Chloe Smith Sets Kills Record in Loss to Sooners
Oklahoma 3, Central Arkansas 2
NORMAN, Okla. - Central Arkansas senior Chloe Smith broke the school record for most kills in a career, as the Sugar Bears (3-2) lost to Oklahoma (3-1) 25-16, 25-22, 23-25, 25-18 at McCasland Field House on Wednesday night. Smith, a right side hitter from San Diego, recorded 10 kills against the Sooners, moving her career total to 1,308, passing Roberta Bewen (1990-93) who had 1,304.
"It's a great accomplishment for an even greater career," said sixth-year head coach Steven McRoberts. "We expect Chloe to add many more kills as she finishes her senior year."
The Sooners controlled the first set by jumping out to a 5-0 lead. OU led the entire frame, winning it 25-16. UCA played better in hard-fought second set that saw six ties and five lead changes. Tied 22-22, however, the Sooners came up with a pair of kills from Caitlin Higgins and another from Suzy Boulvasky to seal the game.
Oklahoma sprinted out to another 5-0 lead in the third, but the Sugar Bears clawed back to eventually take a 20-18 lead, and won the set 25-23 after two kills each from sophomore middle blocker Taylor Hammonds and junior outside hitter Jessica Hays.
Oklahoma finished the match by hitting .400 in the fourth set, connecting on 18 kills, while UCA managed just nine.
"I'm proud of the way the team fought tonight," McRoberts said. "We got off to a slow start and really got better as the match went on."
The Sooners outhit the Sugar Bears .276 to .108 and had a 59-45 advantage in kills. OU also had 62 digs, while UCA came up with 47.
Leading the way for the Sugar Bears was Hammonds who hit .360 with 13 kills, an ace and two solo blocks. Hays came up with 13 kills and 10 digs for her third double-double of the season. Junior libero Cristin Curl led the defense with 16 digs and freshman setter Marissa Collins had 40 assists.
"Taylor had a great match and our passing was a key for us," said McRoberts. "If we can cut out just a few errors, we could be really good."
Boulavsky led all players with 19 kills and Higgins had 16 kills and 12 digs. Libero Maria Fernanda posted 21 digs and setter Brianne Barker had 50 assists.
The Sugar Bears will travel to Fort Worth, Texas for the TCU Molten Invitational on Friday and Saturday. UCA will kick things off with a match against #21 LSU at 11 a.m. on Friday.
Texas A&M 3, Sam Houston State 0
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Texas A&M played nearly error-free volleyball as the Aggies rolled up a 25-16 25-16 25-11 three set victory over Sam Houston State in a non-conference match Wednesday.
The Aggies totaled 39 kills with only 11 errors in 100 attempts in the three set match that took one hour and 13 minutes. A crowd of 1,485 watched the action.
Sam Houston posted 20 kills in 97 attempts with 19 errors. Carli Kolbe lead the Bearkats with five kills while Kim Black and Kellie Stewart each added four.
The loss drops Sam Houston to 2-3 for the season while the Aggies leveled their record at 2-2.
The Bearkats led only once in the three sets, going ahead 2-1 in the second set. The set was tied at 4-4 and Sam Houston narrowed the gap at one point to 14-10. The Aggies won 11 of the next 17 points to take a two sets to none lead.
Texas A&M jumped out to quick 4-0 leads in both the first and third sets.
Sam Houston travels to the Northeast to participate in the University of Delaware volleyball intercollegiate Friday and Saturday. East Carolina and Rutgers join host Delaware and the Bearkats in the field.
Next home action for the Bearkats will be a nonconference match with Texas Southern at Johnson Coliseum next Tuesday Sept. 7 at 7 p.m.
Baylor 3, UTSA 0
SAN ANTONIO - Ashlie Christenson led a balanced Baylor offensive attack with a match-high 12 kills and the Lady Bears extended their winning streak to 13 against UTSA with a 25-19, 25-16, 25-17 victory in Wednesday's home opener at the Convocation Center.
It was all Baylor (3-1) from the onset of the match, as it scored eight of the first 10 points of the night. The Roadrunners (1-3) battled back to tie the stanza at 12, but the Lady Bears responded with a 5-1 run and they went on to post a six-point victory.
A Baylor 6-1 stretch in the early going of the second set broke open a 6-5 frame and UTSA got no closer than three points the rest of the way, giving the Lady Bears a commanding 2-0 lead heading into the locker room.
The Baylor dominance continued after intermission, as it jumped out to a 9-1 edge. The Birds got within four at 11-7, but the Lady Bears responded yet again, this time to the tune of a 7-1 stretch, to end any remaining threat by UTSA.
Sophomore setter Kelsey Schwirtlich led the Roadrunners with a double-double 24 assists and 13 digs. Meanwhile, senior Kendra Rowland recorded a dozen kills on her 31 attacks and junior Kelsey Jewasko collected 12 digs.
Caitlyn Trice picked up a match-high 23 digs to lead the Baylor back row.
UTSA returns to the road this weekend when it travels to the West Coast for the Sacramento State Invitational. The Birds will open tournament play at 9:30 p.m. (CT) on Friday against host Sacramento State.