Courtesy of MAC Sport Information Departments
Akron 0, San Diego State 3 // Box Score
Akron 1, FGCU 3 // Box Score
The Akron volleyball team kicked off its 2019 season competing in the Homewood Suites Fort Myers classic, hosted by Florida Gulf Coast. The Zips opened with strong showings in both matches, but it would not prevail, as they would go on to lose to San Diego State, 3-0 (20-25, 19-25, 18-25), and host FGCU, 3-1 (17-25, 26-24, 19-25, 14-25).
Akron is now 0-2 to start its season, while the Aztecs improve to 3-0, and the Eagles pick up their first win of the season, 1-0.
"We did a number of things well today, one of which was pass at a high level. Unfortunately, we weren't as sharp as we could be offensively, and we made some service errors that were costly. Fortunately, these are fixable things that we can hopefully correct against a very good FGCU team tonight.
In the Zips match against San Diego State, Sophomore Teagan Ochaya (Mentor, Ohio) led the Zips with 9 kills, while fellow sophomore Jen Durra (Painesville, Ohio) and junior Alexis Adleta (West Chester, Ohio) had 8 and 6 kills, respectively. Defensively, Adleta led the way with 12 digs, while Ochaya added eight. Junior setter Emily Weigand (Burton, Ohio) dished out 26 assists, while adding six digs.
Throughout the first set, the Zips played well, and stayed within 6 points of San Diego State for the majority of the set. Early in the set, the Zips were able to pull within two, (10-8), thanks to a block by sophomore Hannah Yaconis (Batavia, Ill.) and Ochaya.
The Aztecs would respond by scoring three consecutive points, forcing Akron to call their first of two timeouts. After the timeout, the Aztecs continued to increase the deficit, which forced Akron to call their final timeout of the set with its team down, (18-12).
The Zips showed an improved effort in the second set. After having gained an early lead (7-6), the Zips rattled off two consecutive points, thanks to a kill by Ochaya, followed by a big block by senior Ashley Richardson (Doylestown, Ohio) and Ochaya, which caused the Aztecs to call their first timeout. The Aztecs responded by scoring on seven of the next nine points, and ultimately forcing Akron to call its first timeout, down (16-13).
San Diego State would increase the deficit to five points, which led to Akron calling its second timeout, however the Aztecs would carry its momentum for the remainder of the set and put them ahead, two sets to none.
The third set, much like the first two, saw the Aztecs jump out to an early lead and not look back as they went on to take the final set, (25-18).
In Akron's loss to FGCU, Adleta and Karsner lead the offensive attack for the Zips, who finished with 14 and eight kills, respectively. Weigand dished out 37 assists, while adding five kills. Defensively, Sharrits finished with 21 digs, while Adleta added 11.
In the first set, the Zips opened strong. Weigand put away a well-set ball from Taylor Kuruzovich(Port Matilda, Pa.) to put the Zips ahead, (5-2). The Eagles would respond by scoring 10 of the next 12 points, putting them ahead (12-7). From there, the scoring went back and forth until a four-point run by FGCU would propel them far enough ahead to take the first set, 25-17.
The Eagles carried their momentum into the second set early, attaining a lead, (6-3), over the Zips. From there, the Zips' resilient offense fought back and were able to tie the game at 18. A kill by Weigand on the following point would propel them ahead and force FGCU to call their first timeout of the set.
Out of the timeout, the Zips continued to improve offensively, winning five of the next eight points. With the Zips a point away from taking the set, FGCU fought back to knot the score at 24. From there, two consecutive kills by senior Elya Karsner (Frankfort, Ky.) would lead Akron to the set victory, (26-24).
In the third set, both teams found their stride early on. FGCU quickly took a 4-0 lead, only to be taken right back by the Zips, scoring four in a row and tying the game. From there, back and forth scoring tied the game at eight, until a two-point run by the Eagles put them ahead, (10-8). The Eagles held a lead for the remainder of the set, eventually winning the set and putting them ahead, 2-1.
In the fourth set of the match, the Zips struggled to find its groove, as a five and four-point run by the Eagles in the heart of the set propelled them to win the match, 3-1.
"We did a nice job against a top 50 team on their home court by going into the break tied. We handled a number of situations well enough to put us in that position. Our challenge now is to sustain that for an entire match. We showed a good amount of resiliency with our performance improving from the first match to the second match today. I'm looking forward to seeing what we can do tomorrow against another NCAA tournament team from last year".
The Zips will conclude the final day of the classic tomorrow, Aug. 31, taking on Bryant at 4 p.m.
Ball State 3, UAB 0 // Box Score
Ball State 2, USF 3 // Box Score
The Ball State women's volleyball team opened the 2019 season on a strong note Friday morning in Worthen Arena, sweeping UAB by a score of 3-0 (31-29, 25-23, 25-20) in the opening match of the Ball State Tournament.
Unfortunately, the Cardinals (1-1) could not complete a miraculous comeback in the tournament finally later in the day, as they rallied from down 2-0 to force a fifth set before ultimately falling to USF by a score of 3-2 (25-20, 25-23, 18-25, 21-25, 15-13).
In the morning victory over the Blazers (0-2), the Cardinals were led by a trio of players with 11 kills. Senior Sydnee VanBeek had the best overall attacking numbers with 11 kills and a .318 (11-4-22) attack percentage, while freshmen Natalie Risi and Natalie Mitchem both shined in their collegiate debuts by matching the 11 kills.
Risi finished the match hitting .259 (11-4-27), while Mitchem connected for a .133 (11-7-30) rate of success. On defense, senior libero Kate Avila led all players with 16 digs.
Mitchem turned in an even better performance in the nightcap versus the Bulls (2-0), racking up a career-high 21 kills and hitting an even .200 (21-10-55). Sophomore Reece Kral added 10 kills, while both junior Kia Holder and freshman Marie Plitt connected for nine.
Defensively, Risi collected a team-best 17 digs to go along with five kills against USF, while Avila followed with 16 digs. At the net, Plitt led the Ball State defense with six total blocks, including her first career solo stuff.
For their efforts over the two matches, Ball State's Mitchem and Avila were named to the all-tournament team. Mitchem collected 32 kills for a 4.00 kills-per-set average over the two contests, while Avila corralled 32 digs for a 4.00 digs-per-set average.
The Ball State women's volleyball team will have a quick turnaround, as it travels to Purdue for a 7 p.m. first serve on Tuesday.
Bowling Green 3, Wright State 1
Box Score
The Bowling Green State University volleyball program opened the 2019 season by picking up a 3-1 victory over Wright State, taking the first, second and fourth sets in the win. The Falcons' first win comes ahead of two games on Saturday as part of the Golden Dome Invitational, taking on La Salle and Notre Dame.
Set Scores
Set 1 - Bowling Green 25, Wright State 16
Set 2 - Bowling Green 25, Wright State 21
Set 3 - Wright State 25, Bowling Green 16
Set 4 - Bowling Green 25, Wright State 23
Team Notes
Katelyn Meyer and Katie Kidwell, both members of the 2018 All-MAC First Team, picked up where they left off, with each tallying four kills in the first set of the match.
Towards the start of the second set, Jacqueline Askin registered three service aces early on to set up a quick 5-1 lead for the Falcons.
After Wright State evened the score at 18, the Orange and Brown went on a 7-3 run to capture the second set victory.
In the fourth and final set, the Falcons utilized a 7-2 run to begin the set to propel the team to their first win of the season against the Raiders.
Strong Individual Performances
Coming off of being named to the All-MAC First Team as a freshman, Katelyn Meyer rattled off 18 kills for the Falcons in the win, marking a new career high at BGSU. Previously, Meyer's high was 16 kills against Eastern Michigan last season.
Pulling from her dominant play in the BGSU Exhibition, junior Jacqueline Askin contributed 11 kills, matching a career high, as well as leading the team in service aces with three.
In the digs department, Julia Walz took over the top of the list, registering 26 digs over the course of the match, setting a new career high. During the 2018 season, Walz totaled 40 digs for the season, making Friday's performance only 14 digs away from matching her season total from a year ago.
Junior Katie Kidwell led the team in total blocks with four while also adding seven kills against the Raiders.
Freshman Petra Indrova tallied eight kills in her debut donning the Orange and Brown while also tying for second on the team in digs with nine.
Up Next
Bowling Green will conclude the Golden Dome Invitational tomorrow with two games set to play. First up will be La Salle at 10 a.m. followed by Notre Dame at 7 p.m.
The Falcons will return to the Stroh Center on Sept. 6 & 7 to host the Hampton Inn Bowling Green Invitational to open the home slate of their schedule.
BGSU will compete against Charlotte and Butler on Sept. 6 with Cleveland State scheduled for Sept. 7.
Buffalo 0, Alabama 3
Box Score
The University at Buffalo volleyball team dropped a 3-0 decision to SEC-foe Alabama on Friday afternoon in Buffalo's first match of the season. The match was part of the season-opening UB Invite.
The Crimson Tide took the contest 25-20, 25-23, 25-22 as Alabama hit .180, opposed to just .093 for the Bulls. UB had a number of opportunities in the match, but couldn't capitalize in front of a rowdy crowd of 718 people.
Buffalo trailed 16-13 in the opening set when the Bulls rattled off four straight points to take a 17-16 lead. However, Alabama responded with three straight to go ahead 19-17. Overall, it was an 8-2 run for Alabama who went ahead 24-18. UB fought off two set points before Alabama took the opening set, 25-20.
The Bulls trailed 9-8 early in the second set when they went on a 5-1 run to take a 13-10 lead. Trailing 17-16, UB scored four straight points to go ahead 20-17. A kill by senior Polina Prokudina gave Buffalo the 23-19 advantage, but that would be UB's final points of the set as Alabama scored the final six to take the set, 25-23.
Buffalo got out to a huge lead in the third set as the Bulls raced out to a 7-1 lead. Overall it was a 9-3 advantage for the Bulls, which included three blocks from freshman Abby Leigh, who was playing in her first regular season collegiate match.
Alabama was able to fight off the early Buffalo run as the Crimson Tide cut it back to within two at 13-11. The Bulls led 15-12 when Alabama scored four straight to take the lead. The set would remain tied at 17-17 until Alabama went on a 4-0 run, taking a 21-17 advantage. Buffalo would pull back within one at 22-21, but a 3-1 Alabama run ended the set and the match.
Prokudina led all players with 10 kills, while senior Rachel Sanks added eight. Leigh had six kills and just two errors. Junior transfer Lexi Nordmann added four kills as did senior setter Scout McLerran. The Friendsville, TN native also added a team-high 22 assists.
Sophomore Paige Beck finished with 10 digs, while Prokudina added eight. Both teams had 11.0 total blocks as Leigh and Nordmann both finished with six.
Overall, Alabama went 2-0 on the day as the Crimson Tide defeated Marist 3-0 in the opening match of the day.
Saturday's action will continue with three matches, beginning at 10 am when Alabama will host Colgate. The second match at 1:30 pm will feature Colgate and Marist, while Buffalo will play in the final match of the night at 6:30 pm against Marist.
Central Michigan 3, Maryland Eastern Shores 1
Box Score
The Central Michigan volleyball team opened its season on Friday, downing Maryland Eastern Shore in four sets at the St. Francis Brooklyn Terrier Classic.
The Chippewas posted a 25-15, 22-25, 25-22, 25-11 victory.
"I thought set one and four, we really dominated," CMU coach Mike Gawlik said. "I thought we were really good with all phases of our game. We put a lot of pressure on at the service line, and it allowed us to run some points.
"In set two, I thought they flipped the script on us. They got hot from behind the service line. They had a couple of servers who really put pressure on us. They had quite a few aces in that second set. We were constantly dealing with passes that were off the net, and only leaving us with one option.
"Overall, I was pretty pleased with the maturity as a team to kind of rebound from set two, a set that didn't go our way. We found a way to win in set three, and opened it up in set four from the service line."
HOW IT HAPPENED
After splitting the first two sets, CMU found themselves tied late in the third set at 22. They would score the next three points to win the set. CMU finished the fourth set with a .471 hitting percentage.
"When you're winning, you can serve a little more aggressively because you're like 'OK, I missed, it's no big deal, we're winning,'" Gawlik said. "When you're playing from behind, sometimes you stop serving aggressively. So, I thought in sets one and four, as we opened up a lead on the scoreboard, you can take a deep breath and serve with a lot more relaxed aggression."
As a team, CMU finished with 42 kills, 41 assists, a hitting percentage of .253, and 13 aces.
LEADERS
Junior outside hitter Kalina Smith led CMU in kills with 12, while sophomore middle blocker Maddie Whitfield added 10. Meg Kern had a team-high 13 digs, while setter Kendall Braate had 34 assists and 11 digs.
Middle blocker Lisbeth Rosario-Martinez had seven kills on 10 attempts, finished with a team-best .700 hitting percentage.
NEXT
CMU will play a doubleheader to finish the Terrier Classic on Saturday. The Chippewas are scheduled to play Saint Peter's at 9 a.m., and then will take on NJIT at 4:30 p.m.
Eastern Michigan 3, Utah State 2 // Box Score
Eastern Michigan 0, Southern Utah 3 // Box Score
The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team returned to action for the 2019 season at the Utah State Tournament Friday, Aug. 30. The Eagles took down host Utah State University in a thrilling five-set match, 3-2, to kick off their time in the Beehive State, and then fell 3-0 to Southern Utah University to wrap up the day.
Eastern 3, Utah State 2
Trailing two sets to one and facing match point at 25-21, EMU rallied to win the fourth set, 27-25. The momentum carried over for the Eagles into the fifth set, as they took a lead at 8-7 and never looked back. The Green and White outscored the Aggies 7-3 the rest of the way, getting their first win of the season.
Junior Franki Strefling (Niles, Mich.-Buchanan) led the Eagles with 16 kills and finished with a .311 attack percentage, while also putting up 20 digs for her first double-double of the campaign. Redshirt senior Cassie Haut (Monroe, Mich.-St. Mary Catholic Central) added 15 kills while hitting .419. Junior April Houston (Minneapolis, Minn.-Southwest) had 10 kills of her own and also led the way defensively at the net, adding five total blocks.
Joining Strefling as keys to the Eagles' defense were Camille Schomer (Rochester, Mich.-Oakland Christian) and Riley Taylor(Indianapolis, Ind.-Perry Meridian). Playing as libero, Schomer put up 20 digs and added six assists, while Taylor had a double-double of 28 assists and 10 digs. Freshman Jayden Otto (Crystal Lake, Ill.-Prairie Ridge) added 18 assists.
Southern Utah 3 Eastern 0
The second match of the day did not last long, as Eastern struggled to hang with the high-octane offense of Southern Utah, falling 18-25, 26-28, 17-25.
Strefling once again led the offense for EMU, finishing with 11 kills in the match. No other Eagle finished with double-digit kills, but Haut finished the match with eight kills and a .500 hitting percentage. Sophomore Julia Fisher (Kailua, Hawaii-Le Jardin Academy)followed up a six kill performance in the first match of the day with another game of six kills, while also hitting .308 against the Thunderbirds.
Taylor acted as the lead distributor in the match for Eastern, finishing with 26 helpers to go along with five digs and two aces. Schomer tacked on 12 more digs and three assists in the nightcap.
EMU returns to action in its finale of the Utah State Tournament Saturday, Aug. 31 when it plays Xavier University at 12 p.m. MT.
Kent State 3, Eastern Kentucky 0 // Box Score
Kent State 1, Charlotte 3 // Box Score
Four of seven sets were decided by just two points as the Kent State volleyball team went 1-1 at the Charlotte Invitational on Friday. The Golden Flashes started the day with a 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-17) win against Eastern Kentucky and then fell to host Charlotte, 3-1 (24-26, 25-23, 24-26, 20-25).
Freshman Savannah Matthews totaled a team-high 28 kills and added 26 digs in her first collegiate action. Sophomore Danie Tyson led Kent State in hitting percentage (.405) while posting 16 kills. Redshirt sophomore Alex Haffner recorded 74 assists to go with 21 digs and 11 kills. Sophomore Erin Gardner led the defense with 43 digs.
Match 1: Kent State 3, Eastern Kentucky 0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-17)
After a narrow two-point victory in the opening set, Kent State went on to sweep Eastern Kentucky with a more comfortable margin of victory in each of the following sets.
The first 24 points of the day featured 11 ties and four lead changes until the Golden Flashes took the lead for good at 13-12. Leading by two late in the set, Kent State scored six of seven points for a 24-17 lead. The Colonels continued to fight an got within 24-23, but Savannah Matthews delivered a clutch kill to close the set.
Four different Flashes had kills on successive points for the largest lead in the second set, 13-6. Eastern Kentucky never got within four the rest of the way, and Matthews once again recorded the set-winning kill.
After trailing by one early in the third set, Kent State used a 12-4 run to begin pulling away. Alex Haffner's solo block put an exclamation put on the victory. The Flashes posted their fewest kills (8) of the night in the set, but limited mistakes with only one attack error while EKU committed 11 attack errors.
Kent State held the Colonels to a .061 hitting percentage and kept them under .100 in every set. Erin Gardner tallied a match-high 16 digs to lead the floor defense, while Savannah Matthews and Carissa Reyes added eight digs apiece. Jacqlyn Caspers had five blocks in her college debut.
Matthews led the offense with nine kills. Danie Tyson recorded kills on seven of her 14 errorless swings. Alex Haffner had 25 assists and kills on five of six attempts.
Match 2: Charlotte 3, Kent State 1 (24-26, 25-23, 24-26, 20-25)
Charlotte found a way to score at critical moments to come out on top in a contest that featured 42 ties and 11 lead changes.
Kent State led 23-21 in the first on a kill by Savannah Matthews, but the host 49ers won five of the next six points to steal the set.
The Golden Flashes used a 9-3 run in the middle of the second set to flip a five-point deficit into a 16-15 lead. Back-to-back kills by Matthews would make it 22-20, but the late lead disappeared once again as Charlotte went ahead 23-22. Alex Haffner stepped up to prevent another close loss with a kill to tie it. Haffner then connected with Matthews for a kill and teamed with Danie Tysonon a block to give it to the Flashes, 25-23.
The third set emulated the first, as Charlotte scored six of the final seven points for a 26-24 victory.
With the score tied at 16-16 in the fourth, the 49ers pulled away with a 7-1 run. Kent State continued to battle and won three of the next four points before a kill gave Charlotte the 25-20 victory.
Savannah Matthews (19 kills, 18 digs) and Alex Haffner (49 assists, 15 digs) recorded double-doubles. Haffner also matched her career-high with six kills. Melissa Kolurbasi added 10 kills.
Four Flashes tallied double-digit digs in the match. Erin Gardner led the way with 29 digs and Carissa Reyes had 12 digs.
Miami 3, Virginia Tech 1
Box Score
It was a successful opener for the Miami University volleyball team as it took a 3-1 (25-21, 25-20, 18-25, 25-17) victory over Virginia Tech to begin play at the Miami Best Western Sycamore Inn Invitational on Friday. The RedHawks start the year with a 1-0 record, while the Hokies fall to 1-1.
Senior Margaret Payne picked up right where she left off last season. She put down 12 kills and had six blocks (one solo and five assisted). She made only one error in 21 attempts for an attack percentage of .524. Sophomore outside hitter Sophie Riemersma also had a strong performance with 11 kills. She made only one error in 20 attempts for an attack percentage of .500.
It was a bit of a slow start as Virginia Tech took a 5-3 lead to begin set one. Miami would tie the score at six, but the Hokies eventually pushed the advantage back to three at 12-9. Back-to-back kills from junior right side hitter Avarie Powell sparked a 9-1 run that put the RedHawks on top, 18-13. A pair of kills each from Payne and Riemersma helped maintain that lead as Miami eventually took a 25-21 win.
After a kill from sophomore outside hitter Gaby Harper, Payne scored four straight blocks, teaming up for three of them with Powell to put the Red and White up 5-2 in set two. Miami continued to hold around a four point advantage until another block from Payne and Powell sparked a 6-1 run that gave the RedHawks their largest lead of the set at 19-10. Virginia Tech did not give up, as they were able to get to within four points, but their service error allowed Miami to finish off a 25-20 victory.
The Hokies jumped to a 7-3 advantage to being set three. Kills from senior outside hitter Taylor Daignault, freshman outside hitter Lindsay Taylor and Payne, along with a service ace from junior setter Morgan Seaman were part of an 8-3 run that put Miami on top 11-10. Virginia Tech answered with a 9-3 run of its own to take control at 19-13. Despite two more kills from Daignault, the RedHawks were unable to get closer as the Hokies took a 25-18 win.
Seaman got set four off to a great start with two straight service aces. The first career kill from freshman outside hitter Allyson Severance, along with one from Daignault put the RedHawks in front, 5-2. VT would eventually go in front 11-10, but back-to-back kills from junior right side hitter Sarah Wojick and Riemersma put Miami ahead to stay. Riemersma had three more kills to help increase the advantage to 17-13. The Red and White eventually pulled away for a 25-17 victory and a 3-1 win in the match.
Daignault had seven kills for the RedHawks and led the team with 15 digs. Seaman had 26 assists, while sophomore setter Louise Comerford had 21. Miami hit .234 for the match and held Virginia Tech to a .164 attack percentage.
The RedHawks will conclude play at the Miami Best Western Sycamore Inn Invitational with two matches on Saturday. Miami will take on South Carolina Upstate at 1 p.m. It will then face Northwestern at 7 p.m. Both matches will air live on RedHawks All-Access for those who have a subscription.
NIU 1, SIUE 3 // Box Score
NIU 3, Fairleigh Dickinson 1 // Box Score
The Northern Illinois University volleyball team opened its 2019 season on Friday, splitting its first two matches of the NIU Invitational at Victor E. Court. The Huskies opened their day with a 3-1 (25-21, 18-25, 25-14, 27-25) win over the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights, then closed the evening with a 3-1 (24-26, 25-23 16-25, 23-25) loss to the SIU Edwardsville Cougars.
"It was nice for us to win the first match of the day against FDU," said head coach Ray Gooden. "I think all the teams this weekend are in that position where they're all really trying to have a good start. I thought there were moments where we did some pretty good things. There were a little more peaks and valleys than we wanted. At the end, it was nice for us to pull out the really tough game at the end to win that match."
NIU (1-1) came out firing in its first set against FDU (0-2), hitting .294 as a team with three service aces from Kennedy Shelley (Burlington, Colo./Lewis-Palmer) to win it 25-21. After dropping the second set 25-18, the Huskies jumped out to a 12-6 lead in the third on the strength of kills by Jasmine Kemp (DeKalb, Ill./DeKalb), Kennedy Wallace (Kansas City, Kan./Piper), and freshman Kaitlyn Bell (De Soto, Kan.). The NIU lead grew to 10 at 19-9 after another Kemp kill. NIU hit .478 in the third set, winning it 25-14.
The fourth set proved to be a back-and-forth affair with eight ties and three lead changes. The Huskies trailed 12-10 when back-to-back Miranda Karlen (Evansville, Wis./Evansville) aces sparked a 9-2 run that put NIU up 19-14. Bell had four kills in that stretch as well. The Knights chipped away at the Huskie advantage, eventually tying the set at 24 on a Victoria Demmene kill and taking a 25-24 lead on an NIU error. That was the last point for FDU, as NIU won the last three to win the set 27-25 and the match 3-1.
The Huskies hit .264 as a team against FDU with Bell leading the way with 14 kills. Kemp added 12 while hitting a team-high .478 and Wallace put down 11 kills. Balensiefer led the match with 49 assists as Karlen had a match-high 22 digs.
NIU's second match of the day against SIUE (1-1) was about as close a match can be, with three of the four sets decided by two points. The Huskies hung with the hot-hitting Cougars in the opening set, as SIUE hit .314 to NIU's .125. NIU battled out of a 20-16 hole to take a 23-20 lead with a 7-0 run that included two Karlen aces. The Cougars won six of the last seven points in the frame to win the set 26-24.
The Huskies used a 7-0 run midway through the second set to take a 22-15 lead, powered by a combined six kills from Bell and Wallace. NIU earned set point at 24-19 on a Balensiefer kill but had to withstand a late charge from the Cougars. SIUE won the next four points to get the score to 24-23. Kemp put down a kill on NIU's fifth set point to win the set 25-23 and tie the match at one set all. SIUE went back up in the match 2-1 with a 25-16 win in the third, hitting .333 to the Huskies' -.042.
The fourth set featured eight ties and three lead changes. NIU led early 7-5 when a Rachel McDonald kill sparked a 7-1 SIUE run that put the Cougars up 12-8. The Huskies stormed back with a 6-1 run of their own as a Peyton Tilly (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) kill put NIU back in the lead 20-17. NIU led 22-19 when a Gabby Wimes kill started a five-point SIUE run that gave the visitors match point at 24-22. The Huskies fought off one match point on a Tilly kill, but McDonald's 21st kill of the night gave SIUE the set 25-23 and that match 3-1.
"I think we need to have a better understanding of the situation," Gooden said following the SIUE match. "I think we have to manage situations better to know what we need to do and that takes some leadership and getting a little bit of toughness. We did a good job in the second set and battled. We just need more of that."
Tilly, Wallace, and Bell each led NIU with nine kills against SIUE. Balensiefer had 33 assists as Karlen led NIU with 14 digs and three aces. The Huskies had seven blocks in the game, led by Wallace's three. The Cougars hit .245 in the match to NIU's .123.
NIU closes this weekend's NIU Invitational Saturday at 1 p.m. at Victor E. Court against UC Riverside, which won both of its matches Friday.?
Ohio 1, Wis-Green Bay 3
Box Score
The Ohio volleyball team (0-2) fell to Green Bay (2-0), 3-1 (25-18, 27-25, 18-25, 25-17), on Friday evening inside the Kress Center during the second match of the Green Bay invite.
Junior opposite Maggie Nedoma (Brook Park, Ohio) had 19 kills and hit .267 on 45 swings. Nedoma added seven digs and three blocks in the four-set match. Her 19 kills tied the second-highest output in her career.
Senior outside hitter Lizzie Stephens (Dallas, Texas) had her first double-double of the season and the 23rd of her career with 11 kills and 12 digs. Her 12 digs was the second-most on the team.
Redshirt sophomore Dahlias Bouyer (Brownstown, Mich.) had a team-high .412 attacking percentage after producing eight kills on 17 swings. Bouyer had a team-best four blocks, all assisted.
Sophomore outside hitter/right side Lauren Park (Millersburg, Ohio) had four kills while graduate transfer Shayla Phillip (Columbia, S.C.) and freshman outside hitter Olivia Margolies (Galena, Ohio) each had three.
Junior setter Vera Giacomazzi (San Vendemiano, Italy) dished out 43 assists and added 10 digs for her first double-double of the season and the 23rd of her career. Giacomazzi led the team to 49 kills. Junior libero Macy Reihing (Lexington, Ky.) and Stephens each had two helpers while Nedoma had one.
Junior libero Macy Reihing (Lexington, Ky.) produced a team-high 25 digs. Stephens had 12 and Giacomazzi had 10 to round out their double-doubles while senior defensive specialist Meredith Howe (Grand Rapids, Mich.) had nine scoops. Nedoma had seven and eight total players recorded at least one dig.
After Bouyer's four blocks, Nedoma had three that were all assisted. Olivia Margolies had two assisted blocks while Phillip had one solo and one assisted stuff.
Freshman defensive specialist Ciara Livingway (Lake Orion, Mich.), Stephens, Nedoma and Reihing had one service ace.
Overall, Ohio had 49 kills compared to Green Bay's 52. Ohio hit .167 on 150 swings while GB hit .240. OU was outblocked 9-7 while the Bobcats produced 10 more digs than the Phoenix, 70-60.
The Bobcats will finish the Green Bay Invite against Northeastern on Saturday. First serve is set for 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT.
Ohio 1, Fresno State 3
Box Score
The Ohio volleyball team (0-1) dropped its regular season opener to Fresno State (1-0), 3-1 (25-15, 25-16, 16-25, 28-26) on Friday afternoon in the Green Bay Invite.
Senior outside hitter Lizzie Stephens (Dallas, Texas) led the way for Ohio with 14 kills on 38 swings. Redshirt sophomore middle blocker/opposite Dahlias Bouyer (Brownstown, Mich.) recorded a career-high with 10 kills on a career-best .529 hitting percentage. Graduate transfer Shayla Phillip (Columbia, S.C.) had nine kills in her first match as a Bobcat.
Junior setter Vera Giacomazzi (San Vendemiano, Italy) dished out 40 assists and recorded eight digs and three kills. Stephens and junior libero Macy Reihing (Lexington, Ky.) each had two assists.
Reihing led the way on the back line with 13 digs. Junior opposite Maggie Nedoma (Brook Park, Ohio) and Giacomazzi had eight scoops for Ohio while freshman outside hitter Olivia Margolies (Galena, Ohio) and senior defensive specialist Meredith Howe (Grand Rapids, Mich.) tallied three each.
Ohio had six team blocks, while Bouyer and senior outside hitter Sara Januszewski (Oak Creek, Wis.) posted three assisted blocks each. Phillip and Giacomazzi each had two blocks while Stephens posted one solo stuff.
Overall, OU had 48 kills and hit .209 on 129 attempts. Fresno State recorded 55 kills and hit .248. Ohio was outdug by the Bulldogs 51-44 and had one ace compared to FSU's five.
Ohio will continue the Green Bay Invite later tonight when they take on host Green Bay. First serve is set for 8 p.m. ET. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Toledo 0, North Dakota State 3
Box Score
The University of Toledo women's volleyball team opened its regular season on Friday night, falling to North Dakota State in three sets.
NDSU won the first two sets by the same score, 25-16, before pulling away to win the third set, 25-14.
Junior Chloee Kleespies tallied a team-high eight kills and added eight digs, while junior Rhyen Neal led the way with a match-high 11 digs. Three freshmen made their collegiate debuts on Friday- Ryann Jaqua, Abby Ray, and Olivia Vance.
The Blue and Gold Tournament will continue with four matches on Saturday. Toledo will battle Western Kentucky at Noon before playing Loyola at 7:00 p.m. WKU and North Dakota State will start the day's action at 10:00 a.m., and the Bison and Ramblers will play at 4:30 p.m.
Set 1
The Bison used a 7-0 run to jump out to a 9-2 lead over the Rockets. Toledo then put together a 5-0 charge that was punctuated by a service ace from Kleespies and made the score 9-7. That would be the closest the Rockets would get in the first set, as NDSU ended up winning 25-16 to take a 1-0 lead in the match. Kleespies and senior Zoe Birnbrich both registered three kills in the first set. Jaqua added seven digs, tied for the most by a player in a single set on Friday.
Set 2
The second set ended in the same score as the first, 25-16, and saw the Bison take a 2-0 lead in the match. NDSU controlled the set from the start, eventually finding its way to a 16-5 lead over Toledo. The Bison used a 14-3 run to get to that point, and used a .308 hitting percentage in the second frame to come out on top. Kleespies once again led the way statistically for the Rockets, tallying four kills and five digs in the second frame.
Set 3
North Dakota State came out firing in the third set, taking a quick 4-0 lead, and never looked back. The Bison used a match-high .433 hitting percentage in the third set to cruise to a 25-14 win and take Friday's match in straight sets. NDSU ended the night on a 9-3 run to take the set and the match. Junior Emma Swope added five kills for the Rockets in the final set of the night.
Western Michigan 3, South Alabama 0 // Box Score
Western Michigan 3, Purdue Fort Wayne 2 // Box Score
The Western Michigan volleyball team opened its 2019 campaign with a doubleheader sweep at the Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational on Friday, defeating South Alabama in three sets (25-11, 25-14, 25-16) before taking down host school Purdue Fort Wayne in five (25-19, 25-23, 20-25, 23-25, 15-12).
With the victories over the Jaguars and Mastodons, the Broncos begin the season 2-0 for the first time since 2014. Western Michigan will conclude the Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational on Saturday, Aug. 31 against Northern Kentucky at 1:30 p.m.
On Friday, WMU had three players with over 20 kills with junior Rachel Bontragerleading the way with 31 in two games. The Valparaiso, Ind., native also had 24 digs and five service aces. Sophomore Meredith Phillips ranked second on the team with 25 kills highlighted by a career-high 19 against Purdue Fort Wayne.
Freshman Rose Duffy and junior Mary Marzo each tallied over 30 assists with Duffy registering 56 while Marzo had 32 on the day. Senior Kathleen Reilly led the Broncos with 35 digs while Duffy, Marzo, Bontrager and freshman Maggie Kingeach recorded double digit digs.
Game One vs. South Alabama (25-11, 25-14, 25-16)
It was a fast start to the 2019 campaign for the Broncos who defeated South Alabama in three sets (25-11, 25-14, 25-16) in the opening match of the Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational.
As a team the Broncos hit .394 while holding the Jaguars to a .141 hitting percentage. Leading the way for the Brown & Gold offensively was junior Rachel Bontrager with 14 kills and a .357 attack percentage. Bontrager also poured in six digs, two assists and two service aces.
Senior Kathleen Reilly led the Broncos with 21 digs against the Jaguars while freshman Rose Duffy and junior Mary Marzo each had 16 assists. Marzo also notched four service aces in her Bronco debut as WMU totaled eight service aces.
Making her Bronco debut, freshman Maggie King ranked second on the team with nine kills while sophomore Meredith Phillips ranked third with six. Senior Willow Martin and redshirt sophomore Janell Williams each had four in the morning match.
The Broncos got off to a fast start in the first set, racing out to a 10-5 lead. South Alabama cut its deficit down to five before WMU went on a 5-1 run to grab a 16-8 lead, forcing the Jaguars to take a timeout. Down the stretch, Bontrager registered back-to-back kills in a 25-11 set one victory.
WMU and South Alabama battled back and forth to begin the second set before a Bronco run midway through helped preserve the 25-14 set two win. After a South Alabama timeout and WMU leading 13-8, the Brown & Gold went on a set-clinching 12-6 run to earn a 2-0 lead in the match.
In the third set WMU held on to a slim 12-10 lead before embarking on an 8-2 run to propel the Broncos ahead. The run was highlighted by three service aces including back-to-back from Rachel Bontrager. To end the match, WMU got kills from King and Bontrager to secure the first victory of the 2019 campaign.
Game Two at Purdue Fort Wayne (25-19, 25-23, 20-25, 23-25, 15-12)
In the night cap the Broncos defeated host school Purdue Fort Wayne in a thrilling five-set match to close out day one of the Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational with a 2-0 record.
The Broncos had four players with double digit kills with sophomore Meredith Phillips leading the way with a career-high 19 along with a staggering .406 attack percentage. Bontrager earned her first double-double of the season with 17 kills to go along with 18 digs.
Freshman Rose Duffy led the way with a career-high 40 assists while Mary Marzohad 16 to go along with five digs and one kill. Senior Kathleen Reilly led the way for the second game in a row with 23 digs.
In the first set, Western Michigan and Purdue Fort Wayne battled back and forth en route to a 7-7 tie before the Broncos went on a run resulting in two kills and a service ace to take a 12-8 advantage. WMU extended its lead to 18-11 later in the first after four straight kills led to the Mastodons calling a timeout. Out of the timeout, PFW cut its deficit down to five before a late charge by the Brown & Gold secured the first set victory.
Western Michigan got off to a strong start in the second set, scoring seven of the first eight points to hold a 7-2 lead. However, Purdue Fort Wayne rallied back with a 9-1 run to regain the lead before a Bronco timeout. Later in the set tied at 23-23, Rachel Bontrager delivered with back-to-back kills to give WMU a 2-0 lead in the match.
Purdue Fort Wayne rallied back in the third as WMU held the lead for just one point at 18-17 prior to a Mastodon timeout. Out of the timeout, PFW rallied with four straight points to take back the lead and ultimately went on an 8-2 run to clinch the third set win.
The fourth set was tightly contested as neither team led by more than two. Late in the fourth, the Broncos went on a 3-0 run to secure a 23-22 lead before the Mastodons responded with three straight points to force and fifth and final set.
The Broncos got off to a fast start in the fifth, registering three straight kills to begin the set and raced out to a 6-3 lead. Purdue Fort Wayne cut its deficit down to one midway through the set before a block by Bontrager and redshirt sophomore Charley Andrews propelled the Bronco lead back to 8-6. To end the set, Andrews delivered with a kill down the left line to give WMU the five set win.
