Northwestern State Jumps Out To 3-0 Start
Northwestern State 3, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 0
JONESBORO, Ark. - Northwestern State continued its surprising run at the Arkansas State Classic when it matched last year's win total after a 3-0 blanking over Arkansas-Pine Bluff in a match that took just over an hour to complete.
Northwestern is 3-0 for just the fourth time in school history and first since the 1999 season as UAPB falls to 0-3 on the year. The Lady Demons will take home the tournament title after they combined to go 9-3 in 12 sets at the three-match classic.
Senior Kourtney Adams, who was named the tournament's most valuable player, led Northwestern with 10 kills and a .529 attack percentage. In the three matches, Adams had 32 kills for a 2.67 per set average and a .309 attack percentage.
Senior Laranda Spann, who finished Saturday's match with eight kills, five service aces and a .235 attack percentage, was also named to the all-tournament team.
The Lady Demons wasted little time in putting Saturday's match away. Northwestern breezed through all three sets with scores of 25-17, 25-15, and 25-15.
Northwestern hit .270 for the match as a team with 34 kills on 74 attacks and just 14 errors. Sarah Gillis led the squad with seven digs followed by Brittany Fruge who added six digs with seven kills and seven assists.
UAPB was held to a .071 attack percentage as it managed just 16 kills on 56 attacks with 12 attacking errors.
The Lady Demons return to action on Friday when they open play at the Samford Invitational. Northwestern will go up against Samford and Tennessee Tech on Friday followed by matches against Syracuse and North Texas on Saturday.
Central Arkansas 3, Murray State 0
LARAMIE, Wyo. - After splitting their matches on the first day of competition at the UniWyo Wyoming Invite, the University of Central Arkansas volleyball opened day two with a three-set sweep of Murray State. The Sugar Bears (2-1) downed the Racers (0-3) 26-24, 25-23, 25-21.
Each set was close, with UCA hitting .202 for the match, compared to .126 for MSU. The Sugar Bears had a big advantage in kills, connecting on 45, while the Racers came up with 24. UCA also got a big lift in the serving game with 11aces.
Junior outside hitter Jessica Hays recorded her second double-double of the tournament with 15 kills and 10 digs. Junior libero Cristin Curl led all players with 12 digs. Senior right side Chloe Smith added 10 kills and freshman Karlie Giesler had eight kills and a .467 hitting percentage. Senior defensive specialist Chloe Evans came up with seven digs and had three aces. Freshman setter Marissa Collins assisted 38 kills and served three aces.
The Racers were led by Logan Su and Ashley Nenninger with five kills each. Kayleah Sauer had 11 digs and three aces.
Central Arkansas 3, Southern Utah 1
LARAMIE, Wyo.- Junior outside hitter Jessica Hays and sophomore middle blocker Taylor Hammonds both had career matches to lead the University of Central Arkansas volleyball team to a four-set victory over Southern Utah in the final match of the UniWyo Wyoming Invite. Hays tied her career best with 22 kills to go with three aces and seven digs, while Hammonds pounded out a career-high 17 kills and hit .406 as the Sugar Bears (3-1) defeated the Thunderbirds (2-2) 25-13, 20-25, 27-25, 25-19.
UCA came out on fire in set one, connecting on 17 kills and making just two errors to hit .469. The Thunderbirds took advantage of the Sugar Bears' 10 attack errors in set two, taking the frame 25-20. UCA rebounded with 17 kills in each of the final sets to secure the win.
For the match, the Sugar Bears hit .250 with 63 kills, while the Thunderbirds hit .191 with 43 kills.
Senior right side Chloe Smith recorded her second double-double of the weekend, coming up with 12 kills and 14 digs. Junior libero Cristin Curl led all players with 18 digs. Freshman setter Marissa Collins had season-highs with 55 assists and eight digs.
SUU was led by Jazmine Ma'afala with nine kills, while Analaine Pelaez had eight kills and 16 digs.
The Sugar Bears will be back in action on Wednesday when they face Oklahoma in Norman at 6 p.m.
Southeastern Louisiana 3, New Orleans 0
Southeastern Louisiana 3, Louisiana-Monroe 0
JACKSON, Miss. - Taylor Buckner recorded a team-high nine kills while hitting a blistering .529 at the net as the Southeastern Louisiana volleyball team defeated in-state rival Louisiana-Monroe, 26-24, 25-23, 25-22 to complete a two-match sweep on Saturday at the Jackson State Lady Tiger Invitational.
Southeastern, which improved to 3-1 on the season, opened the day with a 25-18, 25-17, 25-23 victory over Division I Independent UNO. The Lady Lions will return to action on Thursday when it faces South Alabama in the first-match of the South Alabama Invitational.
Buckner opened her impressive day at the net recording 11 kills and hitting .364 at the net against UNO (0-2), which is in its first year in a transition to Division III. Courtney Donald added 11 kills for the Lady Lions, which hit .260 at the net and had 13 blocks.
Southeastern opened the match hitting .280 at the net against the Lady Privateers before hitting .538 (15-1-26) in the second set. Arianne Cruckshank recorded 29 assists for Southeastern while Alex Greer posted 11 digs.
Paige Dollison, Allison Jones and freshman Stephanie Mueller had five blocks each for the Lady Lions while five of the six Southeastern starters hit .267 or higher at the net.
Edina Dobi led UNO with nine kills while Lauren Massulla led all players with 19 digs.
Buckner made the most of her 17 attempts, producing a team-high in kills without committing an error. Donald added seven kills for Southeastern Dollison posted five. Greer notched eight digs to pace the Lady Lions with Buckner and Chelsea Barr adding seven each.
Southeastern hit an impressive .277 at the net, opening the match at a .375 clip before hitting .231 and .242 in the final two sets. Cruckshank added 26 assists and three service aces for the Lady Lions while Dollison and Donald combined for seven blocks.
Blanca Ocana led ULM (0-1) with a match-high 14 kills while Meghan McCoy had 24 assists and 10 digs. Christy Tribble added 10 digs for the Warhawks.
Nicholls 3, South Alabama 0
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Nicholls women's volleyball team (1-2) outhit South Alabama (0-3) .209 (36-12-115) to .111 (36-23-117) to cruise to a 3-0 win over the Jaguars by scores of 27-25, 25-15 and 25-14 in the finale of the Southern Miss Invitational on Sunday. The win is the first of the season for the Colonels and the first victory for first-year head coach TeAna Tramel on the Nicholls sidelines.
Sophomore outside hitter Jennifer Brandt led the Colonels' offensive efforts with 11 kills on .300 hitting (11-2-30). Meanwhile, freshman Lauren Chapman tallied nine kills and nine digs to go along with the 20 kills and 16 digs she totaled in a pair of matches on Friday against Kennesaw State and Southern Miss to clinch all-tournament honors.
South Alabama started strong in the first set as the Colonels and Jaguars battled through nine tie scores and three lead changes. However, after South Alabama tied the match at 17-17, Nicholls closed the set with a 10-8 run to clinch the 27-25 first set victory.
From there, the Colonels cruised in the second and third sets with 25-15 and 25-14 victories. The Nicholls defense led the way in the second set as the Colonels totaled 4.0 team blocks. Sophomore middle blocker Jasmine Harris had two solo blocks and Harris, junior right side hitter Rachel Yezak, sophomore outside hitter Rachel Yezak and Chapman each had a block assist as Nicholls rolled to a 25-15 second set win.
Nicholls came out strong in the third set, hitting .343 as a team (15-3-35). Brandt led the way, hitting .364 (5-1-11). The Colonels led the whole way in the third set, cruising to a 25-14 win.
Nicholls will return to action next weekend with a trip to the Ragin Cajun Invitational at UL-Lafayette.
Texas State 3, Hempstead 0
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. - A little more than an hour and three sets was all it took for the Texas State volleyball team to defeat Canisius on Saturday afternoon at the Hofstra/Asics Invitational. The Bobcats hit .427 as a team as they moved to 2-1 overall on the young season.
Canisius finished the two-day tournament with a 1-2 record.
Freshman Madeline Gaffney earned Hofstra/Asics Invitational All-Tournament Team honors after another outstanding performance on Saturday. The middle blocker was hit a perfect 1.000 with seven kills on seven attempts to go along with a team-high four blocks in the win.
"It feels really good to be named to the all-tournament team," Gaffney said. "I wasn't expecting it at all."
With the score 12-9 in the opening set, the Bobcats turned to freshman Amari Deardorff to get them on track. Deardorff put down back-to-back kills from the right side to bring the score to 12-11.
But Canisius would maintain a slim advantage until the Bobcats went on a run to grab a 20-19 lead - the team's first since the opening points.
The teams played even until 23-23 when a long rally ended with a Canisius attack error to give Texas State a set point. The Bobcats took advantage as setter Caleigh McCorquodale's heads-up play earned Texas State a 1-0 advantage in the match. Following a short rally, McCorquodale found the back corner of the opponent's court wide open and pushed it over on two for the point.
The Bobcats had 20 kills in the opening set, led by freshman Preslie Alexander's five. Five other players finished with three kills as the team hit an impressive .436 in the period.
Texas State jumped ahead early behind a strong block and efficient offense and held the advantage until 17-11 when sophomore Danielle Sanchou's ace gave the Bobcats a seven-point advantage and forced a Canisius timeout.
McCorquodale and senior AJ Watlington put down consecutive kills to extend the advantage to 20-11 before the Golden Griffin momentarily stopped the rally. But Texas State kept the pressure on down the stretch and closed out the second set, 25-14, on a Canisius attack error.
The Bobcats hit an even higher percentage in the second set, finishing at a .500 clip with 12 kills. Schumacher and Gaffney both had three kills in the set to lead the team.
The third set began with a Texas State block, but Canisius quickly turned the tide and raced to a 7-2 lead, forcing a Bobcat timeout to regroup.
After closing the gap to three, 10-7, on an ace by Schumacher, the Bobcats went on a run behind the serving of freshman Rachel James to take a 12-11 advantage. The narrow margin remained until a three-point run put the team ahead, 18-14.
Three straight points for the Golden Griffin brought them back to within one, but a pair of kills by the Bobcats extended their lead back to three, 20-17. And Texas State would cruise from there, winning five of the next seven points for the three-set sweep.
The Bobcats had six players finish with six-or-more kills, led by Schumacher's eight. McCorquodale had 28 assists, and Gaffney led the team with four blocks.
As a team, Texas State hit .427 for the match compared to just a .147 hitting percentage for Canisius. The Bobcats also led in kills (47-29), digs (41-37) and blocks (6.5-2.0).
Next up for Texas State is UC Davis on Friday, Sept. 3 at the SMU Invitational.
Stephen F. Austin 3, Butler 2
WACO, Texas - The Ladyjack volleyball team went just 1-6 in five-set matches in 2009, but showed that 2010 is a new season in taking a 3-2 (25-22, 25-23, 24-26, 19-25, 15-12) win over Butler on the second day of the Holiday Inn and Suites Baylor Classic behind a career-high 23 kills from junior MC Bottles at the Ferrell Center.
SFA (1-1) opened up a 2-0 lead going into halftime, but dropped the next two sets following the break before edging the Bulldogs (0-2) in the fifth set for the win.
"This was a great show of the heart that this team has," head coach Debbie Humphreys said. "We have already done a couple of things that we struggled with last season, and that is to win a close set - which we did last night against Baylor - and to win a five-set match - which we did today."
Bottles' career high was not the only one by a Ladyjack as Madison Hanlan also eclipsed a career best with 27 digs, but senior Kelsey Owens was not far behind with 25 of her own - just two shy of a career high. Owens added in 17 kills as well, giving her the first double-double for a Ladyjack this season.
Freshman setter Allison Gideon picked up 58 assists and eight kills while directing the offense to .256 hitting on the day, including four of five sets where SFA swung better than .230. Sabrina Burns chipped in nine kills and five blocks, including three kills in the final set.
In the fifth set the Ladyjacks only missed out on one side-out opportunity in the final stanza, allowing Butler to net consecutive points once. SFA took the lead for good midway through the frame on back-to-back kills from Burns and Lauren McDaniel for an 8-6 lead, and eventually forced a pair of Bulldog attack errors for the final two points.
Early on the Ladyjacks came out on fire, hitting .302 in the first set behind five kills apiece from Bottles and Owens. SFA scored the first four points of the first set, but after the Bulldogs battled back it was a back-and-forth frame the rest of the way until the Ladyjacks six out of seven points run to turn a two point deficit into a four point lead at 21-17 after a back-row kill from Bottles. Burns then got into the act late, slamming in two of her three kills in the set in the final surge to give the Ladyjacks the frame.
In the second set SFA once again had the offense clicking and looked as though it would cruise to a 2-0 lead, up 10-6 early on but Butler came back to keep things close until Owens found the mark with consecutive kills to push SFA's lead back to three at 19-16; however, four straight Butler points knotted it up at 20-20 before Bottles drove home three of the final five SFA points to give the Ladyjacks a comfortable lead at the break.
Butler held the lead for majority of the third set despite being outhit by SFA, .239 to .188, but had to withstand a late push from SFA where the Ladyjacks turned away four consecutive set points, punctuated by a kill from Owens. But the Bulldogs immediately got Jessica Wolfe's eleventh kill of the set to bring up another set-point opportunity and received a gift for a set win with a setting error called on Gideon.
The third set win seemed to energize the Bulldogs, who raced out to an 8-1 lead in the fourth frame and rode that lead the remainder of the way to push the match to a deciding fifth set. The Bulldogs finally found an answer for the Ladyjack offense, outhitting them for the first time on the afternoon. Bottles picked up four kills, and Owens and Burns added three for SFA, but the eight-point cushion was too much for the Ladyjacks to overcome and forced the final set.
SMU 3, Stephen F. Austin 0
WACO, Texas - The SMU Mustangs hit .277 and pulled off a 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-20) win over the Ladyjack volleyball team in the finale of the Holiday Inn and Suites Baylor Classic on Saturday at the Ferrell Center.
The loss by the Ladyjacks (1-2) snaps a modest three-match win streak over the Mustangs (3-0) dating back to 2006.
"I liked the energy that we had tonight, but we obviously still have a lot of room for improvement," head coach Debbie Humphreys said. "SMU has a good team this year and we are still trying to break in some new people. Now we just have to look toward ULM on Tuesday and try to give the fans a fun home opener."
Freshman setter Allison Gideon led the way offensively for SFA with 10 kills and 25 assists and was joined in double-figures by Kelsey Owens with 10 kills. MC Bottles added nine kills just one match after setting a career-high with 23 versus Butler and was named to the all-tournament team. She finished with just one attack error in SFA's final two matches of the tournament.
Owens added 11 digs for her second double-double of the day, and Melissa Miksch and Madison Hanlan added 18 and 13 digs, respectively. The Mustangs were led by Courtney Manning with 15 kills and four blocks, with eight of those kills coming in the final set.
Four kills from Kelsey Owens in the first set was not enough as SMU broke open a late 21-20 lead by scoring four of the final five points of the set, led by outside hitters Dana Powell and Kathryn Wilkerson who had nine and five kills apiece, respectively.
In the second the Ladyjacks had to play from behind, but the Ponies still managed to pick up the wire-to-wire win and led by as many as five points at 14-9 before SFA started carving into the lead. Kills from five different Ladyjacks helped spark a 7-2 run that tied things at 16-16 when Owens scored off the left block. But the Mustangs answered with a run of their own, scoring six out of the next seven points after a timeout to push the lead to 22-17 and then getting points once again from Wilkerson and Powell secure a 2-0 lead.
SFA looked as though it would turn the tables in the third set, using a 5-0 spurt to go ahead 17-14, but SMU middle blocker Courtney Manning then took over the set, picking up five of her eight kills in the set in the final 11 points for the Mustangs.
The Ladyjacks will jump into action at home on Tuesday against Louisiana-Monroe with first serve set for 7:00 p.m. from William R. Johnson Coliseum.
Mississippi State 3, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 1
STARKVILLE, Miss. - The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi volleyball team started out strong but faded as they lost a 3-1 (25-19, 18-25, 10-25, 19-25) match to tournament host Mississippi State at the Maroon Classic on Saturday afternoon.
The Islanders are now 1-2 on the season while Mississippi State improves to 3-0 this year.
In the first set, the Islanders trailed 7-4 before an Isabella Arcidiacono kill and a pair of kills by Shannon Hullum knotted the score at 7-7. Three straight Bulldog attack errors then gave the Islanders a 10-7 advantage.
The set win was just the second time ever that the Islanders have won a set against a team in a BCS conference as well as the first time in school history they have won a set over a Southeastern Conference (SEC) team.
In sets two and three, the Islanders fell behind early and were unable to recover as they lost by a 25-18 final in the second and a 25-10 score in the third set.
In the fourth set, the Islanders trailed by a large margin at 10-1 before fighting back to within 22-19 late in the set. Three-straight points did them in however as the Bulldogs won the decisive set by a 25-19 final.
Emma Ridley recorded 12 kills to lead the team and surpassed 500 kills in her Islanders career. She came into the match with 495 and moved to 507, one of just 10 players in school history to reach the 500 kill mark.
Hullum and Arcidiacono tied for second-most on the team with six kills apiece. Brooke Alverson and Jordan Flemmer each finished with five kills in the match. Logen Bourque led the team in assists with 19 and Micah Nolan finished with a team-high 18 digs in the contest.
Austin Peay 3, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 0
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Texas A&M-Corpus Christi had a rough match to conclude play at the Mississippi State Maroon Classic, losing 3-0 (25-22, 25-12, 25-17) against Austin Peay.
The loss drops the Islanders to 1-3 on the season while the Lady Govs move to 3-1 on the year. The Islanders picked up their lone victory by a 3-2 score over UALR in the second match on Friday evening.
Emma Ridley finished with 11 kills in the match and recorded double-digit kills in each of the four contests at the tournament. For her play, she was named to the all-tournament team.
"Emma played very well this weekend," said head coach Tony Graystone."Everybody had moments, but collectively we have to get better.
"I think we will make some rapid improvements after getting back to work this week."
In the first set, the two teams played to a 5-5 tie before the Lady Govs went on a 8-to-2 run to take a 13-7 advantage. Austin Peay would hold the lead the rest of the way as the Islanders were unable to get any closer than two points at 24-22. Ridley paced the Islanders with five kills in the set with Brooke Alverson adding three.
In the second set, the Islanders were never able to gain traction, falling behind by a 20-10 score before the Lady Govs finished the set with a 25-12 final.
Set three started very similar as the Islanders trailed 24-12 before reeling off five-straight points on Austin Peay errors before they were able to close out the match with a 25-17 final.
Ridley led the team offensively with 11 kills, her fourth double-digit kills match in as many opportunities this season. Alverson and Amanda Lowe were second on the team with four kills each. Ridley also led the team defensively with 14 digs for her first double-double of the year. Micah Nolan was second with 10 on the night. Logen Bourque led all Islanders in assists with 17.
With so many freshmen on the team, the team did a good job of staying fresh throughout the two day tournament.
"We handled it pretty well," said Graystone. "Toward the end of the weekend we started to fatigue, but the girls we put in there to replace them did a good job.
"We did a little better than I thought we would this first weekend."
The Islanders will be in action again next weekend when they take part in the Northern Arizona Fiesta Bowl Tournament. It will be will be played in Flagstaff, Ariz., and will be hosted by Northern Arizona.
Texas Tech 3, UTSA 1
Rice 3, UTSA 2
HOUSTON - UTSA concluded play at the season-opening Rice Invitational on Saturday with a pair of losses to Rice and Texas Tech. The Roadrunners finished the weekend event with a 1-2 record and they will open their 13-match home schedule at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday against Baylor, which opened the year with a 2-1 ledger at Holiday Inn and Suites Baylor Classic in Waco.
Redshirt sophomore setter Kelsey Schwirtlich was the lone UTSA player named to this weekend's All-Tournament team. The Corpus Christi native finished the weekend with 139 assists (9.93 aps) to go along with 28 digs (2.00 dps), 16 kills (.216 pct.), a pair of block assists and one service ace in her first action running the Roadrunners' offense.
Texas Tech ended a school-record 24-match losing streak on Saturday evening with a surprising four-set victory (25-23, 25-17, 21-25, 25-21) against UTSA in the fifth contest of this weekend's Rice Invitational. The loss was the Roadrunners' second in a row after opening the year with a five-set triumph against Mississippi on Friday.
The Red Raiders (1-2), who were swept by Rice and Ole Miss to begin the campaign, not only won their first sets of the season in the win, but it also marked the program's first victory since a four-frame triumph against Gonzaga on Sept. 11 a year ago.
The opening set saw the two squads combine for 15 ties and a half dozen lead changes, but Tech scored three of the final four points for the two-point win. The Red Raiders came out on fire to start the next stanza, jumping out to an early 7-1 advantage, and they led from start to finish to take a commanding 2-0 lead into intermission.
UTSA fell behind early once again after the break, but this time the Birds were able to grab the lead midway through the set and they extended the match with a four-point victory.
The Roadrunners carried the momentum into the fourth frame, leading by as much as four at 13-9, but Texas Tech used a 9-3 run to go up two at 18-16. UTSA clawed its way back to an 18-all tie, but it was all Red Raiders from there, as they tallied seven of the contest's final 10 points to put an end to the longest losing streak in program history.
Sophomore Whitney Walls finished off a solid opening weekend with a match-high 13 kills. The preseason first-team All-Southland Conference choice registered a .301 hitting percentage and racked up a team-best 46 winners (3.29 kps) to go along with eight block assists in the season-opening tournament. Meanwhile, sophomore Andee Josserand added 11 kills, two service aces and seven digs.
Junior Kelsey Jewasko just missed her third-consecutive 20-dig performance with 18, while junior Elise Huskey collected 14. Sophomore Brittney Malloy continued her strong play at the net with five more total blocks (1 solo/4 assists) and the San Antonio native finished the weekend with 14 overall (3 solo/11 assists).
Miara Cave led three Red Raiders in double figures with a dozen winners and Justine Young recorded 11 kills (.429 pct.), eight total blocks (2 solo/6 assists) and six digs.
UTSA went the distance for the second match in a row to open the 2010 season, but unlike Friday when it rallied to beat Mississippi, the Roadrunners couldn't hold off tournament host Rice and they dropped a heart-breaking 14-25, 25-21, 22-25, 25-23, 15-10 decision on Saturday afternoon at Tudor Fieldhouse.
The Birds (1-1), who were looking to win consecutive contests to open a season for the first time in five years, saw a 2-1 advantage fall by the wayside when Rice jumped out to an 18-11 lead in the third set and 13-7 edge in the fifth and deciding frame.
Senior Kendra Rowland led UTSA with a match-high 19 kills, while sophomore Whitney Walls hit .400 on the strength of 16 winners.
It was all Roadrunners in the opening stanza, as it broke open a 6-5 game with an 8-0 run and the Birds cruised to an 11-point triumph.
The Owls (2-0) looked to be on the verge of falling behind 2-0 when facing a 18-17 deficit in the second set, but they scored seven of the 11 final points to even the contest heading to intermission.
UTSA was not sharp coming out of the locker room and Rice took advantage, jumping out to a 7-1 lead. However, the Birds grabbed their first lead of the frame at 17-16 and went on to score eight of the final dozen points to take what appeared to be a commanding 2-1 lead.
The Roadrunners fell behind again in the ensuing set, this time to the tune of seven points (18-11), but they once again rallied and got within a pair at 23-21. UTSA staved off a pair of Owls set points at 24-21 and 24-22, but the third time was the charm for Rice and the match went to a fifth-and-deciding panel.
The two teams battled back in forth for the first 12 points, but the Owls then reeled off a 7-1 run to effectively dash the Roadrunners' hopes of winning for the second time in as many days. UTSA fought off two match points, but by then, it was too little, too late.
Junior Kelsey Jewasko once again was dominant along the back row, as was sophomore Brittney Malloy at the net. Jewasko followed up her 27-dig performance on Friday evening with 25 more against Rice, while Malloy added five more blocks after recording four against Ole Miss.
The Owls were led by Ashleigh McCord's double-double of 19 kills and 14 digs.
Oklahoma 3, UT Arlington 0
NORMAN, Okla. - Eld-hah Kaswatuka recorded six kills, but host Oklahoma made short work of UT Arlington, beating the Mavs 3-0 in the second day of the Nike Invitational.
Suzy Boulavsky and Sarah Freudenrich tallied 11 kills each and the Sooners breezed to a 25-17, 25-15, 25-19 win at McCasland FieldHouse.
A day after giving Miami (Fla.) a real test, UTA struggled on the attack. The Mavs finished with more errors, 18, than kills, 22.
"I don't think we came out with the right mindset today," UTA coach Diane Seymour said. "We were pretty good yesterday and I don't think we set our sights on winning the match today. Offensively we were horrible. Our setting wasn't so good today either and our hitters struggled to get into any kind of rhythm whatsoever."
Setter Brianne Barker led the way for Oklahoma (1-1). She had 32 assists and also earned three of the team's seven service aces.
Seymour said she thought her team defended the serve pretty well and credited OU's strong service game for forcing problems.
Raegan Daniel finished with 15 assists for the Mavericks (0-2). She also had a team-high six digs.
Wichita State 3, UT Arlington 0
NORMAN, Okla. - UT Arlington turned its attack around during the second game Saturday, but it wasn't enough to top a scorching-hot Wichita State attack in the Nike Invitational.
The Shockers, a second-round NCAA Tournament team in 2009, topped UTA 3-0 (25-14, 25-22, 26-24) at McCasland FieldHouse.
"We played a poor first set in that one for sure, but we came out and responded well in the second and third set," UT Arlington coach Diane Seymour said. "They really battled against a quality team."
Chelsey Feekin and Mary Elizabeth Hooper accumulated 17 and 15 assists, respectively, for the Shockers (2-1).
Camri Zwiesler and Emily Adney led the Shockers with double-digit kills, pacing an attack that boasted a percentage of better than .300 through the first two games.
"They ran a really good offensive attack that had multiple quick attacks coming out at us and it took us a while to find their hitter and navigate how to best defend someone coming at you with two or three quick attackers," Seymour said. "I think it's a case of coming up against a team with a little bit more experience."
Tara Frantz registered a team-high 11 kills, leading a Mavericks attack that bounced back from a disappointing performance against Oklahoma earlier in the day.
Eld-hah Kaswatuka turned in a strong effort, finishing with nine kills and five digs without committing an attack error.
"When you look at that and the fact that this is really the first time Eld-hah has started and played the whole game in three straight matches, she did a good job of maintaining some offense," Seymour said. "I think it's a good sign for a kid who has come off the bench for the last few years."
Raegan Daniel added 25 assists and nine digs in the loss. Alicia Shaffer also recorded 12 digs.
The loss left the Mavericks (0-3) winless for the Nike Invitational. Still, Seymour said there were definite positives for the overall weekend.
"It's really hard for our kids to see the positives in what this weekend was," Seymour said. "As a coaching staff, we can. We can definitely be disappointed in our effort against OU but we also recognize our efforts against Wichita State and Miami (Fla.) were very good. Playing against some high-caliber teams and staying neck-and-neck is a good sign for us."
Tara Frantz was named to the 2010 Nike Invitational Tournament Team after she led UT Arlington in kills over the weekend.
Frantz, a junior outside hitter from Santa Fe, compiled 30 kills against some steep competition. Her strong performance against Miami (Fla.) nearly led to an upset over the Hurricanes.
She posted 16 kills against Miami (Fla.) and added 11 more against Wichita State.
UTA lost all three matches, finishing fourth in the season-opening tournament in Norman, Okla.
The Mavs return to the court Friday when they host the UT Arlington Maverick Classic. Their first game is at 1 p.m. against Arkansas-Little Rock. Mississippi State, Louisiana Tech and UT-Pan American round out the competition.
UTA returns to the court Friday when it hosts the UT Arlington Maverick Classic. The first game is against Arkansas-Little Rock at 1 p.m. at Texas Hall.
Eastern Michigan 3, Sam Houston State 0
Louisiana-Lafayette 3, Sam Houston State 2
HUNTSVILLE, Texas - Eastern Michigan defeated both Sam Houston and Marist Saturday afternoon to sweep undefeated through the Comfort Suites Sam Houston Invitational and take the tournament first place trophy home to Ypsilanti, Michigan.
The Bearkats place third after falling to Louisiana-Lafayette in a five-set thriller, the second year in a row the Kats and the Ragin' Cajuns have ended the Comfort Suites tournament in a five-setter.
Down two sets to none, the Bearkats came roaring back to win the third and fourth sets and were up 12-7 in the fifth frame. But the Cajuns prevailed for a 27-25 25-23 21-25 18-25 16-14 victory.
Sam Houston's Carli Kolbe and Kaylee Hawkins were selected to the all-tournament team.
Rachel Iaquaniello of champion EMU was the tournament MVP. Other members of the all-tournament squad were
Ashley Mason (EMU), Grace Hill (Marist) and Lesley Mirarchi and Mandi Gavin (La-Lafayette).
In the morning contest, Eastern Michigan fought off a determined Sam Houston in a 62-point second set on the way to a 25-15 32-30 25-15 victory over the Bearkats.
Rachel Iaquaniello and Paige Roback led EMU with 15 and 12 kills, respectively. Carli Kolbe was the Kats' top scorer with 10 kills.
Down one set, Sam Houston had three chances to even the match at a set apiece serving with lead of 25-24 26-25 and 29-28 but the Eagles had an answer every time.
Sam Houston's front line came up with nine blocks with Kim Black taking part in six and Kelli Stewart four. EMU played almost error-free ball with only 18 miscues in 121 attempts for a .240 team hitting percentage on the way to victory.
Idaho State 3, Lamar 1
EDINBURG, Texas - True freshman Megan McStravick picked up a season-high 10 kills, and sophomore middle blocker Jayme Bazile added nine, but Lamar University fell to Idaho State 3-1 in its final volleyball match at the UTPA Fall Classic.
Lamar, which fell to 0-3 on the season, will look for its first win on Friday against St. Francis (PA) at the Cornell Invitational from Ithaca, New York.
ISU won the first two sets by scores of 25-22 and 25-19 before the Lady Cardinals fought back. Lamar, which hit just .096 as a team for the match, was a solid .237 in a 25-20 set three victory. The Bengals closed out the match with a 25-14 win in the fourth set.
Lamar's blocking continues to be a positive as the Lady Cardinals finished with nine total team blocks in the match. Redshirt sophomore Tina Hobbs recorded a block solo and six blocks assists, sophomore Wendy Krell added five block assists and Bazile, who was named to the all-tournament team, finished with three.
ISU setter Lori Mendenhall played a solid all-around match, finishing with six kills, 43 assists, five service aces and 12 digs. Two Bengals finished with at least 11 kills.
No. 3 Texas, McNeese State 0
AUSTIN, Texas - McNeese State's volleyball team faced No.3 Texas here Saturday on the second day of the Texas Burnt Orange Classic and dropped the match in straight sets (25-9, 25-14, 25-15). Texas, the 2009 NCAA runners-up are the highest ranked opponent McNeese has faced in school history.
"After getting the jitters out I thought we played really well. The match went back and forth in sets two and three until they went on a run," said head coach Terry Gamble.
Freshman Regina Trapp led the Cowgirls with six kills and for the second straight match, Becky Bekelja led the team with 17 assists. Katie Kennedy picked up a team high six digs.
"Our kids played really hard. They were just so much bigger and more physical than us. If we continue to play hard and together like we are, we will continue to get better. I think there are good things to come for McNeese Volleyball."
Texas took the lead from the first serve in the opening set and never trailed. The Longhorns scored the first five points of the first set before a kill by McNeese's Erin Huckabay gave the Cowgirls their first point of the set.
In the second set, McNeese took a 1-0 lead on a Trapp kill. The set remained close until the Longhorns outscored McNeese 7-2 after leading 18-12.
The third set was also back and forth early and the Cowgirls led 3-1 and 5-4 before the Longhorns would come back and eventually win the set and the match.
TCU 3, McNeese State 0
AUSTIN, Texas - McNeese State's volleyball team concluded tournament play at the University of Texas Burnt Orange Classic with a straight set loss to TCU (25-18, 25-20, 25-9) to fall to 3-0 on the season.
Priscilla Massengale led the Cowgirls with nine kills and Regina Trapp added seven while Becky Bekelja was credited with 19 assists. Massengale and Bekelja both led the team with 10 digs.
McNeese took an early lead in the opening set on back-to-back TCU errors, McNeese extended its lead to 5-2 on a Massengale kill. TCU slowly cut the lead and tied the set five all on a Cowgirl error. TCU took the lead 9-8 on a kill but the Cowgirls tied the set at 9-9 on a TCU service error. The Horned Frogs too the lead for good on a Irene Hester kill. TCU scored the next three points before the Cowgirls cut the lead to two 17-15 on a Trapp kill. The Cowgirls weren't able to get any closer, losing the set 25-18.
McNeese jumped out to an early lead and led by as much as 13-6 at one point in the match but let this one slip away. After a kill by Trapp to give McNeese a 16-9 lead, TCU outscored McNeese 10-3 to tie the match 19 all. TCU took the lead a McNeese service error but the match was tied again on a TCU at 20-20. Three kills by TCU's Christy Hudson and two hitting errors by McNeese gave TCU a 25-20 second set victory.
The third set belonged to TCU as the took the lead from the third play of the set and never looked back and won the set and the match with a 25-9 win.
McNeese will play their second tournament in as many weeks when they will travel to Troy, Alabama for the Troy Spiketacular. The Cowgirls will face Evansville at 12:30 p.m. Saturday and Troy at 9 a.m. and Western Illinois at 2 p.m. Sunday.