CVU.com

September 18, 2007

Top Swings: Hot Hitting Highlights Week Four

By Landon Olson Update Staff

The Collegiate Volleyball Update's weekly notes are not meant to be an all-inclusive report of every top performance of the past week, but rather a look some noteworthy performances such as a Colorado player registering the first 20-20 double-double in five years.

Top Swings: September 10-16

The hot hand of Krista Altermatt helped New Mexico State get the conference slate started off right. The sophomore not only had a career-high 21 kills, but scorched Fresno State for .594 hitting to lead the Aggies to the sweep. On the week Altermatt had 43 kills on .397 hitting with 30 digs over NMSU's three sweeps.

The efforts of Erin Skipper helped William and Mary nearly keep pace with Liberty, but in the end it was the Flames edging ahead for the 3-2 win. In the loss, Skipper was the match's offensive standout, amassing 30 kills on .319 hitting to lead all players and tying a school record for kills in a five-game match.

A career-high output from Rubena Sukaj not only extended American University's home win streak to 32, but gave the Eagles the title at their own tournament. In the 3-2 win over Pennsylvania, Sukaj cranked out 32 kills to lift AU.

It was about as balanced of a night as possible for Sacramento State's Missie Stidham. In the Hornets' 3-1 win over Cal Poly, Stidham drilled a match-high 29 kills, complementing it with a team-high 27 digs to pace Sac State. That was just part of a 3-0 week for the Hornets, though, as Stidham averaged 6.40 kills and 5.20 digs per game in the three victories. She added 17 kills against San Francisco and 18 versus Xavier.

It's been nearly five years since a Colorado player put up numbers similar to Alex Buth, but even a 20-20 effort couldn't hold off Texas Tech. Buth notched a career-high with 21 kills and scooped 23 digs, but the Buffaloes fell in five.

Another 20-20 effort was put out by SMU's Rachel Giubilato, who helped lead the Mustangs to a 3-2 victory over Syracuse. In that match, Giubilato led the team with 21 kills and added 23 digs to give SMU an opening victory in the New Hampshire Invitational.

Down 2-1, Hofstra looked to the offense of Harmonie Calinda to provide the spark necessary for a comeback win over Long Island. The sophomore outside finished with a career-high 23 kills, doing it on .420 hitting to lift the Pride to the 3-2 win and a 2-1 tournament mark.

While Heather Hughes keeps rolling on offense, she got plenty of support from Emily Day in helping Loyola Marymount to a 3-2 win over Oregon State. Day led all players, notching 28 kills for the match, while Hughes nearly matched that, tallying 27 put-aways. Both had double-doubles.

Justine Farmer did her part to carry the load offensively for Houston. Down 2-0, the Cougars rallied behind 29 kills from the senior. Houston pulled out the 3-2 win over Stephen F. Austin while Farmer also added 17 digs and four block assists.

Early on, Shelby Burton just couldn't miss. The senior middle hit 1.000 with seven kills in the first game, and was perfect on her first nine swings in leading Memphis to a sweep of Stetson on Friday. For the match, Burton finished with 18 kills while hitting a scorching .810 on the night.

Toni Barnas came out with a near record match and New Hampshire pulled out the milestone victory. In a 3-2 win over Syracuse, the senior outside hammered a career-high 36 kills, just two off the school record. Additionally, the win was No. 200 at UNH for head coach Jill Hirschinger. Overall she has 609 career victories.

Southeast Missouri State found itself in the win column in conference play behind a stellar all-around effort from Karleigh DeLong. In the 3-2 win over Tennessee Tech, the sophomore not only drilled a career-high 28 kills, but also had career numbers defensively, tallying 25 digs for the Redhawks.

Eastern Washington got off to a slow start, dropping game one, but behind Hayley Hills the Eagles rallied for their first Big Sky win of the season. The sophomore finished with 30 kills on .344 hitting, becoming the first EWU player in five years to record at least 30 kills in a match.

It was a hot start to the week for Allison Sears, and the junior stayed hot, leading Valparaiso to a 2-1 record. First, in a sweep of Duquesne, the middle had 17 kills on .625 hitting. She followed that with 13 kills on .579 hitting in a sweep of Depaul, then finally had 12 kills on .333 hitting before leaving the match due to injury near the end of game three in a 3-2 loss to Bowling Green. For the week, Sears averaged 4.67 kills per game on .507 hitting, adding nine blocks and six digs.

Youth didn't prove to be a barrier for Brook Dieter in three matches over the weekend. The Minnesota freshman drilled at least 20 kills in three straight contests, averaging 6.1 kills per game on .358 hitting. Dieter started the weekend with 21 kills on .581 against Charlotte, then followed with back-to-back 20-kill matches in another pair of Minnesota victories.

In her first experiences with Big 12 conference play, Juliann Faucette didn't back down, anchoring the Texas offense in a pair of matches. In the Longhorns loss to Nebraska, the freshman was a bright spot, notching 20 kills on .351 hitting. She followed that up with an even better match, pounding 21 kills on .529 hitting in a sweep of Missouri. In that match she had a double-double with 11 digs.

Allyson Halls continues to find herself on all-tournament teams, picking up her fourth honor by leading James Madison to a 2-1 weekend. Halls averaged 4.78 kills per game while hitting .363. She also averaged 1.0 blocks per game. Her strongest match was an 18-kill performance in three games in the championship match where she hit .394.

Digging Deep

Solid back-row defense was enough to slow Creighton down and lead to a 3-1 Minnesota victory Saturday. Christine Tan led the way with 30 digs, while as a team the Golden Gophers out-dug Creighton 100-71 in the win.

Earlier in the week, though, it was Creighton with the steady digging defense provide by Bianca Rivera. In a career performance, the libero set a school record, digging 38 balls and helping the Bluejays survive match point and down Drake in five.

In a weekend of big performances by Liberty players, Jessica Nelson was tough on both sides of the ball, leading the Flames offensively and defensively. Not only did the junior match the team-high with 20 kills, but also had a match-high 33 digs in the 3-2 win over William and Mary.

As if to prove her record-setting match the week before wasn't a fluke Aime Cordeiro almost did it again. The San Diego State libero scooped 44 digs in a 3-2 win over Cal State Fullerton, coming just shy of her prior performance. In the Aztecs' previous match, the senior libero set a school and Mountain West Conference record with 46 digs.

Amidst a rough weekend for Cal Poly, Kristin Jackson turned out to be a very bright spot for the Mustangs. In a 3-2 loss on Friday, the senior libero finished with 21 digs to set the Big West Conference career mark at 1,747. Then, Jackson followed with 34 digs in a 3-1 loss to Sacramento State and 32 digs in a 3-1 win over San Francisco.

While Emily Day and Heather Hughes provide the firepower, Christianna Reneau did her part to slow Oregon State's attack down. In Loyala Marymount's 3-2 win, Reneau finished with a match high 33 digs. She also chipped in offensively, tacking on 16 kills.

Stephen F. Austin had big defensive matches from multiple players, but couldn't hang on in the 3-2 loss to Houston. On the back row, Laurel Kuepker led the way, scooping a match high 32 digs, while Briana Taylor was big up front (see below).

The first weekend of the conference schedule and competition is already tight in the Missouri Valley conference. Illinois State and Evansville went down to the wire Saturday, with ISU pulling out the 3-2 win. In the loss for Evansville, Julie Walroth put up the big defensive numbers, recording 37 digs to tie a school record.

Continuing to put up steady numbers on the back row, Katie Swoboda had another big match for Oregon. Swoboda finished with 32 digs against Purdue, but even that effort couldn't lift the Ducks, as Oregon suffered its first loss of the season.

In a hole early, LSU fought back for a 3-1 win over Arkansas, getting more solid defense out of Elena Martinez. After breaking the school record for digs in a match with 34 last week, Martinez came back and put up 33 versus Arkansas. It's the third time this season Martinez has recorded at least 30 digs, also a school record.

Stesha Selsky started the weekend off moving up to seventh on the Big Ten all-time digs list and recording the seventh-best single-match performance in Michigan history. In a sweep of Utah Valley, Selsky scooped 31 digs, but it didn't stop there. On Saturday, Selsky put up the fourth-best Michigan match total, lifting 38 digs in helping the Wolverines bounce back for a 3-2 win over Georgia Tech.

Adding her name to the list of players to scoop 30 digs in a match last week was Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's Laura North. In a 3-2 loss to Central Florida, the senior libero picked up 30 digs. She averaged 5.18 digs per game on the week.

Defense carried the day for South Dakota State in its match against North Dakota State. On the back row, Samantha Pearson was the anchor, scooping 35 digs in the 3-2. Blocking came through big as well (see below).

What was a close match all-around also turned out to be a battle between liberos. In Pacific's 3-2 win over Oregon State, Tiger Julie Magud finished with a match-high 31 digs, while her counterpart across the net, Ashley Evans, tallied 29 digs.

Hitting the Wall

Despite a 3-2 loss to San Francisco, Wednesday's match was still a record-setter for San Jose's Brianna Amian. The freshman tied the school record for total blocks and block assists, with 14 assisted blocks to give her 14 total for the match.

A defensive boost by Meghan Simons helped Ohio avoid upset at the hands of Denver on Friday. Three of the first four games were decided by two points, and the Bobcats pulled out a five-point win in game five, with blocking being key throughout. Ohio finished with 19 blocks, as Simons had one solo and assisted on 10 of them to finish with 11 blocks in the match.

Utah State wrapped up a 2-0 conference start behind some steady blocking from sophomore Melissa Larson. In the Aggies' 3-1 win over San Jose State, Larsen assisted on 10 put-backs as USU finished with 15.5 blocks as a team.

Notre Dame's Kellie Sciacca was among those to reach double digits in blocks over the weekends, recording a solo block and nine assists on Saturday. But, ultimately, is was California rallying from the 2-0 deficit to claim victory over the Irish.

Oregon State got a solid effort at the net out of Bree Knitter, but even her 12 blocks couldn't hold of Loyola Marymount. Knitter had 10 blocks assists and a pair solo in the 3-2 loss on Friday.

Dominique Lamb continues her season of strong blocking as once again the Arizona senior put up double digits in that category. In the Wildcats' sweep of Cal State Bakersfield, Lamb finished with nine block assists and one solo.

Syracuse got a double-double out of Sarah Morton, who turned in 11 kills to go with a match-high 10 blocks, but even that effort wasn't enough to hold of New Hampshire in five.

Sabel Moffett turned out to be Northwestern's front-line defensive anchor on Saturday. In helping the Wildcats to a third-straight Wildcat Classic Championship, Moffett finished with 10 total blocks -- nine assisted and one solo.

Having a big night for Stephen F. Austin up front was Briana Taylor. In a 3-2 loss to Houston, Taylor finished with 13 block assists, helping on most of SFA's 15.5 total blocks.

Another Sacramento State player who put up solid number on the week was Lindsay Haupt. In the Hornets' sweep of Xavier, Haupt finished with a match-high 10 total blocks, including a pair solo. She also added 12 kills on .524 hitting.

Sara Lungren did her part to slow Bradley down and help Wichita State to a league-opening win. In the 3-1 victory, Lungren finished with a match-high 10 blocks, including three solo. She also had seven kills and seven digs.

Up front, Amy Anderson did her share of the defensive work in lifting South Dakota State past North Dakota State in five. Anderson finished with a match-high 10 block assists in the win.

Setting the Pace

Florida's conference opener Friday saw a mix of the common and not-so-common for the Gators. For the 17th straight season Florida opened SEC play with a win, downing Georgia 3-1, but it was the play of setter Angie McGinnis that was a bit uncommon. For only the fourth time in school history, McGinnis recorded a triple-double -- the only player at the school to ever achieve the feat. The senior setter dished out 46 assists, 15 digs and had a career-high 11 kills in the win.

It was more of the same for Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Saturday. The Panthers won their second Horizon League match and Leanee Felsing posted a triple-double. Again. In the sweep of Loyola-Chicago, Felsing knocked down 16 kills and matched it with 16 digs to go with 28 assists. UWM improved to 10-1 on the season.

Illinois State stayed perfect early in conference play, guided to a 3-2 victory over Evansville by Erin Lindsey. The setter was only two kills off a triple-double, hitting .350 with eight put-aways. She dished out 65 assists to go with 18 digs and a block assist.

Coming through with a her first triple-double of the season at the right time, Kallie Corbin set Liberty to not only a 3-1 win, but led the Flames to a 3-1 weekend in Villanova. The sophomore setter dished out 44 assists to go with 25 digs and 10 kills on .368 hitting as Liberty finished in a three-way tie atop the Villanova Classic tournament field.

Serving it Up Hot

A team-wide solid serving effort help lift American to a weekend win over Harvard and extended a home win streak to 21 matches. As a squad, the Eagles finished with 17 aces, led by the efforts of Rubena Sukaj and Ivana Cebakova. Sukaj was tops in the match with six aces while Cebakova finished with five. Sukaj went on to add five more aces in a 3-2 win over Pennsylvania.

Setter Caroline Hamersley served up five aces in a quick match, helping Campbell roll past North Carolina A&T 3-0 last Tuesday.

The serves were dropping in for TCU on Saturday. In a sweep of Alcorn State, the Horned Frogs tied a school record, tallying 20 aces. LeMeita Smith led the way for TCU, scoring five of them.

Florida State got ACC play started with a victory, sweeping Miami behind the play of Mira Djuric. Not only did Djuric finish with a match-high 13 kills on .391 hitting, she also added five service aces in the 3-0 win.

In a similar performance, UC Irvine's Lauren Kellerman led the way with 12 kills and six aces, as the Anteaters swept Davidson on Friday. Kellerman's efforts put her in third-place in the UCI records for aces in a match.

It took a few extra points, but a 18-16 game-five win gave Belmont the victory over Marquette on Friday. Providing a few extra points of her own was setter Colleen Nilson, who had six aces to go with her 63 assists and 14 digs.

USC Upstate relied on steady serving in its 3-1 win over South Carolina State. For the match, the Spartans knocked in 15 aces, led by freshman Megan Healey's five.

Even picking up five aces from Katie Fitzpatrick, Holy Cross wasn't able to overcome a 2-0 deficit, ultimately falling 3-2 to Providence.

Amy Stroder gave North Florida a career-high five service aces on Friday, but even the senior's 14 total points weren't enough as the Lady Ospreys fell in three to New Orleans

Lehigh was bolstered by Haley Conklin's serving in holding off Wagner in four last Tuesday. Conklin slipped in seven aces to help the Mountain Hawks to the 3-1 victory.

One of the top serving teams in the NCAA, Army kept it up over the weekend. Going 3-1, the Black Knights wrapped up the tournament with 10 aces in a sweep of Cornell. Senior Lauren Teal picked up those majority of those, setting a career-high with eight.

A pair of Missouri Valley conference players turned in solid serving matches on the opening weekend of league play. First was Wichita State's Melissa Granville, who had five aces in the Shockers' 3-1 win against Bradley.

Next up was Terri Del Conte. Also against Bradley, Del Conte had five aces of her own in helping Missouri State to the sweep.

Even with Jackie Oliveira filling out the stat sheet, Oral Roberts couldn't pull out the five-game win over Arkansas-Little Rock. In the match the junior outside had a career-high five aces to go with 21 kills, 17 digs and three blocks.

UMES broke out of a four-match skid behind the play of Caylin Woodward. In a 3-1 win versus Morgan State, Woodward had 15 kills on .467 hitting and adding 10 digs to go with five service aces.

Milestones and Streaks

The wins keep coming as Dayton cruised to a 3-0 weekend tournament title with a trio of sweeps. The Flyers swept Western Kentucky, UMBC and host Towson to remain perfect on the season and extend their win streak to 13 matches.

Another team continuing to pour on the victories is Presbyterian College. Having been at the top of its last three tournament, PC has not only won its last 10 matches, but is also on a 16-game win streak.

Although already atop the record books, TCU's win on Saturday was still important for coach Prentice Lewis. With the sweep of Alcorn State, Lewis, the winningest coach in program history, picked up her 100th career victory.

It took a couple matches longer than expected, and included a comeback from down 2-0, but Brigham Young became only the fourth team in NCAA Volleyball to record its 1,000 victory. Down 2-0, the Cougars rallied to claim a 3-2 win over San Diego State on the road Saturday to earn the milestone victory. BYU is 1,000-277-5 over 39 years of program history.

Another team reaching a milestone program victory was Tennessee. With a 3-1 win over Mississippi State on Sunday, the Lady Vols earned the program its 700th win.

It could turn into a season of multiple milestones for Illinois coach Don Hardin. With the Illini picking up a 3-1 win over Toledo, Illinois improves to 8-2 on the year as Hardin earned his 200th victory with the program. The win as also No. 392 overall as he closes in on 400 career wins.

Not only did Courtnie Paulus' all around play (she was two blocks off a triple-double) lead Northwestern to its third-straight Wildcat Classic Championship, but her offense helped her achieve a feat of her own. With her seventh kill of the match, the senior became the 18th Northwestern player to reach the 1,000-kill plateau. She finished with 17 kills for the match and 1,010 for her career.

Arizona's victory over UC Irvine on Friday adds one more to coach Dave Rubio and the Wildcats' total. The 3-1 win was No. 300 at Arizona for Rubio, who has been with the program for 16 years. He is 300-160 at Arizona and 422-226 overall in 21 years of coaching.

USC Upstate's Morgan Bucciferro is already building on the stats in her young career. The sophomore had 23 assists and 10 digs in a 3-1 win over South Carolina State. The 23 assists were enough to push her past 1,000 for her career, making her just the ninth player in school history to reach that mark.

--Compiled by Landon Olson and Ray Dise, Update Staff