SSU Falls to Georgia Southern Volleyball Tournament
STATESBORO, Ga. - In the opening games of the Georgia Southern Volleyball Tournament Savannah State fell to the Wisconsin 0-3 and Jacksonville 0-3.
The Lady Tigers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the opening set against Wisconsin on a service ace and kill from freshman Jasmine Waite. The Badgers took a 3-2 lead on three straight kills moments later. An error and a kill from Wisconsin tied the first set at 4.
An 11-2 run gave the Badgers a 14-7 lead before a timeout from Savannah State. Four kills and a SSU error extended Wisconsin's lead to 19-7. The Badgers finished the set on a 7-3 run; taking the first game 25-10.
SSU struggled offensively in the second set as Wisconsin took a 2-0 lead, winning 25-7. In the final set, the Badgers jumped out to a 10-1 lead behind six kills. Wisconsin held the Lady Tigers to only four points as they sealed up the match win with a 25-4 set win.
Waite led the Lady Tigers with four kills in the match. Ashlee Butler had three digs.
In the second game Friday, the Lady Tigers struggled in the opening set going down 25-9 to Jacksonville. Freshman Bianca Brochu and returner Bryana Gadis each had two kills in the set.
SSU took a 2-1 lead on Jacksonville in the second set on a kill from Chikia Jones with the set coming from Butler. A kill from Jacksonville's Alyssa Robertson tied the match at two. The Lady Dolphins jumped out to a 9-4 lead on a 6-1 run after the game was knotted up at three.
Jacksonville maintained the lead for the rest of the set taking a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-14 game win. Jones racked up three kills in the set for SSU, while Gadis added two kills and two digs.
In the third set the Lady Dolphins jumped out to a 4-0 lead on costly errors from the Lady Tigers. Jones put SSU on the scoreboard with a kill on a set from Butler. Four kills from Jacksonville and a SSU error gave the Lady Dolphins an 8-2 lead.
The offensive push from Jacksonville continued as they extended their lead to 15-3 moments later. The Lady Dolphins took the third set 25-10 winning the match 3-0. Gadis led the Lady Tigers with six kills and five digs. Jones followed with five kills. Bridgette Stephens added four digs.
SSU Volleyball Drops Two In Final Day of GSU Tournament
STATESBORO, Ga. - In the final day of competition at the Georgia Southern Volleyball Tournament in Statesboro, Georgia, the Savannah State Lady Tigers fell to South Alabama in a hard fought match, 0-3, and to Georgia Southern, 0-3 in the last game of the tournament for SSU.
SSU opened Saturday against South Alabama, and in the first set went down 9-1 early on several kills from the Jaguars. The Lady Tigers managed only 10 points as South Alabama took a 1-0 lead on a 25-10 set win.
The Lady Tigers went down 12-4 in the second set, but a kill from freshman Jasmine Waite on a set from Aisha Williams sparked some offense from SSU. Kills from Waite, Chikia Jones, and Bryana Gadis helped the Lady Tigers answer point-for-point. An error from South Alabama set the score at 12-17, prompting a South Alabama timeout.
The Jaguars then went on a 3-0 run to take a 20-12 lead, but SSU took advantage of a South Alabama error. Gadis put down two service aces to cut the Jaguars lead to five, 20-15.
The Lady Tigers continued to fight in the set, but fell by four points, 25-21. The set marked the second highest scoring game for the Lady Tigers this season. Waite led the Lady Tigers with three kills, while Williams picked up four digs.
The Jaguars took an early 4-2 lead in the third set, and extended their lead to 11-5 on back-to-back kills. Kills from Gadis, Waite and freshmen Justice Dilworth helped the Lady Tigers stay in the fight, cutting the Jaguars lead to only three points at 12-14.
Three straight kills from South Alabama extended their lead to 17-12. Some costly errors gave both teams points as the Jaguars took a 21-17 lead before a Savannah State timeout. With the match win looming for the Jaguars, the Lady Tigers continued to fight as Gadis put down a kill on set from Williams and added another point on a service ace.
South Alabama won the final set 25-20 taking the match in straight sets. Waite led the team with six kills, while Jones and Gadis each had four. Gadis and Bridgette Stephens racked up eight kills apiece, while Williams tacked on seven.
In the Lady Tigers final game of the tournament against host team Georgia Southern, SSU fell in straight sets 9-25, 15-25, and 12-25. SSU drops to 0-16 overall. Waite led the team in kills with 12. Jones followed with six kills. Butler and Stephens led the team in digs with seven apiece.
For the complete story, visit www.ssuathletics.com
Coppin State Posts Wins Over Lafayette and St. Francis (N.Y.)
EASTON, Pa. - Sophomore Ariel Richard had 36 kills leading Coppin State to victories over Lafayette and St. Francis (N.Y.) on Saturday at the Kirby Sports Center.
The Eagles staged a dramatic rally against Lafayette to post a 24-26, 16-25, 25-15, 25-13, 15-11 victory in their first match of the day and then swept St. Francis 25-21, 27-25, 25-13 in the second match of the day.
Richard recorded 20 kills against Lafayette and then added 16 in the three-set sweep of St. Francis.
Bianca Chatman added 10 kills in the victory against Lafayette, while Gabrielle Otero had 26 digs and Chelsee Sauni posted 41 assists.
After dropping the first two sets, the Eagles began their comeback by notching a 25-15 win in the third set and followed with a 25-13 win in the fourth set.
In the deciding fifth set, the Eagles took the lead for good at 9-8 on a solo block by Chatman. A kill by Richard, a setting error by Lafayette and a service ace by Kandace Thomas upped the CSU lead to 13-9.
A Coppin State service error cut the lead to 13-10, but Coppin State closed out the set when Lafayette had a pair of attack errors.
Sauni had 39 assists against St. Francis, while Otero had 19 digs. Cindy Okpegbue had nine kills, Thomas had eight kills and Kendra Ireigbe added seven kills for the Eagles.
With the two victories, Coppin State raised its record to 4-6 overall.
For the complete story, visit www.coppinstatesports.com
NCCU's Rabell Earns All-Tournament Team Honors At Davidson Volleyball Classic
Eagles Drop Matches to Wisconsin-Green Bay, Davidson and High Point in Weekend Event
DAVIDSON, N.C. - North Carolina Central University redshirt freshman Melissa Rabell Pineiro took home all-tournament team honors from the Davidson Wildcat Classic as the Eagles wrapped up weekend play with losses to event host Davidson and High Point on Saturday.
In three matches, including Friday's setback to Wisconsin-Green Bay, Rabell collected 15 assists and 23 digs.
NCCU opened the invitational action on Friday with a 3-0 (25-12, 25-18, 25-17) loss to Wisconsin-Green Bay. Rookie Christine Anthony topped the Eagles with nine kills and seven digs, while sophomore Dayana Arrufat Rondon collected eight kills and seven digs. Rabell posted a team-high 12 digs, followed by sophomore Alice Genna with 11 digs and 20 assists.
On Saturday, NCCU dropped its first match to Davidson, 3-0 (25-13, 25-14, 25-17). Again, the duo of Anthony and Arrufat charged the Eagles' efforts, as Anthony accumulated team-highs of eight kills and eight digs, while Arrufat added seven kills and seven digs. Junior Kalin Russell amassed five blocks for NCCU.
In the final match of the invitational for NCCU, High Point defeated the Eagles 3-0 (25-18, 25-15, 25-15). This time Arrufat notched the team-high in kills with eight, followed by sophomore Ashley McCarthy with seven kills and Russell with six kills, six digs and three blocks. Anthony rounded out her weekend with five kills and five digs.
For the complete story, visit www.nccueaglepride.com
NSU Drops Pair of Saturday Matches
BOULDER, Colo. - The Norfolk State volleyball team suffered two more losses on Saturday in the Air Force/Colorado Invitational, falling to Colorado and CSU Bakersfield by 3-0 scores at the Coors Events Center.
Colorado won the first and third sets in a late afternoon match by 25-16 scores, with NSU giving the Buffalos a run for their money in a 25-22 second-set loss. In the nightcap, CSU Bakersfield won in straight sets, 25-18, 25-18, 25-20, to drop NSU to 2-12 on the season.
Freshman Jessica Johnson and senior Charlotte Armstead each had eight kills against Colorado (10-2), with junior Coralie Jarema adding seven. Junior Goda Jankauskaite tallied six kills on just 13 swings with five blocks.
Armstead and senior Beatriz Ferreira each had eight kills to lead the Spartans against CSU Bakersfield (3-7). Freshman Darcy Moore had 28 assists in the first match against the Buffalos and then 22 more against the Roadrunners.
For the complete story, visit www.nsuspartans.com
Aggies Drop Matches Against North Florida and Mercer
ROCK HILL, S.C.-The North Carolina A&T volleyball team snapped a losing set streak, matched the number of set wins from 2011, and set a new single-match team digs record on Saturday in a pair of matches to wrap up the Winthrop Classic Tournament.
The Aggies (0-15) lost in four sets to North Florida and Mercer. Against the UNF Ospreys in the morning, the Aggies fell by 20-25, 14-25, 25-21, 10-25. In the afternoon against the Mercer Bears, the Aggies lost by 25-22, 21-25, 15-25, 22-25.
After being swept in the last five consecutive matches, the Aggies were able to break that streak on Saturday morning against North Florida, as they won set three by 25-21 to snap a 19-set losing streak.
The Aggies picked up their eighth set victory on the year against Mercer-which matched the number of sets A&T won in 2011. The Aggies still have more than half of the 2012 season yet to play, look to continue to improve upon last season's numbers.
The Aggie defense was also a major asset in Saturday's matches, as the Aggies totaled 20.0 team blocks on the day and set a new single-match team record with 106 digs against Mercer. The Aggies finished the tournament with 26.0 total blocks and 185 digs.
But while their defense was strong, the A&T offense is still struggling. The Aggies totaled 73 kills and posted a .014 hitting percentage in the Winthrop Classic.
Freshman Brooke Stamnes posted a team-best 18 kills in the Classic with seven aces and four blocks, while junior Chelsea Fox added 16 kills, 30 digs and six blocks playing in the outside hitter position. Fox had 21 digs in the match against Mercer, while freshman Ashley Johnson had a team-best 29 digs. Johnson averaged 4.73 digs per set in the Winthrop Classic. Senior Andrea Evans tied a career high with six blocks in the match against UNF. She had 14 kills and 13 blocks in the Classic.
For the complete story, visit www.ncataggies.com
UMES Conquers Troy And Jackson State To Become ASU Invite Champion
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - UMES is the champion of the ASU Invitational after a Saturday sweep, taking down Troy in five sets (25-12, 20-25, 26-28, 25-18, 15-9) and Jackson State in three games (25-17, 25-18, 25-20) at the Dunn-Oliver Acadome to finish the tournament with four victories and improve to 14-1. The Hawks have now won their last 10 matches.
Troy fell to 8-6 after its match with UMES, while Jackson State dropped to 2-11.
The Hawks took on Troy in the first match of the second day of the ASU Tournament. The Trojans began the set with the first four points. UMES took two back off a Victoria Williams kill and block. At 6-3 Troy, a 3-0 run started on a Bridget Ebster-Schwarzenberger kill tied the set at six. A UMES attack error gave Troy a 7-6 lead, but Maline Vaitai countered with two straight kills for an 8-7 UMES advantage. At the 9-9 mark, the Hawks took total control of the set. Vaitai served UMES through a 6-0 run, including two Ebster-Schwarzenberger kills and a kill and block from Williams. After an attack error, the Hawks went on another run, scoring five points in a row off the serving of Kaveinga Lea'Aetoa. UMES ended the set on a 4-0 run to win the set 25-12 having won 16 of the final 19 points.
In the second set, a three-point run started by two Williams kills put UMES up 3-1. After an exchange of points, Troy went on a 6-0 run to go up 8-4. The Hawks recovered at 10-5 by taking four of the next five points, including aces from Jessie Vicic and Ebster-Schwarzenberger, to pull within two 11-9. But the women of Troy countered by winning five of the next six to go up 16-10, later using a 3-0 run off two Ali Dowdall aces for a 19-11 advantage. UMES did not give up, with Kaveinga Lea'Aetoa contributing a couple of kills on a comeback attempt. After a Vicic ace, UMES was down 23-18. After a Blair Winston kill, the Hawks got two more points, but fell short and lost set two 25-20, evening the match.
Off the serving of Vaitai, the Hawks surged ahead in the third set with a 5-0 run, capped by kills from Ibe and Ebster-Schwarzenberger, for a 6-2 lead. A later 3-0 run, including two attack errors by Kayla Pickart, gave UMES a 10-4 lead. But at 11-5 UMES, the Trojans put together four straight points to pull within two. The Hawks rebuilt the advantage off a 3-0 run on a Vaitai kill, Ibe kill and Lea'Aetoa ace, to push ahead 14-9. Troy did not stay down for long however, as at 15-10 the Trojans took five straight points to tie the game. Each side had its run, with UMES taking four of the next five and Troy taking four of the following five to tie the set at 20. A Dowdall service error and Lea'Aetoa kill gave UMES the 22-20 advantage. The two sides traded points until a block by Breanna Cullity and Alicia Dukes combo block tied the game at 24. The Hawks had set point twice thereafter, but the Trojans defended until Troy got a final 3-0 run, started by two Pickart kills, to take the set 28-26, pushing UMES down 2-1 in the match.
Following Troy's opening point in the fourth set, Ebster-Schwarzenberger found her targets on her serve, contributing three aces in a 6-0 run to give UMES a 6-1 lead. Later at 8-5, Ibe scored three consecutive kills for an 11-5 advantage to UMES. Troy took two back, but the Hawks responded with four straight, including kills from Ebster-Schwarzenberger and Lea'Aetoa, to go up 15-7. Despite a 3-0 Troy run, UMES did not let its opponent get closer. Later, the Hawks took four of five points, assisted by a kill and block by each Vaitai and Ibe, to go up 23-16. The Hawks won set four 25-18 to force a tiebreaker set.
Each side exchanged a couple of points to begin the fifth set at 2-2. Then, off the serving of Megan Mueller , Troy committed three straight attack errors to give UMES a 5-2 lead. Again the two teams traded points when at 8-6 Hawks, UMES earned three straight kills, hit by Williams, Vaitai and Williams again, for an 11-6 advantage. Troy pushed back with two points to make it 11-8, but a 3-0 UMES run capped by a Williams and Ibe block sealed the game for the Hawks. An Ibe kill gave the Hawks the 15-9 fifth set win and victory over Troy, increasing the team's winning streak to nine-straight and giving UMES its third five-set win in as many opportunities.
That afternoon, UMES faced Jackson State in a matchup of the 2011 MEAC champion versus the 2011 SWAC champion.
In the first set, Lea'Aetoa started with a kill and block to give UMES a 2-0 lead. Play went back and forth until a Kameron Boggan kill and ace tied the score at six. At 9-8 JSU, Lea'Aetoa started a big run with a pair of kills, continued with an Ebster-Schwarzenberger ace. The Hawks took seven points in a row to go ahead 15-9, capped by a Lea'Aetoa and Williams combo block. Vaitai kept the Tigers at bay with three intermittent kills to push UMES up 18-13. Despite a late kill and service ace from current Tiger and former UMES player Christine Edwards, the Hawks finished the set with a 4-0 run to take game one 25-17.
Despite two early kills by Williams, Jackson State took an early 5-3 advantage in the second game, capped by a back row kill by Jasmine Knight. UMES countered off the serving of Ibe. After an Ebster-Schwarzenberger kill, Lea'Aetoa contributed three points in a row with a kill, block assist and another kill, continued by an Ibe ace, Ebster-Schwarzenberger kill and yet another Lea'Aetoa kill to compete a 7-0 run for a 10-5 UMES lead. Play went back and forth as the Hawks led by at least four the rest of the set. All told, Lea'Aetoa finished with seven kills in the set as the Hawks held off a late 3-0 run by Jackson State. UMES took the final three points on a Williams ace then a Lea'Aetoa ace and back row kill for a 25-18 win and a 2-0 match lead.
UMES got the early advantage in the third game, starting 6-3 after an Ebster-Schwarzenberger ace. The Tigers struck back with a 4-0 run, including kills from Mikayla Rolle and Edwards, to lead 7-6. After a Williams kill put UMES up 9-8, Vicic and Ibe blocked an Edwards attack twice in a row to push UMES up 11-8. A later 3-0 run, capped by two Vaitai aces, gave the Hawks the lead 14-9. But Jackson State came back of Edwards' serving, contributing a kill and two straight aces on a 5-0 run to tie the set at 14, taking the lead later at 16-15. Both side exchanged points when UMES took a 20-19 lead off consecutive kills from Ibe and Vaitai. LaTosha Scott earned a kill for the Tigers to tie the set at 20. At that juncture, the Hawks finished the match with five points in a row, capped by a Vaitai ace, to take set three 25-20 and win the match in a shutout.
UMES hit .386 as a team against Jackson State, hitting 43 kills with just 11 attack errors.
On the day, Williams led the Hawks with 28 total kills, hitting .327, with eight total blocks. Lea'Aetoa finished with 18 kills and 10 blocks on the day, including hitting .733 against Jackson State with 12 kills and just one error on 15 total attacks. Ibe tallied up 20 kills and six blocks, hitting .318. Vicic earned a double double against Troy with 53 assists and 17 digs, finishing with 91 assists on the day. Ebster-Schwarzenberger also had a double double against the Trojans with 12 kills, 14 digs and five aces, finishing Saturday with 19 kills, seven aces and 18 digs.
Leading Troy against UMES was Devin Von Pingel, who got nine kills and a pair of blocks. Cullity nearly got a double double with eight kills and 12 total blocks, while Alexandra Alexander did get one with 33 assists, 13 digs and three blocks.
For JSU in the late match, Edwards led all Tigers with 14 kills, three aces and seven digs. Knight earned five kills and an ace, while Jenna Siddiqui had 23 assists and four digs.
For the complete story, visit www.umeshawks.com
DSU Sweeps LaSalle; Finish 1-1 At Hornet Invite
DOVER, Del. - It took a total team effort Saturday as the Delaware State swept La Salle, 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-21) in the final game of the Hornet Invitational at Memorial Hall. Earlier in the day, Saint Francis (Pa.) squeaked out a 3-1 (25-14, 24-26, 27-25, 25-19) victory over the Hornets.
Senior Bel Fakaosi finished the day with 50 assists and 18 digs, with 11 digs coming against SFU. Fellow senior Laisha Davis recorded 10 kills, nine blocks and four aces on the day.
Junior Brooke Redmon led Delaware State with 17 kills, including 10 against Saint Francis. Fellow junior Jessica Croucher collected 11 kills, 12 digs and three blocks in the tournament.
For the complete story, visit www.dsuhornets.com
Volleyball Has Tough Second Day At Colonial Challenge
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - Hampton lost both of its matches in straight sets on Saturday on the campus of William & Mary on the second day of the Colonial Challenge at Kaplan Arena.
Elon beat the Lady Pirates 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-19) in the first match, before host William & Mary beat Hampton 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-17) in the nightcap.
Sophomore Vendula Strakova , the reigning MEAC Player of the Week, was named to the All-Tournament Team.
Strakova gave Hampton an 8-6 lead early in the first set against Elon with a kill, and the Lady Pirates later took an 11-10 lead after Strakova and senior Mariah Baylor teamed on a block.
Later in the set, after Elon had taken the lead, Strakova tied the set at 16-16 with a service ace, before the Phoeniz went on to lead by as many as four, at 23-19. Strakova and Baylor cut that lead to 23-21 with a block, before Elon took the first set.
Hampton hit .257 in the first set, with 15 kills and six errors in 35 attacks.
Elon jumped out to a 5-0 lead to open the second set, before the Lady Pirates cut that lead to 6-3 on a Strakova kill. Elon led 9-7 after a block from sophomore Marija Kocevska and junior Bibiany Fonseca.
After Elon went up 10-7, the Lady Pirates went on a 5-0 run to take a 12-10 lead. That run ballooned to 6-1 after a service ace from Kocevska that gave Hampton a 14-11 lead.
Hampton led 17-15 after a kill from sophomore Krista Kraskura , but Elon battled back and took a 19-18 lead, before moving on to take the second set.
Elon led early in the third set, but Hampton fought back - even taking a 12-11 lead after back-to-back kills from Strakova. The Lady Pirates went up 16-15 on a Kraskura kill, but Elon fought back to take the lead, closing out the set on a 10-3 run.
Elon (7-8) hit .410 in the third set.
Strakova had 18 kills to lead the Lady Pirates, while also recording just seven errors in 38 attacks to hit .289 for the match. Fonseca had five kills in seven attacks, while also recording 31 of Hampton's 38 assists.
Kocevska had four kills and no errors in five attacks.
Fonseca and Kraskura each had 11 digs on defense.
The Lady Pirates were without Fonseca against William & Mary because of a concussion, but Hampton fought hard in the first set, leading 10-7 after a kill from Strakova. Baylor and sophomore Sonja Maksimovic teamed on a block to put Hampton up 17-16.
Strakova gave Hampton a 22-21 lead with a kill, before the Tribe (8-5) scored the last four points to take the set.
Hampton hit a team-best .297 in the first set, with 14 kills and three errors in 37 attacks.
William & Mary jumped out to a 9-4 lead in the second set, and that lead eventually grew to 17-10. The Lady Pirates closed to within five, 20-15, after a kill from junior Ioana Kalfinova, but the Tribe clinched the second set.
Strakova recorded an early kill in the third set to tie the score at 4-4, before the Tribe scored six unanswered points to take a 10-4 lead. Hampton answered with three straight points, and the Lady Pirates cut the lead to 10-7 on another kill from Strakova.
Another Strakova kill later in the set cut the Tribe's lead to 16-11, but William & Mary still cruised on to the straight-set win - and the tournament crown.
Strakova had 21 kills for the Lady Pirates, while also tying for the team lead with eight digs on defense. She hit .298 for the match, committing just seven errors in 47 total attacks. Maksimovic had 30 of Hampton's 34 assists filling in for Fonseca.
For the complete story, visit www.hamptonpirates.com
Bethune-Cookman Falls to FIU and USF
TAMPA - Bethune-Cookman ended the tournament portion of its 2012 schedule with 3-0 losses to FIU and USF Saturday at the USF Invitational.
Senior Janeen Davis registered a career-high 21 digs in the USF match and had 14 earlier in the day against FIU. Those two matches put her in B-CU's top ten career digs marks at eighth with 645.
Senior Krysta Gardner had ten kills against USF and 22 for the tournament, bringing her within 22 kills of the 1,000 career mark. She had three services aces to up her career total to 98.
Delicia Pierre had a combined kills against FIU and USF, while freshman Monica Lowe posted 18 assists against USF.
For the complete story, visit www.bcuathletics.com