Coppin State Lady Eagles Fall to UMBC, 3-0BALTIMORE - Sophomore Ariel Richard had eight kills, 10 digs and three blocks and freshman Cindy Okpegbue added a team-high nine kills, but Coppin State dropped its opening match of the 2012 season to UMBC, 25-22, 25-14, 25-14, on Friday at the Battle at the Bay Tournament at Hill Field House at Morgan State.
Gabrielle Otero added a team-high 16 digs, while Chelsee Sauni had 21 assists in directing the Eagle offensive attack.
UMBC (1-1) featured a balanced attack as five players had at least five kills led by Hannah Schmidt who had seven.
The Retrievers posted a .231 hitting percentage, while Coppin State hit .064 for the match. UMBC also out-blocked Coppin State 7-4 and had a 7-2 advantage in service aces.
The match marked the debut for first-year head coach Ashley Preston for Coppin State.
For the complete story, visit www.coppinstatesports.com
Bethune-Cookman Falls to Charlotte, 3-0
GREENVILLE, N.C. - Bethune-Cookman dropped a 3-0 (25-15,25-22,25-10) decision to Charlotte Friday in the East Carolina Classic in the 2012 opener for both teams.
Senior Krysta Gardner had seven kills for B-CU, while freshman Delicia Pierre posted six kills and three block assists. Junior Jennifer Jimenez posted 11 digs on defense.
For the complete story, visit www.b-cuathletics.com
SC State Women's Volleyball Drops Season opener to Xavier
Clemson, S.C.-- SC State fell to Xavier, 3-0, (18-25, 21-25, 11-25), in its 2012 women's volleyball season opener. The match was the Lady Bulldogs first of three matches of the Big Orange Bash hosted by Clemson University.
SC State began aggressive scoring the first six-of-nine points of the match. Xavier quickly put their offense to work going on a mini 3-0 run to tie the game at six. The teams then began to exchange points with neither team taking more than a two point lead over the next 12 rotations. Xavier managed to take four point lead at 22-18 before going on to capture the first set, 25-18.
The second set belonged to Xavier early as they jumped out to a 5-2 lead early. The Musketeer's would increase their lead to 17-11 to force SC State into its first timeout of the set. Xavier increased its lead to 23-17 before the Lady Bulldogs put together its offensive run. SC State went on a 4-3 run but to pull within four but get over the hump as they dropped game two 25-21.
Xavier once again picked up its aggression out of the 10 minute intermission, jumping out to a 10-3 lead. The Lady Bulldogs could not find any offense in the set as they would go down by as much as five points (15-5) before dropping Set Three 25-11 and the match 3-0.
E. Paige Webb recorded seven kills to lead the Lady Bulldogs offensively. Dorian Corbett picked up a team high 15 digs in the match. Maya Bell contributed six kills and nine digs while Melanie Williams put up 16 set assists in her collegiate debut. Webb also picked up 11 digs for SC State who fell to 0-1.
Alex Smith and Sarah Brown led Xavier with 11 and 10 kills respectively. The Musketeer's had three players to record double-digit digs as Stephanie Vorherr had a game-high 17 and Aubree Smith picked up 11 as Xavier improved to 1-0.
For the complete story, visit www.scsuathletics.com
UMES Starts Season With 3-1 Comeback Victory Over NJIT
NEW YORK - After falling in the first game, UMES recovered to win the next three sets to begin the year with a 3-1 (21-25, 25-12, 25-17, 25-23) victory over the New Jersey Institute of Technology in its first match of the SFC Terrier Invitational at the Genovesi Center. The Hawks go to 1-0 while the Highlanders fall to 0-1.
Three UMES players finished with double doubles. Saitaiua Iosia led the Hawks with 21 kills on a .341 hitting percentage, adding 14 digs and three blocks. Maline Vaitai put together 11 kills and the match-best 16 digs. Jessica Vicic had a 50-assist day, also contributing 15 digs and four blocks. Ndidi Ibe and Kaveinga Lea'Aetoa each hit .400 with eight kills and four block assists, with the former adding a block solo.
Camilla Tinari led the Highlanders with 13 kills and nine digs. Anna Mercado got a double-double with 22 assists and 10 digs, while Janet Snell concluded with seven kills, five assists and eight digs.
For the complete story, visit www.umeshawks.com
Spartans Drop Season Opener to Nebraska-Omaha, 3-1
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -Norfolk State dropped its season opener as Nebraska-Omaha overcame an early deficit to win 3-1 over the Spartans Friday afternoon at the Kristen Dickmann Invitational at Navy's Wesley A. Brown Field House.
NSU won the first set of the day, 25-18, before the Mavericks came back with a 25-16 second-set win. Nebraska-Omaha snuck by with a 25-23 win in the third and then cruised to a 25-13 fourth-set win for the match victory.
The Mavericks attacked at a solid .248 clip but did not have a distinct advantage anywhere else against the Spartans. NSU, on the other hand, hit .131 for the match.
Freshman Jessica Johnson led the way for the Spartans with 10 kills, while senior Beatriz Ferreira added nine kills on a .318 attack percentage. Redshirt sophomore Noelle Eagles totaled 19 digs, and freshman Darcy Moore posted 31 assists.
Kelly Wollak and Natalie Ebke led the Mavericks with 11 and 10 kills, respectively, while Bailey Baxter added 36 assists and Amy Roberts totaled 17 digs.
For the complete story, visit www.nsuspartans.com
Lady Eagles Drop Pair At Season-Opening NCCU Volleyball Invitational
DURHAM, N.C. - North Carolina Central University faced some tough competition during day one action of the NCCU Women's Volleyball Invitational, and the result was a pair of season-opening setbacks inside McDougald-McLendon Gym on Friday.
The Eagles battled to a 3-1 (25-14, 19-25, 25-17, 25-16) loss against UNC Greensboro to open the event, then closed the evening with a 3-0 (25-20, 25-15, 25-18) defeat versus Liberty.
Senior transfer Christine Anthony recorded 28 kills (14 each match), six service aces and 11 digs in the two contests to lead NCCU, while sophomores Dayana Arrufat Rondon and Ashley McCarthy contributed 16 kills apiece on day one of the season. Red-shirt freshman setter Melissa Rabell Pineiro directed the offense by distributing 59 assists on the day, including 35 helpers, eight digs and three service aces against UNCG.
For the complete story, visit www.nccueaglepride.com
DSU Falls To LIU Brooklyn In Three To Open 2012 Campaign
DOVER, Del. -Delaware State University kept things close through two sets before LIU Brooklyn took charge in set three en route to a 3-0 (20-25; 23-25; 14-25) sweep of the Hornets Friday evening in the season-opening UNCW Courtyard Wilmington Beach Bash, held at the UNC Wilmington's Hanover Hall.
Junior Jessica Croucher led Del State with nine kills and added in eight digs and a block assist. Senior Bel Fakaosi recorded 22 assists on a .268 percentage in addition to nine digs, two block assists, a kill and ace.
In her first game for the Hornets, freshman Jasmine Jackson posted a team-high 12 digs along with six kills and a block assist.
Annika Foit led LIU Brooklyn on offense with nine kills and four service aces, along with four digs and two blocks on defense.
For the complete story, visit www.dsuhornets.com