FRIDAY'S SCORES
Austin Peay 3, Montana 0 (25-12, 25-20, 25-33)
Albany 3, Tennessee Tech 1 (25-20, 26-24, 25-27, 25-15)
USC Upstate 3, Southeast Missouri 1 (19-25, 25-17, 25-21, 25-20)
@Georgia State 3, Morehead State 2 (25-23, 15-25, 19-25, 25-23, 16-14)
@Jacksonville State 3, Memphis 1 (25-19, 24-26, 25-18, 25-16)
NC State 3, Eastern Kentucky 0 (25-22, 25-14, 25-20)
@Western Carolina 3, Eastern Kentucky 2 (14-25, 20-25, 25-23, 25-14, 15-13)
Indiana State 3, @SIU Edwardsville 1 (25-18, 21-25, 25-15, 25-23)
@Mississippi State 3, Austin Peay 0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-23)
Georgia Southern 3, UT Martin 0 (25-13, 25-15, 29-27)
Southern Utah 3, Murray State 0 (25-22, 25-14, 25-23)
Northern Arizona 3, Murray State 1 (25-22, 25-18, 23-25, 25-18)
GEORGIA STATE 3, MOREHEAD STATE 2
ATLANTA, Ga. - There's nothing like a five-set, emotionally-charged match to begin the collegiate volleyball season. Unfortunately for the Morehead State Eagles they came up on the short end on the scoreboard in the season opener.
Morehead State and Georgia State went back and forth for the full five Friday night before the Eagles grabbed the final momentum shift, winning 3-2 (25-23, 15-25, 19-25, 25-23, 16-14) over MSU at the GSU Sports Arena. The Eagles fell to 0-1, while the Panthers opened their season 1-0.
In the first set, the Eagles built an 8-6 lead but Georgia State turned up the defensive pressure at the net. Four straight blocks ignited the host Panthers to an 11-8 advantage. GSU continued to hold, increasing it to 20-15 before MSU rattled off three straight to climb back to within 20-18. But, the Panthers were true on the next three points to push it to 23-18.
Once again MSU rallied, forcing a pair of Panther attack errors and moved back to within 23-21. Another GSU error, plus a quick dump that landed in by Emma Keough had the set tied at 23. However, the Eagles came up short on the next serve, and GSU sealed the set with a kill to take it 25-23.
The Eagles struggled on offense with just nine kills and 12 errors. Sophomore Ellie Roberson landed six of the Eagle kills. GSU middle blocker Vineece Vaughn piled up six total blocks in the opening set, leading to six total team blocks for the hosts. GSU didn't hit much better, only mustering a .020 effort.
The tide turned in favor of MSU as the Eagles came out firing in set two. MSU built an 11-1 early lead and was able to possess its double digit advantage throughout, claiming a 25-15 victory. MSU hit .297 in the set and had 24 digs. Junior Liz Schuler, who got her first start at libero, came up clutch on the back row with 14 digs in the second set along after scooping six in the first.
Meanwhile, the Eagle attackers made adjustments and avoided the Panther net defense as GSU managed just one block. On defense, sophomore Annie Gruenschlaeger added three blocks, while senior Holly Evans came up with two more rejections after tallying two in the opening set.
Set three also started in favor of MSU as it opened up a 6-3 lead early. After back-to-back kills from Gruenschlaeger, it was a 9-4 Eagle lead. The Eagles continued to lead, but the Panthers gradually crept to within striking distance. The Eagles called timeout to regroup, leading 17-15. The break seemed to calm MSU down as it increased its lead to 22-17 with a 5-2 run. Schuler served up an ace for the final point as the Eagles held on to claim a 25-19 win in the third.
MSU hit .206, while GSU only hit .074 in the third. The Eagles landed 13 kills.
The momentum in the fourth set shifted back to GSU. The Panthers served up two aces and landed four quick kills to build a 9-2 lead. But, the Eagles didn't go away easily, climbing back to within 15-11. A few moments later, the Eagles had trimmed the disadvantage down to 20-18. The Panthers again pushed their lead out to 24-18, but MSU staved off set point as long as it could, rallying back to within 24-23. But, the Panthers slipped in a kill past the Eagle defense to end the set winning 25-23.
In the final set, which only goes to 15 points, the Eagles again took the early momentum with a 3-0 lead. The Panthers matched MSU for the next 12 points and had the Eagle lead down to 9-6, but a pair of Eagle kills had MSU closer to victory at 11-6. It wasn't a done deal though as two Eagle blocking mistakes set the score at 11-8. GSU then rallied back to take a 14-13 lead. MSU again staved off the loss, but the Panthers scored the next two to seal the win.
Schuler finished with a career high 33 digs, part of a 71-dig performance by the Eagles. Roberson led the Eagles with 15 kills, while Evans had 14. Gruenschlaeger tallied six blocks, while Evans added five. Kirstie Brangers handed out 45 assists. The Eagles finished with a .167 hitting percentage.
Georgia State was topped by Verdun's 23 kills on a .423 hitting night. She also had seven blocks. Ashley Jones had 19 kills and 11 digs.
USC UPSTATE 3, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 1
PEORIA, Ill. - The Southeast Missouri volleyball team fell 3-1 to SC Upstate today at the brand new Bradley Arena.
The Redhawks won the first set 25-19 and only made two errors. They posted a .256 attack percentage, compared to a .146 percentage by the Spartans.
Junior Paige Dossey led the way for the Redhawks with her three kills in four attempts. Meagan Webb had seven digs, while Kelly Benacka finished with five.
In the second set, the Redhawks could not finish off Spartan rallies, as they fell 25-17.
Freshman Julie Shives led the offense with a perfect 2-2 in attacks, and also accumulated five digs. Colleen Yarber had three kills on ten attempts and three digs.
The Redhawks found themselves down 12-3 to start the set, but cut the Spartans lead to 17-13. They were unable to slow down the Upstate attack, and eventually fell 25-17.
The third set was more of the same as Upstate won 25-21, though the Redhawks showed signs of life early in the match. The Redhawks and Spartans battled back and forth throughout the set, with the final score being the largest margin. Claire Keaton had five kills in ten attempts, while Kelly Benacka and Karlee Lursen finished with five and four digs respectively.
Freshman Emily Coon showed off her strong arm in the fourth set, hitting three balls that had no chance at being returned. She finished the set with a 1.000 attack percentage, while Claire Keaton finished with five kills and six digs.
The Redhawks finished the match with a .148 attack percentage, and had 69 digs. Claire Keaton ended the match with 16 kills, two aces, 11 digs, and three block assists.
Southeast plays Western Illinois and Bradley tomorrow.
INDIANA STATE 3, SIU EDWARDSVILLE 1
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - A pair of freshmen led Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in kills Friday but couldn't help the Cougars to a season-opening victory at the Cougar Classic.
Indiana State won Friday's match 25-18, 21-25, 25-15, 25-23.
Freshmen Julia Whitfield and Lexi Cibulka led the Cougars with 16 and 11 kills, respectively.
The Cougars got off to a slow start in set one and the beginning of the second set. After dropping set one, the Cougars were down 7-0 and rallied past the Sycamores with a 22-10 run to end the set. Cibulka provided four kills in the final points of the set.
The Cougars, 0-1, had to contend with an onslaught from Indiana State's Morgan Dall, who collected a match-high 22 kills on 61 attacks. The Sycamores picked up 11 kills each from Ana Maria Charun and Stacy Qualizza.
Senior right-side hitter Sydney Winslow joined Whitfield and Cibulka in double figures in kills with 10. The Cougars hit .172 as a team.
Indiana State, 1-0, opened the first set by hitting a staggering .481. The team finished the match with a .284 hitting percentage and nine blocks.
SIUE will face The Citadel and Ball State on Saturday.
NORTH CAROLINA STATE 3, EASTERN KENTUCKY 0; WESTERN CAROLINA 3, EASTERN KENTUCKY 2
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Eastern Kentucky began the 2010 campaign with two losses on the first day of the VB Rags Western Carolina Invitational. The Colonels fell 3-0 to North Carolina State in the first match and then dropped a 3-2 decision to the host Catamounts.
In the first match of the day against North Carolina State, the Wolfpack took the first set by a three-point margin (25-22). The Colonels drew within two points twice in the closing moments of the set. A N.C. State attack error made it 23-21. After the Wolfpack reached set-point, a kill by Autumn Harms kept EKU alive, 24-22. However N.C. State won the next point to take the set.
North Carolina State won the second set by 11 points (25-14) and completed the sweep with a five-point win in the third (25-20).
Senior Lauren Snyder led Eastern with nine kills. Freshman Ashley Edmond added eight kills, four digs and a block assists in her first collegiate match. Harms totaled six kills. Senior Kate Hendle had 24 assists and senior Abby O'Connor turned in 18 digs.
Three players had 10 or more kills for N.C. State, led by Alex Smith and Luciana Shafer with 12 each. Margaret Salata had seven total blocks. The Wolfpack totaled 10 team blocks, compared to just one for Eastern Kentucky.
In the second match of the day against the host team, EKU jumped out to a 2-0 lead. The Colonels hit .333 in the first set while limiting WCU to a -.161 attack percentage in a 25-14 win. Eastern picked up a five-point victory (25-20) in the second set.
Eastern Kentucky went on top by three, 22-19, in the third set after a kill by Harms and a WCU error. However, the Catamounts didn't fold. A kill by Paloma Alvarez and an EKU attack error allowed Western to tie the set at 23-23. WCU won the next two points to send the match to a fourth set.
Western Carolina cruised to a 25-14 victory to force a decisive fifth set. A kill by Hannah Groudle and a Catamount error put Eastern in front 12-11, and a kill by Snyder moments later kept the visitors on top, 13-12. Three straight EKU errors allowed Western to win the match.
Snyder finished with a match-best 18 kills for the Colonels. Harms added 11 kills and four blocks. Edmond contributed 10 kills and two aces. Hendle totaled 43 assists and O'Connor chipped in with a match-high 27 digs.
Alvarez led Western Carolina with 16 kills. Amanda Chaparro added 15. Both players totaled 16 digs.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 3, MEMPHIS 1
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Senior Kara Slater blocked nine attempts and led three Gamecocks with double digits in kills on Friday, when the Jacksonville State volleyball team opened the 2010 season with a 3-1 (25-19, 24-26, 25-18, 25-16) win over Memphis on the first day of the Belmont Invitational.
Slater, a 6-foot-1 middle blocker from Colorado Springs, Colo., recorded two solo and seven assisted blocks while putting down a team-high 16 kills on a .333 attack percentage. She led the Gamecocks (1-0) to their first win over the Tigers (0-1) in four tries and to a win in their season opener for the fifth time in six years.
Fellow senior Cailtin Vorbeck pitched in 11 kills, while sophomore Alyx Schulte added 10 on a .294 attack percentage to help an offense that was set up by senior Brooke Schumacher's 46 assists. Schulte, a native of Cold Spring, Ky., earned a double-double by leading all players with 18 digs, while Schumacher, of Lake In The Hills, Ill., had a double-double of her own with 12 digs.
Junior Lauren Harkins added 13 digs on the Gamecocks' back row to go along with three of JSU's seven service aces. Junior Stephanie Koontz and sophomore Jen Meyer each added eight kills, while Meyer put back three of the team's 12 blocks. Vorbeck had nine digs, while freshman Kelly Cole picked up seven in her collegiate debut.
The Gamecock offense hit .242 on the night, including a .481 clip in the fourth set. Their defense was stingy all night, limiting the Tigers to a .117 attack percentage. Altrese Hawkins led all players with 18 kills, while Marija Jovanovic added 11. Christine Bach's 16 digs led the way on the back row.
The Gamecocks will continue play in the Belmont Invitational on Saturday, when they face Miami (Ohio) and host Belmont.
ALBANY 3, TENNESSEE TECH 1
CLEMSON, S.C. - The Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles fell to the Albany Great Danes in their first match of the Clemson Big Orange Bash Friday, falling 3-1 by the scores of 25-20, 26-24, 25-27 and 25-15. The loss puts TTU's record at 0-1 on the season.
The Great Danes took the first set 25-20, but the Golden Eagles did not make it easy as Albany needed extra points to beat TTU, 26-24, in the second set.
Tech rebounded in the third set and forced extra points for the second straight set before claiming a 27-25 victory and send the contest to the fourth set. The fourth set saw Albany in control throughout as the Danesy took the set 25-15 and the match.
Senior outside hitter Leah Meffert led TTU in kills with 16, while hitting .286, while senior setter Melanie Culp posted 41 assists and 10 digs.
The Golden Eagle wrap up the Clemson Big Orange Bash Saturday as they take on Clemson and Jacksonville.
AUSTIN PEAY 3, MONTANA 0; MISSISSIPPI STATE 3, AUSTIN PEAY 0
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Austin Peay split a pair of matches to kick off the 2010 campaign at the Maroon Classic. The Lady Govs defeated Montanan (25-12, 25-20, 25-23) before falling to host Mississippi State (19-25, 22-25, 23-24)
Sophomore outside hitter Nikki Doyle made quite the impression in her first appearance, her 15-kill performance leading the Lady Govs versus Montana.
Doyle, who missed last season due to an injury after transferring from UC Santa Barbara, recorded a match-best 15 kills and finished with a .286 attack percentage in her first match as a Lady Gov.
Austin Peay (1-0) jumped out to an eight-point lead, 13-5, in their first full rotation of the first set. Doyle then scored three of the Lady Govs next four points, extending the lead to 10 points, 17-7. Austin Peay would close the set by scoring eight of the next 13 points to post a 25-12 victory.
The Lady Govs raced out to an early 13-6 lead in the second set. However, Montana (1-1) recovered and used a 6-3 run to force an Austin Peay timeout at 16-12. The lead would shrink to two points, 16-14, before APSU could regain control. The Lady Govs would not regain a comfortable margin, but took advantage of three consecutive set-ending Grizzlies errors to post the 25-20 victory.
The third set was vastly different from the first two as Montana and Austin Peay traded the lead nine times in the set. The Grizzlies led by a 19-17 margin late in the set before the Lady Govs posted a 5-1 run to take a 22-20 lead. Montana then followed with three straight points to take the 23-22 advantage, but would not score again in the set. Doyle ended the MU run with a kill and junior libero Paige Economos followed with a service ace to set up match point, 24-23. Austin Peay won the set courtesy a Montana attack error.
Junior outside hitter Ilyanna Hernandez added eight kills and senior middle blocker Taylor Skinner chipped in six kills. Defensively, Skinner led the Lady Govs with four kills while Economos had a team-high 13 digs.
Jamie Thibeault led Montana with eight kills, nearly a third of the team's 25-kill output.
Austin Peay twice came within sight of set victories but could not find points at critical times and lost in three sets to host Mississippi State in the nightcap of the MSU Maroon Classic.
Mississippi State (2-0) jumped out quickly in the match's opening set, rolling to a 6-1 lead and forcing Austin Peay to take its first timeout. The stoppage only momentarily stemmed the tide as Lady Govs sophomore outside hitter Nikki Doyle scored a kill to end the rally. But the Bulldogs scored six of the next seven points to take a 12-3 advantage and force the Lady Govs to take their second timeout. Austin Peay would only get as close as five points, 23-18, the rest of the way as Mississippi State posted a 25-19 victory.
Austin Peay (1-1) shook off the early defeat and challenged their hosts in the second set, breaking out to a 8-3 lead and forcing Mississippi State to take a timeout. The Bulldogs slowly reeled the Lady Govs back in and finally tied the set, 15-15. The two teams would trade points until Austin Peay recorded back-to-back kills by junior middle blocker Taylor Skinner and sophomore outside hitter Ilyanna Hernandez to take a 22-20 lead. But the Lady Govs would not score another point as the Bulldogs scored the final five points, including three on consecutive kills, to post the 25-22 victory.
The final set was a see-saw affair as the two teams exchanged the lead 10 times with 16 ties. Austin Peay got to within two points of the set victory after scoring five consecutive points to take a 23-22 lead. But again Mississippi State pulled rabbit out of its hat for the set win, getting a kill from Ashley Newsome and two from Chanelle Baker to record the 25-23 match-clinching win.
Doyle followed her season-opening 15-kill performance with 11 kills against Mississippi State. Junior middle blocker Jessica Mollman added nine kills off the bench and Hernandez added eight kills.
Mississippi State saw three players reach double-digit kill territory, Newsome leading all hitters with 12 kills. Caitlin Rice added 11 kills and Baker finished with 10 kills.
SOUTHERN UTAH 3, MURRAY STATE 0; NORTHERN ARIZONA 3, MURRAY STATE 1
LARAMIE, Wyo. - Murray State dropped both of its matches on the first day of the Wyoming Invite. The Racers fell to Southern Utah (22-25, 14-25, 23-25) and Northern Arizona (22-25, 18-25, 25-23, 18-25).
In the opening match, the Racers were led by senior Becca Lamb, who tallied a .263 (7k-2e-19ta) hitting percentage. The Highland, Ill., native also added a service ace and six digs. Junior setter Jade Guo tallied 26 assists and a .333 (6k-1e-15ta) hitting percentage.
Defensively MSU was paced by junior Kayleah Sauer who tallied 21 digs.
The Racers kept the sets close in the match, but in the first two allowed the Thunderbirds to gain three-point leads or larger in the middle of the set and were never able to gain an advantage.
In the third set the battle continued throughout the set, with no team taking more than a four-point lead. MSU earned its first advantage of the match (10-9) and then either held a lead or forced a tie until SUU took a 19-20 advantage and was able to push the momentum of the set to earn the 25-23 win to take the match, 3-0. The Racers held off the Thunderbirds on two match points before falling in their opening match of the season.
In their second match of the day, the Racers (0-2) were led by senior Ashley Nenninger who tallied a team-high 11 kills. Fellow senior Becca Lamb was also in double digits in the kill and dig columns, with 10 kills and 11 digs. Junior Teresa Krog led the team in hitting percentage, with a .400 (5k-1e-10ta) mark.
The first set was a back-and-forth battle throughout, as both teams combined for nine ties. The Racers and the Lumberjacks (1-1)traded the lead and runs. MSU was down 11-16 after a 5-0 NAU run, but red-shirt freshman Wendi Zickfield and Nenninger combined for three kills and a block in a 6-1 Racers run that forced a tie at 17. Both teams battled for control, but it was the Lumberjacks who took control of the set after a 20-all tie with a 5-2 run that earned the 25-22 victory.
MSU took an early 3-1 advantage in the second set and then pushed the lead to 10-6. However, the Lumberjacks fought back with an 8-2 run to take the lead back. NAU held the lead, except for a brief 14-14 tie, through the rest of the set and then added a late 6-0 run to help earn the 25-18 win.
The Racers came back in the third set ready to fight and forced 14 tie scores. Both teams traded 3-0 runs in the middle of the set and then traded points in the final stretch, with five of the ties coming from 19 to 23. MSU then forced a fourth set with a 2-0 run on kills from Nenninger and Zickfield to earn the 25-23 victory.
The Racers took an early 8-3 lead in the fourth set and despite an NAU 3-0 run they held on to a three or four-point lead until the mid-way point of the set. The Lumberjacks slowly fought back and then took over with a 7-0 run that gave them a 20-15 advantage. NAU kept the momentum in its favor and earned the 25-18 win.
The Racers will conclude the Wyoming Invite Saturday, Aug. 28 with matches against Central Arkansas and Wyoming at the UniWyo Sports Complex.
GEORGIA SOUTHERN 3, UT MARTIN 0
AUBURN, Ala. - It was not the result head volleyball coach Darrin McClure and The University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball team wanted in its season opener Friday night at Auburn in the War Eagle Invitational. However it was the progress and determination the Skyhawks showed in each of the three sets that serves as fuel for today's two matches against Auburn and Troy.
The Skyhawks fell to Georgia Southern, 3-0, losing 25-12, 25-15 and 29-27.
Individually the Skyhawks were able to post some impressive numbers in the three-set match. Britany Wilburn, a junior from Southaven, Miss., led the team with 10 kills and a .529 hitting percentage. Jenna Miller, a junior from Highland Village, Texas, had 25 of the team's 26 assists. She also led the team with four service aces. Kasey Elswick, a sophomore from Louisville, Ky., led the team with 13 digs.
As a team, the Skyhawks hit a disappointing .043 while Georgia Southern hit .292. Bethany Sanford led Georgia Southern with 10 kills and 10 digs.