a chance at set point, and a hitting error by the Eagles gave Auburn the set win and a 2-0 lead.
Boston College put up a big fight early in the third set, taking the lead for the first time in the match at 7-6. The Eagles still led at 11-10 when a Fidero kill swung the momentum back Auburn’s way. From there, the Tigers went on a 10-3 run to take a 21-14 lead, then put the match away with a pair of Fidero kills and a service ace from Zapryanova to clinch the win.
Auburn won the dig battle 38-30, and the two teams had six total blocks apiece. Rowand, Fidero and Courtney McDonald had three blocks each for the Tigers. Neither team served particularly well, with Auburn amassing 17 service errors and Boston College erring on 14 serve attempts.
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Georgia Finishes Runner Up In The Hotel Indigo Bulldog Invitational
ATHENS, Ga. – After a competitive weekend at the Hotel Indigo Bulldog Invitational, the University of Georgia volleyball team took the runner-up spot at the tournament falling 3-0 to Kansas in the championship game on Saturday at the Ramsey Student Center.
Georgia (2-1) took their first loss of the season to the Jayhawks by scores of 16-25, 19-25 and 14-25 in front of a crowd of 1,003. With the win, Kansas earned the Invitational title and starts the year 3-0 after posting its first 17-win season since 2004 last year. Georgia finished runner followed by Liberty (1-2) and Florida A&M (0-3).
“Overall, this weekend was a great test for us," Georgia head coach Lizzy Stemke said. "We did some really nice things. We were very disciplined in our first two matches this weekend. Kansas is a great team, and they play tough competition day-in and day-out in the Big 12. That match showed us that we still have a lot of work to do."
Following the conclusion of the tournament, a seven-player All-Bulldog Invitational Team was announced headlined by Kansas' Allison Mayfield, who took home Most Valuable Player honors. The Jayhawks played three players on the team including Brianne Riley and Caroline Jarmoc. Riley earned top libero honors.
Georgia placed two players on the team in senior setter Kathleen Gates and sophomore outside hitter Kathleen Luft. Gates tallied a tournament-best 100 assists while Luft led the Bulldogs in kills with 30, which was second-best on the weekend behind Mayfield's 42.
Liberty's Lillie Happel and Florida A&M's Lorrin Rucker rounded out the all-tournament squad.
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Alabama Volleyball Wins Hampton Inn Bama Bash Following 3-2 Win Over Texas State
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama women’s volleyball team won its second straight Hampton Inn Bama Bash title with a five-set win over the Texas State Bobcats (2-1) on Friday night at Foster Auditorium. Alabama posted a 3-2 (25-23, 25-13, 22-25, 15-25, 15-9) win to improve to 3-0 on the season.
Kayla Fitterer, who was named the tournament Most Valuable Player, paced the Tide with her third double-double of the season, notching 19 kills and 15 digs in the match. Fitterer, who had 19 kills and 15 digs, was the only player to reach double digits in kills to record her 15th career double-double.
All-tournament selection Cortney Warren added nine kills to go along with a .409 hitting percentage and Leigh Moyer, also an all-tournament selection, had a season-high eight kills. Stephanie Riley had a match-high 28 assists and Kelsey Anderson had 19 digs to lead all players.
This year’s championship of the Hampton Inn Bama Bash marked the fifth overall for the Crimson Tide.
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Straight set win over Middle Tennessee
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas volleyball returned to the floor for their second match of the day and knocked off Middle Tennessee in three sets (25-22, 25-20, 25-21) to finish the season-opening weekend with a 2-1 record. Jasmine Norton led the team with 10 kills while three other Razorbacks—Kasey Heckelman, Kelli Stipanovich and Roslandy Acosta—each tallied three kills.
For their weekend performances, Acosta, Heckelman and Raymariely Santos were named to the Arkansas Invitational All-Tournament Team. Freshman libero Christa Alvarez posted the first double-digit dig effort of her young career with a match-high 10 digs.
“It’s an exciting win,” head coach Robert Pulliza said. “We did some very good thing. Middle Tennessee is a very good program with some great tradition and a high RPI. They’re usually in the top 25 (of the RPI) so this is a big step for us in the right direction of where we want to go.”
The Razorbacks forced the first timeout of the match after a kill by Jasmine Norton and a tandem block by Kelli Stipanovich and Janeliss Torres-Lopez put the home team ahead, 10-8. Out of the timeout, Middle Tennessee went on a scoring run to grab a 13-12 lead. Arkansas responded to win the next five points, aided by three errors from the Blue Raiders.
A kill by Alyssa Wistrick brought the visitors to within two and forced a timeout from Pulliza with his team still leading, 19-17. Kills by Stipanovich and Kasey Heckelman pushed the Razorback lead to three but consecutive attack errors brought Middle Tennessee back to within one, 23-22. Arkansas stopped the momentum and won the next two points to close out the opener, 25-22.
“We feel really excited,” Santos said. “Before the game we prepared ourselves mentally and physically. We got it done so it feels really good because both teams were really going at it until the very end.”
In game two, the team battled to an early 6-6 tally but Arkansas scored the next six points to take control of play. During the stretch, the Razorbacks benefitted from four MTSU attack errors. A service ace by Jasmine Norton put Arkansas ahead, 16-8, and the home lead reached nine on the next play after another error by the Blue Raiders.
Middle Tennessee began to chip away at its deficit and pulled to within three, 23-20, with the help of a pair of kills from Oyinlola Oladinni and a service ace from Lindsey Purvis. The Razorbacks recovered to win the final two points of the set, including a kill by Stipanovich on set point.
Like the previous game, the teams traded points early in set three until the score was tied, 8-8. With freshman libero Christa Alvarez at the service line, Arkansas reeled off five points in a row to go ahead for good. Alvarez capped her efforts at the line with two aces. Heckelman put the ball down out of the middle to push the Razorbacks’ lead to seven, their largest of game.
Arkansas maintained a lead of at least three the remainder of the match. The team arrived at its first match point, 24-19, after a kill by Norton, her final putaway of the night. Middle Tennessee saved two match points but on the third attempt to close out the match, Stipanovich came out of the back row for the final kill of the match to send the Razorbacks to their second win of the season.
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Rebels Fall To Pepperdine 3-0 At Burnt Orange Classic
AUSTIN, Texas – Courtney Cunningham put down five kills and came up with four blocks to help lead the Rebels, but couldn’t come up with the win as Ole Miss (0-2) fell to Pepperdine (1-1) by a score of 3-0 (19-25, 14-25, 17-25) at the Burnt Orange Classic on Saturday.
Ashley Anderson also put down four blocks, while Amanda Philpot tallied five kills and Allegra Wells added six kills to lead the Rebel offense. Morgan Springer came up with 13 digs to lead the Ole Miss defense on the back row in the loss.
Springer was named the Libero of the Tournament for her performance on the weekend.
“We ran into a really good Pepperdine team and we have to learn how to respond better when we run into goo teams,” said Ole Miss head coach Joe Getzin. “I think we saw a lot of good things this weekend, and a learned a lot that we can take forward with us from this point.
The Rebels fell behind early in the first set only to fight back and surge in front of the Waves with a run that put Ole Miss on top 8-4. The lead wouldn’t last long, however, as Pepperdine answered the Rebel rally with a run of its own to go back in front 9-8. Ole Miss would not overtake the Waves again as Pepperdine closed out the first set 25-19.
The second set saw the Rebels take the early lead, but it was short lived as Pepperdine again mustered a rally to push into the lead. The Waves used a 10-to-2 run to extend the lead out to one Ole Miss could not find a way to overcome. Pepperdine claimed the second set 25-14 to take a two set lead at the break.
It was all Pepperdine in the third set as Ole Miss fell behind 4-0 and couldn’t regroup to overtake the Waves. The Rebels cut the lead to five twice down the stretch, but Pepperdine had built up too much of an early cushion as the Waves claimed the match with a 25-17 win in set three.
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Rance Shines In Bulldogs Initial Win Of The Campaign
STARKVILLE, Miss. --- Outside hitter Caitlin Rance notched her third double-double in as many matches this season Saturday night to lift Mississippi State (1-2) to a straight-sets win over Southeastern Louisiana (0-3) in the final match of the 2011 Maroon Classic.
The senior co-captain from Kingwood, Texas, closed out the opening weekend with a 14-kill, 18-dig showing Saturday night as the Bulldogs topped the Lions 25-10, 25-9, 26-24. Earlier in the day State dropped a 3-1 decision eventual tourney champion Tennessee-Martin (22-25, 25-16, 20-25, 23-25). In that match Rance finished with a match-leading 16 kills and 10 digs. For the weekend Rance, who represented Mississippi State on the all-tournament team, piled up 52 kills 39, including Saturday night’s career-high 18.
The Bulldogs continue their early-season non-conference tournament play and make their road debut this weekend, traveling to Stockton, Calif., for the Community Bankers Classic hosted by the University of the Pacific.
After hitting a weekend-low .133 in the loss to UT-Martin, the Bulldogs thundered back to claim their tournament finale. With a revamped lineup that at times included freshmen Alex Scott, Sarah Temperilli, Bentley Witte and Lainey Wyman, the Bulldogs committed but three attack errors over their first two sets and then fended off a late charge by the Lions to claim their first win of the campaign. Wyman, the early-season team leader with a .313 attack percentage, tallied nine kills against SLU.
MSU’s other team captain, right side hitter Faith Steinwedell, turned in a career-best 20-dig effort in the loss to UT-Martin. Wyman established an early-season career-best with six blocks against the Skyhawks. The rookie from Plainfield, Ill., leads the club with 10 total blocks after three matches.
Saturday’s tournament session drew a gathering of 564 to the Newell-Grissom Building and raised MSU’s attendance total for the year to 4,152, thanks to Friday night’s school and state-record attendance of 3,024.
Junior outside hitter Kelly Hogan took tourney MVP honors after the Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks soared past the SIU Salukis in five sets to win this year’s tournament championship. Kasey Elswick (UTM), Laura Thole (SIU), Bailey Yeager (SIU) and Kinsey Williams (SLU) joined Rance on the six-player all-tournament team. It was Rance’s fourth consecutive all-tournament team honor spanning the past two seasons.
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Vols Rally From Brink In Five-Game Win
Teetering on the brink of a three-game loss, junior Jasmine Brown and the Tennessee Lady Volunteers kept their focus.
With Brown serving, Lady Vols fought off match points in the third game and turned around the match late in a 3-2 victory over Maryland to win the Comcast Lady Vol Classic on Saturday night.
“We had a game plan for this, but we weren’t mentally in the game,” Tennessee head coach Rob Patrick said. “We were just playing volleyball. we weren’t playing Maryland. We weren’t competing for every point. They finally got into competing on every point, and it’s going to happen, but I was disappointed it took so long for that to happen.”
Sophomore Kelsey Robinson, who led Tennessee with 24 kills and 24 digs, was named tournament MVP. Sophomore Carly Sahagian and freshman Mary Pollmiller also made the all-tournament team.
The 24th-ranked Lady Vols (3-0) recorded a sweep of their own earlier in the day against Villanova at Thompson-Boling Arena, but in the evening match they faced the potential of being on the losing end of that score in front of 1,938 fans, the second-largest crowd in program history.
Tennessee trailed 24-20 in the third game but regained possession on a kill by Robinson. Brown, who has long been a serving specialist for the Lady Vols, entered the match to serve and immediately had Maryland on its heels with every point, helping guide the Lady Vols to a 25-24 lead.
After exchanging several points, the Lady Vols took the lead on a service error by Maryland and captured the set 29-27 on another kill by Robinson.
Following that, anything else seemed routine. From there, Tennessee never trailed again. Robinson put the Lady Vols ahead for good midway through the 4th game at 18-17. Tennessee then took command early in the fifth set and ultimately won 20-25, 22-25, 29-27, 25-22, 15-5.
Sahagian had another career night with 18 kills and a .441 attack percentage. Sophomore Ellen Mullins added 19 digs. Pollmiller, Tennessee’s lone setter this weekend, collected her second match with at least 50 assists, finishing with 51.
The Lady Vols have played three matches thus far, two of them being five-game victories. They played only five five-game matches all of 2010, going 2-3 in those contests.
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Gator Volleyball Named Active Ankle SEC/ACC Challenge Champions with 3-0 Victory over North Carolina
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The No. 9 University of Florida volleyball team (2-0) swept a tough North Carolina (1-1) squad, 3-0 (25-17, 25-20, 25-14), to become the Active Ankle SEC/ACC Challenge champions on Saturday evening at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. The SEC won the Challenge, 3-1.
Senior outside hitter Stephanie Ferrell (Los Angeles, Calif.) was named the Tournament MVP with 13 kills on the evening to give her 20 kills on the weekend, in addition to a .381 hitting percentage.
"They (North Carolina) pushed us," Florida head coach Mary Wise. "That's a great preparation for the next step, which is Florida State, a veteran team that gave us all we could handle a year ago, but this match was great preparation for them."
Also named to the All-Tournament team were senior outside hitter Kristy Jaeckel (Littleton, Colo.), who had her first double-double of the 2011 season with 12 kills and 10 digs, senior right-side/setter Kelly Murphy (Wilmington, Ill.) who narrowly missed a triple-double with an errorless eight kills, a match-high 20 assists and seven digs, and redshirt freshman libero Taylor Unroe (Muncie, Ind.), who had 19 digs on the weekend and was errorless on serve receive against the Tar Heels.
"For Kristy to finish the match with a double-double, that's the kind of performance we need from our outside hitters," Wise said. "There are some teams whose outside hitters only play three rotations and are asked only to kill balls. We ask our outside hitters (Ferrell and Jaeckel) this year to play six rotations. Not only are they going to get a lot of swings but they're going to be able to attack from middle back."
Sophomore setter Chanel Brown (Tempe, Ariz.) had a complete effort with 17 assists, six digs and two service aces. Jaeckel continued the Gators' dominance behind the service line, adding a match-high three aces of her own. Murphy and junior middle blocker Betsy Smith (Atlanta, Ga.) had four blocks apiece, a career-high for Smith.
The Gators held the Tar Heels to just .161 attacking efficiency, whereas Florida doubled UNC's effort, hitting at a .344 clip. The Orange and Blue outblocked and outdefended their opponent, racking up seven blocks and 45 digs on the evening.
The match began with long rallies on both sides of the net, splitting the opening points. Ferrell had a cross-court slam to spark a 4-0 run to push the Gators ahead at 6-2, with the Los Angeles, Calif. native continuing the Gators' production behind the service line. A Murphy-Smith stuff-block extended the Gators' lead at 11-5 and the dynamic serving of gave Florida a six-point lead. Ferrell continued her success at the net by nailing a Tar Heels' overpass at 16-9, knocking the 2,823 fans in the O'Connell Center on their feet. Unroe finished the set behind the service line, her topspin jumpers putting North Carolina on their heels and affording Ferrell the chance to put away the set at 25-17.
In a second set that featured seven ties and five lead changes, the Gators fell behind multiple times throughout the beginning of the second stanza. Jaeckel took matters into her own hands, sending home a perfect set from Brown to spark a 4-0 run, highlighted by Jaeckel's back-to-back aces. The Tar Heels halted the Gator run with a block by Nelson and Bleke to tie the set at 8-8.
Ece Taner's ace put North Carolina back in front but errors on both sides of the net kept things tight until 18-18, when Brown dished a quick set to Murphy to tie the set at 18. Florida went on a 5-0 run, courtesy of Unroe, who forced the Tar Heels into multiple errors with her rockets behind the service line. The Gators took the lead and never looked back, with Ferrell ending the second set the same way she ended the first, thanks to a powerful swing on the outside. Florida won a hard-fought set two, 25-20.
Florida came firing right out of the gate after intermission, with the Gator offense hammering the back corners of the Tar Heels' defense. A kill down the line by Jaeckel forced a UNC timeout at 9-3, but the scoring didn't stop there. Jaeckel's serving aided the Gator attack, with another Ferrell kill putting the O'Connell Center crowd on their feet at 13-6. A Wiggs kill at 18-10 gave Florida its largest lead of the evening. Brown stepped behind the service line to give the Gators five straight points and set the stage for Jaeckel's final kill of the night. The Littleton, Colo. native put away the match with a blast in the center of the UNC defense, sending Florida off with a convincing win, as the Gators took the final set, 25-14.
Florida continues its homestand when the Orange and Blue take on in-state rival Florida State on Tuesday evening. Opening serve is set for 7 p.m. The Gators and the Seminoles will look to recreate some of the magic from their last meeting in the O'Dome, an epic 3-2 thriller in the second round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament. Florida came back in the fifth set, down 12-7, to advance to its 19th NCAA regional semifinal appearance.
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LSU Volleyball Handed 3-2 Setback by Miami
BATON ROUGE – The LSU volleyball team took two of the first three sets, but a veteran Miami squad battled back to come away with a hard-fought 3-2 decision [25-27, 25-13, 25-6, 22-25, 8-15] Saturday to conclude the Tiger Classic as 1,055 fans gathered at the Maravich Center.
Meghan Mannari racked up a career-best 36 digs to anchor the back row. Her 36 digs are the second-highest output in program history for a single match, only behind former All-American Elena Martinez’s 43 digs at Alabama during the 2007 season. In the process, Mannari earned Tiger Classic Defensive MVP honors.
The Hurricanes used 14 kills, 17 digs and five blocks from Alex Johnson, who notched Tiger Classic Tournament MVP honors. Lane Carico slapped 11 kills and tacked on 17 digs for Miami. Defensively, Ryan Shaffer scooped up 30 digs coupled with nine-block effort for Emani Sims to pace the Hurricanes. Miami also notched a 7.5 to three blocking edge over the final two sets.
“Our inexperience cost us the match,” head coach Fran Flory said. “With their experience level, credit Miami because they made plays when they needed them the most. Lane Carico, Alex Johnson and Katie Gallagher did a great job for them. They just kept themselves in plays, and they didn’t error themselves out. The bottom line is we weren’t able to execute within our offensive system at clutch times. We’re going to grow up and be able to do that. Unfortunately, we couldn’t execute at the key moments we needed to tonight.”
Helen Boyle turned in a solid all-around performance and garnered her career-highs with 16 kills to go along with 20 digs. It was Boyle’s first career double-double.
“Helen is a great balanced player, and we’re not surprised by that,” Flory said. “She has done this at every level and that’s why she’s in the starting lineup as a freshman playing all six rotations. We were waiting for her breakout, and the good news is it came in the ‘clutch match’ of the weekend. That’s a good sign for the future.”
Malorie Pardo joined Boyle with her initial double-double as a Tiger. She passed out 53 assists and secured 15 digs as LSU (3-1) outhit Miami (3-0) by a .184 to .146 margin.
Desiree Elliott cranked 15 kills and added three blocks, while Madie Jones popped 14 kills. Both Elliott and Jones took home Tiger Classic All-Tournament Team accolades. Michele Williams chipped in nine kills and eight blocks for the Tigers.
The first set was a back-and-forth affair that featured 17 ties and seven lead changes. Neither team held more than a two-point advantage throughout the frame. LSU turned a 23-22 deficit into a 24-23 advantage after forcing Christine Williamson into consecutive attack errors. The Tigers were unable to capitalize on their two set points, and Williamson regrouped with three straight kills as Miami escaped with a 27-25 win.
LSU fired back with 15 kills on 35 swings and posted a match-best .429 hitting percentage during set two. Ahead 7-5, the Tigers ran off nine straight points off Boyle’s serve. Elliott fueled the spurt with two kills and two blocks. LSU won going away 25-13, and Elliott finished the frame with seven spikes.
The Tigers once again turned to a critical surge during the middle of the frame to capture the third set. With a 14-13 edge, LSU reeled off 11 of the final 14 points to post a 25-16 victory. Pardo set a balanced attack behind four kills apiece from Boyle and Williams.
Miami grinded out a 25-22 triumph in set four and were aided by eight LSU hitting miscues. Down 21-17, the Tigers got back within two points on three separate occasions. However, the Hurricanes answered each time, the latest at 24-22, with a Johnson spike to force a decisive fifth set.
The final frame turned after four consecutive LSU attack errors made a 4-4 deadlock into an 8-4 Miami advantage. Sims secured three blocks highlighted by a solo stuff on Elliott to cap the spurt. LSU charged back to 9-7, but the Hurricanes fended off the Tigers with six of the last seven points to wrap up a 15-8 decision.
“We need to improve offensively,” Flory said. “I thought we were in a good rhythm prior to this match. When teams can stop our first and second options, we lack experience with our third and fourth options. We will need to expand our offensive options. The only thing that beat us defensively was roll shots, and we’ll have to improve at defending out of system shots.”
LSU embarks on an eight-match road swing starting next weekend at the New Mexico State Tournament where the Tigers will face Arkansas-Little Rock, Grambling and host New Mexico State.