The third weekend of volleyball action saw three Horizon League schools - Cleveland State, Oakland and Valparaiso - capture tournament titles. It was the second consecutive weekend the Crusaders won a tournament, while it was the first titles of the year for Cleveland State and Oakland.
Below is a school-by-school recap of how the weekend went for every Horizon League school.
Cleveland State hosted CSU Invitational
Sept. 12: Defeated Navy, 3-0 (28-26, 25-23, 25-13)
Sept. 13: Defeated Dayton, 3-1 (26-24, 21-25, 25-23, 25-25)
Sept. 13: Defeated Toledo, 3-0 (25-20, 25-11, 28-26)
The Vikings took nine of the 10 sets they played in their invitational this weekend to win the championship. The Vikings were led by tournament MVP Christina Toth and all-tournament honorees Maggie Hannon and Nikki Holmes. Toth led the Vikings with 37 kills on the weekend, averaging 3.70 per set. She notched a career-high 18 kills against Dayton, and tallied 10 against Navy – her second and third double-digit kill matches of the season. Hannon recorded 29 kills on the weekend, posting a team-high .348 hitting percentage (29-5-69), and recorded 15 total blocks. Holmes led the Viking defense notching 56 digs, including a season-high 23 against Navy.
Green Bay at the Marquette Invitational
Sept. 12: Lost to Rice, 3-0 (35-33, 25-19, 25-17)
Sept. 12: Defeated UT-San Antonio, 3-2 (25-14, 25-23, 25-27, 20-25, 15-12)
Sept. 13: Lost to Marquette, 3-1 (26-28, 25-14, 25-17, 25-22)
The Phoenix weekend was highlighted by a five-set win over UT-San Antonio. GB jumped out to a 2-0 lead and then heldoff UTSA to claim the win. Green Bay was led by junior Taylor Kasal (18 kills) and freshman Abby Jeffcoat (17 kills) in the win. Jeffcoat finished with a team-high 37 kills in the three matches, while Kasal added 34. Jillian Bauer paced Green Bay’s defensive effort with 63 digs on the weekend.
Milwaukee at Diet Coke Classic
Sept. 12: Lost to Iowa State, 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-22)
Sept. 13: Lost to #19 Minnesota, 3-1 (26-28, 25-22, 25-18, 25-23)
Sept. 13: Lost to Tulsa, 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-23)
Milwaukee could not find the win column in a loaded field at Minnesota’s Diet Coke Classic. The Panthers battled the tournament host Golden Gophers in the first match on Saturday, winning the first set and hanging with Minnesota late in the second and fourth sets, but the 19th-ranked Gophers survived. Junior setter Kayla Price was named to the All-Tournament team after recording 102 assists in the tournament. Senior Hannah Blanchard paced UWM’s offense with 37 kills, while Julie Kolinske added 31. Myanna Ruiz had a team-best 52 digs.
Oakland at Black Knights Invitational
Sept. 13: Defeated Binghamton, 3-1 (25-14, 18-25, 25-23, 25-11)
Sept. 13: Defeated Holy Cross, 3-0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-17)
Sept. 14: Defeated Army, 3-2 (24-26, 19-25, 25-18, 25-18, 15-12)
The Golden Grizzlies captured the Army Tournament after coming back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat tournament-host, Army. - Sophomore Jessica Dood captured tournament MVP honors as she was one of four Oakland players to tally double figures in kills during the decisive game at the Black Knights Invitational. Dood notched 13 kills and a .393 hitting percentage, while adding four blocks in the win. Cassie Pelloni led Oakland with 16 kills, while Melissa Deatsch (14) and Amanda Baker (11) also aided in the attack. Joining Dood on the all-tournament squad were teammates Baker and Sammy Condon.
UIC Hosted UIC Invitational
Sept. 12: Defeated Indiana, 3-2 (25-23, 25- 21, 23-25, 23-25, 18-16)
Sept. 12: Defeated Eastern Kentucky, 3-1 (25-23, 24-26, 25-14, 25-11)
Sept. 13: Lost to Buffalo, 3-1 (25-22, 25-16, 25-27, 25-12)
Sept. 13: Lost to Western Illinois, 3-2 (17-25, 22-25, 25-23, 25-18, 15-9)
The Flames won two of their four matches over the weekend at their own invitational. UIC opened the tournament Friday with a five-set win over Indiana, knocking the Hoosiers from the ranks of the undefeated. UIC added a four-set win over Eastern Kentucky on Friday. Junior Stephanee Yancy was named to the All-Tournament Team after 67 kills with a .359 attack percentage and 13 total blocks over the weekend. Freshman Nicole Johnson set a career-high with 67 assists against Western Illinois and finished the weekend with 229 assists in in 18 sets of action.
Valparaiso at Skyhawk Invitational
Sept. 12: Defeated Western Carolina, 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-21)
Sept. 13: Defeated Drake, 3-0 (25-21, 25-15, 25-16)
Sept. 13: Defeated UT-Martin, 3-0 (25-15, 25-20, 25-14)
The Crusaders dominated the Skyhawk Invitational, winning all nine sets they played to capture their second consecutive tournament championship. Sophomore Emily Campbell was named tournament MVP and was joined on the All-Tournament Team by sophomore Morganne Longoria and freshman Taylor Graboski. Campbell averaged a team-best 4.44 kills/set on .323 hitting in the Crusaders’ trio of sweeps, and also enjoyed her most productive weekend of the season defensively, posting 4.33 digs/set. Graboski captured her first career All-Tournament Team award with an efficient weekend, totaling 20 kills while swinging at an impressive .484 clip, while Longoria earned the second All-Tournament honor of her career, averaging 3.89 digs/set.
Wright State at Chattanooga Classic
Sept. 12: Lost to UT-Chattanooga, 3-2 (20-25, 25-18, 22-25, 25-17, 15-9)
Sept. 13: Lost to Murray State, 3-0 (25-15, 25-12, 25-18)
Sept. 13: Defeated Mississippi Valley State, 3-0 (25-12, 25-17, 25-18)
The Raiders won one of three matches at the Chattanooga Classic. WSU opened the event with a hard-fought five-set loss to UT-Chattanooga, before rebounding on Saturday afternoon with a three-set sweep of Mississippi Valley State. Junior Marisa Aiello was named to the All-Tournament Team as she hit .348 with 18 kills in three matches along with 10 block assists. Freshman Jessie Thornton added 68 digs in 11 sets, a 6.18 average per set, best among the players in the Horizon League this weekend.
Youngstown State at Wildcat Classic
Sept. 12: Lost to Northwestern, 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-16)
Sept. 12: Defeated Virginia, 3-2 (25-20, 22-25, 20-25, 25-22, 18-16)
Sept. 13: Defeated Loyola, 3-1 (21-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-21)
The Penguins won two of three matches at Northwestern’s Wildcat Classic and now have a 9-2 record for the first time since the 1995 season. Val Jeffery and Aly Ryan both were named to the All-Tournament team. Jeffery directed the YSU attack, passing out 119 assists in the tournament, while Ryan had 24 kills and a .356 hitting percentage for the weekend. In YSU’s 3-1 win over Loyola to wrap up the weekend, Lauren Thompson had a career-high 12 kills on a .588 attack percentage. Lexi Egler set a career-high with 22 kills in YSU’s five-set win over Virginia on Friday.
