Saturday, November 14

FIU 3, Florida Atlantic 0
BOCA RATON, Fla. - The FIU volleyball team ended the Sun Belt Conference regular season on Saturday night with a 3-0 (30-28, 25-14, 25-22) sweep of Florida Atlantic at FAU Arena in Boca Raton, Fla.

With the win, the Panthers improve to 28-2 overall and end the SBC regular season with a perfect 17-0 record. The unblemished record in league play is the second in FIU history with the first occurrence coming in 1990 when FIU went 3-0 versus SBC opponents.

Set one saw both teams come out strong, as the Panthers fought through six tie scores and a pair of lead changes on their way to a 30-28 set-win. The final tie score came at 28-28 before a service ace by senior Yarimar Rosa and a kill by freshman Jovana Bjelica, assisted by junior Natalia Valentin, closed out the set to put FIU up 1-0 for the match.

The Panthers took control in the second set, allowing FAU to tie the score on just one occasion at 8-8, as the Owls never saw a lead for the stanza. With the score at 21-14, FIU went on a 4-0 run on the strength of a Rosa kill, a block by Bjelica and sophomore Andrea Lakovic and a pair of service aces by Valentin, as the Panthers took away a 25-14 set win.

Up 2-0 for the match, FIU came out of the break ready to play, but so did FAU, as the set saw 11 tie scores and six lead changes. The Panthers held a 15-13 advantage before the Owls went on a 5-0 run to take an 18-15 lead. Following an FIU timeout, the Panthers tallied four of the next five points to knot the score at 19-19 and force an FAU timeout.

Out of the break, the squads traded points before a kill by Valentin gave FIU a one-point advantage at 21-20. Once again the teams traded points and a kill from Rosa gave the Panthers a 23-21. The Owls managed another point but an FAU attack error gave FIU a 25-22 set win and a 3-0 match victory.

Three Panthers reached double-digits in kills on the night, led by Rosa's 13 kills while Bjelica added 11 and Lakovic chipped in with 10, as FIU hit at a clip of .299 for the contest. Senior Olga Vergun had a stellar offensive night, contributing nine kills against just one error for an attack percentage of .471.

The Panthers recorded 10 service aces versus the Owls, led by Valentin's six aces, while FAU managed just a pair of aces. Valentin also led FIU in assists with 43 and contributed a team-high tying 11 digs along with Rosa.

Leading FIU in blocks was Bjelica with three on the night, while Lakovic added two, and the Panther defense held FAU to a hitting percentage of .198 for the match.

FIU has tallied 21 consecutive wins to give the Panthers the fourth-longest win streak in the country among NCAA Division I women's volleyball teams. Defending back-to-back national champion and No. 1 Penn State has won 92 straight matches dating back to Sept. 21, 2007, while No. 22 Northern Iowa has won 24 consecutive matches this season dating back to Sept. 4. Lipscomb has been victorious in 23 straight contests, with its last loss coming to FIU on Sept. 5.

FIU will be in action next weekend at the Sun Belt Conference Championships, held Nov. 19-21 in Bowling Green, Ky., and hosted by WKU. As regular season champions, the Panthers will be the No. 1 seed for the tournament and will square off against the No. 8 seed in the 12 Noon match on Nov. 19.

Arkansas State 3, Denver 2
JONESBORO, Ark. - The Arkansas State Red Wolves (22-10, 12-6) defeated the Denver Pioneers (16-16, 11-7) in a five-set (20-25, 25-13, 22-25, 25-23, 15-7) thriller at Jonesboro High School to close out the regular season and claim the Sun Belt Conference West Division Co-Championship.

"This win is absolutely huge," said ASU head coach Justin Ingram.

"They got us the first time up at their place, but we had a little redemption.  We knew coming into it that it would be very challenging.  Denver is a well-coached, very physical team.  We struggled early but evened out as the match went along, and the seniors were huge tonight, all three of them."

The Pioneers pulled away from an 11-11 tie in the first set, scoring three straight points.  The Red Wolves could not recover as Denver took the set 25-20.  Arkansas State fired back, cruising past the Pioneers 25-13 in set two.

Tied at 21 in set three, DU used two ASU errors and a kill to take the lead 24-21.  The Red Wolves took the next point on a DU attacking error, but the Pioneers recovered, winning 25-22.  Sophomore Cayla Fielder pounded out two consecutive kills to sway the fourth set 25-23 in favor of the Red Wolves, forcing a fifth set.

ASU jumped out to an early 7-2 lead in the fifth set and soared past the Pioneers, taking the match with a 15-7 fifth-set victory.

Fielder led the Red Wolves with 22 kills and a .471 hitting percentage.  Freshman Brittany Hoag added 13 kills, while senior Mandy DeWalt posted ten.  Hoag and senior Erin Neeley each put in two service aces in the match.

Senior libero Heather Bowman topped the team 28 digs, followed by Hoag and Neeley with 11 each.  Fielder led the team with six blocks, including five unassisted.

"Fielder was 'the deal' tonight," added Ingram.  "It seemed like each time we could get her the ball, she took advantage of the situation."

Seniors Bowman, DeWalt and Neeley were honored following the match for their efforts while at Arkansas State.  Bowman said, "Usually when you go out as a freshman, sophomore or junior, you think 'well, maybe next game.' Tonight there wasn't a next game, so it was so important for us to come out on top.  This is the last memory I'll have at home, and I wanted to end it just like we did.  15-7 in the fifth game, there is no better way to end it, and I'm so proud of everyone."

WKU 3, South Alabama 0
MOBILE, Ala. - The WKU volleyball wrapped up the 2009 regular season by sweeping South Alabama (25-13, 25-18, 25-16) to finish the season 24-8 overall and 13-4 in the Sun Belt Conference. With the loss, South Alabama finished the season 11-19 overall and 2-15 in the SBC.

In the first set, the Lady Toppers scored the first point after an attack error by the Jaguars.  After South Alabama tied things up at one, the Lady Toppers scored the next three points to take a 4-1 lead and then extended their lead to 12-6 halfway through the set.  Up 12-6, the Lady Toppers secured their first set win after a block by sophomores Tiffany Elmore and Lauren Stuckel.  WKU recorded 11 kills in the first set while posting a .267 hitting percentage.

After falling behind early in the second set, the Lady Toppers tied things up at seven and took the lead for the final time after kill by freshman Jordyn Skinner.  Up 8-7, WKU held on for the victory after a service error by South Alabama.  In the set, the Lady Toppers racked up

16 kills and finished with a .462 hitting percentage, their best of the night.

The Lady Toppers took control of set three early jumping out to a 6-2 to start the set.  After South Alabama scored to cut WKU's lead to 6-3, the Lady Toppers scored the next five points to go ahead 11-3.  Up 24-16, WKU secured the match win after South Alabama recorded their third serving error of the match.

In the match, the Lady Toppers recorded 39 kills and a .342 hitting percentage.  WKU also racked up 36 assists, 11 aces, 24 digs and five blocks.  WKU was led offensively by Stuckel who finished with a .500 hitting percentage after recording six kills and zero errors.  Stuckel also finished with 30 assists to lead the team while freshman Sarah Rogers paced the team with ten digs.

Middle Tennessee 3, Troy 0
TROY, Ala. - Middle Tennessee wrapped up the 2009 regular season with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-16) win over Troy on Saturday night.

Seniors Janay Yancey and Ashley Mead led the Blue Raiders (22-8, 15-2) offensively knocking down 10 and 11 kills respectively. Yancey ended the night 10 for 16 with a .625 hitting percentage.

"Janay was contained yesterday at USA and I told her she needed to step it up before the conference tournament next week and she did. She did not get blocked and had a few really good clean kills," head coach Matt Peck said.

As a team, Middle Tennessee had 42 kills for a .393 hitting percentage while holding the Trojans (12-18, 7-10) to 31 kills and a .174 hitting percentage.

Senior Ashley Waugh guided the back row defense with 14 digs while junior Izabela Kozon added 12 of her own. Kozon also had nine kills on the night for a .353 hitting percentage.

"Ashley Mead and Ashley Waugh also had outstanding matches and the offense worked really well tonight. Overall we finished 22-8 and 15-2 in conference, which second best record we've ever had in league play. It was a good weekend and we are looking forward to the tournament next week," Peck said.

New Orleans 3, ULM 0
MONROE, La.  - The University of New Orleans volleyball team clinched a share of the Sun Belt Conference West Division championship following a 3-0 win (25-17, 25-7, 25-10) at Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday night.

Maria Szivos had 12 kills, one of three Privateers to reach double figures, and UNO (19-11, 12-6 Sun Belt) hit a season-high .434 to help the Privateers claim their first-ever SBC division title.

Senior Lindsey Loyd had 11 kills on just 20 total attacks, and Edina Dobi added 11 kills and nine digs. Nicky Valenti had a match-high 15 digs.

It was UNO's second win this week against ULM (3-29, 0-17), which was led by Mahogany Dilonga's six kills.

Saturday's contest was never in doubt. The Privateers lost the first point of the match and never trailed again after running off seven straight. ULM managed just six kills in the final two sets, and the Privateers held the Warhawks to a -.267 percentage in the second set.

The Privateers closed the regular season with four straight wins and have won 11 consecutive sets.

UALR 3, North Texas 2
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.-The UALR volleyball ended the regular season with a 3-2 (20-25, 25-21, 15-25, 25-23, 15-11)  victory over North Texas Saturday at the Jack Stephens Center.  Seniors were honored as the Trojans finish the regular season 16-13 overall and 10-8 in Sun Belt Conference action.

Anita Bucur led all scorers with 23 kills, while Becky Mann recorded 12 kills.  Emily Pepperman led the team with 29 digs with Jennifer Elbert contributing 13 digs and Daniele Souza Moura contributing ten.

Giuliana De Francesco recorded a double-double with 52 assists and 14 digs.

North Texas (11-20, 7-10 SBC) opened the first set on a 2-0 run, before a service error put a point on the board for the Trojans.

The score tied seven times with the lead changing four throughout the set.  With the score tied at 17, a UALR error and a kill by Brittani Youman gave UNT the 19-17 advantage.

The Mean Green held the advantage scoring the final four points and winning 25-20 on a service ace.

Both teams hit below .100 in the second set with the lead changed five times.  After a point by UNT, the Trojans scored two consecutive points on a kill by Mann and a Mean Green attack error.

With the score tied at 21, the Trojans recorded four-straight points on a kill by Mann, a service ace by Pepperman, and two UNT attack errors to win 25-21.

UALR recorded the team's lowest attack percentage in set three recording a -.020 mark, while North Texas recorded a .174 percentage.

A kill by Amy Huddleston followed by a UALR attack error gave the Mean Green a 2-0 start.

The score tied seven times with the lead changing four, before UNT used a 6-0 run to gain a 15-9 advantage.

UNT held the Trojans to 15 points and won on a UALR attack error.

UALR took the 2-0 lead on kills by Mann and Katharina Nobel and sustain it with the score never tying throughout the set.

With the score at set point for the Trojans, the Mean Green knocked down a kill.  The Trojans answered with a kill by Bucur to win the set 25-23.

In the final set, both teams scored points with the lead changing hands once.  With the score tied a five, UALR used a three-point run to gain the advantage.

UNT came within one point, but the Trojans held the Mean Green to 11 scoring the final four points of the set and winning on a kill by Bucur.

Friday, November 13

New Orleans 3, Louisiana-Lafayette 0
LAFAYETTE, La. -- Slowly but surely the University of New Orleans volleyball team is getting back to form. And now, the Privateers have a shot at a Sun Belt championship

Maria Szivos and Lindsey Loyd combined for 23 kills as the visiting Privateers cruised to a 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-13) win at Louisiana-Lafayette on Friday night at Earl K. Long Gym.

Szivos (12 kills, .444 hitting percentage) and Loyd (11 kills, 10 digs) paced the offense, but it was the Privateer defense that took over.

UNO (18-11, 11-7 Sun Belt Conference) had 11 blocks and held ULL (8-24, 2-15) to a -.025 hitting percentage. The win, combined with Denver's loss at UALR Friday, moved the Privateers into a tie for the SBC West lead.

UNO will clinch at least a share of the West Division title with a win at Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday. The victory also avenged a loss to the Ragin' Cajuns on Oct. 20 at home.

That loss started a four-match losing streak for UNO, but the Privateers have rallied with four wins in their last five.

"I am so proud of this team tonight," said UNO head coach Jozsef Forman. "They played very inspired tonight. It was a really good match."

UNO never trailed in the final set and held ULL to just four kills. Libero Nicky Valenti had 22 digs.

ULL was paced by Mandi Gavin's nine kills and Lindsay Brown's match-high 23 digs.

UALR 3, Denver 2
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - The UALR Trojans volleyball team (15-13, 9-8) rallied to take the final two sets and post a 3-2 victory (25-19, 18-25, 18-25, 25-19, 15-12) over the Denver Pioneers Friday night at the Jack Stephens Center.

UALR jumped to a 5-1 lead in the fifth set and eventually sealed the match on a kill by Anita Bucur. Bucur led the Trojans and all players with 20 kills in the match while posting a .327 hitting percentage.

The Trojans were also helped out by a 16 kill performance by senior outside hitter Becky Mann. Mann also chipped in one block solo and two block assists on the afternoon while hitting an impressive .400. Freshman outside hitter Eva Chunyan had 12 kills and two block solos of her own, as well.

As a team, UALR earned nine total blocks on the night led by Kristi Block, who finished with two block solos and three block assists.

Also scoring in double figures for the Trojans were Giuliana DeFrancesco, who posted a double-double with 11 digs and a match-best 51 assists. Meanwhile, freshman libero Emily Pepperman earned 24 digs.

The Pioneers were led by Emmy Davidsmyer and Faimie Kingsley who each recorded 16 kills while hitting .243 and .367 respectively. Alexis Ninos recorded 14 kills and nine digs while Jordan Raines posted a double-double for Denver with 10 kills and 16 digs. Kresson Vreeman had a team-high 45 assists for the Pioneers.

For the match, the Trojans out-hit the Pioneers .266 to .207 en route to the victory including a .500 to .208 advantage in the final set.

Middle Tennessee 3, South Alabama 0
MOBILE, Ala. - Middle Tennessee defeated South Alabama 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 26-24) on Friday night in the first of its final two games of the 2009 regular season.

The Blue Raiders (21-8, 14-2) knocked down 48 total kills for a .265 hitting percentage with senior Ashley Mead leading the way with 14 kills. Mead posted a .333 attack percentage with just four errors in 30 attempts.

We won 3-0, but we didn't play very well.  We did just barely what we needed to do. We didn't practice yesterday (Thursday) because it was our day off, and it was tough having to get off the bus and go play.  We did what we needed to do, and that was it," head coach Matt Peck said.

Juniors Alyssa Wistrick and Izabela Kozon added 10 kills each to aid the Blue Raider offense. Wistrick posted a hitting percentage of .615 as she went 10 for 13 with just two errors.

"Alyssa Wistrick did really well, both blocking and offensively, and so did Ashley Mead.  They both scored a lot of points. We needed senior leadership, and we got it," Peck said.

Defensively, sophomore Stacy Oladinni led the net defense with seven block assists while the team as a whole had eight total blocks.

South Alabama had one more team block than the Blue Raiders but did not do enough offensively. The Jaguars had 28 total blocks for a .126 hitting percentage with Juliana Almeida leading the team with nine kills.

Kozon along with senior Ashley Waugh guided the backcourt defense with 10 digs each. Middle Tennessee had a total of 36 digs in the match.

WKU 3, Troy 0
TROY, Ala. - In the final weekend of the 2009 regular season, the Lady Toppers got off to a fast start defeating Troy in three sets (25-14, 25-18, 25-20).  With the win, the Lady Toppers improved to 23-8 this season and 12-4 in the Sun Belt while Troy falls to 12-17 overall and 7-9 in the SBC.

In set one, the Lady Toppers rolled to a big win after hitting . 250 after recording 14 kills.  After falling behind early the Lady Toppers rallied back to take the lead at 6-5 after a kill by freshman Jordyn Skinner. Up 8-6, the Lady Toppers then went on to score the next five points to take a seven point lead.  After extending their lead to as many as 11 points in the set, WKU secured the win after a kill by junior Emily Teegarden.

WKU got off to another fast start in set two jumping out to an early 9-3 lead.  Up 9-3, the Lady Toppers then went on to outscore the Trojans 16- to win the set.  The Lady Toppers ended the set by picking up their final point after a kill by Skinner.  In the set, the Lady Toppers tallied 15 kills and hit .270.

The Lady Toppers and Trojans battled early in set three before WKU took a 12-6 lead after scoring six consecutive points.  After pulling ahead 18-13, the Trojans tried to stage a comeback but fell just short after allowing WKU to win the match after Teegarden recorded another kill.  In the final set, the Lady Toppers finished with a .231 hitting percentage after recording 14 kills.

WKU was led by senior Brittany Bowen who finished with a .375 hitting percentage after recording eight kills and just two errors.  Sophomore Tiffany Elmore finished the night leading the team in blocks with three while sophomore Lauren Stuckel led the team in assists with 33.  In digs, freshman Sarah Rogers finished the night with 20 digs.

As a team, the Lady Toppers finished with 43 kills and a .250 hitting percentage.  WKU also racked up 39 assists, six aces, 52 digs and ten blocks during the match.

Arkansas State 3, North Texas 1
JONESBORO, Ark. - The Arkansas State Red Wolves (21-10, 11-6) defeated North Texas (11-19, 7-9) in a 3-1 (25-11, 22-22, 14-25, 25-17) Sun Belt Conference decision Friday night at Jonesboro High School.

"We just played North Texas a couple weeks ago and were not only familiar, but extremely prepared for what kind of match it was going to be," said ASU head coach Justin Ingram.  "Containing their left side hitter and holding her to below her average was a goal our team had.  We made some blocking adjustment to our system and Char and both middles (Fielder and Hodges) were outstanding and made it very difficult for their left's to get into a good rhythm all night."

ASU rolled past North Texas in set one 25-11, but the Mean Green pushed back in the second set.  The Red Wolves held on to take set two 25-22, but UNT fired back with a third set win 25-14, forcing the match into four sets.

The Red Wolves jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in set four on two Mean Green errors, a service ace from junior Laura Bennett and a kill from freshman Brittany Hoag.  Arkansas State never trailed in the set, winning 25-17 to take the match.

Sophomore Cayla Fielder led the offensive effort with 11 kills on the night followed by freshman Taylor Coughlin with ten and sophomore Charlyn Ursell and Hoag each posting nine.  Senior libero Heather Bowman tallied 29 digs on the night, while Bennett and Hoag each landed in double-digits with 12 each.

Freshman Kelsie Hodges finished the match with six blocks, including three unassisted.  Fielder and Ursell each put in five blocks as well, while Coughlin added two.

Bennett served up a team-high three service aces.