SUNDAY'S SCORES
Wichita State 3,
Belmont 0 (25-20, 25-13, 25-23)
Northern Iowa 3,
Austin Peay 1 (25-19, 25-23, 26-28, 25-12)
WICHITA STATE 3 BELMONT 0
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Belmont Volleyball put up a fight in every set but was unable to topple visiting Wichita State on the final day of the LUV Invitational on Sunday. The Bruins (3-1) were handed their first loss, 3-0, by the Shockers (3-0).
The Bruins came out hot to take on the Shockers, going up 7-4 early. The score would be knotted twice before Belmont pulled away again, 14-11, this time forcing a stunned Wichita State called timeout to regroup. The Bruins continued to hold on to its slim point advantage until late in the set.
WSU had a strong start to the second set, pulling away 12-7, after taking advantage of some crucial errors by the Bruins. BU called timeout to regroup but the Shockers kept surging, going up 20-13 by that point. Unfortunately, Wichita State went on a 9-0 run to close the frame and go up by two sets after winning 25-13.
Despite trailing the two sets, the Bruins came out swinging in the third stanza. BU used kills by seniors Arianna Person (Lenexa, Kan.) and Alexa Nichols (Walton, Ky.) punctuated with a Nichols ace to take a 7-5 lead. The Shockers regained their composure from the threatening Bruins and rallied to build a three point, 17-14, advantage. However, Belmont would not go away easy. BU used a kills by graduate student Jessica Vestal (Concord, Calif.) and Maggie Mullins (Nashville, Tenn.) combined with a service ace by Person to knot the score at 18-18.
A controversial call changed the momentum for the Bruins but they continued to fight on down the stretch. Fueled by a huge block by Vestal and Nichols, Belmont's energy raised to fever pitch as attack errors by Wichita State made it one point set, 23-22. Unfortunately, BU was unable to eke out the final points to pull out the set win and fell, 25-23.
Senior Arianna Person (Lenexa, Kan.) led the Bruins with 10 kills while classmate Emma Price (Fort Mill, S.C.) recorded 22 assists. Senior Emily Richards (Penfield, N.Y.) and Price tallied 14 and 12 digs, respectively.
Belmont returns to action finally in the friendly confines of the Curb Event Center for the annual Bruiser Showcase this weekend. The Bruins open the two-day tournament against UT Arlington at 11:30 a.m.
NORTHERN IOWA 3, AUSTIN PEAY 1
CLARSKVILLE, Tenn. - Senior Ashley Slay finished with 19 kills and sophomore libero Ginny Gerig notched a season-best 28 digs but Austin Peay State University’s volleyball team dropped a four-set decision (19-25, 23-25, 28-26, 12-25) to Northern Iowa, Sunday afternoon in the final match of the Culvers Governors Challenge at the Dunn Center.
Slay, who nearly notched her third straight 20- kill performance against the Panthers, earned all-tournament honors after posting 69 kills (4.31 per set), second-most among hitters in the tournament. Gerig also earned all-tournament recognition after posting a tournament best 80 digs (5.00 per set).
In a matchup of the tournament’s only two unbeaten teams entering the day, Austin Peay (3-1) broke out to big leads in each of the first three sets. Northern Iowa (3-0) would file a response in each case and slipped past the Govs in the first two sets. However, Austin Peay fended off the challenge en route to winning the third set. The Panthers, who advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season, led the final set wire-to-wire.
Slay’s 19-kill outing saw her open the match with seven kills in the first set and finish the match with a .308 attack percentage and three blocks. Gerig added a kill and two assists to her 28-dig performance.
UNI’s Karlie Taylor earned all-tournament honors after a 21-kill, 14-dig performance against the Govs. Thomas was named the tournament’s “Most Valuable Player” after a 16-kill, six block outing in Sunday’s finale.
Austin Peay now prepares to start a nine-match road trip, which begins with the UAB Invitational, Sept 1-2. The Govs will face Georgia State, host UAB and Western Illinois in the round-robin event.