Lady Pirates Open Season On Day One Of Tiny Laster Memorial
HAMPTON, Va. -Hampton opened the 2010 season on Friday with the Tiny L. Laster Memorial Tournament in Holland Hall, losing both of its matches.
The Lady Pirates (0-2) fell 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 27-25) to Wofford in the evening session, hanging tough against the Terriers. The Lady Pirates actually had more kills than Wofford - a 34-28 advantage - but 37 errors proved to be their undoing.
Hampton had a -.023 hitting percentage, while Wofford, with just 21 errors, hit .060 as a team. The Terriers (1-1) had a team-best .128 hitting percentage in the second game, with 10 kills and five errors in 39 attacks, while Hampton shot a team-best .051 in the third game with 13 kills and 11 errors.
Lihi Elkayam had 31 of Hampton's 34 assists, while Ivana Suput had a team-high 23 digs on defense. Mianna Armstrong (Lomond, Alberta) added eight digs, while freshman Ioana Kalfinova had seven and Pagan added six.
Amanda Liguori led the Terriers with seven kills.
Hampton lost its first match of the day, falling 3-0 (25-21, 27-25, 25-18) to Bryant.
The Lady Pirates hit .139 (36 kills, 21 errors in 108 total attacks) for the match, including a team-best .233 in the first set thanks to 11 kills and just four errors. The Bulldogs hit .152 as a team, recording 35 kills to just 19 errors.
Elkayam had all 33 of Hampton's assists, with Suput adding a team-high 12 digs on defense. Armstrong also had eight digs.
For the complete story, visit www.hamptonpirates.com.
Spartans Open Up Season with Pair of Wins
NORFOLK, Va. - The NSU volleyball team opened up its 2010 season with a pair of wins Friday at the Spartan Classic at Joseph Echols Hall.
NSU defeated Providence, 3-1, in the season opener before sweeping Navy, 3-0, in the nightcap of the first day of the tournament.
NSU won, 20-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-21, against the Friars and 25-19, 26-24, 25-22 against the Midshipmen.
Freshman Arielle Knafel posted 23 kills and 15 digs in the first match, while rookie Noelle Eagles added 25 digs. Junior Nicole Kessner added 44 assists in the match.
Sophomore Charlotte Armstead and redshirt sophomore Paige Gary-Canty each had 10 kills against Navy, with Kessner handing out 34 assists.
NSU will be back in action Saturday at noon and 4 p.m. against UNC Greensboro and Kent State.
For the complete story, visit www.nsuspartans.com
Bethune-Cookman Drops Two at Homewood Suites Invite
FT. MYERS, Fla. - Bethune-Cookman hit well at times, but fell to tournament-host Florida Gulf Coast, 3-1. After seemingly starting to come together in the morning match, B-CU returned in the afternoon with what could be viewed as a different team, getting routed by Florida Atlantic after a good first set, 3-0.
Opening up early against Florida Gulf Coast, the LadyCats got off to a slow start in the first set, breaking in a new and young lineup in Maroon and Gold. Too many errors cost B-CU, with FGCU getting the 25-15 win. In each set, the LadyCats improved their play, dropping the second set 25-19, and then claiming the third 26-24 against the Lady Eagles with a match high .323 team hitting percentage. In the fourth, FGCU climbed back into the driver's seat with a 25-15 win.
Versus FAU, the team had problems getting into their flow and passing, notching a .068 team hitting percentage, including a .000 in the second set. Senior middle blocker Kaiyana Johnson couldn't get in on the action after leading the team in the first. Topping the LadyCats in the second match, Jessica Wilson showed good consistency, hitting .222 and recording 8 kills, while Krysta Gardner collected 5 kills. Transfer setter Frances Rodriguez made 17 assists. Jacqueline Woodyear again led the team on defense from the libero spot, notching 13 digs.
For the complete story, visit www.bcuathletics.com
Hornets Open Volleyball Season With Split At Nccu Tourney
Sarah Wheatcroft and Ashley Herman recorded 13 kills each to lead Delaware State to a 3-1 victory over Gardner Webb at the North Carolina Central Tournament in Durham, N.C., today. Earlier in the day, the Hornets opened the tournament with a 3-0 loss to Texas-El Paso.
In the Gardner-Webb contest, Delaware State (1-1) won the first two games, 25-15 and 25-20. The Runnin Bulldogs avoided a sweep with a 25-21 victory in game three. The Hornets won game four, 25-23, to take the match.
Setter Martina Ferrari had 43 assists, 12 digs and two aces. DSU's Elisa Hermann led all players with five aces. Hermann also contributed 10 kills and 10 digs to the win.
Jessica Croucher tied for game-high honors with 13 digs. She also had 11 kills and two aces.
Delaware State recorded a .235 attack percentage for the contest, compared to .153 for Gardner Webb.
UMES Drops Pair Of Five-Setters To Open Season
Hawks take 2-0 leads against Towson, Hampton but can't hold on
HAMPTON, Va. - Maryland Eastern Shore dropped a pair of season-opening matches at Hampton's Tiny Laster Memorial Tournament Friday, falling in five games to Towson and South Carolina State at Holland Hall.
The Hawks lost to the Tigers 25-17, 25-21, 13-25, 20-25, 8-15, and to the Bulldogs, 28-26, 25-22, 17-25,
12-25, 12-15.
In the first match of the day, junior Zoe Bowens registered a career-high 19 kills and added nine digs while freshman Maline Vaitai also chipped in with 19 and five, respectively, in her first collegiate match.
Towson, which improved to 2-0 with a sweep of SCSU earlier in the day, come from behind to top UMES, winning the final three games. The Tigers outhit the Hawks, .219-171, for the match.
With the loss, UMES fell to 1-10 all-time against Towson since the series began in 1986.
Sophomore Stephanie Sierra ran the offense well, contributing 39 assists and had three digs and Kaveingna Lea'Aetoa turned in a solid debut match with seven kills two digs and three of the teams 13 block assists. UMES outblocked Towson, 8.5-6.5.
Three players tallied double-digit kills for Towson, led by Katy Buck, who had 15. Lauren Tonokawa led all players with 13 digs.
Against South Carolina State, Vaitai picked up a double-double of a team-high 17 kills and game-high tying 14 digs, despite the loss. Once again, UMES took the first two games of the match, only to falter down the stretch.
Bowens collected 14 kills and eight digs. Sierra had another 39 assists, 12 digs and four kills and Jingquiao Li had 11 digs.
South Carolina State (1-1) got 18 kills from Desire Waller, 14, from Shabree Roberson and 13 from
Elizabeth Webb. Roberson also had 14 digs for a double-double.
UMES looks to rebound Saturday when the Hawks play Wofford (9 a.m.) and Hampton (3 p.m.).
FAMU Volleyball Drops Home Opener To FIU, 3-1
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Aug. 27) - In their home opener Florida A&M dropped a 3-1 (31-29, 18-25, 16-25, 15-25) decision to Florida International, Friday evening at the Alfred Lawson Multipurpose Center and Teaching Gymnasium.
FAMU (0-1) was led by both Lorin Rucker and Pamela Barberra with double-digit kills. Barrera tallied 12 kills, while Rucker garnered 10. Jessica Bond finished with a game high 36 assists, while Susan Egoavil collected a game high 17 digs.
In the first set, the Panther jumped out to a 7-2 lead capped off by a FAMU digging error.
The Lady Rattlers would go on a 6-1 run to tie the match at 8-8 on a back-to-back service aces, by Rucker.
In a nip and tuck battle, the Lady Rattlers would have match point on three different occasions. But, a Rucker kill followed by a FIU attack error would give FAMU the 31-29 win.
In the second set, FIU would take 10-3 lead capped off by Trkulja kill. The Panthers would then extend their lead to 20-10. FIU would take the second set 25-18 on Jessica Gehrke kill.
The Lady Rattlers would then dropped the next two sets as the Panthers won set three 25-16 and set four 25-15.
FIU (1-1) had a quartet on players to finish with double-digit kills paced by Una Trkulja with 22 kills, both Andrea Lakovic and Jessica Gehrke finished with 12 each, while Sabrinia Gonzalez added 10. Natalia Valentin tallied a game high 48 assists, while Angelina Colon finished with 16 digs.
The Lady Rattler will continue their three-game home stand as they will take on the New Mexico State in 5 p.m. match up in the Lawson Center.
Morgan State Wins Season-Opener Over Saint Francis-Pa., 3-2
PITTSBURGH, Pa.-The Lady Bears opened up their 2010 season on the road on Friday with a non-conference match against Saint Francis-Pa. as part of the Courtyard by Marriott Invitational at the A.J. Palumbo Center on the campus of Duquesne.
Morgan State, which hasn't opened the season at home for the last six seasons, bounced back from an 0-2 deficit and earned a 3-2 victory (19-25, 18-25, 25-19, 25-18, 15-11) over the Red Flash. The victory improved Morgan State to 5-2 all-time against Saint Francis-Pa. and ended a 10-match losing skid in season openers.
Erin Cox led the Lady Bears (1-0) with a match-high 17 kills and added 11 digs to record a double-double, while Dominique Bozier finished with 11 kills and a match-high four blocks. Jourdan Lemons, who took over the setter duties in the third set, finished with a career-high 31 assists and Natalie Chafeh added 10. Dina Beamon led Morgan State with a match-high 28 digs and Cheryl Savoy finished with 11.
Saint Francis-Pa. (0-1) was led by Elizabeth Williams' 12 kills and Lauren Wingard, who added 10. Kierstin Kiser had a match-high 41 assists, 11 digs and five kills for the Red Flash. Christine Breisch tallied a team-high 14 digs and Rachel Capizzi totaled 13.
For the complete story, visit www.morganstatebears.com.
NCCU EAGLES STAND WINLESS AFTER DAY ONE ACTION
DURHAM, N.C. -North Carolina Central team struggled to defend their home court Friday as they opened the fourth annual Hilton RTP/NCCU Volleyball Tournament with a 0-3 mark after falling in three straight sets to Gardner-Webb, Charleston Southern and the University of Texas at El Paso.
Senior Belinda Behncke-Biney continued her dominance on the outside as she led the Eagles with 29 kills on the day, while adding three service aces. She recorded double-digit kills in two of the Eagles' three matches. Her best outing came in the final match of the day, where she hammered a .292 with 12 kills and just five errors. Defensively, Behncke-Biney totaled 14 digs and three blocks.
Kalin Russell made her freshman debut in the middle for the Eagles, totaling nine kills and hitting .148 on the day with her best outing coming against Charleston Southern, where she hit .286 with six kills and five block assists. She was one of three Eagles to lead NCCU in blocking with seven total blocks.
Taking on the setter role and making her collegiate debut was freshman Jzima-Malaki Kalao. The Bubendorf, Switzerland, native led the team in assists with 63, while standing second in hitting percentage with a .222 on the day. To go along with 63 assists, she also contributed on defense with 14 digs.
Putting on the most all-around performance of the day for the Eagles was junior utility player Sashalee Wallen, who anchored the middle for the Eagles. Wallen hit a .250 clip to lead NCCU on offense with 13 kills, while contributing seven blocks on defense, including four solo.
Another solid blocking performance came from senior right side Shantel Moore, who added seven total blocks to the Eagle defense. Moore was fierce from the service line with four aces, while adding 15 kills to the NCCU offensive efforts.
For the complete story, visit www.nccueaglepride.com