It was a night of close contests in the Horizon League on Friday as three of the four League matches needed a fifth set to determine the winner.
Youngstown State battled back from a 2-1 deficit to defeat UIC, 3-2, for the Penguins first conference win of the season. YSU trailed UIC, 12-8 in the fifth set, but rattled off the final seven points of the set to take the match. Valparaiso fell into a 2-0 hole on the road at Wright State, but the Crusaders won the final three sets to win the match. In the final five-set match of the day, Milwaukee jumped out to a 2-0 over Green Bay, but the Phoenix won the third and fourth sets to force a fifth set. In the final set, UWM regained control of the match to win the fifth set and claim the match.
In the only match of the night not to go the distance, Loyola swept Cleveland State, 3-0.
After three days of competition, the top of the League standings are tight as five teams currently stand tied for first place with 2-1 League marks.
Friday, Sept. 28 Results
Loyola 3, Cleveland State 0 (25-14, 25-19, 25-21)
Milwaukee 3, Green Bay 2 (25-18, 25-22, 14-25, 19-25, 15-7)
Valparaiso 3, Wright State 2 (22-25, 20-25, 25-13, 25-12, 15-13)
Youngstown State 3, UIC 2 (25-23, 23-25, 23-25, 25-21, 15-12)
Loyola 3, Cleveland State 0
Loyola got 20 kills from Anna Eytchison and also used its net defense to record 12.5 blocks as the Ramblers handed Cleveland State its first Horizon League loss of the season, 3-0 (25-14, 25-19, 25-21), tonight at Woodling Gymnasium in Cleveland, Ohio. Loyola improves to 10-6 (2-1 Horizon) while the Vikings slide to the same mark (10-6, 2-1) with the loss.
Loyola signaled its intent by scoring four of the first five points of the match and the Ramblers used two aces from Kathleen Vogel in a 5-0 run that gave the visitors a 14-7 lead. Two Eytchison kills later made it a 19-10 bulge and a block from Laura Purcell and Nichole Riedel closed out an impressive 25-14 victory in the opening set. Loyola hit a sizzling .500 (13-2-22) in the set and were led by five kills from Eytchison.
Kills from Eytchison and Libby Bresser helped the Ramblers jump out to an early 6-2 lead in the second set but the Vikings battled back and pulled even at 7-7 after two LU errors. Two more Eytchison kills and single kills from Riedel and Vogel pushed Loyola back out in front and Eytchison capped a four-point scoring run with a kill to help the Ramblers extend to a 17-10 lead. Cleveland State again began to chip away, getting as close as three (20-17) on a Kerry Winchester kill. However, Loyola responded with kills from Vogel and Riedel to give them some breathing room back and a block from Bresser and Brittany Brown gave the visitors a 25-19 win and a 2-0 lead heading to the intermission. Eytchison was outstanding in the frame, drilling nine kills in 15 errorless swings to lead the charge.
Cleveland State came out of the locker room strong, racing out to an early 7-3 edge. Loyola got right back into the set behind its block with Bresser leading the way. The sophomore teamed up with Brown for two stuffs and with Eytchison for a third as LU scored the next four points to forge a 7-all tie. The teams battled through the middle stages of the set before kills from Eytchison and Vogel helped Loyola crawl out to an 18-15 lead. Cleveland State hung tough and eventually pulled within a point (21-20) on a Jackie Dabbelt kill. However, the young Ramblers showed their maturity as Vogel slowed the home team's momentum with a kill before Eytchison and Riedel teamed up for a big block to make it a 23-20 game. Another CSU hitting error followed, sending the Ramblers to match point, and two points later Purcell hammered down a kill to seal the match.
Eytchison finished with a match-high 20 kills and did so while hitting .410 (20-4-39) for the match to lead Loyola. Vogel reached double figures for the fifth consecutive match, finishing with 10 kills, while Brown handed out 33 assists and guided the offense to a .360 hitting percentage. Bresser was also solid in the middle, racking up seven blocks to go with four kills. Cleveland State's Kara Koch, who came into the match leading the Horizon League in kills, led the Vikings with 10 kills but hit just -.061 due to 12 errors.
Milwaukee 3, Green Bay 2
Julie Kolinskehad 22 kills and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee played error-free volleyball in the deciding fifth set to claim a 25-18, 25-22, 14-25, 19-25, 15-7 win over Green Bay Friday night at the Klotsche Center.
The Panthers (7-9, 2-1 Horizon) had 11 kills without an error in the fifth frame, bolting to leads of 5-0 and 10-3 in claiming the victory.
UWM also got 18 kills and 14 digs from Elizabeth Egerer while Rachel Neuberger contributed 11 kills. Milwaukee tallied 12 blocks as a team, including six from Amber Simonton, while Anna Bartz led the back row efforts with 26 digs.
Monica Andersonhad 20 kills to lead Green Bay (9-7, 1-2).
The win was UWM's first in five tries in a five-set match this season, turning the tables on a Green Bay team that had won five of its six 5-set contests this year.
The decisive set was a runaway for Milwaukee. UWM bolted to a 5-0 lead only to see Green Bay cut the advantage to 5-3. But the Panthers would seize complete control from there. Milwaukee scored the next five points, capped by a pair of kills from Kolinske, in claiming a 10-3 advantage. UWM's lead went to 14-5 after two more Kolinske kills before a kill from Egerer wrapped up the match.
Milwaukee's offense was effective much of the evening, as the Panthers had 60 kills and just 15 errors. Hannah Blanchard collected 55 assists in directing the attack as UWM hit .263.
The Panthers controlled the first set from start to finish. Milwaukee scored six of the first eight points of the frame and led 11-7 after a block by Neuberger and Blanchard. The lead hit 16-11 on a Green Bay error and was still 19-14 following a kill by Egerer. Milwaukee then expanded its advantage to 23-16 on a block by Neuberger and Kolinske before finishing the frame out thanks to kills from Neuberger and Kolinske.
UWM then pulled out the second set with a late surge. The Panthers led 5-3 in the early going but fell behind 11-8 following a kill by Leah Van Zeeland. The Panthers fought back to tie things at 12 on a kill by Kolinske and then pushed ahead 17-14 on a block by Kolinske and Simonton. The Phoenix answered with its own surge, as a kill by Leah Poel put Green Bay up 21-20. UWM came back with five of the next six points, though, as two kills by Egerer and a kill and block from Neuberger highlighted the closing run.
It was all Green Bay in the third set. The Phoenix took the lead for good at 8-7 on a kill by Anderson and quickly went up 14-9 on a kill by Van Zeeland. The Green Bay lead grew to 19-11 on a UWM error and the Phoenix were never threatened after that.
Green Bay kept rolling in the fourth set. The Phoenix scored seven of the first 11 points of the frame and still led 12-10 following a kill by Carmen Leitermann. The lead grew to 17-12 after two-straight UWM errors and the Panthers were never able to recover.
UWM stemmed the tide quickly in the fifth set, though, retaking control of the contest to secure the victory.
Valparaiso 3, Wright State 2
The Valparaiso volleyball team stepped up its intensity on both sides of the ball to rally from a two-set deficit and defeat Wright State, 3-2 (22-25, 20-25, 25-13, 25-12, 15-13) Friday evening in Fairborn, Ohio.
The Crusaders struggled offensively in the first two frames, hitting just .058 with 18 kills combined, while Wright State posted 33 kills over the first two sets to take a 2-0 lead into the intermission. Valpo’s best chance at taking one of the first two sets came in the second frame, as it was within 18-17 after a kill by sophomore Morgan Beil, but the Raiders scored five straight points to ensure the two-set lead.
Valpo came out like a different team after the in-game break, putting together a huge 14-3 run early in the third set to take control at 16-7, led by three blocks and a kill from redshirt sophomore Kelsey Victor. The Crusaders cruised to the win in the third set from there, ending the frame hitting .250 while holding Wright State to a -.027 attack percentage.
The fourth set didn’t see a huge run from the Crusaders, but an early 5-0 spurt put Valpo ahead 11-5 and the Crusaders used a few more runs of three-to-five points to send the match to a decisive fifth set. The Crusader offense stepped to the forefront in the fourth frame, hitting .448 with 16 kills, while the defense limited WSU to just six kills on .000 hitting.
It looked like Valpo would cruise to the fifth-set win, as the Crusaders scored the first four points, including two kills by junior Janelle Hobbs and one from junior Sarah Dooms to force a WSU timeout. Later in the set, a Victor kill made it 9-4 Valpo, as the Raiders used their final timeout, and a Dooms kill pushed the lead to 12-5.
The set and match were seemingly still in hand for Valpo even after two straight WSU points, as three straight sideouts gave the Crusaders match point at 14-8. But the Raiders picked up three kills, an ace and a solo block in a 5-0 run which cut the Valpo lead to 14-13 and had the Crusaders facing the last of six match point opportunities. Junior middle Ellen Vanden Berg came up with the decisive kill, however, as Valpo completed the comeback victory.
The Crusaders ended the night with a 58-52 advantage in kills and out-attacked Wright State (2-18, 0-3 HL), .186-.102, despite the early deficits in both categories after two sets. Vanden Berg’s match-winning kill was her career-best 16th of the match to pace Valpo, as she closed the night hitting .351. Beil added 11 kills as well. Freshman Kelsey Berrington handed out 26 assists, while junior Ariel Cudney added 25.
Defensively, Victor picked up a career-best 10 blocks at the net, the most by any Crusader since the 2006 season. Beil added seven rejections as well as Valpo tallied 15 total blocks as a team. On the back line, senior Taylor Root led all players with 31 digs, while Dooms added 23 of her own and Berrington picked up 10 for her sixth double-double of the year.
Heidi Splinter led the Raiders attack with 19 kills, while Marisa Aiello and Natalie Catani both contributed 10 for WSU. Katie Glassmeyer paced five Wright State players to reach double figures in digs with 22.
Youngstown State 3, UIC 2
The Youngstown State volleyball team scored the final seven points of the fifth set to complete a comeback victory over UIC (25-23, 23-25, 23-25, 25-21, 15-12) on Friday evening at the Beeghly Center.
The Penguins got double-doubles from three players and battled through 33 ties and 11 lead changes in the match. Missy Hundelt led all players with 23 kills on a .423 hitting percentage, and she added 15 digs. Jenna Cavanaugh tied a school record with 13 blocks while added 11 kills, and Alexis Egler added 11 kills and 15 digs. Libero Erika West posted 20 digs.
UIC's Aubrey Sniegowski posted 18 kills to lead four Flames in double figures. Maggie Strus posted a match-high 24 digs.
In a close match with strong defense, neither team led by more than four the entire length.
After 15 ties and two lead changes, Cavanaugh and Hundelt combined for a block to give YSU a 25-23 win in the first set. Hundelt had nine kills without an error in the second set, including one for each of YSU's final four points. The junior right-side hitter, though, served long on UIC's set point as the Flames held on for a 25-23 win.
YSU also ran into some serving trouble late in the third set. The Penguins trailed 21-18 and got within a point on three separate occasions, but they followed three straight side outs with serving errors as UIC won 25-23 for the second straight set.
UIC led 19-18 late in the fourth, but YSU closed the set strong to win 25-21. Hundelt's kill tied the set at 19, and Cavanaugh had back-to-back kills to put YSU up 21-19. Hundelt then came up with a big block of Sniegowski to put YSU up 24-21, and Cavanaugh and Kelsey Wagy followed with a block for YSU's next point.
UIC took a 4-1 lead in the fifth set after a Kelsey Safranek kill, and the Flames eventually led 12-8 after a Janise Dismuke kill. That was their final point, though, as YSU registered seven straight points to close the match. Hundelt's kill gave the Penguins a side out, and she served the final six points. A block by Wagy and Cavanaugh sandwiched a Shannon Watson kill, and back-to-back UIC attempts went long as YSU went up 14-12. Hundelt's final serve nipped the top of the net and fell to the floor for an ace.
