Eagles Notch First-Ever Victory over Loyola (Md.)
BALTIMORE -- Salena Weekly and Ariel Richard led a balanced Coppin State attack with seven kills each and the Eagles recorded their first-ever victory over Loyola (Md.) with a 25-22, 25-11, 25-17 win over the Greyhounds on Saturday at Morgan State.
Coppin State entered the match 0-15 all-time against Loyola (Md.), but turned the tables with a solid offensive showing and a dominant blocking performance.
The Eagles (2-5) posted a season-high .258 attack percentage and limited Loyola (Md.) to just an .071 percentage due in large part to 10 Coppin State blocks. CSU also matched its season high with 11 service aces.
Coppin State also received six kills and six blocks from Christina Epps and three kills and three digs from Vanity Massey. Gabrielle Otero once again anchored the CSU defense with 13 digs.
Loyola was led by Faye Lukas who had a match-high 12 kills.
For the complete story, visit www.coppinstatesports.com
UMES Defeats South Florida 3-2, Fall In Five Sets To Bowling Green
TAMPA, Fla. -- Coming out of the locker room down two sets, UMES rallied back to win the final three sets against USF Invitational host South Florida to earn their first victory of the season 3-2 (15-25, 19-25, 25-23, 25-20, 15-12). The Hawks followed with a grueling match against Bowling Green, starting up 2-1 but falling 3-2 (26-24, 22-25, 25-22, 20-25, 9-15). UMES goes to 1-2 after Saturday, while South Florida fell to 0-4 after the match and Bowling Green improved to 5-0.
In the morning match, USF quickly took control in the first set, building an early 11-3 advantage. The Hawks managed to get within six points three times, but the Bulls took the game 25-15.
Next set, the Hawks stayed neck and neck with the Bulls, getting an early 10-9 advantage. However, with the home team up 16-15, South Florida went on a 6-0 run and UMES could not get back in the set, falling 25-19 to go down 2-0 in games.
The Hawks came out of the break firing, building a quick five-point lead. After South Florida eventually tied the game and took a two-point advantage 20-18, the Hawks finished the set with a 7-3 run, including a late 3-0 run sparked by a Victoria Williams kill, leading to a 25-23 third set victory.
UMES kept the momentum into the fourth set and built a 10-5 off kills from five different Hawks. Up 21-15, the Hawks would lose most of the advantage after a 4-0 run by USF. But UMES finished winning four of the final five points to take the game 25-20 and force a tiebreak set.
The final set began as a back and forth contest with neither team leading by more than one for the first 23 points. After an attack error by Bowling Green, Rebecca Prado served three straight times to complete a 4-0 run for 13-11. The Falcons took the next point, but UMES won the next two, capped by a kill by Zoe Bowens to win the set 15-12, completing the comeback and winning the match.
In the late match against Bowling Green, an early 4-0 run, including two kills by Bowens, gave UMES a 6-3 lead. The Falcons countered by winning 10 of the next 14 points to go up 13-10. Both sides exchanged leads, eventually leading to a 24-22 set point opportunity for Bowling Green. The Hawks rallied with a final 4-0 run, including two assists and a set-capping service ace by Jessie Vicic to win game one 26-24.
The second set saw BGU begin with an 8-2 advantage. At 17-11 Bowling Green, UMES slowly gained ground, getting to within one at 22-21, including kills from Maline Vaitai, Saitaua Iosia, Williams and Vicic, but the Falcons held on to take a close second set 25-22.
UMES get back the set lead after game three. After building an early 7-3 lead, with five kills in that run, the Hawks did not relinquish the lead, getting an eight-point lead at 20-12 and withstanding a Falcon comeback attempt to win 25-22.
Game four saw yet another back-and-forth tussle with neither team leading by more than two in the first 24 points. A 5-0 run put the Falcons up 17-12. UMES countered by winning eight of the next 11, including a kill and ace by Iosia, to take a 20-19 lead. But Bowling Green won the next six points to take the 25-20 and force a tiebreak.
The final set was rough for UMES. After the Hawks got an early 5-3 lead, Bowling Green went on a 9-1 run and did not lose the advantage. The Falcons took the fifth game 15-9 to get a 3-2 match win. This was UMES's tenth set in five hours time.
For the complete story, visit www.umeshawks.com
SC State Captures 2011 SC State Spikefest Title
Orangeburg, SC-The South Carolina State women's volleyball team went 2-0 on the Final Day of the 2011 SC State Spikefest and 4-0 over the weekend as they captured the 2011 SC State Spikefest Title. The tournament, which was held Friday-Saturday, Sept. 2-3, was contested at the Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center on the campus of SC State.
In its first match of day two, SC State (4-3) defeated Alabama State, 3-0, (25-17, 25-23, 25-23). Junior E. Paige Webb had nine kills and redshirt junior Shabree Roberson put down eight kills and three block assists to lead the way for the Lady Bulldogs. Sophomore Desiree Waller who was named to the All-Tournament Team, had an all-around complete game as she put down seven kills with six digs and seven block assists.
Maya Bell and Asia Manning led Alabama State (1-6) offensively with 13 and 10 kills, respectively. Luiza Griz and Roselande Corneille each had seven digs for the Lady Hornets in the loss.
SC State picked up its fourth victory of the weekend as they defeated Wofford, 3-1, (19-25, 25-23, 25-18, 25-19). Waller recorded her third double-digit kill match with a match-high 16 kills. She also contributed seven digs, four service aces and two total blocks (1 block solo-1 block assist) in the contest. The Lady Bulldogs had three players to record double-digit kills as Roberson and Webb put down 13 and 10, respectively. Webb had a double-double for the match as she picked up 10 defensive digs. Senior setter Bria Brimmer who was named the Outstanding Player of the Tournament, had complete control of the offense as she put up 43 set assists in the victory.
Wendy Burnett and Amanda Liguori each had eight kills while Bekah Dorsey picked up eight defensive digs in the loss for Wofford who dropped to 5-2 on the season.
2011 SC State Spikefest All-Tournament
Desiree Waller: SC State
Asia Murry: Alabama State
Lydia Wise: Claflin
Alex Dahlstrom: Citadel
Outstanding Player: Bria Brimmer: SC State
Outstanding Libero: Brendell Studnicka: SC State
For the complete story, visit www.scsuathletics.com
NCCU Swept In Day Two Of George Washington Invite
DURHAM, N.C. (www.NCCUEaglePride.com) - A weekend of North Carolina Central University errors led to a two-match sweep to conclude the George Washington Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 3, in Washington, D.C., on the George Washington University campus.
The maroon and gray fell in three straight sets to the Colonials of George Washington (10-25, 15-25, 12-25) and the Seahawks of UNC Wilmington (12-25, 14-25, 20-25)
NCCU sophomore Jzima-Malaki Kalao supplied 18 assists in the loss. Kalao, Russell and Arrufat finished with five digs apiece to lead the Eagles' defense. Russell also led in blocks with two block assists and one crowd-rattling solo block.
NCCU concluded the tournament with a 5:00 p.m. match against UNC Wilmington. In three straight sets, the Seahawks beat NCCU 25-12, 25-14, 25-20.
Arrufat and Moore each provided a double-figure kill outing in the match for the Eagles, the freshman and senior duo amassed 11 kills apiece.
For the complete story, visit www.nccueaglepride.com
Mercer Downs NSU 3-0
MACON, Ga. - On the second day of the Mercer Bear Brawl, the Norfolk State volleyball team fell to host Mercer, 3-0, at the University Center gym in the first weekend of play for the 2011 Spartans.
The Bears won, 25-22, 25-19, 25-18, to improve to 1-6 on the season. NSU fell to 0-3 with the loss after opening its 2011 season with a pair of matches Friday afternoon.
Senior Jasmine Frazier led the Spartans with 11 kills and three blocks, while junior Charlotte Armstead added eight kills. Sophomore Noelle Eagles and junior Megan Lavo each totaled 12 digs, while junior Kristen Burt tallied a double-double with 21 assists and 10 digs.
Frazier was named to the all-tournament team following the conclusion of play on Saturday.
The Spartans attacked at a .106 clip for the match but were unable to hold down the Bears, who hit a collective .227. Mercer also held the advantage in blocks, 7-5.
For the complete story, visit www.nsuspartans.com
Niagara And UTEP Too Much For DSU To Handle
ITHACA, N.Y. -Delaware State struggled again Saturday in the Cornell Invitational as they lost, 3-0, to both Niagara University and the University of Texas-El Paso.
The Hornets were never able to get on track Saturday morning against Niagara and were downed, 16-25, 14-25 and 16-25. They looked as though they were going to turn the corner against undefeated UTEP in the afternoon, but were never able to finish things off and lost, 19-25, 18-25 and 18-25.
Jessica Croucher recorded a match-high 13 kills (.310) while senior Sonja Banicevic tallied 11 digs, respectively. Niagara's Sam Morgan also collected 11 digs in the game.
For the complete story, visit www.dsuhornets.com
Lady Pirates Fall To Northern Arizona, San Jose State
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - Hampton dropped both of its matches on Saturday at the Northern Arizona Fiesta Bowl at the Rolle Activity Center, as host NAU won 3-0 (25-10, 25-20, 25-16) and San Jose State took a 3-0 (25-14, 25-8, 25-12) victory.
Junior Mariah Baylor was named to the All-Tournament Team after recording eight kills along with 5.0 blocks and hitting .185 for the weekend.
Northern Arizona hit .224 as a team, thanks to 41 kills and 19 errors in 98 attacks. The Lumberjacks, who won the tournament with a five-set win over New Mexico in Saturday's night cap, hit a team-best .355 (14 kills, three errors in 31 attacks) in the first set.
Hampton (1-5) hit -.044 as a team, recording 17 kills and 21 errors in 91 attacks. The Lady Pirates hit a team-best .036 (six kills, five errors in 28 attacks) in the third set.
San Jose State hit .427 as a team in its match against Hampton, recording 43 kills and just 11 errors in 75 attacks. SJSU hit a team-best .500 (14 kills, two errors in 24 attacks) in the first set, while also hitting .444 in the second set and .333 in the third set.
Hampton hit .000 (16 kills, 16 errors in 67 attacks) as a team, including a team-best .136 (eight kills, five errors in 22 attacks) in the first set.
For the complete story, visit www.hamptonpirates.com