Aug. 28, 2009

NC State Volleyball Sweeps Morgan State in Season Opener
Wolfpack's Gardner Leads Volleyball Past Charleston Southern

RALEIGH, N.C. - NC State volleyball shook off a sluggish opening frame to down Morgan State, 3-0, in its season opener on Friday, Aug. 28 at Reynolds Coliseum in the first of two matches on the day at the Hilton RTP Classic. The win marks the second time in the last three seasons that the Wolfpack has collected a victory in its season opener.

Isis Gardner dropped a career-best 19 kills en route to leading NC State (2-0) to a 3-0 win over Charleston Southern (1-1) on Friday, Aug. 28 at the Hilton RTP Classic.

In the second match Gardner hit .500 and added two block assists and a dig while Sarah Griggs contributed six kills and three service aces. Alex Davis pushed 32 assists and scored four times, and Lindsay Benac recorded 14 digs. Jana Angel (5), Keri DeMar (4) and Lisa Kretchman (3) all contributed scores to the offense.

Tar Heels Defeat Albany 3-1

EAST LANSING, MICH. - North Carolina volleyball opened their 2009 campaign with a 3-1 victory over Albany. Seniors Heather Brooks and Branagan Fuller who each posted a game-high 15 kills against the Great Danes led the Tar Heels.

Sophomore setter Erica Behm tallied 51 assists just five shy of her career high. Junior Suzanne Haydel and sophomore libero Kaylie Gibson each added 13 digs for the 1-0 Tar Heels. Sophomore Courtney Johnston added 10 kills to balance the Tar Heels' attack. Carolina hit .277 for the game tallying 56 kills to Albany's .188 percentage and 54 kills.

Two freshmen Meg Yanda and Cora Harms both played in the first games for the Tar Heels. Yanda registered four kills and Harms posted a serve ace in their first career action at North Carolina.

Miami Volleyball Sweeps FGCU in Season-Opener, 3-0

Coral Gables, Fla. - Three Hurricanes collected double-digit kill performances to help spark the University of Miami volleyball team to a season-opening victory over Florida Gulf Coast, 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-17) on Friday evening in first day action of the Hurricane Invitational at the James L. Knight Sports Complex in Coral Gables, Fla.

Friday's match was the season-opener for both teams, and the first-ever meeting between the in-state opponents.

Miami (1-0) used an aggressive offense in its season-opener, while freshman setter Nrithya Sundararaman (Naperville, Ill.) seemed to settle into her collegiate debut with ease. She set the offense with a match-high 34 assists as the Hurricanes pounded out 44 kills in the match.

Duke Takes Down Wisconsin 3-2 in Season Opener

MADISON, Wisc. - Rachael Moss and Sophia Dunworth each put down 16 kills, and Becci Burling added a career-high 11 blocks to lead Duke to a 3-2 (25-23, 23-25, 22-25, 25-15, 15-12) win over Wisconsin in the Blue Devils' season-opening match at the InnTower Invitational Friday evening at the UW Field House.

Facing elimination after dropping sets two and three, the Blue Devils (1-0, 0-0 ACC) bounced back to win the fourth set by 10 points to force a winner-take-all set five. Moss, Dunworth and Burling continued their strong play into the final frame with Burling making six blocks - including the final two points - to lock up the win in front of a Wisconsin home crowd of 3,244.

Duke got a career-best defensive performance out of Burling, who racked up a career-high 11 blocks, including the difference-making six in the final set. Three of Burling's blocks were solo stops, accounting for the majority of Duke's 17 blocks in the five-set affair.

Georgia Tech Volleyball Beats Georgia, 3-2, In Season Opening Thriller

ATLANTA - The Georgia Tech Volleyball team (1-0) defeated Georgia (0-1), 3-2, in a five-set thriller to open up the 2009 season in front of a sell-out crowd of 2,000 fans Friday night at O'Keefe Gym. Freshman Monique Mead led the Jackets with a double-double of 20 kills and 10 digs as Tech Head Coach Tonya Johnson won her first career game.

The Jackets have now won four straight matches over Georgia and 11 of the last 12. Tonight was the third sell-out in Tech history as matches against Georgia in both 2006 and 2007 also saw O'Keefe filled to capacity.

Tech began to pull away mid-way through set one and used a 7-1 run to finish off Georgia, 25-15. Mead led the Jackets with six kills and four digs as they hit .538 as a team.

Hokies open season with hard-fought win over Montana

BLACKSBURG, Va. - The Virginia Tech volleyball squad persevered over a tough Montana team on Friday night, defeating the Grizzlies 3-1 (19-25, 25-23, 25-23, 25-19) in the opener of the Hilton Garden Hokie Invitational in Cassell Coliseum.

The Hokies (1-0, 0-0 ACC), who started two freshmen and three sophomores in the match, hit at a .275 clip, while holding Montana (0-1, 0-0 Big Sky) to a .214 hitting percentage in the victory. The match swayed Tech's way as the Hokies' block got stronger, out-blocking the Grizzlies eight to four over the final three sets to capture the contest.

Tech struggled throughout set one, falling to an early 7-1 deficit. A 9-5 run helped Tech close to within two at 12-10, but the Hokies could get no closer, as Montana pushed the lead back out to six at 16-10, and eventually took the stanza 25-19. The Grizzlies tallied three blocks in the frame, while the Hokies managed none.

Maryland Volleyball Wins Season Opener Against Stony Brook, 3-2

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Sophomore outside hitter Maddi Lee posted career highs in kills (24) and hitting percentage (.449) to lead the University of Maryland volleyball team to a season-opening 3-2 victory against Stony Brook Friday evening in the Spring Hill Suites at Arundel Mills Maryland Invitational.

Freshman outside hitter Kara Bates added a splendid collegiate debut, finishing with 20 kills on .385 hitting with 10 digs, as the Terrapins (1-0) bested the Sea Wolves (0-1) by scores of 22-25, 25-21, 25-20, 24-26 and 15-9.

The fourth set was perhaps the most exciting of the match. Neither team could run away when it seemed it had control. The Sea Wolves built a late 19-15 lead that forced a Maryland timeout. The Terps took advantage of the timeout, scoring four consecutive point to tie the score at 19.

Djuric's Return Highlights FSU's Opening-Day Sweep Over Central Michigan

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The Florida State volleyball team jump-started its 2009 season Friday night with a three-set sweep (25-9, 25-10, 26-24) over Central Michigan on day one of the Florida State Invitational at Tully Gym.

For the Seminoles (1-0), Friday night's victory marks the seventh-straight season that FSU has earned a victory in its opening match of the season and second year in a row that it swept its first opponent.

While the victory over the Chippewas was highlighted by the play of FSU's fifth-year senior star, a few newcomers also managed to put their stamps on the box score. True freshman Duygu Duzcheler finished tied with senior Nikki Baker with 15 assists while fellow first-year player Sareea Freeman was a strong presence in the middle as she finished with five block attempts

Wake Forest Drops Tough Opening Match 3-2 To Charlotte

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Charlotte jumped out to an early two-sets to none lead and held on for the 3-2 victory despite a gutsy effort from the Wake Forest volleyball team on the opening night of the 2009 Deacon Invitational.

The 49ers (1-0) won the first two sets 25-22 and 25-23 to head into the break with a 2-0 lead. But Wake Forest rallied in sets three and four to take 25-20 and 25-19 victories, forcing a deciding fifth-set.

In the final set, Charlotte came back from a four-point deficit and pulled out the 17-15 victory.

Tigers Fall in Five-Set Season Opener

CLEMSON, SC (ClemsonTigers.com) - The Clemson Volleyball team fell in their season opener to South Carolina, 3-2 (20-25, 25-23, 22-25, 25-21, 9-15), despite registering four players with double-digit kills. The match was played in front of 2,175 fans at Jervey Gymnasium for the Solid Orange Event.

The match was no doubt one of the highlighted matches in the Big Orange Bash, which also includes the College or Charleston and Winthrop. Action resumes Saturday with College of Charleston meeting South cArolina in a 10:00 am match, and the Tigers playing Winthrop at noon. The teams then swap opponents, with Winthrop and South Carolina going head to head at 4:00 pm and the Tigers and Cougars closing out the event at 6:00pm. Admission is free to all matches.

The rivalry match was hotly contested all night, as the teams were only able to garner more than a 6 point edge two times the whole night. The Clemson faithful were out in full force to cheer on the Tigers, who fall to 0-1 in 2009, while the Gamecocks start their season with a hard-fought win.

Virginia Drops Season Opener to Northern Iowa
Cavaliers Swept by Texas A&M

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The Virginia volleyball team dropped its season opening match to Northern Iowa, 3-0, on Friday afternoon at the Texas A&M Invitational. The Panthers controlled the first two sets 25-12 and 25-14, respectively, before the Cavaliers rallied for extra points in the third set, but eventually fell 27-25.

The Virginia volleyball team fell in its second match of the day, dropping a 3-0 (21-25, 14-25, 18-25) contest to the host Aggies at the Texas A&M Invitational Friday evening. The Cavaliers fall to 0-2 on the season, while Texas A&M improves to 2-0.

In the second match Virginia's duo of outside hitters led the attack again. Senior Lauren Dickson and sophomore Simone Asque both landed nine kills for the Cavaliers, while junior Sydney Hill hit a team-best .571 for the match.

Boston College Volleyball Drops First Match Of The Season 3-0 To Buffalo

BUFFALO, New York. - The Boston College volleyball team lost its season opener against the University at Buffalo on Friday night, falling 3-0 at Alumni Arena in Buffalo, New York. The loss drops BC to 0-1 on the season, while Buffalo improved its record to 1-0.

The Eagles started the year with a tough opening round in which they managed nine kills and a hitting percentage of .103. The Bulls countered with 13 kills of their own and a .333 hitting percentage to take the set, 25-21.

BC managed to pull a little closer in the second frame, matching Buffalo in kills with 12 each. Hitting errors proved to be one of the major differences in this set, however, and the Bulls took another set with a 25-22 score in the second. Buffalo was still too strong for the Eagles in the final frame as BC's 11 kills and .051 hitting percentage were not enough to top the Bulls, which ended the match with a decisive 25-19, third-set win.