| VOLLEYBALL RESULTS |
Florida 3, Alabama 0
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Ole Miss 3, South Carolina 0
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Kentucky 3, Mississippi State 0
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Georgia 3, Arkansas 2
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LSU 3, Auburn 1
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There’s No Place Like Home: No. 17 Gator Volleyball Sweeps Crimson Tide to Open Homecoming Weekend
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Junior right-side hitter Tangerine Wiggs (Seattle, Wash.) helped lead the No. 17 Gator volleyball team past the Alabama Crimson Tide, 3-0 (25-16, 25-12, 25-21), on Friday afternoon to kick off Homecoming festivities on the campus of the University of Florida. The Gators move to 18-5 on the season and 11-3 in conference play. The Crimson Tide fall to 11-15 on the year and 4-11 in SEC action. Florida now has 16 sweeps on the year, tying last year’s total.
Wiggs led all hitters with 10 kills on 16 swings for a .500 hitting clip on the afternoon and a total of 11.5 points, all match highs. The Seattle native added three blocks in a match that saw the Gators well out-block their season average (3.3 blocks/set-2.3 blocks/set). On the whole, Florida hit .333 to Alabama’s .091, thanks to the superb setting of sophomore Chanel Brown (Tempe, Ariz.) and senior Kelly Murphy (Wilmington, Ill.), who combined for 38 assists.
“Tangerine’s first two swings in set one, she didn’t kill, and then she reeled off 10 in a row,” Florida head coach Mary Wise said. “She had a pretty good zone, but she also knows the numbers we’re looking at are the three blocks.”
Sophomore middle blocker Chloe Mann (Gainesville, Fla.) hit .417 in the match with just one error, posting six kills to go along with a match-high four blocks. Seniors Stephanie Ferrell (Los Angeles, Calif.) and Murphy added six kills apiece, while fellow senior Kristy Jaeckel (Littleton, Colo.) registered five kills and nine digs against the Crimson Tide. Junior middle blocker Betsy Smith (Atlanta, Ga.) had five kills and three blocks, and redshirt freshman libero Taylor Unroe (Muncie, Ind.) notched a match-high 14 digs.
Alabama started a 4-0 run to take a 6-3 advantage over the Orange and Blue in the early stages of the first set. Ferrell hit around the Crimson Tide block to reduce the Alabama lead to one, and a Murphy ace tied the set at 9-9. A Mann blast into the Alabama defense sparked a 3-0 run for the Gators, changing the momentum of the set and forcing Alabama into a timeout at 16-13. The Gators continued to swing and defend, shutting Alabama out of the frame, and a Murphy-Smith block extended the Orange and Blue lead to 20-14. A Murphy ace put the Gators one point from the set win, and a Jaeckel kill ended the first set, 25-16.
Alabama and Florida kept the second stanza close, tying five times within the first 10 points. Smith attacked the center of the Tide defense, driving the Gators on a 3-0 run and a 10-7 advantage. Mann ripped the seam of a Tide block and once again tilted the momentum of the set in the Orange and Blue’s favor by sparking a 6-0 run to go ahead, 19-10. The surprise of set two was the play of freshman outside hitter Noami Santos-Lamb (Carolina, Puerto Rico), who notched four straight kills to put Florida ahead, 23-12. A Murphy service ace put the Gators a point from the set win and an Alabama attacking error ended the set, 25-12, giving Florida the 2-0 advantage going into intermission. While Santos-Lamb’s power put the crowd on their feet, it was no surprise to the Gator bench.
“Noami is such a stud. I’m just happy that people got to see it because she does that in practice every day. She works so hard,” Wiggs said. “It was really exciting for us to see a lot of the hard work and the things she does in practice translate into a game-like situation”
The Crimson Tide took an initial 2-0 lead to start the third set, but a Smith solo stuff ignited a 7-0 run for the Orange and Blue, pulling Florida ahead of Alabama, 7-2. An Alabama attacking error extended the Gator lead to 12-4 and forced an Alabama timeout. The Crimson Tide managed to roll on a 3-0 run to reduce the Florida lead to 15-10. Wiggs ended the Alabama scoring streak with a bullet through the Tide defense, sparking a 4-0 Orange and Blue run to go ahead 19-10. Alabama fought back and forced Florida into a timeout after a 3-0 run, 21-16. The Tide continued to battle and lessened the Florida lead to three, 22-19. The Gators sided out and a Ferrell block gave Florida match point at 24-19. Ferrell’s swing found the seam of the Alabama block, giving the Gators the set and match victory, 25-21.
The Gators now look towards Ole Miss, hosting the Rebels on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. Sunday’s match will be broadcast live on CSS with Bernie Guenther and former Gator All-SEC setter Missy Whittemore on the call. Gator fans can also tune in to Country 103.7 The Gator with Tom Collett and Cory Stephens calling the action. Ole Miss is currently on a three-match win streak after returning all of their key cogs from injury.
“Now the challenge is playing Ole Miss, who we all thought would be making a run for the SEC West title with everything they have come back with,” Wise said. “They just had some injuries and started off slow, but they’ve got it turned around now. I think the team we play Sunday will be the team everybody in the league expected to win the West, in terms of being very athletic and having high volleyball IQ.”
Ole Miss Blanks South Carolina to Pick Up Fourth Straight Win
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Rebels got a balanced attack in an all-around team effort as Ole Miss (9-14, 5-10 SEC) pushed its winning streak to four straight games with a win over South Carolina (11-13, 2-12 SEC) on Friday by a score of 3-0 (25-18, 25-14, 25-21).
Whitney Craven and Allegra Wells led the Rebels with nine kills each and both hit over .400 for the match to lead Ole Miss. Kara Morgan added eight kills in her homecoming as the Columbia, S.C., native helped push the team to the win.
Defensively, Regina Thomas came up big at the net with eight blocks to go along with her seven kills, while Craven led her team with 14 digs. Libero Morgan Springer came up with 12 digs as well.
South Carolina's Paige Wheeler tallied 15 digs to lead all players. Juliette Thévenin had 11 kills and an ace, while Taylor Bruns just missed a double-double with 24 assists and nine digs.
“This was a great team effort tonight,” said Ole Miss head coach Joe Getzin. “We played consistently all the way through. It was big to answer that South Carolina push in the third set and we did it calmly, but with intensity. Amanda Philpot really did a good job of distributing the ball tonight.”
The Rebels came out with an aggressive attack, grabbing the first two scores and holding the lead until South Carolina inched in front at 9-8 off a Rebel miscue. Ole Miss pushed back, using a four-point rally to snap a tie and push to a 15-11 lead at the media timeout.
Ole Miss continued to apply the pressure out of the break, extending the lead and forcing South Carolina into a pair of timeouts before the Rebels moved up 22-15. The Rebels closed out the set from there, taking the first frame 25-18.
South Carolina grabbed the first two points of the second set, but the Rebels continued to press the Gamecocks with an aggressive attack and quickly moved into the lead 6-4 off a Carolina attack error and a Rebel block.
Ole Miss never trailed again in the set, moving out to as much as an 11-point lead on South Carolina before grabbing the second set 25-14.
The third set opened with the home-standing Gamecocks scoring first again, but a powerful kill from Thomas and a combined lock by Thomas and Wells on the next rally put Ole Miss on the board. South Carolina moved back in front and the Rebels fought to close the gap, but found themselves down 15-12 at the media timeout.
The Rebels continued to fight out of the break, tying the set at 17 before a Whitney Craven kill down the middle of the floor put Ole Miss on top by one and sent South Carolina to the bench with a timeout. The Rebels forced the home team into a second timeout with the lead up to four at 21-17 on a Rebel kill.
Ole Miss pressed on from there, grabbing the shutout win on a solo block from Thomas 25-21 in the third set.
The Rebels will continue play on the road on Sunday with a 2 p.m. contest at No. 17 Florida. The match will be televised by CSS and fans can also follow the action live via Gametracker at www.OleMissSports.com.
Seniors Guide No. 19 Kentucky to Sweep of Bulldogs
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Led by a pair of incredible matches from seniors Ann Armes and Becky Pavan, the 19th-ranked Kentucky volleyball team rolled to a 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-20) sweep of visiting Mississippi State on Friday night in Memorial Coliseum.
Armes charted a match-high 10 kills on a career-best .769 hitting to lead the offense, while Pavan posted nine kills and nine blocks for a near double-double effort. The nine turn-backs is the most by a UK player in a single match this season.
With the win Kentucky improves to 22-4 overall on the season and 13-2 in conference action while remaining a perfect 8-0 at home during Southeastern Conference play. Mississippi State drops to 10-14 overall and 5-10 in the league.
“Ann (Armes) had a huge night, and it wasn’t just her numbers,” UK coach Craig Skinner said. “Ann was really aggressive and had a great overall night for us. Mississippi State has a few nice players. They have a good team and keep you off balance. Our offense was a little rusty tonight, but I thought our blocking defense was the real difference in the match.”
Led by Pavan’s nine blocks the Wildcats charted 13 for the match to top 10 or more in an SEC match for the eighth time. Sophomore Whitney Billings posted five, while junior Christine Hartmann chipped in with four.
Billings also added eight kills and six digs as Hartmann directed an offense that saw five different players record six or more kills. Junior Ashley Frazier notched eight and freshman Lauren O’Conner totaled six on the night. O’Conner added a career-high three aces to the offensive numbers.
Junior libero Stephanie Klefot led the match with 14 digs for the back line as the only defensive player to reach double-figures. Klefot also contributed four assists to aid the offensive cause as well. Freshman Jackie Napper posted seven scoops with sophomore Jessi Greenberg contributing a pair. Sophomore Alexandra Morgan chipped in with a kill and a block in one set of action.
UK opened the match with a 25-19 first set victory behind six kills from O’Conner. The set included 10 tie scores and four lead changes.
Pavan teamed up with O’Conner to begin the match with a block and the freshman followed with a kill to give the home team a 2-0 lead early. Mississippi State tied the score at six and the teams would exchange points back and forth until UK broke loose for three straight points to make the score 17-14 in favor of the Blue and White. O’Conner did all of the damage with a kill and consecutive aces in the stretch. It was a lead the Wildcats would not relinquish as UK capped the set on a 9-4 run with a Billings kill to lift Kentucky to a 1-0 edge.
Five kills from Armes led the Blue and White to a 25-22 second set win and a 2-0 lead into the locker room. UK trailed by as many as five points as late as 17-12 before rallying for a 13-5 run to close out the frame.
Pavan and Armes teamed up for back-to-back kills to force Mississippi State into its first timeout of the set with the Bulldogs leading 17-14. Out of the break, the Bulldogs charted consecutive errors to allow UK back to within one at 17-16. After Mississippi State ended the Wildcats’ run with a block, UK posted four straight points to capture its first lead of the set since 3-2. Frazier had a pair of kills and Billings and Armes teamed up for a rejection to highlight the run. A Pavan kill and an unforced error by the Bulldogs lifted UK to the second set victory.
Kentucky trailed early to begin the third frame but quickly stormed out in front at 9-8 after Pavan and Hartmann once again teamed up for a put-back. Mississippi State would never get any closer as the Wildcats capped the match with a 25-20 final set win. Pavan led the offense output with six kills in the set and a trio of blocks.
UK will return to action in one week with a road contest at Alabama at 8 p.m. ET. UK will finish its road swing with a 2:30 p.m. ET match at Ole Miss the following Sunday.
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. Opening night matches are scheduled for 5 and 7 p.m. ET. Saturday’s final is set for a 4:30 p.m. ET first serve.
Tickets are now on sale through the UK Ticket Office. All-Session Tickets are reserved for all ages at $14. General Admission tickets for adults are priced at $12 and students or seniors' general admission is slated for $8.
Single session tickets are priced at $8 for reserved for all ages. General admission for adults is priced at $7, with students and seniors priced at $5. Youth single session tickets are $4.
Georgia Defeats Arkansas In Five Sets
ATHENS, Ga. – The University of Georgia volleyball team held off Arkansas to post a five-set victory and kickoff Alumni Weekend at the Ramsey Student Center on Friday evening.
Georgia (10-15, 6-9 Southeastern Conference) won the first and third sets, 25-15 and 25-23, while Arkansas (16-9, 8-6 SEC) took the second and fourth sets, 25-23 and 25-21, to push the match to a fifth set. In the decisive frame, the Bulldogs used a 6-0 run to go up 13-7 en route to holding off the Razorbacks 15-12 for the 3-2 victory. It marked Georgia's third five-set contest of the season and their second against Arkansas. The Bulldogs rallied from behind to defeat the Razorbacks in five sets in Fayetteville on Oct. 16, and with Friday's win earn a sweep of the season series between the schools.
"This was a really hard fought match for both sides," Georgia head coach Lizzy Stemke said. "Of course, we're excited for the win, but I am most excited about is that way we played, the way we executed and the way we fought. We had a tough week of practice. Our goal was to fight with passion, and we did that from point one. In this league, it is important to set the tone from point one. We came out tonight with a real determination and that was exciting to see."
For the fifth time this season Georgia recorded more than 70 digs in a match by coming away with 73 led by sophomore libero Allison Summers' 21. Senior Carla Tietz and Brittany Northcutt each added 14 digs while senior Kathleen Gates contributed 10.
"Games like tonight are the times that we show our fight and our passion the most," Summers said. "We went into the match knowing that we needed to battle for every point. It's nerve-wracking at times, but it's also really exciting to see it all come together."
On the offensive side of the net, Georgia was led by Northcutt's 16 kills and Gates' 51 assists as both players finished with double-doubles. For Northcutt it was her fifth double-double, and for Gates it was her team-leading eighth. Aiding their effort on the attack junior Briana Bahr posted a career-high 15 kills on a .303 hitting percentage and senior Ann Dylla provided 10 kills on a .450 clip.
Overall, the two teams played a close match statistically with Georgia gaining the edge in hitting percentage, .272 -.202, digs, 73-72 and blocks 10.0-6.0. Arkansas held a narrow led in kills, 65-61, and aces, 9-8.
The Razorbacks were led by Jasmine Norton and Kelli Stipanovich in the match as each recorded a double-double. Norton had a match-best 27 kills to go with 11 digs, and Stipanovich notched 13 kills and 17 digs. Christa Alvarez had a team-best 19 digs for Arkansas.
LSU Volleyball Grinds Out Four-Setter at Auburn
AUBURN, Ala. – Helen Boyle ripped a career-best 18 kills on a .405 hitting clip, corralled a team-high 18 digs and secured her fifth double-double of the season to vault the LSU volleyball team to a tightly-contested 3-1 win over Auburn [28-26, 33-35, 27-25, 25-23] Friday at the Student Activities Center.
With the victory, LSU (16-8, 9-5 SEC) claimed its 21st straight victory against Auburn (10-15, 4-11 SEC) in the series. The Tigers also ascended back to the top of the SEC Western Division race after Georgia upended Arkansas Friday in five sets.
Boyle’s 18 kills eclipsed her previous career mark of 16 which took place during the Miami match back on opening weekend. She also sparked LSU’s back row defense to 18 digs.
“Everyone played with great composure and great poise,” head coach Fran Flory said. “It’s the first time all season that we’ve played a complete match like a mature team. In the past when we’ve had one touch go bad, it put us in a downward spiral. Not tonight, what a great job by Michele Williams to maintain her composure to lead this team. Helen stepped up in a big way. There’s nothing but good things that can happen for our team when she does the things that she did for us tonight.”
Desiree Elliott belted 18 kills of her own on a .333 hitting ratio and matched a career-best with eight blocks. She sparked LSU to a 15-6 blocking advantage, the 15 blocks were a season-high for the Tigers.
Madie Jones compiled a solid all-around effort. She provided 16 kills to go along with seven digs and four blocks. Michele Williams tacked on 11 kills and recorded seven blocks to give LSU four players with 10 or more spikes.
Malorie Pardo handed out a match-high 54 assists and added eight digs. LSU held a .247 to .239 edge in hitting percentage, while Auburn countered with a 71-67 kills and an 84-67 digs advantage.
Auburn was fueled by Katia Rud, who equaled a career-best with 16 kills on a crisp .519 hitting clip. The Tigers also received a quartet of double-doubles. From the outside, Kelly Fidero tallied 20 kills and 10 digs coupled with Sarah Bulluck’s 15 kills and 17 digs. Both AU setters, Chelsea Wintzinger [34 assists and 10 digs] and Christina Solverson [20 assists and 13 digs], collected double dips.
“I think they are players over think and over try sometimes,” Flory said. “They did a great job of settling down and trusting in each other. I can’t be any prouder of our frontcourt. We haven’t won many matches above the net this season, and I’m proud of their effort.”
LSU concludes its four-match road swing Sunday at Georgia. First serve is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. CT from the Ramsey Center.