| SUNDAY SOCCER RESULTS |
South Carolina 3, Ole Miss 1
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Florida 3, Alabama 0
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LSU 3, Auburn 1
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Georgia 3, Arkansas 2
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Tennessee at Mississippi State
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Gamecocks Break Through with Four-Set Win at Ole Miss
OXFORD, Miss. – The return of sophomore outside hitter Juliette Thévenin sparked South Carolina (10-9, 1-8 SEC), as the Gamecocks claimed a four-set win at Ole Miss (5-13, 1-9 SEC) 18-25, 25-17, 25-15, 25-22, on Sunday afternoon at the Gillom Sports Center.
Thévenin posted 17 kills and 10 digs in her first match in three weekends, bringing some balance to the Gamecock attack. Senior middle blocker Teresa Stenlund and redshirt freshman outside hitter Cara Howley both posted .524 hitting percentages, with Howley tallying 12 kills and Stenlund 11. Stenlund also posted six blocks, two shy of her season high, and Howley landed a career-best two aces. Freshman outside hitter Bethanie Thomas had eight kills and 10 digs, while junior setter Taylor Bruns posted five kills, 48 assists and 10 digs.
Kara Morgan led Ole Miss with 15 kills and a .333 hitting percentage. Morgan Springer added a match-high 16 digs.
A close first set tied at 14-14 broke open, as Ole Miss claimed the frame, 25-18, behind a .444 hitting percentage. A four-point Gamecock run that started with consecutive kills by sophomore middle blocker Frankie Vain tied the set, but the Rebels responded with a 10-2 run that put them to set point. Bruns posted a kill and an ace to extend the frame two more points, but a service error ended it. Vain had five kills on six swings in the frame for the Gamecocks, while Morgan posted seven kills without an error in the set.
South Carolina came back with a dominating performance in the second set, taking it, 25-17. The Gamecocks hit .607 in the frame, making only one attacking error in the set. Tied at 11-11, the Gamecocks’ five-point stand broke it open, with the duo of Howley and Stenlund posting two of their blocks together in the sequence. Thévenin put the final attack down the block to end the frame. Thévenin had seven of the Gamecock kills, while Howley was perfect on her four swings. The Gamecocks also posted four blocks in the set, with Stenlund assisting on each one.
The Gamecocks served their way to a 25-15 third-set win. South Carolina landed four aces in the frame, one each from Thévenin, sophomore libero Paige Wheeler, Howley and sophomore Lindsey Craft, the most in seven matches for the team. A 9-7 Gamecock lead turned into a 23-10 advantage mostly due to a seven-point skein by South Carolina. Stenlund had a kill, a solo block and a block assist in the string. Ole Miss fought off four set points by the Gamecocks before Thévenin ended the frame with her back-row kill that went down the block. South Carolina hit .423 in the third, led by Thévenin’s five kills on eight swings without an error.
In a fourth set that was never separated by more than three points, the Gamecocks got a 25-22 win to clinch the match. Ole Miss held a 12-9 advantage at one point, but the Gamecocks fought back to tie it at 13-13 after taking four of five points, two of those coming on Howley kills. The Gamecocks’ three-point run gave them a 17-15 lead, but Ole Miss fought back to take a 20-19 advantage. South Carolina responded with a four-point run to make it 23-22, with Thomas getting two kills to end the stretch. The Rebels got within one at 23-22, but Howley’s slide attack and Thomas’s cross both found the floor and gave the Gamecocks a 25-22 set-four win. Howley tallied five kills in the final frame to lead the Gamecocks.
South Carolina hit .394 in the contest and won the kills, assists and digs battle. The teams tied with six blocks and six aces each. South Carolina picked up its first win of the year when losing the first set.
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Jaeckel’s Double-Double in Tuscaloosa Leads No. 13 Gator Volleyball to Sixth Straight Sweep
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Behind the 13th straight double-digit kill performance of Kristy Jaeckel (Littleton, Colo.), the No. 13 Florida volleyball team earned its 13th sweep of the season with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-13) victory over Alabama on Sunday afternoon. The Gators climb to 15-3 overall and 8-1 in SEC play. Alabama fell to 10-11 on the season and 3-7 in conference competition.
Jaeckel led the Gators with her fifth double-double of the season, posting 14 kills and 10 digs on the afternoon, while adding two blocks and two service aces. Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award finalist Kelly Murphy (Wilmington, Ill.) narrowly missed a triple-double with nine kills, 22 assists and nine digs, hitting .538 against the Crimson Tide. The senior right-side/setter also registered four blocks and didn’t commit a hitting error until the third set.
Aiding the Gators’ balanced attack was junior right-side hitter Tangerine Wiggs (Seattle, Wash.), who had nine kills on the afternoon. Senior outside hitter Stephanie Ferrell (Los Angeles, Calif.) registered eight kills against Alabama, hitting .467, while junior middle blocker Betsy Smith (Atlanta, Ga.) had seven kills on .462 hitting. Redshirt freshman libero Taylor Unroe (Muncie, Ind.) posted a match-high 13 digs
The Gators started the match out with a kill for Wiggs and never trailed in the first set, as Jaeckel, Murphy and Wiggs each registered four kills in the first set. Florida led by as much as six, as kills by Murphy and Smith gave the Gators an advantage at 13-7 and 17-11. Alabama began to start a comeback, pulling within two and forcing a Florida timeout. The Gators spread the ball around to keep the Crimson Tide block guessing and Florida took the first set off a Murphy slam, 25-21.
The second set became a senior showcase, as Jaeckel and Murphy combined for 11 kills on 16 swings with no errors (.688). Jaeckel and Unroe went on serving sprees that forced Alabama timeouts, as Florida led by as many as nine points at multiple points throughout the second stanza. The Crimson Tide looked to be making a move in the middle of the set, taking their only lead of the match at 11-10, and forcing a Gator timeout. Out of Florida’s timeout, the Gators closed the set on a 15-5 run, behind the spectacular defense of Unroe, who posted eight digs in the second set alone. The Gators took the second set, 25-16, off an Anderson-Wiggs stuff block, and went into the locker room with a 2-0 advantage in the match.
Florida used the momentum from their second stanza performance to take an early lead over Alabama. As the Crimson Tide began to key in on Murphy, the Alabama block left Ferrell, Jaeckel and Wiggs open to swing away. The three combined for 13 kills and Ferrell hit errorless in the third set, notching five kills on seven swings. The Alabama offense was unable to take advantage of their opportunities in the third set, hitting negative to close the match with just four kills in the final stanza. Monserez closed the set behind the service line, serving four straight points to close the match, 25-13.
The third set has been Florida’s best as of late, as the Gators have held their last three opponents to final set scores of 25-8 (LSU), 25-11 (Ole Miss) and 25-13 (Alabama).
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Jones, Solid Defense Lift Volleyball Past Auburn
BATON ROUGE – Madie Jones ripped 12 of her team-high 17 kills during the final two sets to propel the LSU volleyball team to a hard-fought 3-1 victory over Auburn [25-17, 23-25, 25-21, 25-22] Sunday at the Maravich Center.
In the process, LSU (13-6, 6-3 SEC) defeated Auburn (9-11, 3-7 SEC) for the 20th consecutive time in the series dating back to 2001. LSU also has won 51 of its last 54 decisions versus its fellow SEC Western Division rivals since 2006.
The victory allowed LSU to open a 1.5 match lead over Mississippi State in the division race as Jones hammered home a .310 hitting percentage in sets three and four. LSU’s middle blocker tandem of Michele Williams and Desiree Elliott combined to blast 29 kills and record seven blocks.
Helen Boyle and Nicole Willis chipped in eight kills each. Boyle connected for a team-best .381 hitting clip, her best performance since opening weekend. She also tacked on 17 digs and two blocks.
Malorie Pardo notched a match-high 55 assists to go along with 10 digs to secure her team-leading seventh double-double of the season. She also totaled three blocks.
“I thought Madie played with great determination and great finish,” head coach Fran Flory said. “We had to have someone do that. I thought at times Nicole carried us through that and did it as well, but in the end it was Madie and her rotations. Certainly, she has done that her entire career so that was not a surprise for us.”
LSU’s back row garnered an impressive 82-61 digs advantage and forced Auburn to grind out a .208 hitting ratio for the match. Meghan Mannari racked up a match-high 25 digs, her fourth 20-plus scoop performance during SEC action. She also slapped a pair of aces.
Sam Delahoussaye corralled 11 digs for her second straight double figure effort. Lauren Waclawczyk checked in with eight scoops and moved to within three digs of passing Detra Brown (1983-86) for the No. 8 spot on the program’s all-time list.
“What a great, fun match to watch if you are a volleyball fan wanting to see long rallies and spectacular digs and terminating plays,” Flory said. “Our team, for a Sunday afternoon match after playing a tough match on Friday, certainly our backcourt defense took another step today. They played with another level to make sure we were going to create opportunities. Not only did they keep the ball off the floor, they created great, accurate digs so that Malorie could get under them, and we could run some offense off of them.”
For Auburn, Kelly Fidero popped a match-best 18 kills on a .326 hitting percentage. Sarah Bullock cranked 14 kills, but was limited to a .179 hitting clip on her 56 swings. Defensively, Auburn received 16 digs from Sarah Wroblicky.
After splitting the first two frames, Auburn carried its momentum after from a second set victory and grabbed an early 4-1 advantage to start the third stanza. The two teams traded nine ties and seven lead changes. At 18-18, Boyle put LSU ahead for good, and the Tigers used a strong finishing kick with seven on the last 10 points. Pardo capped the 25-21 win in style with an ace. She fueled the home side to a balanced attack with 14 kills, led by five from Jones.
The fourth set proved to be the most dramatic of the match. Another tight frame produced 12 ties and seven lead changes. Auburn took a 19-16 lead after a block on Jones before LSU rallied to prevent the match from going to a deciding fifth set. Jones and Williams ripped three kills apiece to spark a 9-3 spurt and lift LSU to a 25-22 comeback triumph. Boyle brought the match to close on an out-of-system ball from Williams to end a long rally.
“There were definitely a lot of plays at the end where we were all in the middle of the floor, out of breath and making eye contact with each other saying, ‘Come on, lets keep fighting for each other,’ Jones said. “Overall, it was a really tough and hard fought match. I am really proud of how we fought all the way through to the end and did not let Auburn get on any long runs against us. This is a great accomplishment and gets us another step closer to reaching our goals for the season.”
LSU started the match clicking on all cylinders and fired out to an early 8-3 set one lead with the last five points of that stretch coming on Delahoussaye’s serve. Elliott belted kills on five of her first six swings as LSU continued its strong play before getting to set point at 24-14. Auburn saved a quartet of set points until a service frame handed LSU a 25-17 victory.
Auburn took the second set 25-23 behind seven Bullock spikes. The visitors jumped out to a quick 4-1 spread, but LSU battled back aided by six straight points on Mannari’s serve to turn the tables to 12-8 in LSU’s favor. Jones ripped a trio of kills during the run. Auburn charged back and took a 23-22 edge after a Williams serving error. LSU was poised to tie the frame, but a long rally was ended when a Bullock attack was ruled on the line towards the near sideline next to the LSU bench. Boyle and Bullock traded sideouts to allow Auburn to even the match at one set apiece.
“After the first set, Auburn came out a lot stronger,” Mannari said. “Maybe at the beginning of the second set, we under estimated them a little. We thought we had it. We talked in the locker room, knew we needed to play our assignment and not worry about who was on the other side of the net. We just each need to do our jobs and take care of the ball.”
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Georgia Outlasts Arkansas In Five Sets
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Redshirt sophomore Kathleen Luft recorded a career-high 22 kills and Georgia had a season-high 15.5 team blocks as the Bulldogs outlasted the Arkansas Razorbacks in five sets at Barnhill Arena on Sunday afternoon.
Georgia went to a fifth set for just a second time this season and earned the victory by taking the decisive frame 15-11. The Bulldogs had won the first and third sets, 25-23 and 25-22, and Arkansas had won the second and fourth sets 25-17 and 25-22. With the win, Georgia improved to 9-11 overall and 5-5 in Southeastern Conference action at the half-way point in league play. Arkansas dropped to 12-8 overall and 4-5 in SEC matches.
"We came out aggressive from the beginning," Georgia head coach Lizzy Stemke said. "It was a very competitive match on both sides and a great road win for us. We continued to show we are improving, and these are the kind of wins that show a major team effort."
In a neck-and-neck match, Georgia and Arkansas both recorded 66 kills but the Bulldogs had a slight edge in hitting percentage at .207 to .191. Defensively, Georgia recorded the season-best 15.5 blocks compared to Arkansas' 13.5, and the Bulldogs also matched their season-best 75 digs while the Razorbacks had 73.
Luft notched the career-high 22 kills on a .327 hitting percentage as the Bulldogs offense was guided by 58 assists from senior setter Kathleen Gates. Supporting Luft on the attack, sophomore Brittany Northcutt came away with 13 kills, junior Brianna Bahr had 12 and senior Elizabeth Reid contributed nine.
"Luft came out with a great mindset today starting in warm-ups during pregame and we could just tell she was in a really good place," Stemke noted. "She did a great job of staying aggressive and keeping the ball in play when our defense needed to get to work. The other thing about her play today was with her blocking. Luft made some really good blocking moves that kept our defense organized."
The 15.5 blocks were paced by a career-high 10 from Reid, a career-high six from Luft and five from Northcutt. Reid's 10 blocks were the most by a Bulldog since Valentina Gonzalez recorded 12 against Alabama on Oct. 1, 2010. That contest against Alabama was also the last time Georgia recorded 15 or more blocks as a team.
The Bulldogs' strong defensive outing also included their second 75-dig match of the season which was led by senior Carla Tietz with her season-best at 19. Sophomore Allison Summers added 16 and Northcutt came away with her fourth double-double of 2011 with 14 digs.
"Our back-court communication is really what helped us today," Tietz said. "We talked about our lanes, responsibility and who had to do what, so the communication helped us today. We re-grouped as a team after Friday and we focused on our fight and all-out effort on every point and that was important for us."
Arkansas' top performances came from Jasmine Norton and Kelli Stipanovich with 22 and 20 kills, respectively.
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Lady Vol Volleyball Rebounds, Sweeps Mississippi State on the Road
STARKVILLE, Miss. – The No. 18 University of Tennessee Lady Vol volleyball team got back to its winning ways, defeating Mississippi State in straight sets, 25-19, 25-18, 28-26, on Sunday afternoon in front of 383 fans at Newell-Grissom Building in Starkville, Miss.
“We are real road warriors and I give all the credit to the team for them being able to be on the road for 12 of 16 matches since the beginning of September,” Lady Vol head coach Rob Patrick said. “We played at a very, very high level today and I was excited about how our team was on task with the game plan and what they needed to do as individuals out on the court.”
Now with half of the Southeastern Conference slate in the books, Tennessee improves to 16-3 overall and 9-1 against the conference. The Lady Vol defense was a vital part of the win, limiting Mississippi State to hitting percentage of just .025 for the match. The highest MSU hit in any set was at .056, which came in the second frame.
“To hold an SEC team to a .025 hitting percentage is really hard to do,” Patrick said. “You have great athletes up and down our conference and Mississippi State has been playing at a very high level. I was excited, especially starting in the second set about how hard our players played defense. It really set the tone for the match.”
Sophomore Kelsey Robinson notched her 14th overall and fourth consecutive double-double, as the Bartlett, Ill., registered a team-high 13 kills and dug up 12 balls. Junior DeeDee Harrison and freshman Tiffany Baker were also a force, as each blasted seven kills.
Harrison ranked second on the team in hitting percentage, at .353, while Baker also recorded season-highs in blocks, with one solo, four block assists and five overall blocks. Fellow freshman Stephanie Stoll also tallied five blocks, in addition to having a pair of kills.
Libero Ellen Mullins has now recorded double digits in digs in every conference match this season, as the sophomore had a team-high 15 against the Bulldogs. Freshman setter Mary Pollmiller had a hand in 33 of UT’s 39 assists, while adding for kills of her own, as she hit a team-best .444, connecting on four of her nine swings.
The Lady Vols came out hot in the opening set, scoring four of the first five points to grab a 4-1 lead behind kills from Robinson, Harrison and sophomore Carly Sahagian. Tennessee would never trail in the set, with the score in UT’s favor, 4-3, the Lady Vols went on a 6-0 rally to extend their lead to seven, 10-3.
The Bulldogs would go onto score four of the next five, making the score 11-7 in UT’s favor. Tennessee would go on two 3-0 runs, scoring six of the ensuing seven to push the lead to nine, 17-8. Freshman Shealyn Kolosky played a huge part in both runs, as she had two kills and an ace, to go along with three Bulldog errors.
The nine point advantage would be the Lady Vols largest lead of the set, as Mississippi State cut the deficit to four points on six occasions. Up four, 18-14, the two team traded points until the score was 23-19. Robinson and Harrison put an end to the set, as the duo recorded back-to-back kills, giving UT the first set, 25-19.
Robinson and Baker combined for seven of UT’s last eight points, as Robinson registered four kills, while Baker had three blasts and a solo block. For the set, the Lady Vols outhit MSU, .343-.054. Robinson had a set-high six kills, as she hit at a clip of .556, successfully connecting on six of nine swings.
Tennessee would quickly go up two over Mississippi State in the second set, 2-0 and 4-2, before the Bulldogs would even things up at six apiece. At 6-6, a kill by Stoll started a 4-0 run by the Lady Vols, as an ace by freshman Nikki Brice and two kills from Robinson ensued, making the score 10-6.
Up 11-7 off a Pollmiller kill, MSU rallied to score the next three, but a kill from Harrison stopped the Bulldog run and sparked a 4-0 run for the Lady Vols. After Harrison’s kill put UT up by two, a Pollmiller ace, a kill from Sahagian and a miscue on the part of MSU gave the Big Orange a 15-10 lead.
Mississippi State responded, getting as close as two, 18-16, which forced a Tennessee timeout. After the pause in the action, the Orange and White rattled off the next six to get within one point of the set, 24-16. During that flurry, Robinson and Sahagian each had a kill, Stoll and Baker combined for a block, and Mississippi State had two errors.
After two straight points from MSU, Baker ended the set with a kill, giving the Lady Vols the set, 25-18, and a 2-0 advantage in the match heading into the 10 minute break. The second frame saw 13 kills from the Lady Vols, three serving aces, two of which came from Pollmiller, and three blocks.
The Bulldogs got their first lead of the match in the third frame, 1-0, in the most competitive set in the match. The squads traded the first eight points of the set, which made the score even at four. From there, kills from Baker and Pollmiller, a block assists by Robinson and Stoll and a MSU attack error gave the Orange and White an 8-4 lead.
On its home court, MSU rallied, scoring three straight to get within one, 8-7, but UT pushed its lead to three, 10-7. Up one, 10-9, Tennessee scored four of the next five to grab a 14-10 lead, by way of two Harrison kills and a pair of MSU attack errors. Mississippi State would score the next six, regaining the lead at 16-14. An attack error by the Bulldogs ended the run, as Tennessee would rally by going a 4-0 run of their own, making the score 19-17.
The set would be tied at 19 and 22 before the teams would fight to reach 25 first. MSU put itself in position to earn the set win, as after trailing 22-20, the Bulldogs scored the next three to take a 23-20 lead. An attack error by Mississippi State and a kill from Robinson gave UT a chance for the win, up 24-23.
Tennessee could not convert, as MSU scored the next two, as it served for the set up 25-24. Sahagian wouldn’t allow the Bulldogs the point, as she blasted a kill to even the set, and a Bulldog attack error again gave UT the lead, 26-25. Mississippi State knotted the match up at 26, but a block by Harrison and Baker and a Sahagian kill ended the set and the match.