North Dakota State 3, South Dakota State 2 (25-21, 20-25, 25-23, 24-26, 15-7)
FARGO, N.D.--Libero Kelly Lopez made a match-high 27 digs as North Dakota State outlasted South Dakota State for a five-set victory in Summit League women's volleyball Saturday, Nov. 7, before a season-high crowd of 1,808 at the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse.
North Dakota State won 25-21, 20-25, 25-23, 24-26, 15-7. It was the 19th straight home win and 35th straight Summit League for the Bison, who broke the league record of 34 set by Northern Illinois from 1992 to 1993.
The Bison upped their record to 20-3 overall and 16-0 in the league. South Dakota State fell to 9-16 overall and 8-8 in the league.
Lauren McLaughlin and Chrissy Knuth had 15 kills apiece and Brooke VandenBergh had 13 kills for the Bison, who outhit SDSU by a .180 to .120 margin.
NDSU prevailed despite committing a season-high 14 service errors and getting outdug by sixteen, 109-93. Libero Stacey Wernert had 24 digs and Fiona Jones had 20 to lead five SDSU players in double digits.
Jones had a team-high 16 kills and Kelly Herrmann added 12 kills for South Dakota State.
For complete results, please visit www.gobison.com and www.gojacks.com
Southern Utah 3, Centenary 0 (25-16, 28-26, 25-14)
CEDAR CITY, Utah - Nov. 7 - Southern Utah women's volleyball posted its second consecutive 3-0 sweep on Saturday night as the Thunderbirds recorded a 25-16, 28-26, 25-14 victory over the Centenary Ladies. The win moves the T-Birds to 8-18 on the year and 6-10 in conference play, while Centenary drops to 4-22 and 0-15 in Summit League play.
The Thunderbirds dropped the first two points of the opening set as the team came out cold. However, SUU quickly turned things around and went on a 4-0 run to take a 4-2 lead on an Analaine Pelaez kill. The lead would not change hands again as Southern Utah cruised to a 25-16 first-set victory on back-to-back kills from Cashaana Renfro and Jazmine Ma'afala.
Southern Utah recorded the first point on the second set, but the road proved to be a little more rocky as the home team was down by as much as 16-8 midway through the frame. The T-Birds slowly began to chip away at the lead, coming to within one at 19-18, but were down 24-21 late in the set. However, SUU was able to shake off three set points to tie the game at 24-24 and finally took the set 28-26 on a Kylie Yardley service ace.
The T-Birds got out to their best start of the year in the third set, taking an 8-0 lead and built the advantage to as much as 12 (21-9) late in the stanza. Southern Utah surrendered five points down the stretch, but ultimately took the set and the match with the 25-14 outcome.
Pelaez led all players with 19 kills, but was followed closely by Ma'afala with 17 kills. Both athletes hit over .350, with Ma'afala recording a .464 hitting percentage for the match. Brittney Clark directed the Thunderbird attack with 42 assists, as Pelaez and Courtney Lelepali led the team with nine digs during the night.
For complete results, please visit www.suutbirds.com and www.gocentenary.com
IPFW 3, Western Illinois 0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-22)
Macomb, IL - The IPFW Mastodons swept the Western Illinois Leathernecks on Saturday evening 25-23, 25-20, 25-22, shrugging off any after-effects of the team's tough three-set loss the night before, moving one step closer to earning their third Summit League Tournament bid in as many years in the league.
Rebekah Roehm tied for the match-high with 15 kills, as Maya Schlindwein added 10. Taryn Parker and Stephanie Lamberti were each near the double-figure mark with seven kills each. Roehm led the team with 11 digs for her 35th career double-double, which ties the senior for the fifth most career double-doubles in school history.
Schlindwein led the team with four blocks, as Alli Hook and Parker had three apiece. Schlindwein also added a trio of service aces, as freshman setter Megan Steenhuysen dished out 41 assists, as 44 of the team's 45 kills were assisted on the evening.
With the evening's win, the Mastodons improve to 10-6 in the Summit League, and have moved into third place in the league standings with one weekends' worth of contests remaining. North Dakota State has secured the regular season title, and IUPUI has a slim lead on the IPFW and Oakland for the second seed. The Jaguars are 11-6 in the conference, while the Mastodons and Grizzlies are both 10-6, with IPFW holding the tiebreaker over their travel partner, Oakland.
IPFW trailed on just one occasion in the opening set, when the hosts scored the match's first point, leading 1-0, before the Mastodons ran off runs of 5-0 and 3-0 to lead by six at 18-12. Ahead by six at 24-18, the Leathernecks fought back, scoring five straight points to put the set in doubt, but a Roehm kill ended the comeback hopes for the hosts in the 25-23 opening-set win.
Early goings in the second set were a tight effort, as the teams found themselves tied at every increment from two to six, and again at eight before the hosts ran off three straight points to lead 11-8. The Western Illinois lead grew to as many as four at 17-13, before the 'Dons mounted a comeback, ending the set on a 12-3 run, putting IPFW ahead 2-0 heading into the between-set intermission.
Western Illinois jumped ahead early in the third set, but would lead by only as many as two on a pair of occasions, until IPFW scored six straight points to lead by five at 11-6. The 'Dons would not trail again; however, the feisty Leatherneck squad fought back, and eventually tied the set at 20 and 21. With the team's knotted at 21, IPFW put its foot on the gas pedal, and scored four of the match's last five points to secure the sweep.
Cait Egan led Western Illinois with 15 kills, as Krissy Bergquist added 13. Ellen Miller had a match-best 20 digs, with Lindsay Muehlbauer adding 14. Miller, in addition to her high dig total, dished out 40 assists to pace the Leathernecks.
For complete results, please visit www.gomastodons.com and www.goleathernecks.com
IUPUI 3, Oakland 0 (25-10, 17-25, 25-18, 25-17)
INDIANAPOLIS -- The IUPUI volleyball senior class of 2009 recorded their 60th win in four seasons with a 3-1 win over Oakland on Saturday night at The Jungle. Celebrating Senior Night, the Jaguars set a new school record for wins in a season with their 19th, moving into sole possession of second place in The Summit League with the 25-10, 17-25, 25-18, 25-17 victory. With the win, the Jags clinched a berth in The Summit League Tournament.
IUPUI (19-9, 11-6 Summit) finished a sweep of the teams tied for second entering the weekend by dispatching Oakland (17-8, 10-6 Summit) a day after taking out IPFW. The Jaguars stood on their heads defensively -figuratively and literally - coming up with 91 digs in the four sets to go along with 10 team blocks.
A day after Danielle Goodnight set the school's all-time assists record, it was fellow senior Ashely Johnson's turn, picking up her 19th solo block of the season to set a new single-season record for the Jaguars.
In the back row, Shari Bernhardt led all players with 25 digs, while Lauran Thompson and Rachel Holmes each had 14 digs. Holmes, Kalyse Reimbold and Danielle Goodnight each posted double-doubles, with Reimbold recording 11 kills to go along with 12 digs. Holmes posted 10 kills while hitting .212; Goodnight finished two kills shy of a triple-double but finished with 37 assists and 14 digs.
Those adjustments were readily apparent in the opening set, as the Jaguars raced out to a 10-4 lead and never looked back. Strong services kept the Grizzlies on their heels throughout the opening set as IUPUI continually went on 2-0 and 3-0 runs to stretch their lead to as much as 14 points at 22-8. Hillary Houston gave the Jags their first set point with an ace, and an Oakland service error closed the set.
Having won by 15 points to start the match, the Jaguars seemed a little sluggish in the second set, as the Grizzlies seized momentum early in the set; just as IUPUI had raced out to an early lead, Oakland did the same, taking a 9-2 lead to force a Jaguar timeout.
Slowly, though, IUPUI came back, eventually cutting their deficit to five points at 21-16, before the Grizzlies threw up a dual block to stop the Jags' comeback aspirations. The Grizzlies evened the match on a kill from Allison Bell, sending the teams to their locker rooms tied.
The senior-laden Jaguars did not need much a pep talk from Payne, returning to the court shortly after the second set ended, seemingly having made the necessary adjustments in play. After the team traded points early on, it was the Jags who began to pull away, as Bernhardt's service gave Oakland fits.
The sophomore did not tally an ace during her seven-point run, but in keeping the Grizzlies off-balance, it opened up the IUPUI attack, as Monica Suding tallied two key kills during the run, while Holmes and Reimbold chipped in as well.
Shortly after the Jaguars had built a 10-point lead, though, Oakland sliced the gap in half, closing to within 17-12 before Goodnight tallied a kill on a well-placed ball to the back corner to settle the Jaguars and swing momentum. Another Goodnight kill closed the set, giving the Jags a 2-1 lead.
Playing well defensively, it felt as if IUPUI's two-point lead early in the fourth set was actually larger, but the Jaguars slowly constricted the court on Oakland, coming up with dig after dig to fuel their offense. The defense helped turn an 8-7 deficit into a 12-8 lead for the Jags, as Thompson's serve kept Oakland guessing.
Oakland's timeout at 10-8 did little to slow the Jaguars, as they began trading one point for two points and eventually opened a 19-13 lead after a soft tip ball from Thompson.
Kills from Reimbold, Thompson and Johnson put the Jags in position to claim the match, which they did on a ball-handling error by Oakland.
For complete results, please visit www.iupuijags.com and www.ougrizzlies.com
UMKC 3, Oral Roberts 1 (25-20, 25-23, 22-25, 25-21)
Kansas City, Mo. - It had been 18 years since the UMKC volleyball team had beaten Oral Roberts in Kansas City, but the 'Roos snapped that streak on Saturday night, beating the Golden Eagle, 3-1, at the Swinney Recreation Center. The win marks the first time ever that UMKC has defeated ORU twice in the same season and only the second time that it has won two matches in a row over the Golden Eagles.
Jamie Hagerman led the squad in the match, as the senior tallied 18 kills, 13 digs and five blocks, while hitting .395. Christiana McQuin, meanwhile, added 12 kills, eight blocks and five digs, while hitting .226.
The Kangaroos jumped ahead in the match, taking the first set 25-20. The squad fell behind early in the set, not taking its first lead until midway through at 13-12. After building the lead to three, the 'Roos would allow Oral Roberts to retake the lead on four straight points at 15-17. UMKC would reel off 10 of the next 13 points though, and finish the set off on a kill by sophomore Brittany Fossier. McQuin finished the first set with five kills and three blocks, while setters Erin Wellwood and Holly Schmidt notched six and five assists, respectively.
The 'Roos would take a 2-0 lead into halftime after beating ORU 25-23 in set two. In the set, the team took a commanding 11 point lead at 24-13 before allowing the Golden to reel off 10 straight points to pull within one at 24-23. An Oral Roberts hitting error though, gave the 'Roos the set and the 2-0 lead. Sophomore Kelsey Knoche led the way for the team, registering team highs of five kills and seven digs. Wellwood, meanwhile, finished with nine assists, while Fossier tallied four kills and three blocks.
The Golden Eagles would take a hard fought set three, 25-22, to pull within one set at 2-1, as UMKC was led by Hagerman's six kills and Wellwood's eight assists.
The Kangaroos closed out the match in set four, downing ORU, 25-21. The 'Roos fell behind early in the set; dropping five of the first six points. The squad would finally capture the lead for the first time at 13-12. UMKC would never trail again, while leading by as many as six, and finish the match off on a kill from Hagerman. The team was again led by a big set from Hagerman, as the outside hitter finished with nine kills and four digs. Sophomore Nicole Kerkman registered six digs for the team, while Schmidt added five assists.
In the match, Knoche finished with her 15th double-double of the season, as the Lee's Summit native recorded 11 kills and 12 digs. Fossier and Elizabeth Beck added 11 and seven kills to the team's efforts, while Wellwood and Schmidt chipped in 27 and 22 assists, respectively. Defensively, Kerkman recorded 16 digs and the team registered 14 blocks.
For complete results, please visit www.umkckangaroos.com and www.orugoldeneagles.com
Courtesy: The Summit League
