Aug. 31-Sept. 2 Volleyball Weekend Recap

The second weekend of volleyball season found the eight Horizon League schools once again in tournaments stretching from Baltimore, Md., to Grand Forks, N.D. Youngstown State had the most successful weekend of any team in the League, winning all four of its matches at the Coppin State Invitational. The schools have two more weekends of tournaments left before the conference season begins on Friday, Sept. 21.

Here’s a team-by-team look at the second weekend of play.

Cleveland State at Indiana Invitational
Results:
Indiana def. Cleveland State, 3-1 (25-23, 19-25, 25-14, 26-24)
Georgia Tech def. Cleveland State, 3-0 (25-14, 25-20, 25-20)
Cleveland State def. Bowling Green, 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-13)

The Vikings (5-2) spent the second weekend of the 2012 season in Bloomington, Ind., playing in the Indiana Invitational adding one win to their season total. On Friday night against Indiana, Kerry Winchester (13) and Kara Koch (14) combined for 27 of Cleveland State's 48 kills on the night, while Annie Djukic and Jackie Dabbelt each added six. Amanda Medvetz notched her fifth double-digit dig match of the year with a team-high 14 digs, while Brittany Holland recorded 10 as CSU fell in four-sets to the host Hoosiers. On Saturday, the Vikings split their two contests. They opened the day with a 3-0 loss to Georgia Tech. Koch led the Vikings with 13 kills, while Dabbelt added six.Medvetz recorded nine digs for CSU, while Djukic notched 24 assists.The Vikings rebounded with a sweep of Bowling Green in the afternoon. CSU was led by Koch who recorded her third 20-kill match of the season. Winchester also tallied double-digit kills for CSU, notching 10. Medvetz and Holland the defense against the Falcons, recording 12 and 13 digs, respectively. Koch and Marie Frease each tallied four blocks for the Vikings, while Djukic notched 28 assists.

Green Bay at UND Classic
Results:
Green Bay def. Stephen F. Austin, 3-2 (23-25, 25-17, 23-25, 25-21, 15-11)
North Dakota def. Green Bay, 3-0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-21)
Green Bay def. South Dakota, 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-21)

The Phoenix (3-4) won two of three matches in Grand Forks, N.D. at the UND Classic. Green Bay started play Friday night with a come-from-behind victory over Stephen F. Austin, 3-2. GB trailed lost the first and third sets to trail 2-1 before winning the final two sets for victory.  Lyndsay Zabkowicz registered a career-high 22 kills in the win, hitting .340 in the match with just four errors in 53 attempts. Monica Anderson also posted a career-high kill total with 15, hitting a team-best .361. Setting up the majority of the attacks was junior Leah Poel, who had a match and season-high 51 assists to go along with 18 digs. Katie Mroczenski also had a strong contest in the middle for the Phoenix, helping on nine of the team's 12 total blocks. After falling to host North Dakota on Saturday morning, Green Bay rebounded with a sweep of South Dakota, 3-0, to finish the tournament. Junior Leah Van Zeeland paced the Phoenix with a double-double, recording 11 kills and 12 digs, in the win over the Coyotes. Poel notched her fifth straight double-double, dishing out 32 assists to go along with 13 digs. Brittany Groth, the HL Defensive Player of the Week last week, led three Phoenix players with double-digit digs with 16. The senior has reached double-figures in all seven matches this season.

Loyola at Jessica Barkman Classic
Results:
Loyola def. Indiana State, 3-1 (26-24, 21-25, 25-14, 25-19)
Western Illinois def. Loyola, 3-0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-22)
SIU-Edwardsville def. Loyola, 3-1 (22-25, 25-17, 25-20, 25-22)

The Ramblers (5-2) after going undefeated last weekend, suffered their first losses of the season at the Jessica Barkman Classic played in Terre Haute, Ind., at Indiana State. Loyola started the tournament with a 3-1 win Saturday over Indiana State. Last week’s HL Offensive Player of the Week, Anna Eytchison, recorded a match-high 21 kills and Laura Purcell added 13 as Loyola earned its fifth-straight win to open the season. Brittany Brown added 10 from her setter spot. Stephanie Kinane led the back row with 14 digs while Kathleen Vogel added 12 digs and three aces. The Ramblers dropped their first match of the season later on Saturday to Western Illinois. After hitting no lower than .203 in any of its previous five matches, Loyola struggled to find the court against WIU, counteracting its 30 kills with a season-high 30 errors for a .000 hitting percentage. Kinane did have a then season-high 23 digs for the Ramblers in the contest. Loyola finished the tournament with a four-set loss to SIU-Edwardsville. Eytchison's 13 kills led the way and she added seven digs and six blocks. Purcell also reached double figures (10 kills) while Brown posted six kills, 33 assists and six digs. Kinane continued her terrific form in the back row, collecting a season-high 26 digs.

Milwaukee hosted Panther Invitational
Results:
Bradley def. Milwaukee, 3-2 (25-20, 25-19, 18-25, 17-25, 15-9)
Western Michigan def. Milwaukee, 3-2 (25-27, 21-25, 25-23, 25-20, 15-12)
Milwaukee def. SEMO, 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-22)
Milwaukee def. East Carolina, 3-0 (25-16, 25-23, 25-21)

The Panthers (4-3) split their four contests at the Panther Invitational this weekend. Milwaukee opened the tournament on Friday by dropping two five-set matches. UWM fell to Bradley, 3-2, spotting the Braves a 2-0 lead before climbing back into the match by winning sets three and four before falling in the fifth set. Freshman Maggie Dunbar led Milwaukee with 15 kills and was one of four Panther players in double figures. Defensively, Julie Kolinske and Maisey Mulvey led the way with 18 digs apiece while Anna Bartz added 17. UWM got off to a much better start in their second contest on Saturday, winning the first two sets, but they couldn’t keep the momentum going in letting Western Michigan capture the final three sets to win going away. Kolinske had 22 kills and Rachel Neuberger added 21 to lead the UWM offense. Bartz led the back-row efforts with 24 digs, while freshman Sammi Herron had 17 and Mulvey added 16. UWM also got its blocking on track in the contest, collecting 11 total, including seven by Neuberger. Saturday was much better for the Panthers as they swept both opponents. They started the day by knocking off SEMO, 3-0, behind Kolinske’s 16 kills and 19 digs. Elizabeth Egerer added 13 kills and Neuberger 10, while setter Kayla Price racked up 42 assists in the three-set victory. The Panthers finished their tournament by defeating East Carolina. Egerer led Milwaukee's offense with 13 kills while Kolinske added 12 and Neuberger 10. Neuberger added five blocks while hitting .625 in securing a spot on the all-tournament team. UWM's back row defense included four players in double figures in digs, led by 17 from Bartz and 16 from Kolinske.

UIC hosted the UIC Invitational
Results:
UT-Arlington def. UIC, 3-1 (26-24, 20-25, 25-22, 25-23)
IPFW def. UIC, 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-17)
Eastern Michigan def. UIC, 3-1 (21-25, 25-19, 25-13, 25-19)

The Flames (2-4) struggled in their home tournament, falling in all three matches. On Friday night, UIC lost to UT-Arlington, 3-1. The Flames narrowly lost the first set (26-24) before capturing the second set to even the match, but UT-Arlington was able to squeak out victories in the third and fourth sets to win the match. Sophomore Sara Sternard compiled a .417 hitting percentage with 12 kills to lead UIC, while Janise Dismuke chipped in an additional 10 kills (.364) on the night. Junior setter MaryKate Imrie dished out 55 assists in the contest. In UIC’s 3-0 loss to IPFW, Kelsey Safranek led the Flames with nine kills, while Imrie posted a double-double with 17 assists and 11 digs. In the final match of the tournament, the Flames won the first set against Eastern Michigan, but allowed the Eagles to win the next three to take the match. Aubrey Sniegowski led UIC with 15 kills, while Safranek contributed 13. Imrie posted her second consecutive double-double with 39 assists and 14 digs. Justine Garcia had a match-high 22 digs for the Flames. Sternard was named to the All-Tournament team.

Valparaiso at Active Ankle Challenge
Results:
Saint Louis def. Valparaiso, 3-1 (27-25, 25-19, 20-25, 25-23)
Valparaiso def. South Alabama, 3-1 (24-26, 25-20, 26-24, 25-16)
Southern Illinois def. Valparaiso, 3-0 (25-14, 25-13, 25-15)

The Crusaders (3-4) captured one of three matches at the Active Ankle Challenge in St. Louis, Mo. Valpo opened the tournament by dropping a four-set match to host Saint Louis. Sarah Dooms led the way for the Crusaders with nine kills while Morgan Beil and Ellen Vanden Berg picked up eight apiece. Junior Ariel Cudney handed out 18 assists, while freshman Kelsey Berrington posted 16 helpers. Defensively, Vanden Berg was in on four of Valpo's eight team blocks, and Dooms also paced the Crusaders with 24 digs. On Saturday morning, Valparaiso battled back from a one-set deficit to defeat South Alabama, 3-1. Mary Dent led the Crusaders in the win over the Jaguars, picking up 12 kills on .258 hitting, while Dooms reached double figures as well with 10 kills. Berrington dished out 21 assists to go along with 19 from Cudney while Lindsey Hauch picked up four service aces. Defensively, Dooms paced Valpo with 19 kills, while Beil and Victor registered five blocks each.In the tournament finale, the Crusaders fell to Southern Illinois, 3-0. Beil and Vanden Berg each had seven kills to lead the offense in the losing effort, while defensively, Kelsey Victor had four blocks and Taylor Root tied for match-high honors with 13 digs. Cudney was named to the All-Tournament team, the first All-Tournament selection of her career.

Wright State at Skyhawk Invitational
Results:
DePaul def. Wright State, 3-0 (25-18, 25-11, 25-14)
UT-Martin def. Wright State, 3-1 (25-21, 25-11, 21-25, 25-12)
Troy def. Wright State, 3-2 (24-26, 25-18, 21-25, 25-17, 15-10)

The Raiders (0-7) were in Martin, Tenn., for the Skyhawk Invitational over Labor Day Weekend. WSU was unable to collect its first win of the season, but the Raiders did get consistently better during the tournament. In the tournament opener Friday night, Wright State lost to Big East opponent, DePaul, 3-0. Natalie Catani led Wright State with six kills while Ashleigh Lucco had 21 assists and Katie Glassmeyer tallied 15 digs in the loss. On Saturday, the Raiders dropped the first two sets to the host UT-Martin, stayed alive with a third set win, but the Skyhawks won the fourth set to win the contest. WSU was led by Heidi Splinter (12 kills and 15 digs) and Lucco (29 assists and 14 digs), who both had double-doubles in the contest. In the tournament finale, the Raiders went the distance with Troy, winning the second and fourth sets after narrowly losing the first, but in the end Troy was able to take the fifth set to win the match. Splinter recorded her second double-double of the day and third of the season with 18 kills and 15 digs while Lucco did the same with a double-double of 47 assists and 11 digs. Marisa Aiello had a season-high 14 kills and five block assists while Catani posted her first career double-double with 10 kills and 11 digs.

Youngstown State at Coppin State Invitational
Results:
Youngstown State def. Coppin State, 3-1 (25-23, 18-25, 25-20, 25-12)
Youngstown State def. Bryant, 3-0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-19)
Youngstown State def. North Carolina A&T, 3-0 (25-10, 25-14, 25-15)
Youngstown State def. Chicago State, 3-0 (25-14, 25-14, 25-17)

The Penguins (5-2) went undefeated at the Coppin State Invitational in Baltimore, Md. YSU started the tournament with a four-set win over the hosts Coppin State. Missy Hundelt and Jackie Carlisle had identical stat lines of 13 kills and four errors in 26 attempts, and Aly Ryan posted eight kills while hitting .500. Shannon Watson and Jenna Cavanaugh both had three blocks, and Erika West registered 14 digs. Hundelt added 10 digs for her third consecutive double-double. In their second tournament game, the Penguins had the offense rolling as they hit .349 as a team, their best mark since the 2008 season, in sweeping Bryant. Cavanaugh had six kills and six blocks in the match, and Alexis Egler finished with eight kills to lead a balance attack for YSU. Watson added seven kills without an error, and Carlisle had five kills without an error. Hundelt posted a team-high eight digs. Youngstown State’s offense stayed efficient in the third match of the tournament, hitting .321 as they swept North Carolina A&T. Watson finished with a match-high 11 kills as all 16 Penguins appeared in at least one set. Hundelt had seven kills in two sets, and Ryan posted seven kills. West had a team-high 12 digs. The Penguins capped off a fantastic tournament by sweeping Chicago State on Saturday night. The YSU offense remained extremely efficient in the contest, hitting .410 as a team in the final match. Hundelt, who was named tournament MVP, finished the match with 10 kills in 13 attempts. Cavanaugh added eight kills and four blocks, and Carlisle posted seven kills as the Penguins hit .625 in the opening set and .520 in the second set. With five wins in 2012, YSU has already equaled its victory total from the 2011 season.