CSU comes through to sweep La Salle 3-0
TOWSON, Md. – The Coppin State volleyball team had a slight chip on its shoulder while preparing for its second meeting in six days with La Salle on the first day of the Towson Invitational.
After losing to the Explorers in five sets last Saturday, Coppin State, playing with laser-like focus, controlled the rematch from the start and never let up in claiming a 3-0 victory at the SECU Arena Friday afternoon. The Eagles won 25-18, 25-13, 25-16 in a match that took 72 minutes.
With the win, Coppin State improved its overall record to 3-2 overall. The loss to the Explorers left the putrid taste of two-week old collard greens in the Eagles’ collective mouths. They were determined to enjoy a happier outcome against the Explorers.
Coppin State got strong efforts all around the court starting with junior Cindy Okpegbue, who had 15 kills. That effort moved Okpegbue past Jasmine George (584) and Kanisha Shephard (586) and into sixth place all-time in program history with 589 kills. Ariel Richard recorded her sixth career double-double with 11 kills and 11 digs. She also complemented her all-around effort with three blocks.
Setter supreme Chelsee Sauni finished with 40 assists, which was 16 more than the entire La Salle team. She became the second CSU player in program history to reach 2,000 career assists. Freshmen Maya Horner and Bailee Jackson made their presence felt with plenty of impactful plays against the Explorers.
Horner notched her first career double-double with 11 kills and 11 digs. She also enjoyed a .400 hitting percentage. Jackson had a match-high 20 kills along with four assists. Led by Kandace Thomas’ four blocks, Coppin State finished with 15 as a team. She led CSU with a .583 hitting percentage. She had seven kills.
For complete story, visit www.coppinstatesports.com
Vicious Hawk Attack Buries Savannah State in Friday's Nightcap; Smith Tallies Double-Double, Hawks Drop Opener at SUU Tournament
CEDAR CITY, Utah – The University of Maryland Eastern Shore volleyball team put together an offensive clinic on Friday afternoon as they raced out to an early lead and never looked back en route to a 3-0 victory over Savannah State University. The win gives UMES a 1-1 record in the SUU Tournament as the Hawks continue their decade long win streak over Savannah State.
The Hawks played fantastic from beginning to finish in the match. It was the second set where UMES (2-4) really made its presence known though, as the Hawks held SSU to just eight points. The total was the lowest set score by an opponent against UMES in nearly two years, a span dating 50 games back to October 5, 2012 when the Hawks defeated Coppin State 25-7. UMES hit a season-high .247 in the match as they controlled the tempo throughout.
CEDAR CITY, Utah – Despite a double-double effort by junior Ashley Smith (Huntley, Ill.), the University of Maryland Eastern Shore volleyball team dropped a 3-1 decision to the University of California at Riverside on Friday afternoon at Centrum Arena. The contest was the opener for the Hawks in the Southern Utah University Tournament, where they are scheduled to play two more matches over the course of the next two days.
Smith led the charge for the Hawks in the match with 11 kills and 16 digs to total her first double-double of the year. She was one of three Hawks will double-digit dig tallies as senior Ksenia Sukhareva (Moscow, Russia) and sophomore Allison Woods (Magnolia, Tex.) had 14 and 11 kills, respectively. The maroon and gray hit just .103 in the match and tied UCR with six total blocks.
For complete stories, visit www.umeshawks.com
Wildcats Fall to Georgia State in Five-Set Thriller
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Bethune-Cookman took Georgia State to five sets before dropping a 3-2 decision in its Marriott Classic opener Friday, then fell to host Jacksonville 3-1.
The Lady Cats (0-5) took the opening set 25-16, then after Georgia State won the next two sets 25-14 and 25-22, pulled away from an 18-17 advantage in the fourth to take a 25-21 victory and force a fifth set.
After falling behind 5-1, B-CU managed a 5-5 tie and trimmed a three-point deficit to 12-11 on a Hazel Ortiz Rosado kills and 13-12 on a Rhea Simon kill, but the Panthers scored the final two points to take the win.
B-CU opened up early leads of 11-5 and 14-6 in the first set, then used a four-point Ortiz Rosado service run to pull away.
For complete story, visit www.bcuathletics.com
Aggies Show Improvement Against Citadel
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Three Aggies recorded double-figure kills Friday evening but it wasn’t enough for the North Carolina A&T volleyball team who suffered a 3-1 (27-25, 19, 17, 14) setback to The Citadel at McAlister Fieldhouse.
Junior Aleena McDaniel finished with a season-high 16 kills and eight digs. Junior Brooke Stamnes notched her 14th career double-double with 10 kills and a team-high 13 digs while junior Te'Borah Hawkins-Hollingsworth added 12 kills. Sophomore Liz Martino finished with 39 assists.
The Aggies (0-5) started the opening set off well by taking a 9-3 lead. The Bulldogs (2-2) used a 5-1 run to slice A&T’s lead to 10-8 but the Aggies took advantage of several errors from the Bulldogs to extend their lead to 16-10. Down 24-19, The Citadel recorded five unanswered points to tie the set at 24. A kill by McDaniel on the next play gave A&T the 25-24 edge but a kill by Ise d’Angelo evened the score. A Stamnes kill and Bulldogs error allowed the Aggies to win the first set.
Just like the first set, A&T started off strong in the second with a 5-0 rally and stretched its advantage to 11-6, forcing The Citadel to call a timeout. A&T led 16-12 but the Bulldogs found their rhythm and scored seven consecutive points to take their first lead of the set, 19-16. The Citadel used four A&T errors and a pair of kills to tie the match at 1.
For complete story, visit www.ncataggies.com
UNC Wilmington Defeats Morgan State In Opener Of East Carolina Invitational
GREENVILLE, N.C. (Sept. 5, 2014)-The Morgan State volleyball team returned to action on Friday morning with a non-conference match against UNC Wilmington in the opener of the East Carolina Invitational at Minges Coliseum. The Lady Bears would drop a 3-0 (17-25, 23-25, 18-25) decision to the Seahawks.
Morgan Kline led the Seahawks (4-1) with a team-high 12 kills, while Alyssa Desjardins and Victoria Phillips recorded 20 and 19 kills, respectively. Lindsay Harmann tallied a team-high seven digs and Morgan Owney finished with six.
Morgan State (1-4) was led by Zuri Smith, who finished with a match-high 13 kills. The senior middle hitter out of Inglewood, Calif., committed just one error in 19 attempts to finish with a team-high .632 hitting percentage.
Junior transfer Evely Macedo added 10 kills and tied Minja Rankov with a match-high eight digs. Junior transfer Carmen Fernandez totaled a match-high 36 assists to go with three kills, four digs, a block and a service ace.
For complete story, visit www.morganstatebears.com
NCCU Volleyball Swept by PC and Wake at Deacon Invite
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The North Carolina Central University volleyball team dropped a pair of matches during the first day of competition at the 2014 Wake Forest Deacon Invitational in Winston-Salem, N.C. The Eagles fell to Presbyterian 3-0 (25-19, 25-14, 25-17) during a 1 p.m. match-up, before being shut out by the host Demon Deacons 3-0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-13) at 3 p.m., in Reynolds Gymnasium.
Sophomore Kelsey Murphy (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) led the day for NCCU, collecting 12 kills and adding 12 digs during the two-game slate.
During the opening match of the Deacon Invite, against the Blue Hose, the Eagles jumped out to an early 4-1 lead in the first set. PC answered with a 15-7 run, followed by a NCCU timeout as they trailed 16-11. The Blue Hose claimed the first set victory, 25-19.
The Eagles never led in the second set, falling 2-0 in the match after a 25-14 shortage.
For complete story, visit www.nccueaglepride.com
Spartans Unable to Find Winning Touch against Tennessee Tech, ECU
GREENVILLE, N.C. – Tennessee Tech stormed back from a 2-0 deficit, and East Carolina made quick work of the Norfolk State volleyball team as the Spartans dropped a pair of matches on Friday at the East Carolina Invitational at Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.
The Spartans (0-5) looked to be on the way to their first win of the season, as they won 25-23 and 25-15 in the first two sets against Tennessee Tech. The Golden Eagles, though, took the third set, 25-20, won in extra points in the fourth, 29-27, and then finished the comeback with a 15-10 victory in the fifth set.
East Carolina, on the other hand, won 25-11 and 25-13 in the first and third sets, although NSU did stay close in the second set before falling 25-23.
Junior Jessica Johnson and freshman Hope Forsythe each had 14 kills against Tennessee Tech (1-4) in a match that started off close. But tied at 6-6, Forsythe had four kills during an 11-0 run for NSU. The Eagles got back into the set with 6-0 and 4-1 runs, and they held off set point three times before the Spartans finally ended things with a kill from Johnson.
For complete story, visit www.nsuspartans.com
Volleyball Falls at JMU Despite Fast Start
HARRISONBURG, Va. – Despite a fast start Friday evening, the Hampton University volleyball team fell to host James Madison in the first night of the JMU Invitational at the Sinclair Gymnasium, as the host Dukes won 3-1 (20-25, 25-23, 25-21, 29-27).
Three Lady Pirates racked up double-digit kills and three recorded double-doubles – led by senior Vendula Strakova (Brno, Czech Republic), who continued her hot start to the season with a match-high 26 kills and 12 digs.
Senior Krista Kraskura (Kuldiga, Latvia) added 15 kills, hitting .353, and senior Sonja Maksimovic (Belgrade, Serbia) added 12 kills and 11 digs.
Senior Kitija Megne (Kuldiga, Latvia) had a career-high 55 assists and a team-high 13 digs.
For complete story, visit www.hamptonpirates.com
Women's Volleyball Loses to Liberty in Invitational Opener
LYNCHBURG, Va. --- The Howard women's volleyball team lost its first game at the Liberty University Invitational, dropping a 3-0 match to the host Flames on Friday afternoon at the Vines Center.
Although Howard players logged match-highs in several categories, including kills (12 by freshman Khaila Donaldson), digs (10 by senior Allyson Lods) and assists (31 by senior Stephanie Shultis), the Lady Bison were unable to consistently keep pressure on the Flames because of errors. Howard (2-3) committed nine more attack errors (27-18) and three more service errors (8-5) than Liberty (4-1); considering the Lady Bison lost the three sets by a total of 11 points, the team's mistakes proved even more costly.
Howard struggled against the host team out of the gate, surrendering the game's first 10 points to Liberty and trailing 15-5 late in the first set. The Lady Bison responded with a 10-5 run of their own to cut the Flames' lead down to five. Liberty would hold on to take the first set, 25-21.
In the second set, the Lady Bison rallied from four points down to take a 16-14 lead, only to see Liberty's lead extended back to four late as Howard conceded the set, 25-22.
For complete story, visit www.hubison.com
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