Friday's Volleyball Results
Akron 3, Morehead State 1
Central Michigan 3, Albany 0
Central Michigan 3, Saint Louis 2
Buffalo 3, Montana 1
Kent State 3, South Dakota State 2
Northern Illinois 3, UNCW 2
Ohio 3, Butler 1
Western Michigan 3, UAB 0
Western Michigan 3, SIU Edwardsville 1
Creighton 3, Ball State 2
Texas A&M 3, Bowling Green 2
Oakland 3, Eastern Michigan 1
Valparaiso 3, Eastern Michigan 2
Cleveland State 3, Miami 2
Virginia Tech 3, Toledo 2
Stories courtesy of MAC Sports Information Departments
Akron 3, Morehead State 1
Boxscore
HUNTINGTON, WV --The Akron volleyball team took down the Morehead State Eagles 3-1 (25-23, 23-25, 25-15, 26-24) Friday at Cam Henderson Center.
Akron posted the first win of the season and moved to 1-3 on the season.
The Zips were led by a double-double from Faith Johnson, who registered 14 kills and 11 digs on the day. Lauren Baker also added 12 kills to help the offense. On the defensive end, Vanessa Del Real chipped in with 12 digs to go with two blocks from Karleighana Jones.
The Zips opened up an early one set to none lead, winning a nail-biter first set 25-23. Akron grabbed the advantage for good at 21-20 in a set that showcased two lead changes before the Zips took over in the second half of the stanza.
Akron dropped the second set 25-23 to even the match 1-1. Morehead State grabbed the advantage for good at 24-23 in a set that was tied up seven times before the Eagles took over in the second half of the stanza.
Akron put the second-set loss behind and grabbed a 2-1 match lead with a win in set three. The Zips took control of the set early when the score was 2-1 and held the lead the rest of the way to win 25-15. Akron ended on a strong note, opening up its biggest lead of the stanza, 10 points, to close out the set.
Akron kept the momentum going, claiming the match win with a 26-24 set-four victory. The Zips survived a back-and-forth set to win in a stanza that featured six lead changes and was tied 11 times. Neither team was able to grab a lead larger than four points along the way. Akron also supplemented their offense with three aces in the set.
Central Michigan 3, Albany 0 | Boxscore
Central Michigan 3, Saint Louis 2 | Boxscore
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – In a fashion fitting to the group, the Central Michigan Volleyball team rebounded from a tough opening weekend to start the Chippewa Invitational 2-0 after victories over UAlbany and Saint Louis.
Central Michigan defeated UAblany in their first game, 3-0 and continued on to beat Saint Louis 3-2 in a thrilling nightcap rally. The victories for the Chippewas marked wins number 99 and 100 for Head Coach Mike Gawlik who is five games into his 8th season at CMU.
In the first game of the day, Central Michigan grabbed their first victory of the 2023 season over the UAlbany Great Danes, 3-0. In the victory, the Chippewas were led by Krystina Kasson who finished with 8 kills, hitting .400 on the day, and two blocks.
Aly Gurtiza, a mainstay for the Chippewas in the starting lineup for three seasons now, has taken on a role as a captain where she looks to more leadership. Gurtiza finished the first game with 13 digs and two assists. However, Gurtiza finds a vast amount of benefit in being an energy maker for her team.
Game two for the Chippewas on day 1 of the Chippewa Invitational concluded with a true thriller against Saint Louis. In 2022, the Chippewas played seven five-set games, and were victorious in five of those seven. So, for Mike Gawlik and some of his players, this is not uncharted territory.
Sophomore Claire Ammeraal thinks that leaning on the bit of experience the team does has was vital to the victory. "I think one thing that was helpful was our experience from last year, where we had a lot of reverse sweeps. The people who were returning were able to say "Hey, we have been in this situation before, we got this."
In the late night victory, Krystina Kasson led CMU again with 13 kills, while Devon Bright followed behind with 9. Bright, a transfer from Nicholls State, is not new to Division 1 volleyball, but is still fresh to Chippewa Volleyball.
Central Michigan will close out the Chippewa Invitational as they face Bradley (1-1 in the tournament) who fell to Saint Louis on day 1.
The game is set to take place in McGuirk Arena on Saturday, September 2nd at 3:30 pm.
Buffalo 3, Montana 1
Boxscore
BUFFALO, N.Y. – The University at Buffalo women's volleyball team (5-0, 0-0 MAC) closed day two of the UB Invite on Friday evening against the Montana Griz (1-4, 0-0 Big Sky). The Bulls came out victorious against the Griz with a four-set victory, 25-14, 25-20, 23-25, 25-20.
The Bulls had a season-high .345 hitting percentage on the evening with 55 kills. Leading the charge was Katrin Trebichavska with a match-high 16 kills. Courtney Okwara continued to be on the best hitters in the country as she had eight kills on 14 attempts, finishing with a .429 hitting percentage. Emma Gielas got in on the party as she had nine kills on 19 attempts with no errors.
Mandy Leigh continued where she left off adding 41 assists to her career total. As a team, they racked up 10 service aces, a season high. Manoela Forlin had a match-high four aces. Maria Futey finished with a match-high 17 digs and 20 receptions.
Just like last night against DePaul, the Bulls dominated the first set. They had an attack percentage of .440 to Montana's .160. It was a back-and-forth set as the Griz led 6-5, but that would be their last lead of the set. The Bulls went on a 10-4 run leading to a Montana timeout. Leading 15-10, the Bulls took advantage of the Griz's errors, to make it 21-12 in the set. Abby Leigh finished the set off with a kill off an assist from her sister, Mandy Leigh.
It was a fairly even set on the attack, as the Bulls had the .333 to .306 edge. The second set finished with nine ties and seven lead changes, the most on the night. Down 2-0, UB went on a 5-0 run after great serves from Forlin, including two aces. Montana tied the set at five before taking a 9-8 lead. They extended their lead to three, leading 12-9. However, the rest way, the Bulls outscored the Griz, 16-8. It was wash, rinse, repeat, as A. Leigh closed the set out with another kill.
It was a dead even third set with both squads hitting at .333. Montana had a slight edge in the service department as thy had four aces to UB's one. It looked as though the Bulls would sweep the Griz, as they led 10-7, but the Griz had other plans. The Griz were then out in front 12-11, but the Bulls battled back to lead 14-12. Tied at 19, a kill from Montana's Paige Clark gave the Friz a 20-19 lead. A mental mistake by the Bulls on a serve extended the Griz's lead to 21-19. The momentum swung the Griz's direction as it forced the Bulls to call a timeout. Montana won the set, 25-23.
The Bulls defense stepped up in the fourth set as they limited Montana's attack to a .077 hitting percentage, forcing six errors. The offense was clicking for the Bulls as they started off with a 7-0 lead before Montana called a timeout. Mantana, however, went on a run of their own. A 4-0 run made it a 7-4 game, but the Bulls got hot and went on a 5-0 run to take a 12-4 lead. The Griz called their final timeout. The confidence started to sway toward the Griz as they got within two, with the Bulls leading 19-17. Down the home stretch, the Bulls capitalized on three Montana attack errors before Forlin called game.
The Bulls are back in action tomorrow at 3 p.m. against Binghamton (3-2, 0-0 AEC). Day three of the UB Invite will open up with DePaul facing Montana at 11 a.m.
Kent State 3, South Dakota State 2
Boxscore
CORALVILLE, Iowa – Kent State volleyball earned their first win of the 2023 season in a hard-fought, five-set match (25-23, 22-25,25-21, 20-25, 15-10) against South Dakota State in the opening game of the FRYfest Invitational, hosted by Iowa, on Friday night.
The Golden Flashes improve to 1-3 on the season after a tough opening weekend last week in Indianapolis. Kendall White, Karina Salinas, and Logan Henderson led the Flashes with nine kills each.
Kiana Mack posted a season-high seven blocks and five service aces in the win added 31 assists, her highest mark of the season.
Kent State fell behind early, trailing 14-6, but roared back thanks to three blocks by Kiana Mack. The Flashes went on an 8-1 run to get within striking distance before Anna Shoemake's first kill of the match tied it up at 19-19. After a South Dakota State timeout, the Flashes went on a 4-1 run to go up 24-21, and a kill from Mack on the third set-point opportunity gave the Flashes the opening set.
The Flashes jumped out to a 9-4 advantage, but the Jackrabbits went on a five-point swing to tie it up. After going up 19-15, a pair of aces led to another run from South Dakota State to even it up once more. After the Flashes tied it up at 22-22, the eighth time in the set that the score was level, the Jackrabbits scored three straight points to take the set.
The Flashes found themselves down 20-13 but ended the set on a 12-1 run. White tallied two aces and two kills in the run and Walters added a pair of important kills. Shoemake delivered the dagger with a kill of her own to secure the set.
The Flashes jumped out to an 11-7 lead, but the Jackrabbits went on an 11-1 run. Kent State cut the lead to two, 22-20, thanks to an ace from Salinas and a kill by Henderson, but South Dakota State won the final three points to fourth a fifth set.
Kent State lost the first three points of the set but stormed back to take a 7-4 lead. Henderson led the charge for the Flashes with four kills in the deciding set. Roberts and Lily King each tallied an ace as the Flashes extended their lead, and Salinas secured the Flashes' first win of the season with one of her own.
Kent State will face off against host Iowa in the second game of the FRYfest Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 2. First serve against the Hawkeyes is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Northern Illinois 3, UNCW 2
Boxscore
DAVIDSON, N.C. – Nikolette Nedic (Willowbrook, Ill./Hinsdale Central) recorded a match-high 17 kills as the Northern Illinois University volleyball team earned a five-set victory (25-23, 22-25, 16-25, 25-18, 15-11) over UNC Wilmington on Friday afternoon (Sept. 1) at Davidson's Wildcat Classic. The Huskies held the Seahawks .128 hitting in the match as head coach Sondra Parys earned her first collegiate victory.
After falling behind 2-1, the Huskies hit .371 in the fourth set and .308 in the fifth to come from behind for the victory. Charli Atiemo (Milford, Mich./Farmington Hills Mercy) recorded 12 kills and Katie Erdmann (Forreston, Ill./Forreston) had 10 kills in the contest, Crew Hoffmeier (Louisville, Ky./Assumpton) tallied a match-high 36 digs.
NIU took the opening set, 25-23. The Huskies led 23-19 until a three-point burst from UNCW brought the Seahawks within one, 23-22. The two teams then traded points before a kill from Savanah Brandt (Pearl City, Ill./Pearl City) gave the opening set to the Huskies. Atiemo had five kills in the opening set, hitting .444.
UNCW led the second set, 22-17, before three consecutive kills from Atiemo brought the Huskies back within just two, 22-20. NIU trimmed the UNCW lead to just on, 23-22, on another kill from Atiemo before back-to-back Seahawk kills evened the match at one.
A 6-0 run early in the third set gave the Seahawks a 10-3 lead. The UNCW advantage grew to 15-5 as the Seahawks went on to take the third, 25-16.
Leading by one, 9-8, in the fourth, NIU used a three-point burst to take a four-point lead, 12-8. Nedic opened the burst with a kill before a UNCW error and an ace from Sophie Hurt (Elmhurst, Ill./IC Catholic Prep). NIU's advantage was two, 12-10, before a 5-0 run gave the Huskies a 17-10 lead. The Huskies went on to take the set, 25-18, hitting .371. Nedic recorded six kills on nine swings, hitting .556, while Erdmann added four kills.
The fifth set was tied at eight before back-to-back kills from Brandt and Isabelle Percoco (Charlotte, N.C./South Mecklenburg) put the Huskies in front by two. UNCW pulled back even at 10 before Seahawk service error gave the lead back to the Huskies. NIU scored four of the last five points, all four on kills from Nedic, to give the Huskies the fifth set, 15-11.
Nedic had six kills in the set, hitting .600, as NIU hit. 308 as a team in the final set.
NIU will be back in action on Saturday, Sept. 2, in the Wildcat Classic. The Huskies will play host Davidson at 11 a.m. CT on ESPN+ and will then face Queens at 2:30 p.m. CT.
Ohio 3, Butler 1
Boxscore
DAYTON, Ohio – The Ohio University volleyball team (3-1, 0-0 MAC) opened the Dayton Flyer Classic with a 3-1 (33-31, 18-25, 25-22, 25-18) victory over Butler (3-1, 0-0 BIG EAST) on Friday. The Bobcats were led by sophomore Anna Kharchynska (Kyiv, Ukraine), who recorded a season-best 19 kills, 10 blocks and 24 points.
Other major contributors to Ohio's win include graduate student Parker Kwiatkowski (Grand Rapids, Mich.), who tallied 36 assists, and freshman Kam Hunt (Sylvania, Ohio), who earned a career-best 18 points.
After trailing in for the first half of the set, the Bobcats came back with a 33-31 win. Ohio was down 14-9 before making a five-point run, tying the set at 14-14. With 19 ties and nine lead changes throughout the set, the Bobcats found themselves in a close battle with the Bulldogs. A kill from Kharchynska's, assisted by Kwiatkowski, put the Bobcats up by one at set point. Butler's attack error off senior Sam Steele's (Omaha, Neb.) serve gave Ohio a 1-0 lead to start the match.
Butler tied the match at 1-1 as they defeated Ohio, 25-18, in the second set. The Bobcats originally held the lead, but the Bulldogs were victorious after a strong 9-1 scoring run.
It was a tight battle as the two teams fought to claim another victory in the third set. Ohio gained a 2-1 lead in the match after four-straight points that resulted in a 25-22 win over Butler. After an attack error from the Bulldogs, Hunt created the scoring run with an ace, recording her 11th point of the match. Two Bobcat kills from graduate student Caitlin O'Farrell (Suwanee, Ga.) and junior Caroline Clippard (Cincinnati, Ohio) secured the win for Ohio.
Ohio carried its momentum into the fourth set where it secured a 3-1 win over Butler. For majority of the set, the Bobcats maintained a lead over the Bulldogs. Ohio continued to dominate the set as the team broke away from Butler with 21-14 lead off a 3-0 scoring run. The Bobcats found themselves at match point after a kill from Clippard. The set was then decided by a service error from Butler.
At the end of the match, Ohio finished top of the leaderboard in three categories. Kharchynska ranked first in kills (19), blocks (10) and points (24). With the win over Butler, the Bobcats improve to 3-1 with a three-match win streak.
Ohio will continue competition at the Dayton Flyer Classic on Saturday, Sept. 2 with matchups against North Dakota State at 11 a.m. and tournament host, Dayton, at 7 p.m.
Western Michigan 3, UAB 0 | Boxscore
Western Michigan 3, SIU Edwardsville 1 | Boxscore
CHICAGO – The Western Michigan volleyball team won a pair of matches on Friday, knocking off UAB, 3-0 (25-14, 25-14, 25-16), and SIUE, 3-1 (25-20, 25-18, 20-25, 25-20), during the first day of the UIC Invitational.
Logan Case served up 29 assists to help Western Michigan hit a season-best .337 in the first contest of the day against UAB. Anna Calcagno led the Broncos with 10 kills, while Maggie King had eight and Keona Salesman hit a blistering .636 to add seven kills.
Defensively, Andelyn Simkins posted a team-high nine digs, with Calcagno registering eight and Case pitching in with seven.
In the first set against UAB, Western Michigan used an 8-2 run to jump out to a 12-4 advantage. With the margin at 18-12, the Broncos rattled off five consecutive points to put the first frame beyond reach from the Blazers.
Five straight points helped the Brown & Gold to an 8-2 to start in the second set. UAB posted a four-point run to climb back to within three, 13-10. With their advantage at 17-13, the Broncos notched five consecutive points to begin an 8-1 set-sealing stretch to grab a 2-0 lead in the contest.
A 9-3 stretch turned a slight deficit into an 11-6 cushion for WMU in the third frame. Leading 16-11, the Broncos went on a 6-1 run to extend their margin out to 22-12 and essentially put the match away. Western Michigan hit .385 in the final set to help seal the victory.
In the nightcap, it was Salesman leading the WMU attack with 19 kills on a .317 hitting percentage. The senior was joined in double-figures by King (13 kills) and Amanda Glanton (10). King also added 10 digs for her first double-double of the campaign.
Case handed out 47 assists and came just shy of a double-double, posting eight digs. Simkins once again led the Broncos in digs with 13.
A 5-1 run put Western Michigan ahead, 11-8, in the first set. SIUE whittled its way back to within two, 15-13, but the Broncos countered with four in a row to boost their advantage to 19-13. The Cougars drew no closer than four the rest of the way as the Brown & Gold grabbed the opening frame.
WMU broke a 4-4 deadlock in the second set with a 7-1 spurt to open up an 11-5 lead. SIUE immediately responded with six of the next seven to close the gap to one, 12-11. The Broncos hit back, using a 10-1 surge to make it 22-12. The Cougars worked the margin back down to six, 24-18, before a Salesman kill ended the set in favor of the Broncos and put Western Michigan ahead in the match, 2-0.
SIUE was quick out of the gate in the third set, as it notched the first four points. WMU got back even at 8-8, but a pair of 4-0 runs helped the Cougars build a 17-10 advantage. The Broncos got as close as two, including at 22-20, but SIUE closed it out from there with three consecutive points to extend the contest into a fourth frame.
A three-point run in a closely contested third set gave Western Michigan a little bit of breathing room at 13-9. Holding a 15-13 edge, the Broncos rattled off four straight points to begin an 8-2 surge which increased the margin to 23-15. SIUE staved off three match points, but WMU then closed it out to remain undefeated at 6-0.
The Broncos close out play at the UIC Invitational on Saturday afternoon as they take on the tournament host, UIC. First serve is slated for 2 pm on ESPN+.
