Southland Conference

Three Southland Teams Stay Perfect on Opening Day

8/28/2010 4:34:00 AM

UTSA 3, OIe Miss 2
HOUSTON - UTSA began its 28th season of play in dramatic fashion, as it not only rallied from a 2-0 deficit, but the Roadrunners also fought off nine match points for a come-from-behind 18-25, 21-25, 34-32, 25-17, 20-18 victory against Mississippi in the opener of this weekend's Rice Invitational.

Sophomore Whitney Walls led a quartet of players in double figures with 17 kills and she hit .395 in her 38 attacks, while senior Kendra Rowland added 15 winners on 60 swings. Sophomore Brittney Malloy racked up a career-high 13 (.320 pct.) and junior Elise Huskey chipped in with 11.

Meanwhile, sophomore setter Kelsey Schwirtlich was outstanding in her first career contest quarterbacking the offense. The Corpus Christi native handed out 60 assists, the program's highest total in nearly three years (64/Rebecca Hrapmann/Sept. 1, 2007).

"This was a great way to start the season," ninth-year head coach Laura Neugebauer-Groff said after the victory. "I'm so proud of how the girls fought back and they never gave up. Ole Miss really took it to us in the first two sets and we easily could have folded after each of the four match points in the third set and the other five in the fifth, but we didn't and that's a testament to this group and how badly they wanted to open the year with a win. I'm really excited to see how they respond tomorrow against Rice and (Texas) Tech."

The Rebels (0-1) hit a combined .260 while limiting UTSA (1-0) to just a .088 percentage, en route consecutive victories to open the match.

The third set was a doozy, as the Roadrunners used a 15-7 run following a timeout midway through the frame and they appeared to be on their way to pushing the tilt to a fourth stanza.

However, Ole Miss scored five points in a row to knot the set at 22 and it went on to stave off a set point by the Birds at 24-23. The Rebels then had a pair of chances to finish off the sweep at 25-24 and again two points later (26-25), but UTSA was up for the challenge. It had two more chances to extend the match at 27-26 and 28-27, but Mississippi hung tough and had two more opportunities to end things. The Roadrunners once again fought off elimination and it wasn't until the seventh set point that they forced a fourth frame.

UTSA broke open a 9-all fourth stanza with an 11-4 run and the match went to a deciding fifth set.

The Roadrunners took control early, racing out to an 8-3 lead, but the Rebels once again clawed their way back, this time to the tune of a 10-4 stretch, which gave Ole Miss a 13-12 advantage. After UTSA tied things up at 13, Mississippi scored for its first of five match points in an eight-point stretch, but the Birds fought all five off and senior Briana Mason's block of Emily Kvitle clinched the thrilling victory.

Defense keyed the Roadrunners' comeback, as UTSA not only collected 83 digs in the match, but it also held the Rebels to a .128 hitting percentage in the final three sets.

Junior Kelsey Jewasko racked up 27 digs, the second-best total of her career, to lead four players in double figures. Huskey added 14, while Schwirtlich and Rowland had 11 and 10, respectively. Malloy, meanwhile, added a pair of block solos and two block assists at the net.

Allegra Wells led Ole Miss with 16 kills and Whitney Craven added 24 digs.

UTSA concludes play at this weekend's season-opening event with a pair of matches on Saturday. The Birds will take on tournament host Rice at 12:30 p.m. and Texas Tech four-and-a-half hours later. The Owls swept the Red Raiders in Friday's second contest.

Northwestern State 3, Louisiana Tech 1
Northwestern State 3, Arkansas State 2
JONESBORO, Ark. - The 2010 season got off to a great start for the Northwestern State volleyball team and new co-head coaches Hugh and Stephanie Hernesman as the Lady Demons downed Louisiana Tech 3-1 in the opening game of the Arkansas State Classic on Friday morning then followed that with a 3-2 win over host Arkansas State in the nightcap.

The 2-0 record to start the season is the first time that's been done since the 1999 slate.  Northwestern will try to stay perfect on the year when it takes on Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 1 on Saturday in its attempt to bring home the championship.

In the nightcap, the Lady Demons fell hard in the first set, dropping a 25-11 decision, but the team rebounded to win the second and third sets by 25-21 and 25-23 scores.  Arkansas State (1-1) evened the match up at two sets apiece after a 25-16 win in the fourth set but the Lady Demons closed out the win with a 16-14 victory in the fifth and deciding set.

Senior newcomer Kourtney Adams led the squad with 12 kills to go along with 19 digs and a .345 attack percentage while seniors Brittany Fruge and Taylor Deering added 10 kills apiece.  As a team, Northwestern hit .194 for the match and had 66 digs.

In the first match of the day against Louisiana Tech, Northwestern won the first set by a 25-22 score despite falling behind 11-3 early on in the frame.  The Lady Demons trailed 18-10 when they rallied to outscore the Lady Techsters 15-8 the rest of the way to take the win.

Tech won the second set 25-18 but Northwestern bounced back to take the third and fourth sets by scores of 25-23 and 25-21 to take the match.

Deering and Adams led the offense with 10 kills each. Deering also led the team with a .194 attack percentage while freshman setter Lauren Joyner posted a double-double with 30 assists and 12 digs.

Freshman libero Sarah Gillis finished the match with 12 digs as did senior hitter Megan Manning.

Senior middle blocker Laranda Spann added eight kills with a team-high eight blocks, three of those solos.

Sam Houston State 3, Prairie View A&M 0
Sam Houston State 3, Marist 0
HUNTSVILLE, Texas - After the first day's action in the Comfort Suites Sam Houston Invitational, only two volleyball teams remain unbeaten.

Sam Houston and Eastern Michigan both won their two matches Friday. The Bearkats defeated Prairie View and Marist in straight sets while Eastern Michigan topped the Panthers in three and went four in a win over Louisiana-Lafayette.

The Eagles and the Bearkats will meet at 11:30 a.m. Saturday. Sam Houston also will play Louisiana-Lafayette at 7 p.m.

Carli Kolbe and Kaylee Hawkins produced 13 kills apiece to lead Sam Houston in the victory over Prairie View A&M. The contest was the season opener for Sam Houston.

After an error on the first point, the Kats rolled off seven straight kills to go up 7-1 in the first set and roll to a 25-19 margin in the first frame.

The Kats never trailed in the second set, winning 25-18. Against SHSU roared out to a quick 5-1 start.

Bu, with several reserves taking over in the third set, the contest became a fight. Prairie View won the opening five points and kept the lead until Hawkins tied the score 15-15 with a kill.

The Panthers continue to roar, building a 21-18 lead before Sam Houston took over on Hawkins serve. Kim Black, Camille Alfaro and Courtney Laskowski each had kills and Hawkins served an ace to bring up match point. Laskowski aced the Panthers to earn the victory.

Kolbi was the kill leader for Sam Houston in the victory over Marist with 11. Kelli Stewart and Hawkins each added nine kills.

Sam Houston led most of the match with only nine ties and four lead changes coming in the match. Three of the lead changes were in the second set.

The Bearkat front line totaled 12 blocks with Hawkins leading the way having a hand in six of the blocks.

Central Arkansas 3, Northern Arizona 0
LARAMIE, Wyo. - The Central Arkansas volleyball team opened the 2010 season with a three-set sweep of Northern Arizona at the University of Wyoming Invite on Friday afternoon. The Sugar Bears downed the Lumberjacks 25-23, 25-18, 25-17.

Northern Arizona led 19-15 in the first set, but UCA fought back with three kills from senior right side Chloe Smith during an 8-3 run. The Lumberjacks tied it at 23-all, but sophomore middle blocker Taylor Hammonds ended the set with back-to-back kills.

The Sugar Bears cruised to victories in sets two and three to sweep the match.

Central Arkansas connected on 40 kills and had a .228 hitting percentage for the match, while NAU had 29 kills and hit .088. The Sugar Bears also held a 7-3 advantage in service aces and outblocked the Lumberjacks 8-2.

Junior outside hitter Jessica Hays paced Central Arkansas with 14 kills and 13 digs. Smith added 13 kills, seven digs and three block assists. Freshman middle blocker Jessica Nagy led all players with six total blocks to go with four kills and three aces. Junior libero Cristin Curl came up with 11 digs and freshman setter Marissa Collins had 39 assists. Hammonds recorded seven kills and hit a match-best .462.

Lexi Sullivan led NAU with 10 kills and Anna Gott had 12 digs.

Wyoming 3, Central Arkansas 0
LARAMIE, Wyo. - Central Arkansas fell to the University of Wyoming in three sets at the Wyoming Invite on Friday night. The Cowgirls (2-0) swept the Sugar Bears (1-1) 25-18, 27-25, 25-18.

In front of a crowd of 706 fans, the host Cowgirls outhit the Sugar Bears .216 to .087 and held a 34-30 kills advantage. UCA struggled offensively, making 21 attack errors, compared to 13 for Wyoming.

The Cowgirls defense came up with nine blocks, while the Sugar Bears only managed one.

Freshman middle blocker Jessica Nagy was UCA's top offensive weapon, connecting on eight kills while making just one error for a .538 attack percentage. Junior outside hitter Jessica Hays served a career-high six aces and led the team with nine kills to go with eight digs. Junior libero Cristin Curl led all players with 11 digs and senior Chloe Smith had 11 digs and seven kills. Senior Chloe Evavns came up with seven digs.

Jodi Purdy led the Cowgirls with 10 kills and 10 digs and Lauren Whitney also had 10 kills. JennaRae Jester recorded seven blocks.

The Sugar Bears will be back in action on Saturday, taking on Murray State at noon and Southern Utah at 6 p.m.

Montana 3, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 0
STARKVILLE, Miss. - The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi volleyball team suffered a 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-22) setback against the Montana Grizzlies to open the 2010 season in the Mississippi State Maroon Classic on Friday morning.

The Islanders are now 0-1 on the year and will be in action again on Friday evening at 5:00 p.m. against UALR.

The team was led in kills by senior Emma Ridley with 10 while several freshmen made significant contributions in their first collegiate match.  Micah Nolan recorded 27 digs from the libero position in her first match while Logen Bourque led the team with 21 assists as the setter. Brooke Alverson led the team with four block assists while transfer Amanda Lowe had the only block solo of the match for the Islanders to go along with one block assist.

"I think all of the freshmen had moments where they were pretty good," said head coach Tony Graystone. "We just have to work to get more consistent all around."

The Islanders took an early 4-1 advantage on a pair of kills from Ridley along with one from Alverson and a Grizzlies service error. Montana scored four-straight points to make it a 5-4 score. The two teams battled for most of the set with the Islanders holding a 14-12 lead before the Grizzlies went on a run, scoring 13 of the next 17 points to win by a 25-18 final.

In set two, the Islanders trailed most of the way before knotting the score at 21-21 on a Paige Hoffler service ace.  They were unable to complete the comeback however, absorbing a 25-21 loss to fall behind 0-2 in the match.

"It was a disappointing start," said Graystone. "The worst part was that we were in each of the last two sets but couldn't finish.

"We have to improve on that quickly."

The third set was a heartbreaker for the Islanders as they fell behind early before taking the lead at 15-14 on a Montana attack error. They built the lead to 19-15 on a Shannon Hullum kill and maintained the four-point lead at 21-17 on a Ridley service ace before five-straight points gave the Grizzlies a 22-21 advantage. Isabella Arcidiacono tied it back up at 22-22 with a kill, but the Islanders were unable to complete the comeback, falling 25-22 in the final set.

"All of the freshmen showed enough that we are happy about them moving forward," said Graystone. "It's just late in the set that we have to have confidence to close it out."

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 3, Arkansas-Little Rock 2
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Senior Emma Ridley picked up where she left off last season as the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi volleyball team held on to take a 3-2 (25-17, 26-24, 21-25, 23-25, 15-8) win over the UALR Trojans to finish the opening day of the season. Ridley had a team-high 21 kills in the match, her second double-digit match of the season and the 27th of her Islander career. She now sits at 495 kills, and will become just the 10th player to reach the 500 kill mark in program history with five more kills.

The Islanders are now 1-1 on the season after losing by a 3-0 final to Montana in the first match of the day. UALR falls to 0-2 after day one of the Mississippi State Maroon Classic. It was also career win No. 325 for Graystone.

Freshman Isabella Arcidiacono also made a big impact in just the second match of her collegiate career as she recorded 16 kills to finish second on the team.

"Bella got off to a great start then they started making some changes on how they defended her," said Islanders head coach Tony Graystone. "They did a better job on her and it was a cat-and-mouse game the rest of the match.

"That is part of being a freshman, learning how to score points and make adjustments when they are focusing on you."

In the first set, the Islanders fell behind early by an 8-4 score before three kills by Arcidiacono and three UALR attack errors tied the match up at 10-10. Kills by Amanda Lowe and Ridley gave the team its first lead of the match at a 12-10 score. A flurry of five kills from Ridley, in addition to kills from Shannon Hullum and Brooke Alverson, stretched the lead to 20-14 in favor of the Islanders. Arcidiacono finished off the set with back-to-back kills to make it a 25-17 final in the first.

In the second set, three kills by Ridley gave the Islanders a 3-1 lead early on. The two teams battled to a 9-9 tie ahead of an Islander run sparked by a pair of Hullum service aces that gave the team a 13-9 advantage. It would grow to as many as seven points after back-to-back kills from Arcidiacono made it 20-13 in favor of the Islanders.

After a UALR timeout, the Trojans made a run that tied the match at 24-24 just before a kill by Ridley and a Trojan attack error gave the Islanders a 26-24 victory in the second set.

The Trojans fought back to win the next two sets by 25-21 and 25-23 to force a decisive fifth set.

"We played good in the first couple of sets," said Graystone. "They made a run on us at the end of the second game so we were fortunate to be up 2-0 early on.

"They really made a push on us in the third and fourth sets.  It wasn't that we were playing bad, they just played that well."

In the fifth set, the Islanders started out strong, getting three kills from Ridley and a service ace from Logen Bourque to make it a 5-2 advantage. The Trojans came back with a run of their own to bring the score to within one at 9-8 before the Islanders closed out the match with six-straight points. Three attack errors and a bad set from UALR contributed to the run while a service ace by Micah Nolan and a kill by Ridley finished off the match at 15-8.

"A big moment we remember in the match is when Jordan Flemmer came in at the end of the fourth set," said Graystone. "She came in with fresh legs and, even though we lost the fourth set, you could tell she made a big difference."

Flemmer finished with four kills in seven chances for a .571 hitting percentage.

In addition to the kills from Ridley and Arcidiacono, Hullum added eight while also having a team-high five service aces. Ridley, Bourque and Nolan added one service ace each.

The Islanders had five players with double-digit digs, led by Nolan with 21. Freshmen Paige Hoffler and Bourque added 13 each, while senior Jessica Jennett had 12 and Ridley rounded out the group with 10. Bourque had 39 assists from the setter position while Brooke Alverson added five kills, one block solo and one block assist. Lowe led the team with two block solos and one block assist.

"We played great defense today in both matches," said Graystone. "Eventually our offense will catch up and we will be a really nice team, but right now we are leaning heavily on our defense."

The Islanders will play host Mississippi State at 12:30 p.m. tomorrow, followed by a 5:00 p.m. match against Austin Peay to end the tournament.  Live stats and web streaming will be available by visiting www.MStateAthletics.com/volleyball.

Southeastern Louisiana 3, Jackson State 2
North Texas 3, Southeastern Louisiana 0
JACKSON, Miss. - Courtney Donald recorded three of her team-high 11 kills in the fifth set to help Southeastern Louisiana defeat host Jackson State, 27-29, 25-20, 26-24, 22-25, 15-11, in the season opener for both teams Friday at the JSU Lady Tiger Invitational at T.B. Ellis Gymnasium.

In the nightcap, Southeastern (1-1) got a team-high nine kills from freshman Cherish Krohn, but the Lady Lions dropped a 25-15, 25-19, 25-16 decision to North Texas.

Southeastern returns to action on Saturday when it faces in-state rivals UNO at 9 a.m. and Louisiana-Monroe at 2 p.m.

(Game One) The Lady Lions hit a team-best .278 in the deciding set in claiming their season-opener against JSU (0-1). Donald paced Southeastern at the net while Allison Jones added 10 kills and Paige Dollison nine kills and 10 digs.

Alex Greer had 17 digs to lead Southeastern while junior college transfer Chelsea Barr added 11. Arianne Cruckshank recorded 34 assists for Southeastern and nearly missed a double-double with nine digs.

Donisha Dunn led JSU with 11 kills with Chyna Coleman and Kameron Boggan adding 10 each. LaToya Clark recorded a double-double for the Lady Tigers with 43 assists and 19 digs while Teri Braddock tallied a match-high 22 digs.

(Game Two) Melanie Boykins paced North Texas (1-0) in its season debut with 10 kills with Brittani Youman adding nine. UNT hit an impressive .268 at the net, including a .348 clip in the first and third sets.

Kayla Saey had 23 assists for the Lady Eagles while Sarah Willey had a match-high 14 digs.

Southeastern was led by the freshmen tandem of Cherish Krohn (9 kills) and Lindsey Young (14 assists). Buckner paced the Lady Lions with seven digs.

Baylor 3, Stephen F. Austin 1
WACO, Texas - The Ladyjack volleyball team took the first set from Baylor in the season opener for both teams on Friday, but the Bears rallied to take the final three sets and earn a 3-1 (26-28, 25-10, 25-13, 25-18) win on the first day of the Holiday Inn and Suites Baylor Classic at the Ferrell Center.

Freshman Monica Pannone led the Ladyjacks (0-1) with eight kills, but SFA could only hit .018 against a Baylor (1-0) team that advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

Kelsey Owens and Allison Gideon added seven kills, while Madison Hanlan opened up her season with a 20-dig outing.

The Ladyjacks took the first set by holding the Bears to just .146 hitting, while Pannone bombed in six of her kills on the night in the set. SFA led for the majority of the set, pushing the lead to as much as four points before the Bears clawed back to knot it at 20-20 on a kill from Torri Campbell. The Bears then got their opportunity for a win at a set-point opportunity at 24-23, but Allison Gideon and Pannone responded with kills on consecutive points and eventually it was a dig from MC Bottles that went over the net and found the floor that helped SFA cash in on its set-point opportunity.

The second set was much different as SFA went from hitting .239 in the first set to just -.171 in the second, only finding the floor with three kills while Baylor picked up 13 kills against SFA defense. Baylor scored the first four points of the set and never looked back, using an Ashlie Christenson kill for the final point.

The third and fourth sets were much the same as the Bears led throughout both, hitting a solid .235 in the third and getting seven blocks in the frame - all involving Elizabeth Graham -in holding the Ladyjacks to just -.211 hitting.  In the fourth Baylor got five kills from Graham, and despite SFA pulling to within four points at 21-17 on an ace from Owens, the Bears took the four of the final five points to seal the match.

Stephen F. Austin continues the Baylor Classic on Saturday with two matches, first versus Butler at 10:00 a.m. and then versus SMU at 5:00 p.m.

Oral Roberts 3, Lamar 2
EDINBURG, Texas - Redshirt sophomore Tina Hobbs pounded out a team-high 14 kills in her first collegiate volleyball match Friday, but it was not enough as Lamar lost its season opener 3-2 to Oral Roberts in the first match of the Texas-Pan American Tournament.

Lamar, which lost the deciding set by a 15-13 score, will continue action tonight at 7 against the host Broncs before closing the tournament Saturday morning at 10 against Idaho State.

The Lady Cardinals came out hot offensively, hitting .520 as a team en route to a 25-16 first set victory. ORU won the next two sets 25-15 and 25-17 before the Lady Cards evened the match at two with a 25-19 victory.

Hobbs, who spent a redshirt year at Alabama and one more at Lamar, committed only two attack errors in 24 chances for an outstanding .500 attack percentage. Sophomore Cynthia McCollum added 10 kills and seven digs for Lamar, while freshman Kaylee Piatt dished out 41 assists with four service aces in her first collegiate action.

The Golden Eagles were led by Elizabeth McVicker with 17 kills, and got 10 apiece from Olivia Ophus and Tatum Fredeen.

Texas-Pan American 3, Lamar 1
EDINBURG, Texas - Lamar University fell in four games Friday night to the Texas-Pan American Broncs, and will look to pick up its first win of the season when the Lady Cardinal volleyball team faces Idaho State in the final match of the UTPA Tournament Saturday morning at 10.

Lamar, which fell in five games to Oral Roberts earlier in the day, lost by scores of 25-23, 22-25, 25-20 and 25-21. The Lady Cardinals hit just .074 against the Broncs after a solid offensive outing earlier against ORU.

Sophomore Jayme Bazile and freshman Megan Schwartz led Lamar with eight kills apiece, while sophomore Kaleigh Wright notched a career-high 20 digs in the match. Bazile, who hit .467 for the match, added four total blocks for Lamar.

The Broncs, who finished with 12 service aces, were led offensively by Marci Logan with 15 kills. Two other UTPA players finished with at least 10 kills.

Kennesaw State 3, Nicholls 0
Southern Miss 3, Nicholls 0
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Freshman Lauren Chapman had a major offensive impact on her first day in a college uniform, totaling 20 kills in two matches at the Southern Miss Invitational. However, the Nicholls women's volleyball team (0-2) fell just short in the 2010 opener against Kennesaw State before dropping a contest to defending regular season Conference USA champion and tournament host Golden Eagles.

The Colonels faced off against the Owls in the first match of the tournament and battled KSU through 19 tie scores and 11 lead changes in their opening contest. Chapman led the way for the Colonels with 12 kills on 28 attempts while making just five errors (.250 hitting percentage). Sophomores Jessica Addicks and Jennifer Brandt each added nine kills to the Colonel offensice cause.

Chapman also recorded her first career double-double at the Owls' expense by being one of three Colonels to turn in double-digit digs in the season opener. Defensively, Nicholls was led by setter Jordan Karst's 11 digs. Chapman and Brandt recorded ten each.

However, it wasn't enough to outpace KSU. The Colonels battled the Owls to five ties and three lead changes in the opener before falling 25-20 in the first set. Nicholls again put up a fight in the second, but 11 tie scores and seven lead changes weren't enough for the Colonels who fell 25-23 in set number two.  In the third set, the Colonels were undone by 12 errors and KSU took full advantage, turning in a team hitting percentage of .278 (12-2-36) en route to a 25-15.

Nicholls had their work cut out for them as the the Colonels looked to pull even on the day. After their back-and-forth contest with the Owls, Nicholls got set to take on the Golden Eagles. Southern Miss showed the form that made them the defending

C-USA champs, compiling a .257 team hitting percentage (41-12-113) while taking advantage of 29 Nicholls errors in the nightcap.

The Colonels were led by Brandt, who turned in team best totals for kills (9) and hitting percentage (.208, 9-4-24). Meanwhile, Chapman added eight more kills to bring her total on the day to 20.

However, it wasn't enough to overcome Southern Miss as the Golden Eagles claimed wins of 25-14, 25-13 and 25-18.

The Colonels will return to action on Saturday when they look to try to pick up their first win of the season against South Alabama in the finale of the Southern Miss Invitational.

Houston 3, McNeese State 1
AUSTIN, Texas - McNeese State's volleyball team fell 3-1 in its season opener to Houston at the University of Texas Burnt Orange Classic here Friday afternoon.

Sophomore outside hitter Priscilla Massengale led the Cowgirls with 13 kills and added 19 digs. Sophomore setter Becky Bekelja led McNeese with 43 assists and two service aces while sophomore libero Whitney Ellisor led the Cowgirls with 23 digs.     

The Cowgirls started the match with a 28-26 loss in the first set, one that went back and forth until the Cougars pulled away for the victory.

"I thought we played hard throughout the match. We had a chance to win set two but just didn't make the plays to put the ball away.  In set three, our serving game broke down. I feel positive about the way we played today, if we continue to play hard and stay positive, we have a chance to be a really good team," said head coach Terry Gamble.

With the Cowgirls down 19-20, Becky Bekelja served back-to-back aces to give McNeese a 21-20 lead. Houston came back with a kill on the next play to even the score 21-21. A kill by McNeese's Priscilla Massengale put the Cowgirls back up by one (22-21) but Houston tied the match on a kill. Regina Trapp then put the Cowgirls up by one on a kill for a 23-22 lead but Houston would bounce back with a kill for a 23-23 tie. Trapp would give the Cowgirls the lead again only until the next play when Houston would tie the set at 25 all. Houston took a 25-24 lead off a Cowgirl error but a kill by McNeese's Katie Kennedy tied the set at 25. Houston took the lead on a Ingrida Zauere kill kill for a 26-25 lead. A kill by Massengale tied it at 26 all before Houston went on to win the next two points and the first set.

The second set saw McNeese take a brief lead early in the set on a Houston hitting error. Houston took a 3-2 lead on a block assists by Ashley Applequist and Lucy Charuk. Houston went on to score the next fiour points for a 7-2 lead. A kill by Taylor Bustamento would end the Cougar scoring run. Houston went on to win the set 25-17 for an overall 2-0 lead.

McNeese avoided a straight set loss by winning the third set 25-21. Like the first set, this set was back and forth until the Cowgirls scored three consecutive point to take a 22-17 lead. McNeese scored their points off a kill by Kennedy, a service ace by Trapp and a Houston error. McNeese scored its final three points on back-to-back Erin Huckabay kills before winning the third set on a Houston error.

McNeese couldn't force a fifth set as the Cowgirls fell 25-16 in the fourth set. The set was close in the early stages of the set but after a 5-5 tie, Houston scored the next eight points to take a 13-5 lead. The Cougars went on a couple more scoring runs before taking the set and the match.

Massengale led the Cowgirls with 13 kills along with 19 digs. Becky Bekelja led with 43 assists and two service aces while libero Whitney Ellisor led the Cowgirls with 23 digs.

McNeese will face #2/#3 Texas at noon and TCU at 4 p.m. today in the final day of the tournament.

Miami (Fla.) 3, UT Arlington 2
NORMAN, Okla. - Three UT Arlington players posted double-digit kills and pushed Miami (Fla.) to the limit in the Nike Invitational, but couldn't quite finish off the Hurricanes Friday evening.

The Mavericks opened by winning the first two games, but Miami (Fla.) bounced back, winning 21-25, 22-25, 25-13, 25-20, 15-9 at McCasland FieldHouse.

UT Arlington coach Diane Seymour said before the tournament began that she wanted to see how her team stacked up against some steep competition. Her team pushed the Hurricanes, an NCAA Tournament team in 2009, to the brink in the season opener.

"It's hard to walk into the locker room and tell them to be proud when they lose, but they should be very proud of how they competed against a team that was in the NCAA Tournament last year," Seymour said. "Early on we really jumped out to a good energy level. We fought them off in the second and were able to win.

"Then they woke up in the third set and we really let them off the hook in the fourth set. We had a few opportunities to win in the fourth set. Hopefully we learn something and can get a win tomorrow."

Tara Frantz led a balanced Mavericks attack with 16 kills. Eld-hah Kaswatuka and Biana Sauls compiled 14 and 13 kills, respectively.

Seymour credited Frantz and Kaswatuka for the reason UTA jumped out to a strong start.

"Our outside hitters played really well in the first two sets," Seymour said. "Tara and Eld-hah were able to hit over a really big block."

Kaswatuka and Christy Driscoll each chipped in with four block assists as well - Driscoll added a solo block - in helping the Mavs out-block a big Miami team 9-5.

Sauls also finished with 10 digs and eight assists, leaving her two setups shy of UTA's first triple-double since Emily Nedderson accomplished the feat in 2007.

"Bianca turned it on late in the match and was able to put us back and give us a chance there in the fourth set," Sauls said.

Raegan Daniel had an especially strong game setting for the attackers. She went for a double-double, racking up 36 assists and 14 digs. She also had four kills.

Christine Williamson and Lane Carico tallied 19 and 18 kills, respectively, for the Hurricanes (1-0).

The Mavericks return to the court Saturday against a couple more 2009 NCAA Tournament teams. They play host Oklahoma at noon and Wichita State at 5 p.m.

Missouri State 3, Texas State 2
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. - After winning the first two sets against Missouri State on Friday afternoon, the Texas State volleyball team dropped the final three sets to take a 3-2 loss (22-25, 25-27, 25-21, 25-17, 15-6) in the season opener. Playing in the Hofstra/Asics Invitational, the Bobcats (0-1) could not capitalize on their early lead in their first of three matches at the tournament.

"We saw some good things early on and a lot of potential," said Karen Chisum, Texas State head coach. "But then we just made too many errors."

Next up for the Bobcats is tournament-host Hofstra who lost to Canisius, 3-1, earlier on Friday. Texas State will take on the Pride beginning at 6 p.m. CST on Friday before wrapping up the tournament on Saturday against Canisius.

Missouri State, picked to finish second in the preseason Missouri Valley Conference poll, started the season 1-0 with the win.

Texas State opened the match with five players making their first career starts as Bobcats (Jennifer Neice, Caleigh McCorquodale, Amari Deardorff, Preslie Alexander and Madeline Gaffney), including three freshmen (Deardorff, Alexander and Gaffney). Deardorff recorded the first point of the season when her kill evened the match at 1-1 in the opening set.

"Amari was very consistent and did a good job," Chisum said. "Preslie struggled early but really got back in the game. Madeline hit a very high percentage and is going to be a strong player for us going forward."

That started an offense attack that hit .292 as a team in the first set as the Bobcats won, 25-22. Deardorff led the way in the first stanza with five kills and a .714 hitting percentage, while sophomore Matti Schumacher added three kills and a .600 hitting percentage in the set.

Texas State jumped out to a 10-3 lead in the second set behind strong serving from Alexander and senior Shelbi Irvin. However, Missouri State kept chipping away until they tied the set at 15-15. The score remained close the rest of the way, as neither team gained more than a two-point lead. With the score tied at 25-25, senior AJ Watlington's kill gave the team a set point, and Gaffney closed the deal with her third kill of the match to give Texas State a 2-0 lead at intermission.

The veteran Missouri State team would not give in as the Bears came back to take the next three sets.

"Missouri State is a very experienced team," Chisum said. "They showed that as the match went on. They pushed, and we didn't push back."

Schumacher led the Bobcats with a career-high 15 kills, while Watlington added 12. Deardorff put down nine kills and Alexander had eight in their collegiate debuts.

Irvin and McCorquodale shared the setting duties for the Bobcats and finished with 28 and 21 assists, respectively.

"Our two setters started the match great and were making some really good decisions," Chisum said. "There is some potential with those two."

On the defensive side of the ball, Neice recorded 17 digs, while Irvin had 15 for her first double-double of the season. Amber Calhoun had a team-high six blocks, and Schumacher posted four, including two solo stuffs.

As a team, Texas State hit .221, led by Gaffney with a .600 hitting percentage on six kills and 10 attempts.

Texas State 3, Hofstra 0
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. - The Texas State volleyball team displayed its resiliency on Friday evening as the Bobcats came back from a five-set loss earlier in the day to defeat Hofstra, 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-12), on day one of the Hofstra/Asics Invitational.

In front of a packed crowd at the Hofstra Physical Education Building, Texas State received outstanding performances from a pair of freshmen, Preslie Alexander and Amari Deardorff.

Alexander led the team with 10 kills while committing just one error for a .474 hitting percentage. The San Antonio, Texas, native added three digs, an ace and a block in the sweep.

"This game built my confidence because the setters and I were connecting better," Alexander said. "[Setter] Caleigh [McCorquodale] did a really good job and our passing was amazing."

Deardorff turned in her second straight impressive performance to begin her college career as she posted eight kills on 15 attempts for a .333 hitting percentage. She added three blocks on the defensive side of the net as well.

The Bobcats hit .380 as a team, including a .579 clip in the third and final set, while the Pride was limited to a .066 hitting percentage. Texas State also led in blocks (10-three), digs (32-30), aces (seven-four) and assists (33-26).

Running the offense was sophomore Caleigh McCorquodale, while senior Shelbi Irvin got the night off. McCorquodale made the most of her opportunity as she posted 30 assists, two kills, two aces and eight digs on the night.

"As much as I would have loved to have Shelbi out on the court helping out, I loved having this opportunity to help the team and run a 5-1 [offense]," McCorquodale said. "It was fun getting back in the front row, being able to block and show them that I can do it if I ever need to."

The Bobcats jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the opening set and did not relinquish it for the duration of the period. Following a kill by junior Amber Calhoun, sophomore Danielle Sanchou served five consecutive points to give Texas State a 13-4 advantage.

The team opened the lead to 17-4 before the Pride cut into their deficit to make the score 18-11. Hofstra came within five points on four occasions down the stretch, but that was as close as the home team would get as Calhoun's service ace gave the Bobcats a 25-18 win in the first set.

The second set began with Hofstra taking an early lead, but the Bobcats quickly changed that on the serve of junior Jennifer Neice. Texas State went ahead 7-4 after she served a pair of points, and the team extended its lead to 12-7 on an ace by McCorquodale.

After Hofstra came within two points, 14-12, Texas State went on an 11-4 run to close out the set on a kill by Deardorff.

The third set was all Bobcats as the team had six separate runs of three points or more during the stanza. Texas State had 12 kills and four blocks during the set with the final point coming on a solo block by freshman Rachel James.

The Bobcats return to action on Saturday, August 28 when they play Canisius in their final match of the Hofstra/Asics Invitational. Live stats for that match will be available through www.gohofstra.com, while additional live coverage will be provided by www.txstatebobcats.com and Texas State's Athletics Twitter account.