CVU.com

October 10, 2007

Top Swings: Blocking Highlights Week Seven

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 Georgia's first triple double in four seasons.

Top Swings: October 1-7

It was a big-time performance by Maria Taylor, but even Georgia's first triple-double in four seasons wasn't enough to get the Bulldogs past Arkansas. The junior outside hammered 29 kills to go with 11 digs and 10 blocks in the 3-2 loss. She also added two aces and two assists.

Gorana Maricic did her part in carrying Oregon's offense, but even her efforts couldn't get the Ducks past Pac-10 foe California. Maricic slammed 31 kills on .314 hitting as Oregon fell in four.

Temple had a big day out of sophomore Yun Yi Zhang, but even her career effort couldn't derail Xavier. Zhang had 17 kills through the first two games, giving the Owls the 2-0 lead, but Xavier bounced back to win in five. Zhang finished with 33 kills in the match.

Continuing to put up big numbers, Kim Babcock checked in with a 20-20 match this time, lifting Northern Arizona past Idaho State in three. Ranked second in the NCAA in kills per game at 5.46, Babcock led the Lumberjacks with 21 (on .326 hitting) to improve her average to 5.55 kills per game. She also added a match-high 20 digs. She followed up with 20 more kills and 10 digs in a sweep of Weber State.

Needing the win to pull even with UNC Greensboro and go above .500 in conference play, Appalachian State relied upon Brittany Zahn for the offensive punch. Zahn broke her own day old school-record, slamming 36 kills on .370 hitting and adding 11 digs for the double-double in leading the Mountaineers past UNCG 3-2 on Saturday. That performance came after the senior set a then school record with 34 kills on .443 hitting in a 3-2 loss to Elon on Friday. For the week she had 85 kills on .414 hitting with 19 digs.

Showing why she's a two-time MEAC Player of the Week already this season, Whitney Johnson came through on the offensive end for UMES. The sophomore had 30 kills for the Hawks, lifting them to a 3-2 win over Morgan and keeping them perfect at 5-0 in conference play. Johnson then followed that with another strong match, recording 27 kills on .377 hitting along with 16 digs in a 3-2 win over Delaware State.

For the second-straight season, Bowling Green found its offensive rhythm against Buffalo, setting a school record for hitting percentage. Nearly a year to the day (last year it was Oct. 7) after setting a record for hitting percentage in a three-game match, the Falcons did it again. BGSU hit .553 on Saturday, committing only five errors in the win. The previous record was .512, also set against Buffalo.

Down 2-0, Loyola Marymount fought back for game three, but couldn't overcome Gonzaga despite a career night from Heather Hughes. The senior drilled a career-high 32 kills on .380 hitting to up her nation-leading kills per game average to 5.93 kills. Hughes is also closing in on 1,500 career kills, only five shy.

Digging Deep

Despite Loyola needing only three games to roll past Manhattan, it was plenty of time for Brittany Born to pick up the digs. Born finished the match with 30 digs and a pair of aces in the victory.

Just a dig off the school match record, Callie Webster put up numbers Colorado hasn't seen in more than a decade, but even with her efforts, the Buffalos couldn't hold off Missouri. Webster had 33 digs in the 3-2 loss, the first time since 1995 a Colorado player has topped the 30-dig mark. She was also one off the five-game match record and tied the fifth highest match total in school history.

With Morgan going the distance versus UMES, Esther Johnson capitalized on the opportunity defensively. Johnson scooped a match-high 30 digs in the loss.

North Dakota State once again picked up a big performance out of libero Kari Fagnan, who continues to pile up the digs. It was the senior's second straight match with 30 digs, as she compiled that many in a 3-1 win over Oakland on Saturday.

William and Mary stopped a streaking Delaware team, moving into a tie for first in the CAA while getting a big defensive boost from Jill Nowadly. The junior came up with a career-high 32 digs for the Tribe, which downed Delaware 3-2 and ended a nine-match win streak for the Blue Hens.

Only a freshman, Cami Croteau joined a selected group at Cal State Fullerton on Saturday. In helping Fullerton to a 3-2 win over UC Santa Barbara, Croteau became just the fifth Titan to record at least 30 digs in a match. The freshman libero scooped 31 in the victory.

Defense became the key for TCU in bouncing back from a 2-0 deficit to upset Utah on the road. Calli Corley came through with a pair of records - personal and team. The senior libero first became the school's all-time digs leader, accomplishing the feat in the second game by surpassing the previous mark of 1,197 dig. Corley finished with a career-high 33 digs on the night, also passing the 1,200-dig milestone.

Georgia Southern picked up a solid defensive performance out of Bailey Coleman on Sunday, cruising past the Citadel to earn another Southern Conference win. The senior libero finished with a match-high 32 digs in the Eagles' 3-1 win.

Back-to-back big dig matches by Allison Nieters led to a pair of 3-2 conference wins for Iona over the weekend. First, against Rider, Nieters came through with 34 digs in helping the Gaels claim the final two games for the win. Then, Sunday, the freshman flipped the numbers, scooping 43 digs to help Iona rebound from a 2-0 deficit to down Manhattan.

Turning in the best defensive performance in Conference USA this season, Malorey Grove helped Tulsa secure a victory over Rice on Sunday. In the 3-2 thriller, Grove scooped 36 digs for the Golden Hurricane, the second time this season the junior has recorded at least 30 digs in match.

Hitting the Wall

Cleveland State ended Valparaiso's undefeated start to Horizon League play, using 15 blocks - with Amy Benz part of most of them. The freshman middle had 11 block assists, matching it with 11 kills on .476 hitting in the Vikings' 3-1 victory.

Leading the Arkansas blocking effort, Yun Tang helped slow down Georgia and preserve a 3-2 win. Tang finished the match with 11 total blocks (one solo, 10 assists) to gain match-high honors. The junior middle came back and matched that total on Sunday, picking up 11 more blocks as the Lady Backs fell in five to Auburn.

Big blocking performances helped UC Riverside outlast UC Davis, earning the Highlanders their first Big West win since 2005. As a team UCR finished with 23.5 blocks, as Angela Pizzella led the way with 11 block assists while Angie Mitchell had nine total blocks - two solo and seven assisted.

With a strong defensive performance, Ashley Allen approached triple-double territory in helping Binghamton to a sweep of Colgate. Allen finished with eight kills and nine digs while reaching double-digits in blocks with 10 block assists.

TCU was in position for the victory, but despite a career-high defensive effort from Devon Kirk, couldn't stop Oklahoma at the end. Kirk finished with 11 blocks, but the Sooners fought off two match points for a 17-15 game-three win.

Ranked No. 16 in the nation in blocking entering the week with 1.60 blocks per game, Ellen Orchard improved on that, Friday. Orchard picked up 10 block assists in helping California sweep of Oregon State on the road.

When she was at the net, there wasn't much Colorado could do about Weiwen Wang. The Missouri freshman set records on both sides of the ball in leading the Tigers to a 3-2 conference win on Wednesday. Defensively, Weiwen had a school-record 13 blocks to go with six digs. On offense, she had the most kills without an error and second-highest hitting percentage ever in a five-game match for Missouri. Weiwen finished with 19 kills on 34 swings to hit .559.

Once again Lecia Brown showed her dominance at the net. The NCAA leader with a 2.04 blocks per game average, the sophomore helped Louisville to the upset over St. John's, recording 12 putbacks in Saturday's sweep.

Denver got a key conference win Sunday, downing Florida International behind some strong defense and a game-four surge from Kerry Porter. The junior finished with a double-double of 11 kills and 10 blocks, but did the most damage in game four, when she was 7-for-7 on the attack to lead the Pioneers to the 3-1 victory.

It was a dominating performance on both sides of the net for Erin Boeve, but even with her double-double, Iowa State couldn't slip past Oklahoma. Boeve finished with 11 blocks, including four solo, as well as a match-high 25 kills on .417 hitting in the 3-2 loss to the Sooners on Saturday.

The block came up big for Hofstra on Sunday as two players recorded double-digit performances in that category to help the Pride get back above .500 in CAA play. Hofstra held James Madison to .006 hitting for the match, as Talita Silva recorded 12 blocks and Amanda Beyersdorff had 10 putbacks. As a team, Hofstra recorded 18 total blocks.

It was the first kill-dig-block triple-double at Missouri State since 2001, but even Sara Thomas' efforts couldn't propel the Bears past Wichita State. Thomas had 11 kills, 19 digs and 11 blocks in the 3-1 loss that ended an 11-match MSU win streak. But, Thomas got the Bears back on track Sunday, just missing the feat again with 15 kills, 13 digs and eight blocks in a sweep of South Dakota State.

Lisa Hough's double-double helped West Virginia hold off Seton Hall as the junior had double-digits at the net. Hough finished with 12 kills on .476 hitting, matching it with 12 blocks to lead the Mountaineers to a season-high 19 blocks.

LSU picked up a pair of key SEC victories, taking possession of first place in the Western Division, behind Lauren DeGirolamo. The sophomore topped her season averages in both kills and blocks while hitting .462 on the week. In a 3-2 win over Alabama, she had 17 kills with six blocks, while following that up with a 18-kill, nine-block (three solo) performance in a 3-1 win against Mississippi State.

While the back-row defense was big, TCU also got a boost on the front row out of Kourtney Edwards, who recorded her first double-double in the Frogs' 3-2 win over Utah. Edwards finished with 10 blocks - three solo - to go with 16 kills in the victory.

Setting the Pace

Just a week after recording her first triple-double, Julia Noe did it again, becoming only the second Western Kentucky player with two triple-doubles in a career, and the only one to have them both in the same season. Like the first one, Saturday's was crucial in keeping the Lady Toppers perfect in the Sun Belt. The junior setter tossed out 64 assists to go with 16 digs and 12 kills in the 3-2 win over UALR.

With the return of setter Kellye Zaporski and UW Milwaukee going back to a two-setter offense, it was time for more triple-doubles from Leanee Felsing. For her ninth triple-double of the season, Felsing came through with 26 assists, 13 digs and 11 kills in guiding the Panthers to a sweep of Green Bay. Then, Felsing came back on Sunday for her 10th such feat, picking up 28 assists, 11 digs and 19 kills on .529 hitting in leading the Panthers to their 16th win in 17 tries in the 3-1 win over Valparaiso.

UMES benefited from not just one but two triple-doubles in Saturday's win over Morgan. For the second time this season, Christina Estebane' and Caylin Woodward accomplished the feat in the same match. Estebane' had 55 assists, 28 digs and 11 kills, while Woodward added 22 digs, 12 kills and 10 assists.

It turned into a showdown between setters, with each player - and each team - matching the other through a marathon match and fifth game. Ultimately, it was Illinois State pulling out a 21-19 game-five win with each team's setter recording their second career triple-double. For the victorious Redbirds, Erin Lindsey dished out 71 assists to go with 10 kills, 10 digs and three aces, while for Northern Iowa, Kristin Belzung had similar numbers, tallying 71 assists, 10 kills and 17 digs, as well as a block.

Serving it Up Hot

Relying on some strong serving, Florida Gulf Coast ended Belmont's 13-match home win streak, picking up 11 aces in the 3-1 victory. Ana Kokanvic led the way with six, while Roberta Santo's added four for the Eagles, who extended their winning streak to 14 matches.

Taking a cue from Florida Gulf cost, Belmont bounced back to sweep Stetson, getting strong serving out of Emily Cahill. Despite playing on two games of the sweep, Cahill finished with five aces, also picking up two kills on two attempts.

IPFW got a was able to score on the serve Friday, and the extra points proved to be enough to hand South Dakota State its first Summit League loss. The Mastodons finished with 16 aces, including six by Rebekah Roehm and five from Peachy Jankowski.

Alex Klein added five aces to her team-high 14 kills, but even with her offensive totals Wagner was unable to top Saint Peter's, falling in five.

A team-wide serving effort not only helped Bowling Green roll past Buffalo, but also set a record. The Falcons recorded 19 aces in the sweep on Saturday, the most in a three-game match in school history. Sam Fish led the way with a career-high eight service aces, but every BGSU player who served in the match recorded at least one ace.

After Missouri State had its 11-match win streak broken, Terri Del Conte helped her team start a new one. The junior libero had a team season-high seven aces in helping the Bears to a sweep of South Dakota State on Sunday.

Serving seems to be turning in a specialty of Shaylin Summers, as the freshman has been having the hot hand for UMES. Summers came through with five aces against Delaware State, helping the Hawks in a 3-2 win. She had eight in a match earlier this season.

Milestones and Streaks

It was lucky 13 for UMES and coach Don Metil. With a 3-0 win over Howard on Wednesday, the Hawks won their 13th in a row and gave Metil career win No. 100.

Another coach hitting the 100-win mark was Fairfield's Jeff Werneke. The Stags picked up a sweep of Saint Peter's on Saturday to give Werneke the milestone.

With two streaks on the line, something had to give. South Alabama ended its streak on Friday night - which was a good thing for the Jags. A 3-0 win over Louisiana Monroe broke a 23-match Sun Belt losing streak for USA.

Another Duke record fell last week, this time on the defensive side of things. Jenny Shull scooped 25 digs in Duke's 3-1 win over N.C. State, putting her atop the school's all-time career digs list. The senior libero finished the match with 1,818 digs for her career, breaking the record that had stood since 1994.

Records also fell in Florida, as setter Angie McGinnis broke the University of Florida's all-time assists record. The senior had 50 helpers in a sweep of Kentucky on Friday, giving her 4,890 for her career.

Stanford claimed another conference victim on Thursday, and with 15 kills in win 15 for the Cardinal, Foluke Akinradewo reached a milestone. The junior middle picked up kill 1,000 in the sweep of Oregon State.

Also joining the 1,000-kill club was Bowling Green's Stephanie Swiger. In the Falcon's sweep of Akron on Friday, Swiger had eight kills, surpassing the milestone in game three to make her only the 13th player in school history to reach 1,000 career kills.

While coming through defensively with 21 digs, Kelly Oliver also picked up seven kills for Fairfield, enough to put her over the 1,000-kill mark for her career. The senior is the ninth Stag to reach that mark, and the second this season, as she did it in Fairfield's 3-2 win over Loyola on Sunday.