Lady Pirates Beat Stetson To Snap Losing Streak
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Hampton defeated Stetson, 3-1 (25-19, 25-21, 22-25, 27-25) on Friday at Moore Gymnasium as part of the Holiday Inn Resort/Bethune-Cookman Invitational.
The win snaps the Lady Pirates' three-match losing streak.
Stetson jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the first set, before freshman Krista Kruskura recorded her first two career kills and assisted junior Mariah Baylor on a block to pull the Lady Pirates to within 6-5.
Baylor and senior Lihi Elkayam teamed up on another block to tie the set at 6-6, before sophomore Ioana Kalfinova slammed home an ace to give Hampton a 7-6 lead.
Stetson then went on a 6-2 run to take a 13-8 lead, but the Lady Pirates responded with a 6-1 run to tie the set at 14-14 before Kalfinova and junior Ornela Cadavid teamed up on a block to put Hampton up 15-14.
Six unanswered points would put Hampton up 20-14, before the Lady Pirates won the first set 25-19.
Hampton opened the second set on a 6-1 run, culminating in another kill for Kraskura, who would record six kills in the second set alone. Stetson got as close as to within two on several occasions, but Hampton clinched the set on a Cadavid kill to put the score at 25-21.
Stetson jumped to a 3-1 lead in the third set, before the Lady Pirates rebounded to tie the set at 4-4. Kraskura, who had quite the collegiate debut, recorded a kill and her first career ace to put Hampton up 9-6, and freshman Sonja Maksimovic slammed a kill to give the Lady Pirates a 12-6 lead.
The Hatters clawed their way back, though, and a 7-1 run later in the set would give Stetson at 19-17 lead. Stetson would grow that lead to 23-19, but the Lady Pirates hung tough - as block from Cadavid and Kalfinova cut Stetson's lead to 24-22 - before the Hatters clinched the set.
Kraskura recorded a kill early in the fourth set to give Hampton a 3-2 lead - a lead that would grow to 7-2 after an ace from senior Mianna Armstrong. Stetson would go on a 5-0 run to tie the set at 7-7, but Hampton took a 9-7 lead after Baylor and Kalfinova teamed up on a block.
Hampton and Stetson traded the lead several times throughout the set, before the Hatters seemingly took control 23-20. Baylor kicked off a Lady Pirates rally with a kill, before Kalfinova recorded a kill of her own to tie the set at 23-23.
The two teams would trade points four times, before Kraskura gave the Lady Pirates a 26-25 lead with a kill and Baylor ended the match with a service ace.
Kraskura led the Lady Pirates with 20 kills and 24 digs on defense to record a double-double in her collegiate debut. She recorded just 10 errors in 57 total attacks to hit .175 for the match.
For the complete story, visit www.hamptonpirates.com
NCCU Volleyball Falls To Winthrop In Tournament Opening
ELON, N.C. (www.NCCUEaglePride.com) - Despite taking strong leads in sets one and two the opening match of the Elon Phoenix Classic, North Carolina Central could not pull out a win against the Winthrop Eagles.
The mighty maroon fell to Winthrop in three sets, 25-19, 25-12, 25-22.
NCCU began the first set with fire, pacing to a two-point lead. Senior Shantel Moore pounded the first kill of the match to surge the offense. But Winthrop kicked their defense into high gear with three consecutive blocks and forcing seven hitting errors.
Winthrop went on a 6-4 run to tie the contest at 13-13 apiece. Costly maroon and gray attack errors paced Winthrop to a 25-19 win. Winthrop concluded the set with four team blocks led by junior outside hitter Carolyn Weed.
The second set of the match belonged to Winthrop as the Eagles could not successfully provide freshman setter Alice Genna with a descent pass on serve receive. The maroon offense accumulated five kills on 31 attempts in the 25-12 set loss.
After a 10-minute intermission, the two squads returned to the court for set three. NCCU took a three-point lead within minutes of the sets, with senior Tasha-Gaye Richards sending two pronounced kills into Winthrop territory.
However, with the Winthrop block still in effect the Eagles lost the led and were tied 12-12.
The two teams went point-for-point, kill-for-kill until the 19-19 mark. With two NCCU errors, Winthrop managed a two-point lead to take a final 25-22 win.
Moore paced the Eagles offense with 10 kills in the loss. Sophomore Jzima-Malaki Kalao and Genna shared the setting responsibilities, but Kalao topped the assists with 13. Freshman Dayanna Arrufat, sophomore Kalin Russell, and Moore each dug five Winthrop attempts. Richards led the blocking campaign by assisting on four blocks.
For the complete story, visit www.nccueaglepride.com
Spartans Make Quick Work of N.C. A&T, 3-0
DAVIDSON, N.C. -Norfolk State wasted no time in earning its second win of the season as the Spartans downed North Carolina A&T in non-conference action, 3-0, Friday afternoon at the Wildcat Classic at Davidson's Belk Arena.
Junior Beatriz Ferreira led all players with 13 kills as the Spartans won 25-7, 25-18, 25-13, to run their overall record to 2-5 on the year. The Aggies remained winless on the season, falling to 0-12.
Junior Kristen Burt handed out 28 assists, directing an offensive attack that hit .400 for the match. Junior Ashley Scott and junior Charlotte Armstead each had six kills, while freshmen Adriana Ramos and Jasmin Flowers - in her first collegiate action - added five and four kills, respectively.
The Spartans held a 29-19 edge in digs and held A&T to a -.044 attack percentage. Burt and senior Tracey Copley paced NSU with eight digs each. Senior Jasmine Frazier added five of NSU's 11 service aces on the day.
Right off the bat, NSU caught fire, as Ferreira knocked down a pair of kills and Burt hit back-to-back service aces for a 9-0 lead. Armstead added three straight kills as NSU eventually pushed the lead to 13-1. Then with the score 15-5, the Spartans tallied seven straight points, including a pair of kills from Frazier for a 22-5 lead. Ferreira added two more kills over the last three points as NSU easily won, 25-7.
Scott hit three straight kills as NSU won the first four points of the second set and went up 7-1 early on. A service ace from Copley ended a 5-0 run that put NSU up, 12-3, and then Flowers landed the first two kills of her collegiate career for a big 16-5 advantage. The Spartans looked to be in control when Ferreira's kill made it 21-10, but the Aggies tallied six straight points a short time later to make it closer than necessary, 22-17. After an NSU timeout there, junior Paige Gary-Canty and Ramos each laid down a kill for the final 25-18 margin.
The Aggies, though, got things going in the third set, tallying four straight points at one point to jump out to a 7-5 lead. Down 9-8, NSU went on an 11-1 run, including four straight service aces by Frazier at one point, for a big 19-10 advantage. Sophomore Omolayo Dada saw her first collegiate action as she put down a service ace for a 21-11 edge, and Flowers knocked down two kills for the last points of the match and the set win, 25-13.
For the complete story, visit www.nsuspartans.com
Bethune-Cookman Opens Tournament with 3-0 win Against Savannah State
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Senior Linda Nwabuko led the Lady Wildcats to a 3-0 (25-19,25-9,25-13) victory over Savannah State in Moore Gymnasium to start the Holiday Inn Resort Invitational.
B-CU's players put away the Tigers, holding the visitors to an .026 hitting percentage behind Nwabuko, who posted a career-high 12 kills and set the B-CU single-match hitting percentage record with a .688, eclipsing the old mark of .667 of Chelle Ticeson against Winston-Salem State in 2008.
Krysta Gardner and Janeen Davis got their eleven and nine kills, respectively, Frances Rodriguez her 27 assists and Jennifer Jimenez her 11 digs in a convincing victory. Freshman Aubrianna Curtis posted four kills and four services aces - three of those in a third-set service run and also four assists in some time as setter.
The Lady Wildcats erased a 17-13 deficit in the opening set as Nwabuko posted four kills in six attempts.
For the complete story, visit www.bcuthletics.com
SC State Goes 1-1 on Day Two of the Bash in the Boro
Statesboro, Ga.-SC State went 1-1 on day two of the Bash in the Boro presented by Springhill Suites and hosted by Georgia Southern. The Lady Bulldogs will conclude the three-day tournament against host Georgia Southern Saturday (Sept. 17) at 1 p.m.
In its first match of the day, SC State (5-8) battled Ohio (6-5) the entire match before dropping the match, 3-0 (23-25, 19-25 15-25). Despite the sweep, the Lady Bulldogs displayed poise and hustle throughout. The first set was the tightest as SC State fought from 8-4 down early to pull within two at 8-10. The Lady Bulldogs kept pressing in the set and eventually forcing a tie at 14-14. SC State used a 4-1 run to take its first lead of the set at 18-15. The Bobcats rebounded using a 7-0 run to take a 23-18 lead and what appeared to be control of the first set. SC State would not be done as they went on a 4-0 lead to pull within one at 22-23. The Bobcats went on to take set one, 25-23.
Sets two and three were equally as competitive over the first 15 points of each set. The Bobcats closed Set Two with a13-6 run en route to a 19-25 victory and they used an 11-1 run to close Set Three at 15-25 and capture the match, 3-0.
For the match, Desire Waller led all attackers with 13 kills. She also picked up six digs and one service ace in the contest. Redshirt junior Shabree Roberson contributed eight kills with three total blocks while senior Bria Brimmer put up 25 set assists in the loss.
In its second match of the day, SC State defeated Presbyterian, 3-2, (20-25, 25-17, 22-25, 25-19, 15-9). After dropping the first set, the Lady Bulldogs quickly regrouped and began Set 2 with tenacity. After exchanging points over the first 12 points SC State went on a run to jump ahead 17-13 over Presbyterian. After fighting through a mini 3-0 run by the Blue Hose which pulled them within one, 16-17, the Lady Bulldogs put together an 8-1 run to close the set, 25-17. SC State had a good hitting set as they finished with a .303 for the set.
After dropping the third set, 22-25, and going down 2-1, SC State did not show any signs of being done. Despite losing the set, the Lady Bulldogs had their best hitting game of the match at .333. SC State began Set Four on a roll, jumping out to a 7-3 advantage. Presbyterian continued to fight, putting together a 5-1 run to tie the game at 8-8. After exchanging side-outs, SC State took a two-point lead, 11-9, and never relinquished it. The Lady Bulldogs enjoyed its biggest lead of five, 18-13, before going on to take the Set Four by six, 25-19, and force a fifth and deciding set.
The Lady Bulldogs maintained its intensity, starting Set Five with a 6-3. SC State increased its lead to 8-5 and would eventually go on to win Set Five, 15-9, and the match 3-2. SC State ended its five-game losing streak with the victory over Presbyterian.
For the complete story, visit www.scsuathletics.com
Iosia's 30 Kills Leads UMES Past Bryant 3-2
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Though it took five sets, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore defeated Bryant for the second time 3-2 (24-26, 25-16, 25-17, 17-25, 15-6), led by freshman Saitaua Iosia's 30 kills in the match. The Hawks move to 4-4 and start the Brown Invitational at 1-0, while the Bulldogs fall to 3-8.
In game one, the Hawks quickly built a four-point lead 10-6, including three Iosia kills. UMES maintained their lead up 17-13, but Bryant took six of the next eight to tie the score at 19. The action went back and forth, when at 25-24 Bryant, Kendall Gaffney's ace pulled the Bulldogs ahead by two 26-24 for the set.
The early part of the second set was competitive as the score was tied at eight. UMES went on a 4-0 run, with a kill and block assist each for Iosia and Ndidi Ibe. After Bryant brought the score within two, the Hawks had another 4-0 run capped by an Iosia kill and ace to go up 17-11. The Bulldogs kept fighting and pulled within three, but a final 6-0 run off the serving of Maline Vaitai finished the second game in favor of the Hawks 25-16.
Iosia led the way again into the third set, scoring the first three points off a kill and two aces. She would add three more kills as the Hawks started the set 11-5. UMES built the lead at 17-9, and despite a late 4-0 run from Bryant, the Hawks finished on their own 5-0 run with two kills and a block each from Iosia and Ibe to win 25-17 and go up 2-1 in sets.
Game four started with back-and-forth play, but with UMES up 5-4, Bryant won the next five points. The Hawks could not get close as the Bulldogs built as high as a nine-point lead and took the game 25-17 to force a tiebreak set.
The Hawks started with a 3-1 lead, with two kills by Iosia, in the fifth set, which Bryant countered with three straight points to go up 4-3. The Hawks regained the lead on a 3-0 run. After a Bulldogs point, Ibe led the Hawks in a 5-0 run with a pair of kills and blocks. UMES won 12 of the final 14 points to take a 15-6 win in the final set and take a 3-2 match win. The Hawks had 10 kills with no errors on 14 total attacks in the final set for a hitting percentage of .714.
Along with joining the 30-kill club, Iosia hit .424 in the match, adding five sets, eight digs and four block assists.
For the complete story, visit www.umeshawks.com
DSU Opens Dartmouth Invite With 3-0 Loss To CCSU
HANOVER, N.H. - In the opening game of the Dartmouth Invitational, Delaware State was swept, 3-0 (12-25, 23-25, 20-25), to Central Connecticut State Friday evening.
Senior Sonja Banicevic led the Hornets with 13 digs while freshman Theresa Schieder posted nine kills in the loss.
In the first set, things were tied at 3-3 before the Blue Devils took a 17-8 lead. A kill from senior Elisa Herrmann brought DSU within 21-12 before CCSU closed things out at 25-12. Blaike King led the Blue Devils to a .560 attack percentage with her six kills while the Hornets recorded a -.031 attack percentage (six kills/seven errors/32 total attack).
DSU improved their attack percentage to .130 (13 kills/seven errors/46 total attack) in the second set and things were much closer, but the Hornets still fell, 23-25. Del State led by three twice during the set, but CCSU closed the set out with two kills from King.
The Hornets led, 6-3, in the third set before the Blue Devils went on a 7-0 run to take a 12-8 lead. A kill from Schieder brought Del State within one at 15-14. That was as close as the Hornets would get as CCSU took the third set to close out the match.
For the complete story, visit www.dsuhornets.com