Big Ten Network : Volleyball Top Stories

No. 1 PSU rallies for third straight national title

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 22:25:00 +0000

TAMPA, Fla. -- Penn State players scurried for scissors to cut down the nets, ran for volleyballs left behind and moved quickly to secure pieces of banners around the arena. Everyone wanted a piece of history. They were the only ones who got it. Penn State became the first team to win three straight volleyball titles Saturday night, overcoming a two-set deficit to beat Texas and extend its record winning streak to 102 straight games. Megan Hodge led the Nittany Lions (38-0) with 21 kills, including the final one that touched off a wild celebration at midcourt. Bench players threw towels in the air and streams of tears rolled down some players' cheeks, all huddled together hoisting the title trophy. "Blacked out," Hodge said. "I was asking everybody after the match what happened on the last play. I don't remember." Penn State's 22-25, 20-25, 25-23, 25-21, 15-13 win helped it stake a claim as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, volleyball team in NCAA history. And maybe one of the best college teams ever. The winning streak is second in Division I team sports behind the Miami men's tennis program's 137 straight victories from 1957-64. "Not a lot of people have done stuff like that," Penn State coach Russ Rose said. "I got a cigar with my name on it tonight." The Nittany Lions led 22-19 in the first set and were on the brink of going ahead early. Then Texas called timeout, regrouped and rallied for six straight points to put Penn State behind, an unfamiliar position during most of its incredible run. "We were playing pretty perfect," Texas' Ashley Engle said. "I think we stunned Penn State a little bit." The Nittany Lions had only lost six sets this season entering the final match, although one of those came in the semifinals against Hawaii, before dropping the first two to Texas. They would rally gain. Penn State regained its serving prowess and cruised through the next two sets and had only a few miscues in the final set before closing out the Longhorns. There's no telling how long the streak will go. But one thing is for sure. "That's a lot of pressure on them next year," joked Hodge, an outgoing senior. Destinee Hooker had a game-high 34 kills for Texas, which was trying to claim its first volleyball title since 1988. She was selected as the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. "There was nothing I wanted more than for them to win the championship," Texas coach Jerritt Elliott said. "The ball bounces a funny way sometimes." The Nittany Lions were just too much. Penn State hasn't lost since falling to Stanford in September 2007. This one, the Nittany Lions will always remember. "It was the hardest fight we've had in our lives," Hodge said. "But we're so happy right now."

Penn State advances to national championship game, Rose earns 1,000th win

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 23:31:00 +0000

TAMPA, Fla. - With a 3-1 (23-25, 25-18, 25-15, 25-18) triumph against No. 12 Hawai'i (32-3), the top-ranked Penn State women's volleyball team (37-0) advances to the 2009 NCAA National Title match for the third straight year. Head coach Russ Rose became just the third Division I women's volleyball coach to reach the 1,000 career wins milestone with the triumph. The Nittany Lions have now won 101 consecutive matches. The Nittany Lions take on the University of Texas on Saturday, Dec. 19 at 8 p.m. in the NCAA National Championship match. Texas defeated Minnesota in three sets earlier Thursday evening to secure a spot in the title match. Rose ranks third on the all-time careers wins list. He sits behind Hawai'i head coach Dave Shoji, who ranks second with 1,016 career wins and UCLA's Andy Banachowski, who has 1,106 career victories. Three Nittany Lions posted double-digit kills. Senior Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.) led the squad with 12, while juniors Arielle Wilson (Broadview, Ill.) and Blair Brown (Purcellville, Va.) had 11 and 10 kills, respectively. Senior setter Alisha Glass (Leland, Mich.) dished out 41 helpers and attacked at a team-leading .692 with nine kills on 13 errorless swings. On defense, junior libero Alyssa D'Errico (Byron, N.Y.) had a career-high 19 digs, while Hodge posted 15 and Glass had 11. Junior Fatima Balza (Merida, Venezuela) led the Lions with nine total blocks, while Brown finished second on the team with seven total. Wilson also contributed six in the match. The Nittany Lions attacked at an uncharacteristically low .276 clip. PSU registered 54 kills, 50 assists, three aces, a season-high 66 digs and had 15.0 total team blocks. Penn State held the Rainbow Wahine to a .135 attack percentage and zero team blocks. The Wahine totaled 53 kills, 50 assists, three aces and 75 saves. Hodge put the Lions on the board first with a kill, but the Wahine weren't far behind thanks to a kill by Aneli Cubi-Otineru. UH took a 2-1 lead with an ace, but PSU answered back and took a 4-3 lead after a kill from Wilson and a stuff by Balza and Brown. The Nittany Lions increased their lead to four, 10-6, as the Wahine registered two errors and D'Errico had an ace. UH fought back and took a 12-11 lead courtesy of three kills by Stephanie Ferrell and an Amber Kaufman ace. The score would tie five times before the Nittany Lions regained control with a 19-17 edge. The lead was shortlived as two PSU errors and a Hawaii kill put the Wahine ahead, 20-19. A Penn State timeout failed to slow UH and the Lions soon trailed by three, 22-19. Coach Rose called a second timeout and Wilson put down a kill to put the Lions within two, 22-20. Kills from Cubi-Otineru and Kaufman made it set point Hawai'i, but a Hodge kill and a UH error had the Lions within one, 24-23. However, Kanani Danielson closed out the first set in favor of the Wahine, 25-23. It was just the second time this season that Nittany Lions had lost the first set. The Nittany Lions jumped out to a 7-3 lead in set two. The Wahine worked to within three, but Penn State was soon up by six, 11-5, after two Dorton kills and back-to-back Nittany Lion blocks. Penn State went on a 6-3 run capped off by three straight blocks. Balza joined forces with Brown in two and Dorton in the other. Despite leading by nine, 17-8, UH didn't back off. The Wahine answered back with a 9-5 run, capped off by five straight kills to trail by only five, 22-17. Glass and Hodge put two down kills to make it set point for PSU. UH's Brittany Hewitt managed one final kill for the Wahine, but a UH service error secured the set for the Nittany Lions, 25-18. Penn State took a 5-1 lead to start off the third set. Glass opened play with a kill before teaming with Wilson for a block. Wilson kept the early run going with a kill before Hodge split a Hawai'i block for a kill of her own. The Wahine came within two, 5-3, but the Lions kept Hawai'i at bay with another Hodge kill and a Balza/Brown block. Hawai'i then came within four, 10-6, of the Lions, but it was the closest the Wahine would come for the remainder of the set. PSU worked back up to six-point advantage after kills from Hodge and Glass. Errors began to plague the Wahine and Penn State surged ahead with a 20-11 lead. Despite kills from Kewitt and Danielson, UH was unable to cut down the Lions' formidable lead. Dorton put down a kill before Glass and Wilson put up a monster block to close out the third set, 25-15. Wilson opened the fourth set with a kill before Danielson and Kaufman put down kills to give the Wahine their first lead since set one. The Lions tied the set twice before two Hawai'i errors and a joint stuff by Balza and Brown had Penn State leading, 6-3. The Lions stayed in control and secured some much-needed breathing room, taking a 14-8 lead, after kills by Wilson and Glass and a UH error. The Wahine went on a 6-3 run to cut Penn State's lead to just three, 17-14, but a Penn State timeout allowed the Nittany Lions to regroup. Wilson teamed up with both Brown and Dorton for two blocks before sophomore Megan Shifflett (Falls Church, Va.) recorded an ace and Glass tallied a kill for a 22-15 lead. The Wahine managed three additional points before a Wilson kill and a UH service error gave Penn State a 25-18 fourth set victory.

Minnesota falls to Texas in national semifinals

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 21:52:00 +0000

The Minnesota volleyball team lost in three sets to No. 2 Texas by scores of 25-19, 25-20, 25-15 in the National Semifinals at the St. Pete Times Forum on Thursday, Dec. 17. With the loss, the Golden Gophers finished the season with a 28-9 overall record. "In order for us to competitive against Texas, we had to be able to pass off the serve a little better than we did," said Minnesota Head Coach Mike Hebert. "We had to serve a little bit tougher and we had to play a little bit better defense. I thought we were often competent in all three of those areas, but there were just too many moments that we just didn't do it well enough. They have athletes to take advantage of any mistake. I am awfully proud of our team; it's been a wonderful season for us. It's a shame it had to end on a 3-0 note to Texas, but they are an awfully good volleyball team." Minnesota was led by junior Hailey Cowles (Eden Prairie, Minn.) who had 12 kills, hit .348 (12-4-23) had six digs, two service aces and two assists. Junior Lauren Gibbemeyer (St. Paul, Minn.) finished with eight kills and two digs, while freshman Tabitha Love (Dauphin, Manitoba) had six kills and two blocks. Gibbemeyer finished her season with a school-record in blocks (181) and block assists (161). "I couldn't be any prouder of my teammates for coming all this way," said Gibbemeyer. "It was an experience of a lifetime and we are so grateful to be here. It is too bad we didn't make it further, but overall I couldn't be happier with the way our season went." Senior libero Christine Tan (Safety Harbor, Fla.) had 11 digs and a service ace in her final career match for Minnesota. Tan finishes her career second on the Golden Gophers' all-time list with 1,927 digs. Taylor Carico had 30 assists, seven digs and two blocks on the match. Carico finished her career with 5,308 assists. "I talked to my teammates in the locker room," said Tan. "At the beginning of the season I was not sure we could get here. We had a lot of tough times and pulled together in an amazing way. We couldn't have asked more, this team will be so talented next year. You never want to lose your last match, but only one team gets to be the winner at the end. Texas is a very good team and I am proud of my teammates." Texas outhit Minnesota .400 to .160 in the match, and had 50 kills to 33 for the Golden Gophers. Minnesota was narrowly outdug by a total of 36 to 34, and had three service aces to two for Texas. The Longhorns outblocked the Golden Gophers 5.0-to-2.0. This season, Minnesota made its first National Semifinal since 2004 and became one of only six teams to play in three or more since 2003. The Golden Gophers 28 wins were also the highest win total since 2004 when they advanced to the National Championship match. Minnesota fell behind 5-2 in the first set, before scoring four of the next five points to tie the set at six. The Golden Gophers took the lead at 8-7 on a solo block by Love. Minnesota held a 12-11 lead after a Gibbemeyer kill, but Texas scored three straight points, and took a 14-12 lead on a kill by Destinee Hooker. Gibbemeyer answered back with a kill, but the Golden Gophers committed an attack error to make it 15-13. After the Gophers cut the lead to 15-14, the Longhorns ran off three straight points and made it 18-14 on a block by Ashley Engle. Filho and Love answered with a back-to-back kills to make it 18-16. Rachael Adams and Hooker answered with consecutive kills to make it 20-16. Love followed with a kill, but Texas ran off three straight points to open up a six-point lead at 23-17. After Cowles delivered a kill and the Longhorns committed an attack error to make it 23-19, Texas closed out the set on a Minnesota service error and Juliann Faucette kill. Texas outhit Minnesota .419 to .219, and had 17 kills to 12. Cowles led the Golden Gophers with four kills, three digs and two assists in the set. Minnesota jumped out to a 4-2 lead in the second set on a kill by Gibbemeyer. The Golden Gophers maintained the two-point lead after a service ace by Cowles. Texas answered with a 4-0 run to take an 8-6 lead. Minnesota wrestled the lead back at 11-10 after a kill by Megan Wilson (Lincoln, Neb.). The Golden Gophers pushed it to a two-point lead going into the media timeout at 15-13 after a kill by Gibbemeyer. Minnesota maintained that two-point lead at 17-15 when Filho and Love combined on a block, and kept it at 18-16 after a kill by Love. Texas ran off three straight points and took a 19-18 lead after Faucette and Adams combined on a block. Minnesota tied the score at 19 on an attack error by the Longhorns, but Texas answered with a 4-0 run to take a 23-19 lead. After a kill by Katherine Harms (Albertville, Minn.) made it 23-20, Hooker and Faucette delivered consecutive kills to close out the set at 25-20. Texas outhit Minnesota .350 to .207 in the set, and had 19 kills to 11. Cowles led the way with four kills and a service aces in the set. The Golden Gophers jumped out to an 8-3 lead after a service ace by Cowles. Texas scored four of the next five points to cut the lead to 9-7. Minnesota pushed the lead back out to four points at 12-8 after a kill by Wilson. Texas responded by ripping off 12 of the next 13 points to take a 20-13 lead. Cowles delivered a kill to make it 22-15, but the Longhorns scored the final three points to close out the match in three sets. "In August, when we started, I didn't think we would be here," said Hebert. "I didn't think this was a team that could make its way through the various challenges to arrive at this point. However, they proved me wrong. I was skeptical at times, but in the last three or four weeks, they managed to pull off something I did not think was going to be possible. We thought next year would be our year to make it back here. This is a little bit of a surprise to me - a pleasant surprise. What they did was impressive to me. To fend off all the criticisms and manage to survive all of that and bind themselves together at the end of the season when it really counted. That was really impressive. For me, it was a marvelous season watching young people take on challenges, fight through them and come out victorious. We didn't win the match tonight, but I consider this team a winner." Texas was led by Hooker who had 17 kills, four digs and three blocks. Engle had 10 kills, 25 assists and four digs, while Faucette finished with 10 kills. Heather Kisner also had 21 digs for the Longhorns.

No. 1 Penn St. wins 100th straight, off to national semis

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 18:43:00 +0000

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The No. 1 Penn State women's volleyball team (36-0) won its 100th consecutive match with a 3-0 sweep (25-18, 25-17, 25-22) of ninth-seeded California on Saturday. The Nittany Lions advanced to the NCAA National Semifinals for the third straight season. Head coach Russ Rose has now won 999 matches in his career. Junior Arielle Wilson (Broadview, Ill.), senior Alisha Glass (Leland, Mich.), junior Blair Brown (Purcellville, Va.) were all named to the Gainesville Regional All-Tournament team. Senior Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.) was named the regional's Most Outstanding Player. Cal's Carli Lloyd and Hana Cutura and Florida's Elyse Cusack joined the Nittany Lions on the all-tournament team. Hodge led the Nittany Lions with 14 kills on .429 hitting, while Brown tallied 13 kills and two aces. Glass dished out 35 assists and led the team with 12 digs. Junior Fatima Balza (Merida, Venezuela) led the team with five total blocks, while junior Alyssa D'Errico (Byron, N.Y.) had a match-high five aces. Penn State attacked at a .337 clip totaling 40 kills, 38 assists, eight aces, 35 digs and 10.0 total team blocks. Cal (21-11) finished the night with 39 kills on .192 hitting. The Bears also recorded 35 assists, two aces, 30 digs and just 3.0 total team blocks. Cal was on the board first to start the match and the two teams traded points until the Bears took a 4-2 lead. Balza spiked the ball through a block to spark a 7-0 run by the Lions, including three straight aces from D'Errico and back-to-back kills from Brown, for an 9-4 lead. Cal's Hana Cutura cut off the PSU run with a kill before a Cat Brown and Correy Johnson stuff had the Bears within three. A Penn State attack error brought the Bears within two, 9-7, but a kill and an ace by Brown had Penn State back up by four, 11-7. Tarah Murrey fired back for Cal with a kill, but a putdown from freshman Darcy Dorton (Muncie, Ind.) and a monster kill from Wilson moved the Nittany Lions ahead by five, 13-8. Cal fought back to within three points, but the Lions were able to maintain the lead. Trailing by four, the Bears tallied two kills. However, Wilson had a solo stuff before teaming up with Glass for another block to give the Lions their four-point lead back, 21-17. Two Cal attack errors put PSU in set-point position. Hodge, with her fifth kill of the set, gave PSU a 25-18 set one victory. The Bears jumped out to a 4-1 lead early in set two, but thanks to kills from Brown and Wilson and another Brown ace the Nittany Lions were within one, 6-5. A Cal error allowed the Lions to tie it up, 6-6, but a Murrey kill put the Bears ahead, 7-6. The score tied twice more before a Cal error and a huge block by Balza and Hodge put the Lions up by three, 11-8, forcing Cal to take a timeout. By midway through the frame, Penn State led by five, 15-10. Two kills by Cutura and a Tia Gaffen and Carli Lloyd stuff brought the Bears within two, 15-13. Kills by Wilson, Brown and Dorton, as well as a Penn State block gave the Lions some much-needed breathing room at 20-15. After a service error by each team and a Cal timeout, a Hodge kill, an ace by senior Kelsey Ream (State College, Pa.) and a Balza slam secured set two for the Lions, 25-17. The Nittany Lions trailed to start the third set, but strong blocking and kills by Brown and Hodge prevented Cal from early. Tied at 6-6, two Cal kills and a PSU error gave the Bears a 9-6 lead. Another Penn State error and a Cutura kill gave the Bears their largest lead of the night, 11-7, just moments later. The Nittany Lions notched the next three points to be within one of the Bears, 11-10, but a Johnson/Brown stuff had Cal ahead by two, 12-10. The Nittany Lions managed to tie the score twice before two consecutive kills by Hodge gave Penn State a 15-14 lead. Following a timeout, the two teams went back-and-forth in scoring until a Hodge kill and a joint block by Hodge and Balza had the Lions leading 20-17. Cal called a timeout and it slowed the Lions momentum enough to allow the Bears to tie the set at 20-20. A Brown kill and a Cal attack error forced the Bears to bench a second time. Despite posting a kill after the break, the bears registered a service error to turn the ball over the the Lions. D'Errico served an ace to put the Lions in match-point position. Cal managed one final point before Brown put down a kill to send the Lions to the National Semifinals for the third straight season. The Nittany Lions will face either Hawaii or Michigan out of the Stanford Regional on Thursday, Dec. 17 in Tampa, Fla.

Hodge headlines AVCA All-America teams

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 13:29:00 +0000

TAMPA, Fla. - The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) is proud to announce the 29th annual AVCA Division I All-America Teams for women's volleyball. The awards will be presented Dec. 18, 2009, at the AVCA All-America/Players of the Year Banquet presented by Zamst at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Fla. Each of the three AVCA All-America Teams is comprised of 14 athletes. The Division I AVCA National Player of the Year will be announced on Dec. 18 at the AVCA All-America/Players of the Year Banquet. Penn State University senior outside hitter Megan Hodge headlines this year's recipients, as the only four-time First-Team honoree among the group of 42 athletes. Repeat First-Team selections include the University of California's Hana Cutura, Penn State University's Alisha Glass and The University of Texas' Ashey Engle and Destinee Hooker Of all of the First-Team honorees, all but two have previously garnered AVCA All-America recognition during their careers, with Louisiana State University middle blocker Brittnee Cooper and Stanford University setter/hitter Cassidy Lichtman grabbing their first-ever honor. A total of 20 athletes – nearly half of this year's recipients – representing the three teams are first-time AVCA All-America selections. The selections were made by the AVCA Division I All-America Committee: chair – Debbie Kirch, Green Bay; Andy Banachowski, UCLA; Keylor Chan, Northwestern; Joe Getzin, Mississippi; Christy Johnson-Lynch, Iowa State; Mike Jordan, New Mexico State; Anne Kordes, Saint Louis; and Lee Maes, Virginia. The AVCA Awards Chair is Dayton head volleyball coach Kelly Sheffield. 2009 AVCA DIVISION I FIRST-TEAM ALL-AMERICA Player Institution Pos. Yr. Ht. Hometown Blair Brown ^ Penn State University RS/Opp.Jr. 6-5 Purcellville, Virginia Brittnee Cooper Louisiana State University MB Sr. 6-2 Houston, Texas Hana Cutura *@ University of California OH Sr. 6-4 Zagreb, Croatia Kanani Danielson # University of Hawai'i OH So. 5-10 Ewa Beach, O'ahu Laura DeBruler ^ University of Illinois OH Jr. 5-11 Downers Grove, Illinois Ashley Engle *+ The University of Texas S/H Sr. 6-3 Yorba Linda, California Lauren Gibbemeyer # University of Minnesota MB Jr. 6-2 St. Paul, Minnesota Alisha Glass *@ Penn State University S Sr. 6-0 Leland, Michigan Megan Hodge *$! Penn State University OH Sr. 6-3 Durham, North Carolina Destinee Hooker *@ The University of Texas OH Sr. 6-4 San Antonio, Texas Cassidy Lichtman Stanford University S/H Jr. 6-1 Poway, California Ashley Mass # Iowa State University DS/Lib.Jr. 5-8 Muskego, Wisconsin Arielle Wilson ^ Penn State University MB Jr. 6-3 Broadview, Illinois Lexi Zimmerman ^ University of Michigan S Jr. 5-10 Barrington, Illinois 2009 AVCA DIVISION I SECOND-TEAM ALL-AMERICA Player Institution Pos. Yr. Ht. Hometown Brianna Barry Florida State University MB Sr. 6-3 Winter Springs, Florida Kindra Carlson University of Washington RS/Opp.Jr. 6-1 Eaton, Colorado Brooke Delano University of Nebraska MB So. 6-4 Bellevue, Nebraska Amanda Gil UCLA MB So. 6-6 San Jose, California Alix Klineman *@ Stanford University OH Jr. 6-4 Manhattan Beach, California Carli Lloyd ^ University of California S Jr. 5-11 Bonsall, California Kaylee Manns ^ Iowa State University S Sr. 5-10 Topeka, Kansas Tamari Miyashiro ^% University of Washington DS/Lib.Sr. 5-7 Kanehoe, Hawai'i Kelly Murphy # University of Florida S/H So. 6-2 Wilmington, Illinois Sonja Newcombe University of Oregon OH Sr. 6-1 Lake Arrowhead, California Janet Okogbaa Stanford University MB Sr. 6-3 Tampa, Florida Rachel Rourke Oregon State University OH Sr. 6-5 Queensland, Australia Sarah Rumely University of Kentucky S Sr. 5-11 New Palestine, Indiana Ali Troost University of San Diego RS/Opp.Jr. 6-2 Hemet, California 2009 AVCA DIVISION I THIRD-TEAM ALL-AMERICA Player Institution Pos. Yr. Ht. Hometown Sarah Ammerman Texas A&M University OH Sr. 6-2 Parker, Colorado Sydney Anderson ^ University of Nebraska S Jr. 6-0 Salt Lake City, Utah Ashley Benson Indiana University MB Jr. 6-3 Bloomington, Indiana Taylor Carico @ University of Minnesota S Sr. 6-0 Manhattan Beach, California Aneli Cubi-Otineru University of Hawai'i OH Sr. 5-11 Hale'iwa, O'ahu Megan Dooley University of Pittsburgh MB Sr. 6-1 West Chester, Ohio Neticia Enesi ^ University of Oregon MB Sr. 6-1 The Dalles, Oregon Juliann Faucette $ The University of Texas OH Jr. 6-2 San Diego, California Lindsay Fletemier University of Dayton MB Jr. 6-6 Garden City, Michigan Jenna Hagglund # University of Washington S Jr. 5-10 West Chester, Ohio Victoria Henson Iowa State University OH Sr. 5-11 Leavenworth, Kansas Alex Jupiter University of S.California OH So. 6-3 Hermosa Beach, California Juliana Paz University of Michigan OH Jr. 6-2 Porto Allegre, Brazil Serinity Phillips University of Notre Dame RS/Opp.Sr. 5-11 Valley Center, California * indicates 2008 AVCA First-Team All-America selection ^ indicates 2008 AVCA Second-Team All-America selection # indicates 2008 AVCA Third-Team All-America selection $ indicates 2007 AVCA First-Team All-America selection @ indicates 2007 AVCA Second-Team All-America selection % indicates 2007 AVCA Third-Team All-America selection ! indicates 2006 AVCA First-Team All-America selection + indicates 2006 AVCA Second-Team All-America selection 2009 Division I AVCA Freshman of the Yea r: Lauren Cook, UCLA, S 2009 Division I AVCA Player of the Year : Announced at AVCA All-America/Players of the Year Banquet on Dec. 18, 2009 2009 AVCA Division I Honorable Mention All-America Kyndra Abron (MichiganState, OH, So.) Sandra Adeleye (Clemson, MB, Fr.) Gabi Ailes (Stanford, DS/Lib., Jr.) Lola Arslenbekova (Louisville, OH, Fr.) Johannah Bangert (Illinois, MB, )Jr. Jennifer Banse (TexasA&M, RS/Opp., Sr.) Taylor Barnes (Baylor, S, Sr.) Michelle Bartsch (Illinois, RS/Opp., So.) Jovanna Bjelica (FloridaInternational, OH, Fr.) Ellie (Blankenship, Northern Iowa, DS/Lib., Jr.) Anna Breyfogle (Baylor, MB, Sr.) Lecia Brown (Louisville, MB, Sr.) Lane Carico (Miami, OH, So.) Kellie Catanach (Duke, S, So.) Stephanie Champine (Austin Peay, OH, Sr.) Kori Cooper (Nebraska, MB, Sr.) Elyse Cusack (Florida, DS/Lib., Sr.) Sam Dabbs (LSU, S, Sr.) Visnja Djurdjevic (Tulane, OH, So.) Darcy Dorton (Penn State, OH, Fr.) Katie Dull (Ohio State, OH, Jr.) Kourtney Edwards (Texas Christian, MB, Sr.) Bridget (Fonke, Saint Louis, OH, Sr.) Nikki Fowler (Tennessee, RS/Opp., Jr.) Chloe Goldman (Tennessee, DS/Lib., Sr.) Jessica Gysin (Southern California, OH, Sr.) Taylor Hadfield (New Mexico, RS/Opp., Jr.) Hillary Haen, Illinois, S, Jr.) Tyler Henderson (Tulsa, OH, Fr.) Ellen Herman (Ohio, OH, Sr.) Kim Hill (Pepperdine, MB, So.) Christy Hudson (Texas Christian, RS/Opp., Jr.) Amber Kaufman (Hawai'i, MB, Sr.) Rachel Lindelow (Tulane, S, Sr.) Dani Mafua (Hawai'i, S, Jr.) Sammi McCloud (Saint Louis, RS/Opp., Sr.) Monique Mead (Georgia Tech, RS/Opp., Fr.) Ashley Mell (Southern Miss, OH, So.) Sarah Mendoza (Kentucky, OH, Jr.) Danielle Minch (Colorado State, OH, Jr.) Sabel Moffett (Northwestern, MB, Jr.) Rachael Moss (Duke, OH, Sr.) Megan Munce (Texas Christian, S, So.) Kelsey Murphy (Clemson, S, Sr.) Kayla Neto (Cal State Fullerton, MB, Fr.) Stephanie Niemer (Cincinnati, OH, Jr.) Kate Nobilio (Northwestern, DS/Lib., Sr.) Jasmine Norton (Arkansas, OH, Fr.) Bre Payton (Northern Iowa, Setter/Hitter, So.) Kari Pestolesi (UC Irvine, OH, Jr.) Juliane Piggott (UC Irvine, OH, Jr.) Jordana Price (Florida State, MB, Sr.) Yarimar Rosa (Florida International, OH, Sr.) Michelle Rossi (Pittsburgh, DS/Lib., Sr.) Whitney Roth (Saint Louis, S, Sr.) Bianca Rowland (Washington, MB, So.) Rebecca Saraceno (UC Santa Barbara, OH, Sr.) Kaitlin Sather (UCLA, OH,, Sr.) Meredith Schamun (Rice, S, Jr.) Kelsea Seymour (Southern Miss, S, So.) Marina Skender (LSU, OH, Sr.) Emily Stockman (Wichita State, OH, Sr.) Mary Ashley Tippins (Georgia Tech, Setter/Hitter, Jr.) Natalia Valentin (Florida International, S, Jr.) Naomi Washington (Long Beach State, OH, Sr.) Hannah Werth (Nebraska, OH, Fr.) Jessica Wolfe (Butler, OH, Jr.) Yun Yi Zhang (Temple, OH, Sr.)

No. 3 Hawaii sweeps, ousts No. 16 Michigan

Sun, 13 Dec 2009 12:21:00 +0000

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- The No. 16-ranked University of Michigan volleyball team saw its season come to a close on Saturday night (Dec. 12), falling to No. 3 Hawai'i, 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-18), in the NCAA Stanford Regional Final at Maples Pavilion. Sophomore Alex Hunt (Granger, Ind./South Bend St. Joseph) was a bright spot on a difficult offensive night for the Maize and Blue, registering a team-high 13 kills. Junior setter Lexi Zimmerman (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) posted 32 assists in the loss. The Wolverines were held to just a .181 attack percentage in the match and did not produce a single service ace but posted their third straight match with double-digit blocks, outstuffing Hawai'i, 11-7. In the deciding third set, Michigan's woes continued as Hawai'i raced out to an 8-4 lead early before Hunt and senior Juliana Paz (Porto Alegre, Brazil/Americano [Iowa Western Community College]) teamed up for three terminations to bring Michigan back within one, 14-13. Hawai'i then reeled off four straight points to go on top 18-13 en route to a 25-18 win, taking the match 3-0. In the opening set, the Wolverines fell in an early hole only to dig themselves out with a balanced offensive attack that saw senior Veronica Rood (Temperance, Mich./Bedford), Hunt and senior Megan Bower (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) all register terminations to build a 12-8 lead and force a Hawai'i timeout. The Rainbow Wahine responded after the stoppage, reeling off five straight points to take a 13-12 lead and force U-M into a timeout of its own. Hawai'i eventually built a four-point lead, 21-17, before the Wolverines made a charge with a 3-0 run, cutting the lead to one. Tied at 23-all, U-M watched as Hawai'i scored the final two points to take the set 25-23 and a 1-0 match lead. Hawai'i carried its momentum into set two, jumping out to an early lead, which it never relinquished in a 25-19 win. The Wolverine offense never got on track, hitting just .156 in the frame compared to .267 for Hawai'i. Hunt was the lone bring spot, hitting .600 with six terminations.

Minnesota drops FSU, qualifies for third national semis

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 21:50:00 +0000

The Minnesota volleyball team (28-8) defeated Florida State (31-3) in four sets by scores of 25-20, 25-7, 18-25, 25-17 to advance to the National Semifinals at the Sports Pavilion on Saturday. Minnesota will face the winner of the Texas-Nebraska match in the National Semifinals on Thursday at either 6 or 8 p.m. Tickets for the National Semifinals will go on sale on Monday, Dec. 14 at 9 a.m. Orders for tickets will be taken until noon. The trip to the National Semifinals will be the third in school history for the Golden Gophers. Minnesota advanced to the National Semifinals previously in 2003 and 2004. It will also be fifth trip for Golden Gopher Head Coach Mike Hebert. With the victory, Minnesota also moved to 7-1 in its last eight NCAA Regional matches. The Golden Gophers are also 4-0 NCAA Regional matches in the Sports Pavilion. Minnesota won both NCAA Regional matches against Georgia Tech and Ohio State in 2004 to get to the Final Four. "I knew it was going to be a very warm entertaining evening early in the match," said Hebert. "We continued to play, as we have for the past month, team volleyball particularly in the final points of each set. We seemed to have the instinct to play well when it really counts, and that's something this team has really shaped on its own." Freshman outside hitter Tabitha Love (Dauphin, Manitoba) was named the Minneapolis Regional Most Outstanding Player. Love averaged 5.38 kps and hit .402 in the two NCAA Regionals. Lauren Gibbemeyer (St. Paul, Minn.) and Taylor Carico (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) were also named to the All-Tournament. Florida State's Mira Djuric and Rachael Morgan also received honors, along with Lauren Rapp (Kentucky) and Tessa Nelson (Colorado State). "I felt like this weekend we knew the matches would be really tough," said Love."We knew we had to step up, and it's really rewarding to win. Getting kills is secondary, going to Tampa was our goal and we accomplished that." Love paced the Minnesota attack for a second night in a row, as she hit .370 (21-4-46) with 21 kills. Gibbemeyer hit .464 (15-1-28) with 15 kills, six digs and three blocks on the night. Senior libero Christine Tan (Safety Harbor, Fla.) collected 24 digs and three assists to help secure a trip back to her homestate for the National Semifinals. "I'm so excited, not because I am going home, but because I get to take my team with me," said Tan. "I always thought before that it was who you had on your roster and how stacked your team was, but it is really not. It is the team you have together, and how well you play together. This team has played so well together, and I'm so happy right now." Carico also had seven kills, 44 assists and 13 digs for the match. Junior outside hitter Hailey Cowles (Eden Prairie, Minn.) collected 11 kills, 13 digs and three assists on the match. Minnesota outhit Florida State .331 to .179, and had 66 kills to 45 for the Seminoles. The Golden Gophers also collected 73 digs to 56 for Florida State and outblocked the Seminoles 8.0-to-5.0. "We pushed real hard to win the first two sets, and they pushed back hard in the third set," said Hebert. "Instead of freaking out, we just became more and more solid. I thought we won kind of going away. That's not easy to say after a Regional Final. The toughest matches on the road to the National Semifinals are the regional matches. I think we won the serve and pass game, and I thought we were the better ball control team. Those three things usually determine who wins and loses and we're tickled to death to be going down to Tampa." Minnesota jumped out to an 8-3 lead in the first set after a kill by Love. The Golden Gophers expanded the lead to 12-5 after a kill by Gibbemeyer. Cowles helped keep the seven-point lead with a kill to make it 14-7. Florida State answered with a 5-0 run to cut the lead to 14-12. The Golden Gophers answered with three straight points to make it 17-12 when Gibbemeyer and Love sandwiched kills around a Florida State attack error. The Golden Gophers maintained a four-point lead at 20-16, before the Seminoles scored consecutive points. Katherine Harms (Albertville, Minn.) answered with a kill to make it 21-18. The Seminoles cut it to 21-19, butGibbemeyer responded with back-to-back kills to make it 23-19. After Florida State scored to make it 23-20, Gibbemeyer and Love delivered consecutive kills to close out the set at 25-20. Minnesota outhit Florida State .342 to .205 in the set, and had 19 kills to 13 on the night. Love hit .545 (7-1-11) with seven kills, while Gibbemeyer had six kills in eight swings. The Golden Gophers put forth a dominant effort in the second set, as it held the Seminoles to the lowest point total by a Minnesota opponent since the rule change that made sets go to 25 points. The Golden Gophers raced out to a 10-1 lead in the second set after Ariana Filho (Monument, Colo.) and Love combined on a block. The Golden Gophers stretched the lead out to 16-3 at one point, and pushed it to 20-6 after a kill by Gibbemeyer. After Florida State scored the next point, Minnesota rattled off the final five points of the set to win it 25-7. After a pair of Florida State attack errors, Gibbemeyer and Carico combined on a block to make it 23-7. Cowles followed with a kill to make it set point at 24-7, and the Seminoles committed an attack error to close out the set. Minnesota outhit Florida State .609 to -.111 in the set, and had 15 kills to four. The Golden Gophers also outblocked the Seminoles 4.0-to-0.0 in the set. Love led the way with five kills in seven swings. Florida State responded to the 2-0 deficit by jumping out to a 16-9 lead in the third set. The Golden Gophers cut the lead to 17-12 with a kill by Love, but Florida State stretched it back out to 21-12 with four straight points. Minnesota scored six of the next eight points, and made it 23-18 on a kill by Cowles. The Seminoles closed the set out on consecutive kills by Brianna Barry and Stephanie Neville. In the set, Florida State outhit Minnesota .350 to .159 and had 16 kills to 13 for the Golden Gophers. Love led Minnesota with five kills in the set. The Golden Gophers ran out to a 11-7 lead in the fourth set after a kill by Cowles. Florida State scored two of the next three points to cut it to 12-9. After the Seminoles made it 13-10, Love and Cowles had kills, and Florida State had an attack error to make it 16-10. The Seminoles cut it to 17-14 on a kill by Neville, before Minnesota imposed its will with a 5-0 run to make it 22-14. Gibbemeyer sandwiched a pair of kills around a Seminole attack error to make it 20-14. Carico followed with a kill and then combined on a block with Gibbemeyer to make it 22-14. Gibbemeyer pushed the Golden Gophers to two points away from the National Semifinals with a kill that made it 23-16. After a Seminole point made it 23-17, Florida State committed a ballhandling error to make it match point. Fittingly, Love closed out the match with a kill to send Minnesota to its third National Semifinal appearance. "Tabi has been gradually improving all season long," said Hebert. "When I say gradually, I mean very gradually. It is not just about getting kills, it is the body language. She is losing that tentativeness that she had early on, and now if the ball is airborne she is going to take a swing at it. When you get that level of readiness, you become a player. I think in the last two weekends, she has shown that she wants to play and is going to become a very good player." The Seminoles were led by Djuric who had 11 kills and four digs. Barry also had eight kills, hit .350 and collected four digs. Jenna Romanelli finished with a team-high 15 digs, while Fatma Yildirim had six kills and 12 digs.

Michigan tops Stanford, advances to first Elite Eight

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 11:41:00 +0000

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- The No. 16-ranked University of Michigan volleyball team made history Friday night, using four double-figure kill performances and a .358 attack percentage en route to a 3-1 (25-18, 23-25, 25-22, 25-11) upset of No. 4 Stanford to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time in program history in a NCAA Regional Semifinal win in Maples Pavilion. Sophomore Alex Hunt (Granger, Ind./South Bend St. Joseph) led the way with 18 kills and 14 digs, while senior Juliana Paz (Porto Alegre, Brazil/Iowa Western CC) added 15. Junior setter Lexi Zimmerman (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) came up two digs shy of a triple-double with 10 kills, eight digs and 51 assists. In the deciding fourth set, the Wolverines continued a trend of fast leads, going on top 6-1 on a vicious kill from Zimmerman to force the Cardinal to burn an early timeout. The lead swelled to seven, 9-2, on a kill from Paz, which forced Stanford to expend its second and final timeout of the frame. The lead continued to grow as U-M put together a 6-0 run, which included a pair of aces from sophomore libero Sloane Donhoff (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) to go on top 16-3 as the Wolverines eventually cruised to a 25-11 win, taking the match three sets to one. In set three, U-M again raced out to an early lead thanks to back-to-back Hunt terminations plus a kill from Zimmerman and ace from Donhoff to grab an 8-3 advantage. The Wolverines continued to play well, holding an 18-12 lead that forced the Cardinal into its second timeout of the frame. Up 20-14, the Wolverine defense began to falter as Stanford put together a 6-0 run with three service aces in the mix to get within one, 20-19. U-M responded, however, using kills by Hunt, senior Veronica Rood (Temperance, Mich./Bedford) and sophomore/junior Karlee Bruck (Elyria, Ohio/Elyria) to go back on top 24-22, and a solo block by Rood sealed the win, 25-22, as U-M went on top two sets to one. In set two, Michigan again jumped out to an early lead, 5-2, on three straight kills by Rood, Paz and Zimmerman. The Cardinal made a charge from there, tying the score at eight-all before grabbing their biggest lead of the night, 10-8. The Stanford lead swelled to three points, 15-12, forcing a Michigan timeout. The Cardinal pushed their lead to five, 20-15, before the Wolverines made a push, registering the next two points and forcing a Stanford stoppage. The Wolverines got within one at 23-22 on a service ace by Paz and tied the match at 23-all on a Cardinal attack error, but Stanford reeled off the next two to take the set 25-23 and even the match at one set apiece. In set one, the Wolverines raced out to an early 6-2 lead on the strength of four straight points -- two blocks and two kills by Hunt and a cross-court winner from Rood. After Stanford whittled the lead to three, Michigan responded with two kills from senior Megan Bower (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) and an ace from junior Maggie Busch (Toledo, Ohio/Toledo Christian) to grab a 13-8 lead and force a Cardinal timeout. Stanford got to within three points on two occasions, but each time the Wolverines responded, including a 3-1 run over the final four points to grab a 25-18 win. Michigan hit an impressive .545 in the set as Paz paced the club with six kills, while Hunt added five. With the win, Michigan advances to Saturday night's (Dec. 12) NCAA Regional Final against No. 3 Hawai'i, which defeated Illinois, 3-1, to advance. First serve for a trip to the Final Four is set for 8:30 p.m. PST with live coverage nationally on ESPNU.

Illinois falls to Hawaii in Sweet 16

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 00:07:00 +0000

PALO ALTO, Calif.— Fifth-seeded Illinois put up a valiant effort in its Regional Semifinal match with 12th-seeded Hawaii, but in the end, the Rainbow Wahine used a decisive advantage in the serve-pass game to pull out a 21-25, 25-10, 27-25, 25-16 victory in front of 2,062 fans at Maples Pavilion to advance to the Elite Eight. Senior Kylie McCulley led Illinois with 14 kills, including six in the opening set. Laura DeBruler was key in set three en route to 13 kills while sophomore Michelle Bartsch tallied 12 kills. DeBruler had a double-double by adding a team-leading 13 digs. Hawaii out-aced the Illini 8-2 and used the arm first of Stephanie Farrell (19 kills) and then Kanani Danielson (21 kills) down the stretch to out-hit the Illini .298-.202. ""Hawaii is a great team, very athletic,"" said Illinois head coach Kevin Hambly. ""I think the match went the way we thought it could go if Hawaii won the serve-pass battle. They had a textbook way to stop our block and got us in a lot of trouble. We were not able to get in a rhythm."" Illinois came out of the gates strong, bolting to leads of 6-1 and 11-4 in the first set. The Illini served tough and got five kills from Bartsch in the first set. Even when Hawaii made a run to take a 15-14 lead, the only time the Rainbow Wahine led in the opening set, the Illini responded, using a solo block from Erin Johnson to take a 20-17 advantage, then adding two more blocks – from Johannah Bangert and Hillary Haen and from Bangert and Bartsch to end the set. Sets two and four were all Hawaii, as the Rainbow Wahine hit .321 and .424 in those sets to win easily. The third set, however, was back-forth. The Illini had a swing to win that set, ahead 25-24. In that set, Hawaii out-hit the Illini by a narrow .269-.267 margin. In that set, the Illini showed some grit in overcoming a 17-14 deficit. Johnson scored on the back slide and Haen on the setter dump to make it 17-16 Hawaii. A Bartsch-Bangert block tied the score at 19-19 and a Bartsch swing from just off the net tied the score at 20-20. That gave the serve to the Illini's Jackie Wolfe, who served two straight points to give Illinois a 22-20 lead. With Hawaii serving for the set at 24-23, Haen served up a quick set to Johnson in the middle for a kill and tie the score, then DeBruler served up an ace, giving the Illini a chance to get the set. That's when Hawaii got kills first from Danielson then a pair from Aneli Cubi-Otineru to win the set and take momentum into set four. Danielson had seven kills in the third set and eight in the fourth set on a .467 attack percentage. ""Hawaii just attacked us from all areas,"" DeBruler said. ""It came to a point that regardless of what we were doing they were still going after us."" In the end it came down the serve-pass game. ""I thought that if they passed the way they did tonight that they would know how to attack us,"" Hambly said. ""I thought they did a nice job of getting to the outside and getting fast to Farrell and put a lot of pressure on the right front blockers."" Hambly was pleased with how his team did in that area in the odd numbered sets. ""In sets one and three we got them out of system and we were able to score points, we just couldn't sustain it,"" he said. Illinois finishes the season at 26-6, advancing to its 11th Sweet 16. Those matched last year's accomplishments for wins and post-season advancement. But the Illini also established themselves as a top-10 team with only four teams in Illinois history having fewer losses.

Penn State sweeps Florida, advances to regional final

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 21:23:00 +0000

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The top-seeded Penn State women's volleyball team (35-0) won their 99th straight match Friday night with a 3-0 (25-12, 25-18, 25-21) victory against the 16th-seeded Florida Gators (25-6). Penn State advances to the Gainesville Regional Final tomorrow night against ninth-seeded California. Action is set for 4 p.m. in Florida's Stephen C. O'Connell Center. The Nittany Lions were guided by seniors Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.) and Alisha Glass (Leland, Mich.) in the victory. Hodge finished the night with 20 kills and 10 digs, while Glass dished out 45 assists and had five kills on seven errorless swings. Junior Blair Brown (Purcellville, Va.) finished second on the team with 11 kills on .440 hitting, while both freshman Darcy Dorton (Muncie, Ind.) and junior Arielle Wilson (Broadview, Ill.) had nine kills apiece. In addition to Hodge, three other Nittany Lions had double-digit digs. Junior libero Alyssa D'Errico (Byron, N.Y.) led the team with 14, Brown totaled 13 and Quilico registered 12. At the net, junior Fatima Balza (Merida, Venezuela) led the team in blocking with four total. Penn State posted 55 kills while attacking at a .454 clip against the Gators. The team totaled 60 digs and 6.0 total team blocks in the match. Florida finished the night with 33 kills on .189 hitting. The Gators recorded 40 digs and just 2.0 total team blocks. The Gators were on the board first, but the Nittany Lions took an early 2-1 lead after a kill by Wilson and a Florida attack error. Florida tied it at 2-2, but back-to-back Hodge kills gave Penn State a 4-2 lead. Hodge posted another kill and teamed up with Balza for a block to move the Lions ahead, 6-3. UF fought back to within one, 6-5, thanks to a kill from Lauren Bledsoe and a Kelly Murphy stuff, but a Hodge, Wilson and Brown all put down kills to give the Nittany Lions a 10-6 lead. Following a Florida timeout, Penn State increased its lead to seven, 15-8, courtesy of kills from Brown and Dorton and three straight by Wilson. The Nittany Lions closed out the set on a 10-4 run, holding the Gators to just 12 points. Hodge and Dorton each had three kills in the run and Wilson capped off the set with one of her own for the 25-12 first set win. Penn State jumped out to a 5-1 lead in set two. Dorton opened play with a monster kill before Wilson and Glass contributed a kill apiece. PSU's blocking also picked up as Glass joined forces with Wilson and Hodge with Balza for two early stuffs. Florida's Callie Rivers attempted to cut off Penn State's scoring run with a kill, but the Lions were soon up by seven, 9-2, after kills by Glass and Brown and another block from Hodge and Balza. Florida fought to within four, 12-8, but three consecutive PSU kills had the Lions advantage back at seven, 15-8. The Nittany Lions didn't back off and kills from Hodge and Dorton and a Gator error put Penn State up by eight, 18-10. After a Gator timeout, Kristy Jaeckel tallied a kill for UF and Penn State had three straight errors to bring Florida within five, 22-17. However, Brown and Glass each notched kills for the Lions and a Florida service error would secure the second set for PSU, 25-18. The third set started out close with the two squads tying five times before the Gators took a two-point lead, 7-5, on a Murphy kill and a Bledsoe ace. The Nittany Lions trailed until Hodge spiked a kill down the left side line to tie the set at 9-9. An error by Florida's Jaeckel put the Nittany Lions in the lead, 10-9. Back-to-back Hodge kills increased PSU's lead to three, 12-9, and sending Florida to the bench for a timeout. After the break the Gators earned the chance to serve thanks to a PSU attack error, but Hodge managed to put down to kills to give Penn State a 15-10 advantage. The Nittany Lions maintained at least a four-point lead until UF tallied four points in a row to come within three, 22-19. Penn State called a timeout to slow Florida's momentum. The Nittany Lions scored the next point after the timeout, but the Gators answered right back with a kill from Bledsoe. Hodge put the Lions in match-point position with two kills before Brown closed out the match with a kill to send Penn State on to the Regional Final.

Minnesota advances to regional final

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 00:03:00 +0000

The Minnesota volleyball team (27-8) defeated Colorado State (25-6) in four sets by scores of 25-22, 29-27, 23-25, 25-18 at the Sports Pavilion in the NCAA Regional Semifinals on Friday, Dec. 11. With the win, the Golden Gophers reached their fourth NCAA Regional Final in seven years. Minnesota is also 6-1 in its last seven NCAA Regional Final matches, including trips to the Final Four in 2003 and 2004, along with a win against Florida and a five-set loss to Nebraska in 2006. The Golden Gophers will play the region's top seed, Florida State, on Saturday, Dec. 12 at 5:30 p.m. That match will be broadcast live on ESPNU. Fans who are coming to tomorrow's match are encouraged to arrive early to try to beat departing traffic from the Minnesota-St. Joseph's men's basketball game at 3 p.m. on Dec. 12. "Obviously it's great to play in front of your own fans," junior middle blocker Lauren Gibbemeyer. "The turnout was great tonight, and we are so thankful to our fans. It is definitely a great home-court advantage, and we are looking forward to have that support tomorrow." Minnesota outdug Colorado State 86 to 66, and had 73 kills to 55. The Rams outblocked the Golden Gophers 13.0-to-11.0, but Minnesota outhit them .242 to .205 on the night. "I thought the match was evenly played in the serve and passing game," said Minnesota Head Coach Mike Hebert. "Defensively I thought we were a little bit better, and we were able to convert more often than they did. I was very impressed with how well coached Colorado State is. They had a great plan for our attack, particularly against Lauren (Gibbemeyer). We are really happy to moving on to play tomorrow." Minnesota was led by senior setter Taylor Carico (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) who tied a career-high with 13 kills, hit .647 (13-2-17) with 47 assists and 12 digs. It was the first triple-double by a Golden Gopher of the season, and the first in the NCAA Tournament since Kelly Bowman and Lindsey Taatjes each had them in the Regional Finals in 2004. Freshman outside hitter (Dauphin, Manitoba) collected a career-high 22 kills and hit .429 (22-4-41) on the night. Love is 4.72 kps in her three NCAA Tournament matches this year. Junior outside hitter Lauren Gibbemeyer (St. Paul, Minn.) also had 13 kills, a season-high nine digs and three blocks. "A lot of people have heard about Tabitha Love, but I think she came into her own tonight," said Hebert. "She had 22 kills and did a great job of being our go-to hitter throughout the night." Sophomore defensive specialist Jessica Granquist (Blaine, Minn.) had a career-high 21 digs and also collected four assists. Junior outside hitter Hailey Cowles (Eden Prairie, Minn.) also had 10 kills and 14 digs, while senior Megan Wilson tallied 15 digs, seven kills and four assists. Sophomore Ariana Filho (Monument, Colo.) collected eight kills and seven blocks, and senior libero Christine Tan (Safety Harbor, Fla.) had 12 digs and four assists. "I thought we played really well as a team tonight," said Love. We really came together, and we did a good job feeding off each other tonight. I thought that was a big key in our victory tonight." Minnesota jumped out to a 8-6 lead after kills by Love and Filho. After Colorado State scored the next point, the Golden Gophers answered with a 4-0 run, started by a solo block by Filho and a kill by Cowles, to make it 12-7. The Rams responded with a 6-1 run to tie the score at 13.Cowles answered by sandwiching a kill and a service ace around a kill by Carico to make it 16-13. With the score at 16-14, Carico and Love delivered kills to push the Golden Gopher lead to four points. Colorado State cut the lead to 18-15, but Cowles and Filho came back with consecutive kills to move Minnesota ahead 20-15. The Rams scored four straight points to cut the lead to 20-19, but committed a service error to make it 21-19. Filho moved the score to 22-19 with a kill. With the score at 23-20, Colorado State scored consecutive points to make it 23-22. Wilson delivered a kill to make it set point, and Carico and Gibbemeyer combined on a block to give Minnesota the first set 25-22. Minnesota was outhit by Colorado State .222 to .209, but had 16 kills to 14 for the Rams. Colorado State outblocked the Golden Gophers 3.0-to-2.0, but Minnesota won the serving battle with two service aces and no service errors while Colorado State had one service ace to three service errors. In the second set, Colorado State jumped out to a 7-5 lead before Minnesota scored consecutive points to tie it at seven on a kill by Love. The Rams answered quickly with eight of the next 10 points to move ahead 15-9. After a Wilson kill, Colorado State answered to move ahead 16-10. Wilson responded by sandwiching a kill and a service ace around a kill by Gibbemeyer to make the score 16-13. Colorado State moved ahead 17-13, but the Golden Gophers answered with five of the next six points to take a 19-18 lead. The Rams scored the next two points to move ahead 20-19, but Carico and Filho had back-to-back kills to give Minnesota a 21-20 lead. The Golden Gophers moved ahead 22-21 after a kill by Love, but Colorado State answered with consecutive points to take a 23-22 lead. Filho tied it at 23, but Danielle Minch delivered a kill to make it set point at 24-23. Carico tied with a kill, but Minch answered with a kill to make it set point at 25-24. Carico answered with a kill, and following a Rams attack error Minnesota made it set point at 26-25. Minch answered with a kill, and Jacque Davidson followed with a kill to give Colorado State set point at 27-26. Gibbemeyer tied the score at 27 with a kill, and Filho had a solo block to make it set point at 28-27. Minnesota claimed the set on the next point to move ahead 2-0 in the match. Minnesota outhit Colorado State .205 to .174 in the set, and had 18 kills to 16 for the Rams. Gibbemeyer led the way with five kills, while Carico had four kills in four swings in the set. Colorado State jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the third set. Minnesota answered with eight of the next 10 points and took a 9-7 lead on a kill by Love. The Rams scored four of the next five points to claim an 11-10 lead, but Cowles answered with a kill and combined on a block with Filho to give the Golden Gophers the lead back at 12-11. Minnesota led 13-11, before Colorado State answered with seven of the next eight points to take an 18-14 lead. The Rams pushed the lead to 21-16, but the Golden Gophers answered with five of the next seven points and cut it to 23-21 after a kill by Carico. Colorado State made it set point at 24-21, but Wilson and Filho responded with kills to make it 24-23. Davisson and Tessa Nelson put away the set for the Rams when they combined on a block. Minnesota was outhit .270 to .200 in the set, and the Rams had 19 kills to 13 for the Golden Gophers. Love had eight kills in 12 swings in the set. The Golden Gophers jumped out to an 8-6 lead in the fourth set after a kill by Gibbemeyer. Colorado State scored four of the final five points to take a 10-9 lead. With the scored tied at 12, Love and Filho combined on a block, and Colorado State committed an attack error to make it 14-12. Minnesota expanded the lead to four points at 17-13 on another kill by Carico. Colorado State cut it to three points at 17-14, but the Golden Gophers pushed the lead up to five points at 20-15 after a kill by Wilson. Cowles then delivered a block, and Gibbemeyer and Carico followed by combining on one to make it 22-15. Carico delivered a kill to move the lead out to 23-15. Gibbemeyer delivered a kill to make it match point at 24-16, and two points later Love closed out the match in four sets with a kill.

Michigan tops Ohio, makes 3rd straight Sweet 16

Sat, 5 Dec 2009 23:26:00 +0000

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 16-ranked University of Michigan women's volleyball team secured its third straight NCAA Sweet 16 trip with a 3-2 (30-32, 24-26, 25-13, 25-20, 15-13) comeback victory over Ohio on Saturday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament inside Cliff Keen Arena. U-M dug out of a 2-0 hole to win the final three sets. Three Wolverines posted double-figure digs, led by senior Juliana Paz (Porto Alegre, Brazil/Iowa Western CC) with 18, while sophomore Alex Hunt (Granger, Ind./South Bend St. Joseph) added 16 and senior Veronica Rood (Temperance, Mich./Bedford) posted the first double-double in kills and blocks for the team this season, registering 13 terminations and a career-high 10 blocks. The Wolverines posted a season-high 17 blocks as a team as both teams combined for 24 total stuffs. In the deciding fifth set, Michigan carried momentum from its victories in sets three and four to grab an early 6-2 lead on kills by Hunt and Rood. The lead was three, 8-5, as the teams switched sides and Ohio went on a 6-2 run to cut the Michigan lead to one, 11-10. The Bobcats then forced the first tie of the set at 11-11 as the teams traded points down the stretch. Tied at 13-all, Michigan used an Ohio attack error and a kill by Paz to complete the comeback win, 15-13. The first set was one for the ages as the teams exchanged the lead nine times with 16 ties in a marathon 32-30 win for Ohio. Michigan struggled with its passing game early as Ohio ripped off four service aces in the frame. The U-M defense found its way midway through the set, forcing an OU attack error to forge a 24-all tie. From that point on, the two teams traded points until the Bobcats used back-to-back attack errors from the Wolverines to cap the set-one victory. Ohio carried the momentum from its opening-set victory into the second frame, racing out to a 12-5 lead and forcing Michigan into a timeout. The Wolverine started to claw back, narrowing the margin to four, 13-9, and then 16-14 on a kill by Rood. Consecutive terminations from junior/sophomore Karlee Bruck (Elyria, Ohio/Elyria) and Zimmerman forced the first tie, 18-18, and a kill from Rood knotted the match again at 24-all. Ohio then scored the final two points of the set for a 26-24 win and a 2-0 set lead heading to intermission. In set three, Michigan came out swinging, hitting .321 while holding Ohio to a .000 clip in the most lopsided frame of the night, 25-13. The U-M offense was balanced as Bruck paced the club with five kills, while Paz added four, giving Michigan life, down two sets to one. The U-M offense stayed hot in set four, hitting .353 as Hunt tallied five kills in a 25-20 Wolverine victory. Zimmerman dished out 12 assists and Michigan used two blocks from Rood down the stretch to hold off a late rally by the Bobcats, evening the match at 2-2. With the victory, Michigan advances to the NCAA Regional Semifinals on Friday (Dec. 11) on the campus of Stanford University against either Stanford of St. Mary's (Calif.) in Palo Alto, Calif. Opponent and game time information will be announced when it becomes available.

Top-ranked Penn State sweeps Penn

Sat, 5 Dec 2009 22:03:00 +0000

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 1 Penn State women's volleyball team advanced to the NCAA Regionals with a 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-16) sweep of the University of Pennsylvania (23-6) Saturday night. The Nittany Lions have now won 98 consecutive matches and head coach Russ Rose has 997 career wins. Penn State advances to the NCAA Regionals for the 21st time. Penn State (34-0) heads to the Gainesville Regional hosted by the University of Florida. The Nittany Lions take on the 16th-seeded Gators on Friday, Dec. 11 at 6 p.m. ET. The Nittany Lions were led by junior Arielle Wilson (Broadview, Ill.), who tallied a team-best 13 kills and nine total blocks. Freshman Darcy Dorton (Muncie, Ind.) finished second on the squad with nine kills and put up four total blocks. Senior setter Alisha Glass (Leland, Mich.) had 28 helpers and four blocks, while junior Blair Brown (Purcellville, Va.) had a career-high four aces and 14 digs. Penn State attacked at a .349 clip against the Quakers, posting 38 kills, 35 assists, eight aces, 35 digs and 15.0 total team blocks. Penn finished the night with 33 kills, 33 aces, one ace, 37 digs and just 2.0 team blocks. The Quakers came out on fire to open the match taking a 4-1 lead. The Nittany Lions continued to trail until a Wilson kill sparked a 4-0 run to bring PSU within one, 9-10, and force Penn to take a timeout. Senior Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.) posted a kill after the break to tie the set at 10-10, but the score would tie six times before Penn took control of the lead for a second time. With the Quakers leading 18-16, the Lions called a timeout only to have Penn's Ashley Hawkins put down a kill increasing their lead to three, 19-16. However, a kill and a block by Dorton had PSU within one and a joint stuff by Glass and Wilson had the set tied for the eighth time at 19-19. Another Dorton kill gave Penn State the lead for good and sent Penn to the bench for a timeout. The timeout failed to slow the Nittany Lions as kills from Wilson and Dorton and an ace by junior Cathy Quilico (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) gave Penn State a 25-20 first set win. Penn jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second set before the Nittany Lions got on the board thanks to a Wilson kill. PSU continued to trail the Quakers until another Wilson kill began an 11-0 run by the Lions despite Penn calling two timeouts. Brown had three aces in the run and Wilson posted two kills. Penn's Elizabeth Semmens finally cut off the Nittany Lions with a kill, but Wilson didn't allow the Quakers to gain any momentum with a kill of her own. Penn State maintained at least a nine-point lead until the Quakers managed to tally four straight points to come within six, 20-14. Semmens and Lauren Martin each had two kills in the scoring spurt. Following a Nittany Lion timeout, an attack error by Penn increased the Lions' lead to seven, 21-15. The Quakers notched just two additional points, while Dorton, Hodge and Balza all contributed kills to close out set two in Penn State's favor, 25-17. The third set started out much different than the first two with Penn State taking a 3-0 lead. Glass opened the set with a kill before junior Fatima Balza (Merida, Venezuela), Glass and Hodge teamed up for two blocks. A PSU service error gave the Quakers their first point, but Hodge tallied a kill to keep PSU ahead by three, 4-1. Penn State's blocking really picked up in the final set as blocks from Dorton, Balza and Brown had the Nittany Lions leading 7-3. After a Quaker timeout, Dorton put down a kill and teamed up with Wilson and Brown for a block to move Penn State ahead by five, 9-4. The Nittany Lions increased their advantage to seven, 14-7, by midway through the frame. However, Penn didn't let PSU off easy and worked back within four, 14-10, thanks to two Lion errors and an Anne Magnuson kill. Soon after Penn State was back ahead by seven, 18-11, courtesy of two kills by Hodge, one form Dorton and a Penn error. Penn called a final timeout, but it failed to take away Penn State's momentum. As the set wound down, the Nittany Lions posted three more blocks and Wilson capped off the night with a kill for a 25-16 set three victory.

Minnesota sweeps Tennessee, off to regionals

Sat, 5 Dec 2009 21:50:00 +0000

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The Minnesota volleyball team (26-8) advanced to the NCAA Regionals by defeating Tennessee (24-8) in three sets by scores of 25-15, 25-16, 25-18 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday. With the win, the Golden Gophers will return home to the Sports Pavilion to compete in their seventh NCAA Regional in the last 11 years. Minnesota will face Colorado State in the NCAA Regional Semifinals on Friday, Dec. 11 at 7 p.m. In the first match on Dec. 11 at 5 p.m., Kentucky will face the winner of Sunday's match between Florida State and Jacksonville State. The winner of those two matches will play in the NCAA Regional Final on Saturday, Dec. 12 at 5:30 p.m. in a match that will broadcast live on ESPNU. "We made it a team goal to get back to Minneapolis to play in front of our fans at the NCAA Regionals, and it was very satisfying to accomplish that goal," said junior middle blocker Lauren Gibbemeyer. "During timeouts as we prepared to get back on the court, we were talking about. It was definitely a motivating force for us to get back home to the NCAA Regionals." The Golden Gophers were led by Gibbemeyer who had 13 kills, hit .333 (13-1-36) and had nine blocks. Freshman Tabitha Love (Dauphin, Manitoba) also had 11 kills, as she registered her second double-figure kill effort in as many career NCAA Tournament matches. "We are a very physical team," said Gibbemeyer. "I thought tonight was a great team-effort. I think it is one of our great team assets that we play very well with each other, and I thought everybody did a great job of contributing tonight." Senior setter Taylor Carico (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) had 40 assists, 12 digs, five blocks and four kills, while Ariana Filho (Monument, Colo.) hit .533 (8-0-15) with eight kills. Minnesota had five different players collect double-figure digs on the night led by senior libero Christine Tan (Safety Harbor, Fla.) who had 16 to go with two assists. Hailey Cowles (Eden Prairie, Minn.) finished with 11 digs, seven kills, three service aces and three blocks. Megan Wilson (Lincoln, Neb.) collected 11 digs, five kills and four digs, while Jessica Granquist (Blaine, Minn.) had 12 digs. "I thought our defensive schemes both from a digging and blocking standpoint were the difference in the match today," said Minnesota Head Coach Mike Hebert. "We did good job of keeping the ball off the ground and put our setter, Taylor Carico, in great position for good part of the night. From a precision and execution standpoint this was one of our best matches of the year." The Golden Gophers outhit Tennessee .279 to .099, and had 50 kills to 29 for the Lady Vols. Minnesota also outblocked Tennessee 11.0-to-4.0, and had 69 digs to 52 for the Lady Vols. The Golden Gophers also had four service aces to two for Tennessee. Minnesota jumped out to a 6-4 lead in the first set on a kill by Carico. After Tennessee cut it to 6-5, the Golden Gophers went on a 12-2 run to take an 18-7 lead. Minnesota led 9-6, before Carico, Love and Wilson collected three straight kills to move it to 12-6. After a ballhandling error by the Lady Vols, Love delivered a kill to make it 14-6. Love and Cowles collected back-to-back kills to make it 16-7, and Cowles collected a kill after a Tennessee hitting error to make it 18-7. Gibbemeyer kept it at an 11-point lead with a kill to make it 20-9. Love pushed it to 23-13 with a kill, and after a Lady Vol attack error the Golden Gophers moved it to set point at 24-13. Minnesota closed out the set at 25-15 with a kill by Wilson. The Golden Gophers outhit Tennessee .350 to .135 in the first set, and had 18 kills to nine for the Lady Vols. Love collected five kills in the first set, while Gibbemeyer had four kills and two blocks. Tennessee moved out to a 10-9 lead in the second set, but Filho and Cowles sandwiched kills around a Tennessee attack error to make it 12-10. The Lady Vols answered with three of the next four points to tie the score at 13, but Gibbemeyer answered with a solo block and Cowles followed with a kill. Tennessee cut the lead to 15-14, but Gibbemeyer and Cowles again answered with consecutive kills to make it 17-14. Carico and Gibbemeyer followed by combining on a block, and Tennessee committed an attack error to make 19-14. After the Lady Vols made it 19-15, Cowles answered with a kill and a service ace to push it to 21-15. Carico and Love followed with kills to make it 23-15. Gibbemeyer pushed it to set point at 24-16, and Filho and Carico combined on a block give Minnesota the set 25-16. Minnesota limited Tennessee to a -.047 hitting percentage and hit .152 in the second set. The Golden Gophers also had 13 kills to eight for the Lady Vols, and outblocked Tennessee 7.0-to-1.0. Gibbemeyer had four kills and five blocks in the set. In the third set, the Golden Gophers ran out to a 10-5 lead after a kill by Filho. Tennessee cut it to 11-8, but Katherine Harms (Albertville, Minn.) collected a kill and Cowles and Gibbemeyer combined on a block to make it 13-8. With the score at 15-11, the Golden Gophers scored four straight points when Gibbemeyer sandwiched a pair of kills around a service ace by Cowles and Love delivered a kill to make it 19-11. Love delivered another kill to push the lead out to 23-15. Tennessee responded with three straight points, but Filho put the match away with consecutive kills to give Minnesota the three-set victory. Tennessee was led by Nicki Fowler who had 11 kills and 13 digs. Kylie Marshall also had six kills and eight digs, while Kayla Jeter had seven kills and five digs. Libero Chloe Goldman also had 11 digs.

No. 9 California ends Ohio State's season, 3-1

Sat, 5 Dec 2009 21:56:00 +0000

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio State (25-10 overall) women's volleyball team closed out a successful season with a 3-1 (25-13, 18-25, 25-23, 25-20) loss to ninth-ranked California in a second round match of the NCAA Championship held in St. John Arena. California advances to the Gainesville (Fla.) regional semifinals Dec. 11. Ohio State's Katie Dull recorded a team-high 18.5 points in the match with 18 kills and one assist block. Kelli Barhorst added 14 points off 12 kills and four assist blocks. Hanna Cutura recorded a match-high 21.5 points in the match for California with 19 kills, two solo blocks and one assist block. Mindi Wiley added 16.5 points with 15 kills and three assist blocks for the Golden Bears. California broke a 2-2 tie in set one with kills from Carli Lloyd and Correy Johnson for a 4-2 lead. A Barhorst kill cut the lead to 4-3. The Golden Bears scored the next seven points to open an 11-3 lead. The run included two OSU errors, two kills from Tarah Murrey and one from Johnson as OSU called time out at 9-3. A Johnson-Kat Brown block and a Lloyd kill ended the run. California held the lead reaching set point at 24-13 with a Cutura kill. The Golden Bears won the set, 25-13 with a Wiley kill to take a 1-0 lead in the match. California hit .593 for the set to .235 for Ohio State. An Ashley Hughes-Kristen Dozier block opened set two for the Buckeyes. A Wiley kill tied the set at one. A five-point Ohio State run started with a Dull kill. Two ace serves from Chelsea Noble and kills from Dull and Barhorst gave the Buckeyes a 6-1 lead. That run put the Buckeyes ahead for good in the set, reaching set point at 24-18 with a kill from Dull. A California error ended the set at 25-18 for the Buckeyes to tie the match at one game each. Ohio State hit .355 for the set to .207 for the Golden Bears. Set three turned into a battle that saw 13 ties and four lead changes. Tied at three, kills from Dull and Barhorst made it 5-3, OSU. Errors by both teams and a kill from Danks moved the score to 7-4. Kills from Murrey and Szerszen made it 8-5. Four Buckeye errors, a Murrey kill and a Lloyd solo block put California ahead, 11-8. Buckeye kills from Dozier, Hughes and Dull tied the set at 11. The squads exchanged points to reach 19-19. A Brown-Lloyd block, an OSU error and a Cutura kill gave California a 22-19 lead. Kills from Hughes and Brown made it 23-20. Ohio State closed to within one at 23-22 with kills from Dull and Danks. A Cutura kill made it set point for California at 24-22. A Barhorst kill stopped the set point at 24-23. The Golden Bears, with a Murrey kill, won the set, 25-23, to take a 2-1 lead in the match. California hit .371 for the set to .231 for Ohio State. Two OSU errors and a Cutura solo block opened set four giving California a 3-0 lead. The Golden Bears built a 16-8 lead before a five-point Buckeye run cut the lead to three at 16-13. The run included two kills from Dull, one each from Danks and Barhorst and a California error. A Cutura kill stopped the run at 17-13. A Barhorst-Dull block cut the margin to three at 17-14. At 18-15, a Johnson kill and a triple block from Wiley, Lloyd and Murrey made it 20-15 Golden Bears. California held the lead to reach match point at 24-19 off a Cutura kill. A Golden Bear error stopped the match point at 24-20. A Cutura kill won the set, 25-20, to give California a 3-1 win in the match and a berth in the Gainesville (Fla.) regional semifinals. The Golden Bears hit .296 for the set to .128 for Ohio State. For the match, California hit .364 to .231 for Ohio State. The Buckeyes had a 59-57 edge in kills and recorded four ace serves in the match, holding the Golden Bears scoreless in aces. Ohio State gave up nine service errors to three for California. At setter, Lloyd posted a match-high 46 assists in the match while OSU's Hughes had 42. Defensively, the Golden Bears had a 49-41 advantage in digs with Cal's Kristen Kathan posting a match-high 20. OSU's Noble recorded a team-high 10 digs. At the net, California had a 16.5 to seven advantage in team blocks. Lloyd posted a match-high seven total blocks for California with two solos and five assist blocks. For Ohio State, Barhorst collected a team-high four assist blocks.

Illini top Dayton, advance to Sweet 16

Sat, 5 Dec 2009 11:23:00 +0000

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Illinois is headed back to the Sweet 16. The fifth-ranked Illini defeated No. 24 Dayton 26-28, 25-8, 25-17, 25-18 in the NCAA Second Round to advance to next weekend's Stanford Regional. The Illini (26-5) got 22 kills and 16 digs from All-American Laura DeBruler and 18.5 team blocks to overcome a slow start and defeat the Flyers who finish the season an impressive 30-4. Illinois will meet either Southern California or Hawaii on Friday, Dec. 11 in the Sweet 16 Round. DeBruler hit an incredible .455 for the match and tallied exactly half of her kills in the first set as Illinois battled back from a 17-12 deficit to take it to a deuce game. Outside hitter Kylie McCulley had five of her 17 kills in the set and served three straight points as the Illini took their first lead at 23-22. Dayton battled back before finally finishing off the set on a cross-court shot from outside hitter Amanda Cowdrey, who had a team-best 17 kills for the night. "Their middle attack torched us in the first set," Illinois head coach Kevin Hambly said. "We had to get them out of system and we weren't. If we didn't get them out of system, we didn't have an answer for them. We did a good job of serving otherwise they would still be scoring on us. " Dayton used its height advantage, particularly its 6-6 middle Lindsey Fletemier to penetrate the Illini defense. In sets 2-4, however, the Illini block came alive. Junior Johannah Bangert and freshman Erin Johnson were dominant after that. Bangert had 10 blocks while Johnson had two solo blocks and six block assists. Sophomore right side Michelle Bartsch assisted on eight of those blocks and finished just behind DeBruler with 15 digs. "I thought Erin Johnson changed the match," Hambly said. "I think she had four blocks in that (2nd) set alone. It took a while for our serve to wear them down. The combination of the serving and the blocking defense was what changed the tide in that match." Illinois forced Dayton to hit -.179 in the second set as the Illini tallied six blocks. The Flyers recovered to hit .121 and .064 in the third and fourth sets, respectively, but Illinois was in control in both. The second set had three ties and just one lead change, the third set the Illini led wire-to-wire and the fourth set they trailed just once. "Their block is as good as the best block in the country," said Dayton head coach Kelly Sheffield. "We have not played a block like this all season. We knew they were good, but their blocking was awfully impressive." Even when Illinois wasn't stuffing the Dayton hitters, they redirected it enough so that the back row could make plays. That's what sophomore Rachel Feldman did, tallying 26 digs, the most ever by an Illinois player in an NCAA Tournament match. "I can't speak for the history, because I've only been here five years, but I can speak to her effort," Hambly said of Feldman's performance "Her effort was remarkable. They went after her, both serving and with offense, and I thought she did an incredible job digging balls." Illinois lost five-set matches to Dayton during the regular season in each of the past two seasons, giving Illinois a little perspective for just how strong the Atlantic Ten champions were. "I think it's good we had that history, because we knew how good of a team they were," said junior setter Hillary Haen, who tallied 52 assists. "We knew not to let up, because they could really take it to us." Haen also said that going through the rigors of the Big Ten schedule and a non-conference slate that was ranked ninth in the country were important in recovering from a tough-first set defeat. "We have lost first sets before and come back from it," Haen said. "So I don't think we got nervous, and we knew that we ended the first set really well. But it does give you a lot of confidence to come back and really give it to a team and keep them in single digits. That helped realize the kind of fighting attitude we needed to maintain for the rest of the match." Illinois is now 20-3 at home in NCAA Tournament matches and reaches the Sweet 16 for the 11th time in school history. The Illini are making their first back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances since reaching the round five straight years from 1985-89. The players believe that experience well help them as they attempt to advance to the school's six Regional Final and perhaps its third Final Four. "I think we knew the work that it took all season long," Haen said. "There was no point in the season where we could let up because you need to peak at the end of the season. I think it also helps that now we know we have to elevate our level of play even more to go to California and compete as hard as we can."

Buckeyes advance past Cincinnati, 3-1

Fri, 4 Dec 2009 22:26:00 +0000

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio State (25-9 overall) women's volleyball team came away with a 3-1 (25-20, 16-25, 25-15, 25-23) victory over Cincinnati (25-11) Friday night in St. John Arena. The first round match of the NCAA Championship was the second of two played in Columbus. Ninth-seeded California (19-10) defeated Lipscomb (28-4), 3-0 (25-15, 25-22, 25-9) in the first match and will face the Buckeyes in the second round at 7 p.m. Saturday. That winner advances to the Gainesville Regional semifinals. The Buckeyes received a team-high 17.5 points from Katie Dull with 16 kills (.400), one ace serve and one assist block. Emily Danks posted 14.5 points with 13 kills (.600), one solo block and one assist block and Kristen Dozier had 10.5 points with nine kills (.368), a solo block and one assist block. For Cincinnati, Stephanie Niemer recorded a match-high 19.5 points with 17 kills (.342) and five assist blocks. Missy Harpenau added 17.5 points with 13 kills, four ace serves and one assist block. Emily Hayden contributed 10.5 points with seven kills, one solo block and five assist blocks. Tied at three in set one, a Jordanne Scott kill and an OSU error gave Cincinnati a 5-3 lead. Trailing, 16-12, Ohio State scored the next four points to tie the set at 16. The run began with a kill from Danks, a Susan Halverson ace serve, another kill from Danks and a second Halverson ace serve. Tied at 19, kills from Dozier and Dull gave Ohio State a 21-19 lead. A Scott kill made it 21-20. The Buckeyes made it 22-20 with a kill from Dull. A Cincinnati error made it 23-20. The Buckeyes reached set point with a Dull kill at 24-20. A Bearcat error ended the set to give Ohio State a 25-20 win and a 1-0 lead in the match. Ohio State hit .286 for the set to .133 for Cincinnati. Cincinnati broke a 4-4 tie in set two off an OSU error, a Harpenau kill and a Becca Refenes ace serve to take a 7-4 lead. A UC error made it 7-5. The Bearcats, with a five-point run, broke open the set to take a 13-5 lead. OSU closed to within five at 19-14 but Cincinnati kills from Niemer and Harpenau and a Megan Turner ace serve quickly made it 22-14. A Hayden kill gave the Bearcats set point at 24-15. OSU stopped the set point with a kill from Allie Schwarzwalder at 24-16. Cincinnati, off an OSU error, won the set, 25-16, to tie the match at one game each. The Bearcats hit .350 for the set to .243 for Ohio State. From a 3-3 tie in set three, Cincinnati took a 5-3 lead with a Harpenau kill and a Jaime Frey ace serve. A kill from Dull made it 5-4 and started a six-point Buckeye scoring run. An Anna Szerszen kill tied the set at five and a kill from Danks gave OSU a 6-5 lead. Two Cincinnati errors and a Barhorst kill gave OSU a 9-5 lead. A Harpenau kill made it 9-6. A kill and an ace serve from Barhorst and a solo block from Dozier gave OSU a 12-6 lead. The Buckeyes held the lead to reach set point with a Dozier kill at 24-15. Ohio State won the set, 25-15 with a Szerszen kill to take a 2-1 lead in the match. The Buckeyes hit .385 for the set and held Cincinnati to .036. Ohio State opened set four with a five-point run with two kills from Dull, one from Ashley Hughes and two Cincinnati errors for a 5-0 lead. Trailing, 10-4, Cincinnati scored the next five points to cut the margin to one at 10-9. The run began with a Niemer kill, a Harpenau ace serve. An Annie Fesl-Hayden block and one from Niemer-Hayden was followed by a Harpenau ace serve to cut the lead to one. OSU responded with kills from Szerszen, Hughes and Dozier and with a Cincinnati error to hold a 14-9 lead. At 20-15, an OSU error, a Harpenau ace serve and a Fesl-Neimer-Hayden block cut the margin to two at 20-18. A Bearcat error, a Dull kill and a Halverson ace serve opened a 23-18 Buckeye lead. A Niemer kill and a Lindsay Upton ace serve made it 23-20 Buckeyes. Ohio State reached match point at 24-20 with a kill by Hughes. A Niemer kill and Scott-Megan Turner block and a Buckeye error stopped three match points to cut the lead to one at 24-23. Ohio State won the set, 25-23, on a Dull kill to win the match, 3-1. The Buckeyes hit .407 for the set to .250 for Cincinnati. Ohio State hit .320 for the match to .205 for Cincinnati. The Buckeyes had a 58-45 margin in kills while the Bearcats had a nine-to-five advantage in ace serves. Ohio State gave up nine service errors to six for Cincinnati. At setter, OSU's Hughes posted a match-high 40 assists with Fesl recording 37 for Cincinnati. Defensively, the Buckeyes had a 51-44 margin in digs with OSU's Chelsea Noble posted a match-high 15. At the net, Cincinnati had a 10.5 to four margin in team blocks. Hayden posted a match-high six total blocks (one solo, five assists) for Cincinnati.

Michigan opens NCAA play with sweep of Niagra

Fri, 4 Dec 2009 21:59:00 +0000

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 16-ranked University of Michigan volleyball team used all 14 healthy bodies and 14 kills from sophomore Alex Hunt (Granger, Ind./South Bend St. Joseph) in a convincing three-set sweep of Niagara (25-4, 25-12, 25-15) Friday (Dec. 4) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Cliff Keen Arena. Hunt was the lone Wolverine to reach double-figure kills as the Michigan offense spread the attack around with nine players tallying terminations. Junior setter Lexi Zimmerman (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) dished out 24 assists, while freshman setter Catherine Yager (St. Michael, Minn./Albertville) added a career-high 10 helpers. Sophomore libero Sloane Donhoff (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) paced the U-M defense with 17 digs as the Wolverines held Niagara to a -.081 attack percentage for the match. In the deciding third set, Michigan used back-to-back kills from redshirt freshman Claire McElheny (Westfield, Ind./Brebeuf Prep) to spark a 10-2 run, pushing its lead from 11-7 to 21-9 en route to an easy 25-15 victory. The Wolverines had it going from the service line in set three with senior Juliana Paz (Porto Alegre, Brazil/Iowa Western CC), Donhoff and McElheny each tallying aces down the stretch. Michigan came out swinging to start the match, using a 25-3 run after Niagara scored the opening point of the night to cruise to a 25-4 win. Seniors Megan Bower (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) and Cassie Petoskey (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) added the three final kills for a U-M offense that hit at a torrid .625 clip while committing zero errors. Scoring was spread evenly as four Wolverines had three kills apiece. The second set looked the same as the first, as Michigan ran away with the frame 25-12. Niagara kept it close early at 5-5, but the Michigan offense took over from there. A kill by Hunt followed by a Zimmerman termination broke the tie with U-M never relinquishing the lead from that point. Hunt went on to lead the Wolverines with six kills in the set, while Yager came in to dish out six assists.

Spartans fall to Kentucky in opening round

Fri, 4 Dec 2009 21:56:00 +0000

LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Michigan State volleyball team (17-16) saw its 2009 season come to an end as it fell 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-20) to site host No. 13 Kentucky on Friday, Dec. 4, in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The appearance marked the Spartans' third tournament in four years. The loss ended the career of two Spartans, Mischelle Nelson (Naperville, Ill.) and Vanessa King (Spring Lake, Mich.). Leading the Spartans with her eighth double-double of the season was sophomore Becca Zlabis (Wheaton, Ill.), tallying 10 kills and 10 digs. "I was very proud of the fight from the girls tonight," said head coach Cathy George. "But in the end, Kentucky was just a more physical team and got the better of us. This team will look at it as a learning experience as we look forward to next year. For me, it is sad to see our two seniors (Mischelle Nelson and Vanessa King) go, as they were a part of our first ever recruiting class here." MSU was out early to begin the first set, 3-2. UK rallied three straight points after being tied with the Spartans at 10 to lead 13-10. After Kentucky was leading 15-12, the Spartans scored three straight points, tying the match at 15. Michigan State once again regained the lead with the score 19-18, but the Wildcats retook the lead at 23-20. However, after three straight MSU points, the set was once again tied at 23. UK closed out the set by taking the final two points, winning 25-23. Sophomore Kyndra Abron (Livonia, Mich.) ended the first set with a perfect hitting mark on four kills. To begin the second set, the Spartans once again struck early, leading 2-0. However, the Wildcats took six of seven points to lead the set 6-3. After the set was brought to a score of 8-5 in favor of UK, Michigan State scored four straight to lead the set 9-8. The Wildcats scored four of five points to lead 12-10 before MSU once again tied the set at 12. After taking four of six points, MSU regained the 16-14 lead. UK then rallied off five of six points to lead 19-17. The Wildcats saw their lead grow to four with the score 24-20. The Spartans showed one last kick to bring the score to 24-23 before Kentucky once again downed MSU in the second set 25-23. Zlabis tallied a team-high five kills to end the second set. Michigan State closed out the final set trailing 3-1. UK maintained the two point lead until MSU tied the set at six. The Spartans then took two of three points to lead 8-7. The Wildcats took control of the set when they scored four straight points to lead 11-8. However, MSU pulled within one to make the set 13-12. UK saw its lead grow to five (17-12) after scoring four straight points. Kentucky pushed its lead to seven (21-14) after going on a 4-2 run. MSU responded by scoring five straight points, pulling within three (21-19). The Spartans scored one more point before the Wildcats closed out the match with a 25-20 third set win. Junior Megan Schatzle's (Monroe, Mich.) three kills in the set led the team. Sophomore Natalie Emro (Wildwood, Mo.) tallied 32 assists, while junior Allyson Karaba (Muskegon, Mich.) recorded 18 digs. King posted seven blocks including two solo blocks. Abron ended the night with eight kills.

Minnesota advances past Louisville

Fri, 4 Dec 2009 19:23:00 +0000

The Minnesota volleyball team (25-8) advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a four-set victory over Louisville (21-11) by scores of 25-20, 24-26, 26-24, 25-22. With the victory, the Golden Gophers moved to 12-1 in First Round NCAA Tournament matches under Head Coach Mike Hebert. Minnesota also claimed its 25th victory, giving it 25 or more wins in nine of the last 11 seasons. The Golden Gophers will await the winner of tonight's Tennessee-Duke match in the second round, which will be played on Saturday, Dec. 5 at 6 p.m. (CT). "We never really got into our full rhythm as a team, particularly on offense," said Hebert. "When that happens you have to get the ball to your outside hitters and rely on them to terminate. I thought both Hailey (Cowles) and Tabitha (Love) did a great job tonight, as they both got some big points for us when we needed them. I thought it was a very physical match, this is a very good Louisville team who we knew would be an extremely tough matchup. We are happy to advance to the next round. Our players are obviously motivated to do well in the tournament, but have some extra incentive to try to get back to Minneapolis to play in front of our fans at the regionals." Minnesota was led freshman Tabitha Love (Dauphin, Manitoba) who tied a career-high with 19 kills and hit .316 (19-7-38) in the match. Junior outside hitter Hailey Cowles (Eden Prairie, Minn.) collected 18 kills, seven digs and two service aces. She also tied a career-high with 52 attempts in the match. Junior Lauren Gibbemeyer (St. Paul, Minn.) also had 17 kills and had four blocks in the match. Senior setter Taylor Carico (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) had a Gopher-high 59 assists, seven digs, three kills and two blocks. The 59 assists were her highest total since the second round of the 2007 NCAA Tournament when she was at USC. Senior libero Christine Tan (Safety Harbor, Fla.) finished with a match-high 21 digs and had two service aces, while Megan Wilson (Lincoln, Neb.) had 15 digs, two blocks and two blocks. Sophomore defensive specialist Jessica Granquist (Blaine, Minn.) also had 14 digs, three assists and one service ace. Minnesota outhit Louisville .238 to .214, and had 68 kills to 56 for the Cardinals. The Golden Gophers also collected six service aces to three for Louisville. The six service aces tied for their third-highest total of the season. Minnesota had 69 digs to 59 for the Cardinals, however Louisville outblocked the Golden Gophers 17.0-to-7.0. The 17 blocks was the most by a Minnesota opponent this season. "It's great to get the first match out of the way," said Gibbemeyer. "We're a little calmer now, after having some first match jitters. Louisville is a really good team, and they brought some things to the table that we aren't use to seeing. It was nice to see our outside hitters have a great match, and lead us to victory tonight." With the match tied at 1-1 heading into the third set, Louisville grabbed the early momentum starting out on a 5-1 run. Minnesota scored five of the next six points to tie the set at six when Cowles delivered a service ace. The Golden Gophers eventually took their first lead of the set at 13-12 on a service ace by Tan. However, the Cardinals answered with a 5-0 run to take a 17-13 lead. Minnesota trimmed the lead to 18-17 after a Louisville attack error, but the Cardinals built the lead back to four points at 21-17. With Louisville leading 22-18, the Golden Gophers responded with five of the next six points to tie the score at 23. The Cardinals led 23-20, before Love and Cowles sandwiched kills around a service ace by Granquist. Justine Landi answered with a kill to make it set point for Louisville. Cowles responded with a kill to tie the score at 24, and Landi had an attack error to give Minnesota set point at 25-24. Tan followed with a service ace to give the Golden Gophers the set. Louisville outhit Minnesota .270 to .182, despite the fact that the Golden Gophers had 16 kills to 14 for the Cardinals. In the set, Louisville also outblocked Minnesota 6.0-to-0.0. The Golden Gophers did collect five service aces in the set to one for the Cardinals. Individually, Love collected five kills and Cowles and Gibbemeyer each had four. Minnesota ran out to an 8-4 lead in the first set, but Louisville reeled the Golden Gophers back in with six of the next points to tie the score at 10. The Golden Gophers scored four of the next five points and moved ahead 14-11 on a kill by Carico. The Cardinals cut the lead to 16-15, but committed consecutive errors and fell behind 19-15 after Love and Ariana Filho (Monument, Colo.) combined on a block. The Golden Gophers pushed it to 21-17 on a kill by Love, but Louisville trimmed it back to one point at 21-20. Wilson and Cowles had consecutive kills to make it 23-20, but the Cardinals got a kill from Landi and an attack error by Minnesota to make it 23-22. Gibbemeyer halted the momentum with consecutive kills to give the Golden Gophers the fourth set 25-22 to claim the match. Minnesota fell behind 11-10 in the first set, before scoring four of the next five points to take a 14-12 lead on a kill by Cowles. The Golden Gophers pushed it out to 18-14 on a kill by Filho. Louisville cut the lead to 20-19, but Katherine Harms (Albertville, Minn.) and Cowles came through with back-to-back kills to make it 22-19. with the score at 22-20, Cowles and Gibbemeyer had consecutive kills to make it set point at 24-20. Lecia Brown followed with an attack error to give Minnesota the set at 25-20. Minnesota outhit Louisville .341 to .200, and had 21 kills to 11 in the first set. Cowles led the way with seven kills, while Tan had seven digs. The Golden Gophers jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the second set, and still held a five-point cushion at 15-10. Louisville battled back to take the lead at 20-19, Filho delivered a kill to tie it at 20. with the score tied at 22, Gibbemeyer delivered a kill and combined on a block with Carico. It appeared Minnesota was on its way to moving ahead 2-0 in the match, but the Cardinals rattled off four straight points to win the set 26-24 and tie the match at 1-1. Louisville was led by Lola Arslanbekova who had 20 kills and 16 digs. Landi had 13 kills, 11 digs and four blocks, while setter Gosia Lech finished with 43 assists, 11 digs and two blocks. Brown also had a match-high eight blocks and nine kills, while Lindsey Mango collected 12 digs.