Aug. 31, 2008

Virginia Sweeps JMU Days Inn Invitational

HARRISONBURG, Va. – The Virginia volleyball team opened it’s season with a sweep of the JMU Days Inn Invitational to claim the tournament title. Led by MVP Lauren Dickson (Austin, Texas), the Cavaliers defeated Murray State and New Hampshire, 3-0, before defeating host James Madison, 3-1 (29-27, 21-25, 25-19, 25-16), for the championship. Marlow Bruneau (Lakeville, Minn.) and Shannon Davis (Austin, Texas) joined Dickson on the all-tournament team.

Against JMU, the Cavaliers were led by fifth-year Beth Shelton’s (Cincinnati, Ohio) career-high 19 kills, while second-year Kendahl Voelker (Fort Myers, Fla.) knocked down 10 kills to join Shelton in double-figures. Defensively, the Cavaliers were led by second-year Brittani Rendina’s (Lisle, Ill.) career-high 18 digs and Bruneau dished out 36 assists.

Cavaliers Roll Past New Hampshire, 3-0

HARRISONBURG, Va. – Despite a slow start to the day, the Virginia volleyball team completed a 3-0 (26-24, 25-13, 25-12) sweep of New Hampshire at the JMU Days Inn Invitational to run their record to 2-0 on the season. New Hampshire falls to 0-2 this season.

Five Cavaliers registered kills for Virginia, led by third-year Lauren Dickson (Austin, Texas), who notched nine. Fourth-year Shannon Davis (Austin, Texas) and fifth-year Beth Shelton (Cincinnati, Ohio) each tallied seven, while second-year Sydney Hill (Kalamazoo, Mich.) landed six. Second-year Kendahl Voelker (Fort Myers, Fla.) added four.

Virginia Tech sweeps Hokie Invite for third straight year

BLACKSBURG, Va. - For the third consecutive year the Virginia Tech volleyball squad swept their own season-opening tournament, closing out the Hawthorn Suites Hokie Invitational with a 3-1 (25-23, 25-23, 24-26, 25-16) victory over Coastal Carolina for the tournament championship Saturday night.

The Hokies (3-0, 0-0 ACC) battled a tenacious Chanticleer team (2-1, 0-0 Big South) the entire night, with the first three sets being back-and-forth affairs, until the knockout punch was delivered by Tech in the fourth stanza. Junior Betsy Horowitzled the Hokies with 13 kills and a .591 hitting percentage, while junior Taylor Parrish and sophomore Felicia Willoughby added 12 and 10 kills respectively.

Hokies trounce Winston-Salem State in three sets

Blacksburg, Va. - The Virginia Tech volleyball team wasted no time in taking care of their second opponent of the Hawthorn Suites Hokie Invitational Saturday afternoon at Cassell Coliseum, defeating Winston-Salem State 3-0 (25-6, 25-10, 25-12) in little over an hour.

Wake Forest Wins Deacon Invitational With 3-1 Victory Over Winthrop

WINSTON-SALEM - Natalie Mullikin had ten kills and eight block assists to lead the Wake Forest volleyball team to the Deacon Invitational title Saturday evening. The Deacons fought off a feisty Winthrop team in the championship match to pull out a 3-1 victory.

Mullikin's 10 kills and eight block assists were both team-highs. She ended the tournament with 26 kills and an impressive .388 hitting percentage en route to being named the tournament's MVP.

Wake Forest Rolls Past Norfolk State With 3-0 Sweep

WINSTON-SALEM - Wake Forest picked up its second straight three-set sweep, this time downing Norfolk State 25-11, 25-8 and 25-17 on the second day of the Deacon Invitational. The win sets up a championship match with fellow unbeaten Winthrop at 7 p.m.

Sophomores Kristen White, Lauren McIntyre and freshman Carlin Salmon led the Wake Forest (2-0) attack with six kills apiece. The Deacs were able to get a number of players into the action as 14 different players got their name in the scorebook.

Hurricanes Win Century Tel Premier Volleyball Tournament

San Marcos, Texas - The Hurricanes collected two more wins and Genny Mayhew was named MVP as the University of Miami volleyball team captured a 4-0 record en route to the championship at the Century Tel Premier Tournament hosted by Texas State University.

The Hurricanes swept through opponents Texas-Pan American and Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday as they finished unbeaten in a regular season tournament away from the James L. Knight Sports Complex for the first time since 2005. Ironically, the `Canes opened up that season with a similar unbeaten record on the road in the state of Texas at the Houston Tournament (Houston, Texas).

Miami (4-0) fought past Texas-Pan American in the first match of the day on scores of 25-10, 25-21 and 25-20. The Broncs (1-2) pushed the Hurricanes in each of the last two sets, but committed 21 attack errors in the match to aid the Hurricanes' cause. Meanwhile, the `Canes hit above .300 for the first of what would be two matches on the day with an attack percentage of .347 overall. They had 41 kills to just six errors.

In the final match of the tournament, Miami was just too much for Louisiana-Monroe--a team that won just one match a year ago, as the Hurricanes swept the Warhawks on scores of 25-11, 25-6 and 25-12.

Angelica Ellis led the way offensively with a match-high seven kills while teammate Mayhew picked up five. Carico helped out defensively with eight digs as Loessberg led the way with 10.

Seminoles Win Florida State Invitational With Sweep Over Stetson

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The Seminoles claimed the Florida State Invitational crown for the third straight year with a 3-0 (25-2, 26-24, 25-12) sweep over Stetson on Saturday night inside Tully Gymnasium. FSU's Nikki Baker went on a 17-serve streak to start off the first set, a career high for the junior setter. FSU is now off to a 3-0 to start in 2008, already an improvement over last season when the team started at 2-1.

Not since a 15-1 win over Florida A&M back in 2002 has Florida State allowed fewer points in a set until the 25-2 win over Stetson to start the match. Baker was on a roll early, with 17 straight serves that resulted in 11 FSU kills. Leading the team after the first win of the night was junior Brianna Barry with six kills and one block assist.

Florida State Volleyball Knocks Down Bowling Green In Four

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - In their second match at the Florida State Invitational, the Seminoles came back from a one set deficit to defeat Bowling Green 3-1 (18-25, 25-23, 25-13, 25-22) on Saturday, August 30. FSU is now 2-0 this weekend as it prepares to take on Stetson tonight at 7:00 p.m. on Lucy McDaniel Court at Tully Gymnasium.

The Garnet and Gold got out to a rocky start in the first set, dropping 18-25 with seven attacking and three serving errors. Sophomores Lauren Richardson and Stephanie Neville put down three kills apiece to top the team.

Clemson Volleyball Falls in Big Orange Bash Finale Saturday Night

CLEMSON, SC - The Clemson volleyball team finished second in the Big Orange Bash this weekend after falling victim to a dominating performance by Florida International junior Yarimar Rosa in the tournament finale. The Tigers and Panthers entered Saturday night's match-up with 2-0 records, but Rosa was too powerful for Clemson to defend.

Lia Proctor led the Tiger hitters against the Panthers with 18 kills and also tallied nine digs in the contest. Hepburn and Jeannette Abbott also posted double figures in kills with 16 and 12, respectively. Defensively, Ege had a team-high 16 digs while rookie Brittany Fennell recorded 10 total blocks, a top-five mark for a Clemson freshman.

Earlier in the day, the Tigers downed Charleston Southern, 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-7). Hepburn led the way with 14 kills and a .600 hitting percentage to go along with five total blocks. Rookie Lacy Hayes turned in a strong performance for her second career match, tallying six kills in 11 attempts without an error and recording five assists and three block assists. All 12 active members of the Tiger team saw action in the match.

Blue Devils Rebound With 3-0 Win Over Tennessee State

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Rachael Moss had 18 kills on a .484 hitting percentage to lead the Duke volleyball team to a 3-0 (25-15, 25-14, 25-15) win over Tennessee State Saturday afternoon on day two of the Purdue Mortar Board Premier in Holloway Gymnasium.

Moss, who was named to the all-tournament team, had just three errors on a team-high 31 attacks in the first win of the season for the Blue Devils (1-2, 0-0 ACC). Sophomore middle blocker Becci Burling also turned in nine kills on a .533 clip to help Duke compile a .311 team hitting percentage, which was the highest of the weekend for the Blue Devils.

Duke also hammered eight service aces with Moss and freshman Sophia Dunworth putting down two each. Duke’s other three freshmen – Kellie Catanach, Kayla Kirk and Amanda Robertson also had one ace apiece, as did sophomore setter Alex Sall. Catanach, Sall and junior Christina Falcone combined for 33 assists in the three-set match with Catanach leading the way with 23.

No. 14 Kansas State Tops Duke 3-0

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Led by a combined 28 kills from Rita Liliom and Natalya Korobkova, the 14th-ranked Kansas State Wildcats got past Duke 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-18) on the second day of the Mortar Board Premier in Holloway, Ind. at Purdue University on Saturday.

Kansas State was able to hold Duke to a .188 clip and seniors Sue Carls and Jourdan Norman to six kills each. Both Blue Devils finished with hitting percentages over .300, however, including a .500 (6-for-8, two errors) mark from Norman. Norman also made an impact at the nets once again for Duke and picked up four of Duke’s 5.5 blocks, giving her nine in Duke’s first two matches.

BC Volleyball Defeats Colgate in Four Sets

HAMILTON, N.Y. - Boston College completed the Colgate Classic with a four set victory over host Colgate, giving the Eagles a strong start to the 2008 season.

BC registered its strongest attacking effort of the season against the Raiders, with a .323 hitting percentage for the game.

BC dropped the first set against Colgate, 25-14, before storming back with victories in their next three sets. A close second set was decided by a kill from Mollie Kolosky to give the Eagles a 25-22 win.

BC Volleyball falls to Kent State in Colgate Classic

HAMILTON, N.Y. - After defeating West Virginia in the first game of the Colgate Classic on Friday night, the Eagles were unable to pull out a victory in their second game against Kent State, suffering a 3-1 defeat at Cotterell Court.

The Eagles struggled on the offensive attack, managing a .014 attack percentage against Kent State. The Golden Flashes registered a .160 percentage on their attacks for the game.

Terps Salvage Final Match of VCU Invite with Sweep of Host Rams

RICHMOND, Va. - The University of Maryland received a combined total of 19 kills and seven blocks from middle blockers Lisa Scott and Katie Usher and the Terrapins swept the host Virginia Commonwealth Rams to salvage their third and final match of the VCU Third Degree Sportswear Invitational in Richmond, Va. Saturday evening.

The Terps won by scores of 25-22, 25-19 and 26-24 to give head coach Tim Horsmon his first victory at Maryland.

The Terps (1-2) got off to a good start, erasing several three-point deficits to take the first set by a score of 25-22. Sophomore libero Bethany Springer led an improved defensive effort, recording seven digs in the session. Usher posted four kills in the set, including the clincher. Scott converted all three of her attack attempts for kills. Junior Hayley Hanson notched 12 assists.

Terps Volleyball Falls to Liberty, 3-1

RICHMOND, Va. - Seniors Mary Beth Brown and Maggie Schmelzle moved into fifth place in Maryland history in blocks and digs, respectively, but the University of Maryland volleyball team dropped its second straight match, falling to Liberty in four sets (25-17, 15-25, 16-25, 17-25) Saturday afternoon in the VCU Third Degree Sportswear Invitational.

Brown had five blocks in the match and passed Kelly Malins to move into fifth place all-time in school history with 387 career blocks. Schmelzle had nine digs and passed Sarah Treadwell for fifth all-time in school history.

The Terps (0-2) got great performances from middle blockers Katie Usher and Lisa Scott in the first set as the duo combined for seven of the team's 14 kills in a 25-17 win. The Terps also had three blocks in the set, including two assists each from Scott and Brown. The Terps out-hit the Flames .355 to .179. Maryland went up 9-5 and never led by less than two points the rest of the way. Senior Tedi Doucet recorded six assists in the set.

Tar Heels Drop 3-1 Decision to New Mexico State

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - North Carolina fell to 0-3 on the year on Saturday as it fell 3-1 (24-26, 25-19, 16-25, 16-25) to No. 24 New Mexico State at the State Farm Illini Classic in Champaign, Ill. Junior Christine Vaughen earned all-tournament honors for her efforts through the weekend. The Tar Heels are 0-3 to start the season for the first time in school history but will look to bounce back on their home floor next weekend when they host the UNC Volleyball Classic against Davidson, Georgetown and Missouri State.

Carolina dropped a hard fought opening set 26-24 to the Aggies as the Tar Heels hit a tournament-best .324 but were unable to pull away late in the opening frame. The teams were tied at 20-20 late in the set as New Mexico State attempted to pull away at 23-21 forcing the Tar Heels to mount a rally. Heather Brooks smashed down a free ball and tallied another kill to follow as the Tar Heels took a 24-23 lead as the Aggies called their final timeout. The Aggies would roll off three consecutive points following the break to close out the remarkable comeback set victory.

Carolina Falls 3-0 To No. 11 Oregon

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The University of North Carolina volleyball team dropped its second straight 3-0 decision on Saturday as the Tar Heels fell to No. 11 Oregon in the State Farm Illini Classic in Champaign, Ill. Christine Vaughen and Suzanne Haydel finished with a team-high seven kills apiece as the Tar Heels fall to 0-2 on the year and will close out tournament play at 7 p.m. CT against No. 24 New Mexico State.

Looking to bounce back from a 3-0 loss to open the season Friday night the Tar Heels faced off against No. 11 Oregon in their second match of the State Farm Illini Classic, Carolina fell into an early hole again dropping the opening set 25-19. The Tar Heels were forced into an early timeout as the Ducks jumped out to a 5-1 lead early in the set. A 5-2 run by Oregon bumped the score to 10-3 before Carolina answered with a 4-1 streak of their own to cut the deficit to four at 11-7. Oregon would take four of the next five points as the Tar Heels called their final timeout of the set.

Central Michigan Skirts Past Volleyball

RICHMOND, Va. – NC State dropped two sets by a combined four points in a tough 3-0 loss to Central Michigan during its final match at the Virginia Commonwealth Third Degree Sportswear Invitational on Saturday, Aug. 30. The loss sends the Pack to 0-4 on the young season, while Chippewas climb to 2-1.

Sommer Ivory put up a team-high eight kills for the Pack, with Arlee Tamietti and Allyson Weissberg each adding seven a piece. Alex Smith recorded 22 assists, while Kelly Wood marked off 14 digs. Margaret Salata contributed four total blocks.

Kansas Sweeps Volleyball

RICHMOND, Va. – Kansas (1-1) swept the NC State volleyball team (0-3) in three sets on Saturday, Aug. 30, in the Pack’s first of two matches on the day at the Virginia Commonwealth Third Degree Sportswear Invitational. Co-captain Arlee Tamietti posted nine kills for the second-straight match, while Kelly Wood and Allyson Weissberg added seven digs each. Alex Smith put up 14 assists.

Karina Garlington paced the Jayhawks with 14 kills and five service aces. Nicole Tate supplied 29 assists, and Melissa Manda had 11 digs.