Sunday, November 1

Arkansas State 3, North Texas 2
DENTON, Texas  - The Arkansas State Red Wolves (19-10, 9-6) claimed a five-set Sun Belt Conference win (27-25, 18-25, 25-19, 20-25, 16-14) over the Mean Green of North Texas (10-17, 6-7) Sunday afternoon in Denton.

Arkansas State jumped out to an early 11-6 lead in set one, but North Texas rallied to tie the set seven times before kills from sophomore Cayla Fielder and freshmen Taylor Coughlin set the score at 27-25.  In the second set, the Mean Green caught the early 11-6 lead and took the set 25-18.

ASU fired back in set three, winning 25-19, but North Texas pushed the match into five sets when it won the fourth by a score of 25-20.

The final set was tied eight times, but kills from freshman Brittany Hoag and sophomore Charlyn Ursell lifted the Red Wolves to the 16-14 win.

Fielder led the Red Wolves' offense with 18 kills and two service aces against the Mean Green.  Coughlin, Hoag and freshman Kelsie Hodges all posted in double-digits with 11 kills each in the match.

Hodges notched a team-high eight blocks in the match, followed by Ursell with seven and Fielder with six.  Senior libero Heather Bowman led the team with 20 digs, while junior setter Laura Bennett tallied all but one of ASU's assists for a total of 51.

UALR 3, Denver 1
DENVER, Colo. - The UALR volleyball team ended the weekend with a 3-1 (25-22, 25-17, 24-26, 25-16) victory over Denver Sunday.  The Trojans improve to 14-12 overall and 8-7 in Sun Belt Conference action.

Anita Bucur led the team in kills with 16, while Becky Mann contributed 15 kills.  Giuliana De Francesco recorded a team high of 48 assists, and Emily Pepperman led the team in digs with 25.

UALR recorded .300 or better in all four matches with the highest of .389 in the first set recording 14 kills on 36 attempts and no errors.

The Trojans opened the first set on a 3-0 run with two Denver errors and a kill by De Francesco, before a UALR service error put Denver on the board.

The Pioneers (13-14, 8-5 SBC) pushed points tying the score five times before taking the team's first lead with two straight kills.

Denver maintained the lead until the Trojans tied the score at 16 and 17 on a kill by Bucur and a DU attack error.  UALR then recorded two straight points to regain the advantage.

UALR held the Pioneers to 22 points and won the set on a kill by Mann.

In set two, both teams recorded points until a service error by DU sparked a 2-0 run by the Trojans for the lead.

UALR held Denver to 17 points for the set winning the set on a kill by Paige Gantar.

The score tied 13 times and the lead changed eight in the third set as the set surpassed 25 points in the Pioneer set win.  With the score tied at 24, a service error by UALR followed by a service ace by DU finished the set.

UALR opened the fourth set on a 3-0 run with two DU attack errors and a kill by Mann.  The Trojans held the lead until the Pioneers pushed points tying the score at seven on a service ace.

The Trojans recorded as many as four straight points holding the advantage and Denver to 16 points while winning on a kill by Gantar.

FIU 3, Louisiana-Lafayette 0
LAFAYETTE, La.  - The FIU volleyball team wrapped up a three-match road swing on Sunday afternoon with a 3-0, (25-12, 25-17, 25-21), win over Louisiana-Lafayette at Earl K. Long Gym in Lafayette, La.

With the win, FIU improves to 24-2 overall and 14-0 in Sun Belt Conference action. The Panthers are now winners of 17 straight matches.

The first set saw FIU take control from the get-go, as the Panthers jumped out to a comfortable 11-5 lead. Louisiana-Lafayette battled back to within four at 14-10, but FIU went on a 6-0 run to increase its advantage to 10 at 20-10. The Ragin' Cajuns managed just two more points for the set as two kills by senior Isadora Rangel, a pair of service aces by freshman Chanel Araujo and an ace by freshman Jovana Bjelica closed out the set with FIU taking a 25-12 win.

As a team, the Panthers notched a hitting percentage of .379 for the first set, led by five kills from sophomore Andrea Lakovic. The FIU defense held Louisiana to an attack percentage of .038 in the opening stanza as the Panthers out-dug the Ragin' Cajuns, 18-9, and recorded two team blocks to Louisiana's zero blocks.

Louisiana-Lafayette took an early 3-2 lead and was able to tie the score on three occasions in the second set with the final tie coming at 5-5 before FIU once again took control. The Ragin' Cajuns got within one at 12-11 but would then get no closer than five as the Panthers came away with a 25-17 set victory to go ahead, 2-0, for the match.

Senior Yarimar Rosa caught fire in the second stanza to lead the FIU offense with six kills while Rangel chipped in with five as the Panthers hit at a clip of .344 for the set. The Panther defense held Louisiana-Lafayette to an attack percentage of .192 and out-dug the Ragin' Cajuns, 16-5.

The third set saw Louisiana come out fighting, tying the score on four occasions but the Ragin' Cajuns were never able to take a lead. Louisiana-Lafayette got within two during the final points of the set at 23-21, but Rangel came through with a kill and a service ace to give FIU a 25-21 set win and a 3-0 match victory.

Three Panthers reached double-figures in kills as Rosa led all scorers with 14 kills to go along with 11 digs. Bjelica chipped in with 10 kills and 12 digs for the ninth double-double of her career, while Rangel added 11 kills as FIU hit at a clip of .294 for the match.

A trio of Panthers notched individual hitting percentages of .400 or better as Lakovic notched six kills compared to just one error for a team-best attack percentage of .455. Rosa had 14 kills compared to three errors for an attack percentage of .423 and Rangel hit at a clip of .400 with 11 kills and three errors.

Junior Natalia Valentin led the Panthers in assists with 35 while Araujo recorded a team-high two service aces.

Defensively, Bjelica led FIU with a pair of blocks and her 12 digs were also a team-high for the night, as the Panthers held Louisiana-Lafayette to an attack percentage of .105 for the match.

Saturday, October 31

FIU 3, ULM 0
MONROE, La.  - The FIU volleyball team defeated ULM, 3-0 (25-13, 25-19, 25-19), on Saturday night at the ULM Activity Center, as the Panthers improve to 23-2 on the season and 13-0 in league action.

With the win, FIU improves to 23-2 overall and 13-0 in Sun Belt Conference action. The Panthers are now winners of 16 straight matches.

FIU came out on fire in the first set as the Panthers hit at a clip of .552 for the set behind senior Olga Vergun's team-leading five kills and three apiece by senior Yarimar Rosa and freshman Jovana Bjelica.

ULM was able to tie the score twice and take one lead in the initial stanza, but the Panthers proved to be too much. With the score at 20-12 in favor of FIU, ULM converted on a kill but the Panthers went on to score five straight points to take the first set by a score of 25-13.

The second set was all FIU, as the Panthers ran out to a 10-0 lead. ULM battled back and got within six at 20-14 and kept threatening but the rally came too late, as FIU came away with a 25-19 second-set victory.

The FIU defense held ULM to a hitting percentage of .038 for the second set, while hitting at a clip of .194. Each squad secured two service aces and 11 digs, but the Panthers out-blocked the War Hawks, 3-0.

The third set saw both squads come out ready to play as there were eight tie scores and three lead changes. The final tie score came at 19-19 and then the Panthers went on a 6-0 run to close out the set and take away a 25-19 set win and a 3-0 shutout match victory.

Bjelica led all scorers with 11 kills and 11 digs for her eighth career double-double, as the freshman also committed just a pair of errors for an attack percentage of .429. The Panthers hit .258 for the match while holding ULM to an attack percentage of .065 as FIU also out-blocked the opposition, 7-2.

Junior Ines Medved had a stellar offensive night for FIU, notching four kills against zero errors for a hitting percentage of .429. Rosa also had no errors and three kills for an attack percentage of .429.

Defensively, Gonzalez led the Panthers with four blocks while Bjelica's 11 digs was a team-high.

WKU 3, South Alabama 0
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - For the second consecutive night, the Lady Toppers swept a Sun Belt Conference opponent defeating South Alabama (25-16, 25-11, 25-12) to improve to 21-7 this season and 10-3 in the SBC.  The Lady Toppers have now swept the Jaguars in the two teams' last 13 meetings.  With the loss, the Jaguars fall to 11-16 this season and 2-12 in the SBC.  In the match, the Lady Toppers posted a .449 hitting percentage after recording 42 kills and just seven attack errors.

In the first set, the Lady Toppers jumped out to a 2-0 lead after an ace by sophomore Lauren Stuckel and an attack error by the Jaguars.  After South Alabama scored to make it 2-1, the Lady Toppers continued to extend their lead and pulled ahead by as many as nine points in the set.

 Up 24-16, WKU picked up the set win after a kill by junior Emily Teegarden.  In the set, the Lady Toppers posted a .407 hitting percentage after committing just three errors in 27 attempts.

WKU went on two big scoring drives in the second set to go ahead 2-0 in the match.  Tied 1-1, the Lady Toppers scored the next four points to go ahead 5-1.  After South Alabama scored to make it 5-2, the Lady Toppers went on another scoring run scoring the next eight points to extend their lead to 13-2.  WKU was able to hold off a late rally by the Jaguars at the end of the set and won the set after a kill by sophomore Lindsay Williams.  WKU was hot on offense in the second set posting a

.519 hitting percentage after the team recorded 17 kills and committed just three errors.

After scoring the first four points of the third set, South Alabama battled back to pull within three points of the Lady Toppers.  Up 13-10, the Lady Toppers outscored the Jaguars 12-2 to end the match securing the win after a kill by freshman Jordyn Skinner.  In the set, freshman Sarah Rogers and senior Lindsey Gould both had outstanding defensive digs to keep WKU's scoring drive alive.

In addition to the Lady Toppers' 42 kills, WKU posted 38 assists, four aces, 29 digs and 14 blocks.  South Alabama finished the night with 25 kills, a .025 hitting percentage, 23 assists, one ace and 23 digs.

The Lady Toppers were led by senior Brittany Bowen who finished the night with ten kills and a .714 hitting percentage while Skinner led the team in kills with 12.  Stuckel finished the night with a team-high 32 assists while freshman Sarah Rogers posted nine digs to lead the team.

Bowen and senior Abbie Siljendahl both recorded three blocks to lead the team.

New Orleans 3, Florida Atlantic 2
NEW ORLEANS - The University of New Orleans avoided having their first five match losing skid in five years by defeating Florida Atlantic 3-2 (25-13, 23-25, 23-25, 25-17, 15-9) on Saturday evening at the Human Performance Center.

UNO (15-10, 8-5 Sun Belt) moved within a half-match of SBC West Division-leading Denver with the victory and improved to 5-0 when reserve Meagan Whiten leads off the match with the national anthem.

The Privateers received matching 17 kill efforts from Lindsey Loyd and Maria Szivos with Vesna Jelic right behind with 15 kills. Jelic rounded out a double-double with 12 digs.

At the setter position, Hajnalka Molnar had 33 assists prior to passing the torch to Cassidy Asebroek, who had 20 over two sets. Nicky Valenti was the top libero on the floor with 27 digs.

Christina Wallinger was the top attacker for FAU (6-17, 4-10 SBC) with her 14 kills. Joanne Marras Tate paced the Owls with 35 assists and Cintia Nightingale had 21 digs.

UNO took advantage of four Owl errors at the beginning of the first set to take an 8-3 lead. Szivos would total five kills in the frame as the Privateers coasted to a 25-13 first set win, in large part due to the team's .481 hitting percentage.

FAU gained their first lead of match on the second set's opening point. UNO responded with three straight points and \7 of 8 scores to take away the lead from the Owls.

The Privateers remained ahead for most of the set until the Owls went ahead 17-16 for their second lead of the match. The two teams traded leads as the set continued with a block by FAU allowing the Owls to take the second set 25-23.

UNO came out out of the break flat, dropping 6 of 8 points to FAU at the beginning of the third set. The Privateers would reel the Owls in to move ahead 10-9 on a block by Szivos and Anett Farkas.

The Owls would be the ones to have the last laugh in the frame, going on a 5-0 run to jump out ahead 14-11. The lead coupled with a .024 hitting percentage by UNO would not allow them an opportunity to get back in the set, falling 25-23.

Staring down a fifth straight loss, Privateer head coach Jozsef Forman changed the lineup in the fourth set. The changes worked as UNO took an early 4-1 lead to jump into the driver's seat.

The lead would continue to grow to seven points at 15-8. The Privateers pushed the edge to eight several times and hit .394 prior to closing the set with a 25-17 victory.

UNO scored four straight points to open the decisive fifth set prompting FAU head coach Jody Brown to call a timeout. The Owls responded with two points out of the break in the action and rallied to within one at 8-7 leading Forman to call a timeout of his own.

As it did for FAU, the timeout worked to the Privateers' favor with the home squad running off three straight points. The lead was significant enough to hold on to as UNO took the fifth set 15-9.

Middle Tennessee 3, Troy 0
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Middle Tennessee took a 3-0 (25-11, 25-22, 25-21) over Troy on Saturday night to round out the weekend.

The Blue Raiders have now extended their win streak to 10-matches and have won their last five matches 3-0.

Junior Izabela Kozon led the team with 11 kills and was the only Blue Raider with double-digit kills. Kozon had a .345 attack percentage on the night and added four digs on defense.

As a team, Middle Tennessee had 35 kills for a .287 hitting percentage.

The Blue Raiders also had eight blocks on the night with senior Janay Yancey, junior Alyssa Wistrick and sophomore Stacy Oladinni each had three block assists.

At the break, Kozon led the Blue Raiders with seven kills for a .353 hitting percentage. As a team, Middle Tennessee had 22 kills for a .226 hitting percentage while the Trojans had a .030 attack percentage with 19 kills.

The Blue Raiders will be back in action next weekend when it plays host to Florida Atlantic and Florida International. The matches will round out a four-match home stand and will be the last home matches of the season.

Friday, October 30

Middle Tennessee 3, South Alabama 0
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Middle Tennessee defeated South Alabama 3-0 (25-19, 25-15, 25-18) extending its win streak to nine matches.

The Blue Raiders improved to 18-7 overall and 11-1 in Sun Belt matches while the Jags fell to 11-15 and 2-11 in league play.

Middle Tennessee ended the night with 41 total kills for a .318 attack percentage while holding South Alabama to a .026 hitting percentage with 22 kills.

"I think we started out the match on fire and then got very cold. It was nice to see in game three we put it all together and had a really good match," head coach Matt Peck said.

Junior Izabela Kozon was the only Blue Raider with double-digit kills as she knocked down 15 for a .414 hitting percentage.

"I thought Iza finished having an outstanding match and the last couple of matches she has put up some very good numbers for us," Peck said.

Senior Leslie Clark guided the offense with 31 assists and also added five kills and four block assists.

Defensively, senior Janay Yancey posted a team high five block assists while junior Alyssa Wistrick added three as the team had nine total blocks.

Middle Tennessee had 26 kills for a .233 hitting percentage after two sets while holding South Alabama to just 11 kills for a -0.78 hitting percentage.  Kozon led the team at the break with nine kills and a .300 hitting percentage.

WKU 3, Troy 0
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - On Breast Cancer Awareness Night, the WKU volleyball team defeated the Troy Trojans (11-14, 6-7 SBC) in three sets (25-15, 25-12, 25-14) to improve to 20-7 this season and 9-3 in the Sun Belt Conference.

In the first set, the Lady Toppers got off to a slow start falling behind 3-0 before scoring their first point of the night after a kill by senior Brittany Bowen.  After battling back to tie the set up at four, the Lady Toppers took their first lead of the night off another kill by Bowen.  Up 5-4, WKU then went on to outscore the Trojans 20-11 and won the set following a kill by junior Emily Teegarden.  In the set, the Lady Toppers recorded 14 kills and finished with a .379 hitting percentage.

The Lady Toppers were even hotter in the second set finishing with a .571 hitting percentage after committing zero errors in 21 attempts and posting 12 kills.  In set two, it was the Lady Toppers who scored first scoring their first point off an attack error by Troy.  WKU never trailed in the set taking their final lead of the night at 3-2 and never allowing Troy to rally back.  Up 17-10, WKU scored the next five points to go ahead 22-10 and then freshman Jordyn Skinner secured the win for the Lady Toppers on the final play posting her first ace of the night.

WKU and Troy battled early in the third set staying close until the Lady Toppers scored ten consecutive points to take a 14-5 lead.  From there, the Lady Toppers continued to build on their lead defeating the Trojans after a kill by sophomore Lindsay Williams.  The Lady Toppers posted their best hitting percentage of the night in the third set finishing with a .591 percentage after racking up 15 kills and only two errors.

Six Lady Toppers finished the match with a .350 hitting pecentage or better and were led by Stuckel who finished with a .750 percentage.

Elmore finished the night with a team-high 14 kills, Stuckel led the team in assists with 26 and freshman Sarah Rogers paced the team in digs with eight.  In blocks, Elmore led the team with four blocks, all block assists while Skinner led the team in aces with three.

As a team, the Lady Toppers posted 42 kills and an overall hitting percentage of .500.  They also recorded 37 assists, seven aced, 27 digs and 14 blocks.  Troy finished the night with a .147 hitting percentage after recording 27 kills.  The Trojans also posted 24 assists, one ace,

24 digs and four blocks.

North Texas 3, UALR 1
DENTON, Texas - Amy Huddleston and Kati Dillard broke into the Mean Green record books, but Salah Schoenecke stole the show in a crucial 3-1 (20-25, 25-17, 25-21, 25-21) North Texas win over UALR.

Schoenecke powered a potent Mean Green (10-16, 6-6 Sun Belt) offense with 16 kills, vaulting NT to a season-high .338 attack percentage. Back at .500 in league play, this win puts NT back into the driver's seat for a bid to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament next month in Bowling Green, Ky.

Huddleston slammed her way into the record books with a 15-kill outing. The junior now has 795 career kills, which moves her into 10th place in school history.

Dillard, on the other hand, blocked her way into the single season top 10 list. Just a sophomore, Dillard now has 83 assisted blocks this year, which ranks ninth in program history with six regular season matches remaining.

North Texas once again had trouble getting rolling, and fell to UALR (13-12, 7-7 Sun Belt) in the first set 25-20. A team accustomed to comebacks, NT rolled in the next three frames, hitting a season-best .542 in the second set. The Mean Green has lost the first set in each of its last four matches, and has comeback to win three of those.

The inside combo of Dillard and Brittany Brown also owned the Trojans at the net. Dillard posted four blocks and Brown sent back three, as NT out-blocked UALR 8-4. Brown reached double-digits in kills with 13, as did Brittani Youman.

FIU 3, New Orleans 2
NEW ORLEANS  - The FIU volleyball squad defeated Sun Belt Conference Western Division-leading New Orleans, 3-2 (25-18, 22-25, 25-16, 18-25, 15-7), on Friday night at the Human Performance Center, as the Panthers improve to 23-2 on the season and 12-0  in league action.

Both teams came out strong as FIU took the first set, 25-18, and New Orleans came away with a second-set win by a score of 25-22.

With the match score tied at 1-1, the Panthers dominated in the third set, jumping out to a 17-9 lead. New Orleans battled back but FIU out-scored the Privateers, 9-7, to close out the stanza to take a 25-16 set victory.

Ahead 2-1 for the match, FIU fell behind early in the fourth set as New Orleans ran out to a 15-8 advantage. The Panthers got within five at 21-16, but the Privateers went on to prevail, coming away with 25-18 fourth-set win to tie the match at 2-2.

The fifth set saw the Panthers take control as FIU out-scored New Orleans, 9-3, to begin the stanza.  The Privateers battled back before the Panthers extended their lead to 13-6. An FIU attack error gave New Orleans a point to put the score at 13-7 but seniors Olga Vergun and Yarimar Rosa combined for a block to once again give FIU a seven-point lead at 14-7.

With the Panthers in match-point position, junior Natalia Valentin then connected with Rosa for a kill as FIU came away with a 15-7 fifth-set win and a 3-2 match victory.

Three Panthers notched double-doubles in the hard-fought, five-set win, as freshman Jovana Bjelica secured 16 kills and 15 digs, Vergun recorded 10 kills and 14 digs, and Valentin tallied 54 assists and 17 digs. Valentin's marks were FIU team-bests for the night.

Rosa was one of four FIU players to record double-digit kills on the night with a team-high 21 kills while also contributing nine digs, four blocks and a pair of assists.

Sophomore Andrea Lakovic led the Panther defense with five blocks to go along with 10 kills and an assist.

Denver 3, Arkansas State 1
DENVER, Colo. - The University of Denver volleyball team (13-13, 8-4 SBC) defeated the visiting Arkansas State Redwolves (18-10, 8-6) 3-1 (27-25, 15-25, 25-19, 25-23) on Friday evening in Hamilton Gymnasium to stretch its current win streak to four matches.

Senior Emmy Davidsmeyer (Colorado Springs, Colo.) led the Pioneers with 18 kills, while setter Clare Maxwell (Western Springs, Ill.) finished the night with 37 assists. Prior to the start of the match, Maxwell was recognized after becoming the all-time assists leader in Pioneer history.

Head coach Beth Kuwata was also honored pre-match for securing her 250th win earlier in the week with a 3-2 triumph over North Texas.

"We struggled a bit in set two tonight which allowed ASU a chance run a great offensive performance against us," Kuwata said. "Heading into our match on Sunday, we need to do a better job of maintaining our momentum and not allowing ourselves to relax even though we may have a lead."

Defensively for the Pioneers, libero Kacie Wikierak (Crystal Lake, Ill.) led the way with 24 digs, while Kresson Vreeman (Raymond, Minn.) and Alexis Ninos (Cypress, Texas) both added 13 apiece.

Brittany Hoag finished the night with 15 kills for the Redwolves, while teammate Taylor Coughlin added 11.

Florida Atlantic 3, Louisiana-Lafayette 2
LAFAYETTE, La. - The Florida Atlantic University volleyball team withstood a strong effort by Louisiana-Lafayette and defeated the Ragin' Cajuns in five sets on Friday night.  

The first set was tied at 19 when FAU outscored ULL 6-3 to win the set. Christina Wallinger served an ace to close the match. Wallinger also had seven kills and a block assist in the set. ULL got out to a fast start in the second set and the Owls were unable to rally, tying the match at a set apiece.

The Owls and Ragin' Cajuns were tied at eight in the third set before FAU took eight of the next 11 points, taking a 17-11 lead. A Krystena Castro kill eventually gave the Owls a 25-18 win. 

ULL took control early on in the fourth set and won 25-20, tying the match again. The Ragin' Cajuns had a 14-11 lead in the fifth set, but the Owls staved off three straight match points to tie the set at 14. Nicole Gerig and Kristyna Dzmuranova had back-to-back kills to close out the 5-0 run and give FAU the win.