The second weekend of the 2014 volleyball season saw Valparaiso when its first tournament of the season, while Youngstown State won its first three games of the Duquesne/Robert Morris Invitational to move to 6-0 and set a program record for best start.
Below is a school-by-school recap of how the weekend went for every Horizon League school.
Cleveland State at the Crowne Plaza Philadelphia West Invitational
Sept. 5: Defeated Georgetown, 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-22)
Sept. 6: Lost to Penn, 3-0 (25-15, 25-23, 25-21)
Sept. 6: Lost to Colgate, 3-0 (25-23, 25-18, 25-19)
The Vikings won one of three matches this past weekend at Penn. Senior Maggie Hannon was named to the All-Tournament Team, after leading the Vikings with 27 kills and a .314 hitting percentage. Hannon recorded back-to-back 10-kill performances against Georgetown and Penn, while also posting a weekend-high .450 hitting percentage against Penn. Nikki Holmes led the Vikings with 51 digs in the tournament, including 23 in the win over Georgetown.
Green Bay at the Chippewa Invitational
Sept. 5: Lost to Butler, 3-1 (25-22, 23-25, 25-18, 25-19)
Sept. 6: Defeated Central Michigan, 3-2 (20-25, 25-21, 23-25, 25-12, 15-8)
Sept. 6: Lost to Marshall, 3-1 (25-23, 22-25, 25-20, 30-28)
Green Bay won its first match of the season when it defeated tournament-host Central Michigan in five sets. For the tournament, the Phoenix were led by freshman Taylor Totka, who totaled 25 kills and hit a team-high .302 while adding a team-high 14 blocks. In the finale against Marshall, Totka recorded a season-high 11 kills. Taylor Kasal added 34 kills in the three matches, while Shannon Hurley had 30 kills. HL Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, Jillian Bauer, led the Phoenix with 53 digs.
UIC at Windy City Invitational
Sept. 5: Defeated Chicago State, 3-0 (25-29, 25-22, 25-18)
Sept. 6: Lost to Syracuse, 3-1 (28-26, 35-33, 22-25, 25-21)
Sept. 6: Defeated DePaul, 3-1 (25-13, 25-23, 25-27, 25-20)
The Flames took two of three matches at the Windy City Invitational to finish in second place. Sara Sternard and Stephanee Yancy were both very efficient on the offensive end for the Flames as Sternard finished the weekend with 46 kills on a .419 attack percentage, while Yancy had a League-high 57 kills and hit .404. The two players also combined for 24 blocks in the tournament. In the four-set win over DePaul, Yancy had a career-high 27 kills as she was named to the All-Tournament team. Freshman Nicole Johnson rounded out a stellar weekend for UIC with 169 total assists in the three matches. She had over 60 assists in two of the three matches.
Milwaukee at Missouri State Invitational
Sept. 5: Lost to Oral Roberts, 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-21)
Sept. 5: Defeated Incarnate Word, 3-0 (25-16, 25-19, 25-16)
Sept. 6: Lost to Western Kentucky, 3-1 (25-19, 26-24, 23-25, 26-24)
Sept. 6: Lost to Missouri State, 3-0 (25-19, 25-15, 25-23)
After opening the season with three straight wins to win their tournament, the Panthers won one match at the Missouri State Invitational. Defending HL Offensive Player of the Week Julie Kolinske, had another stellar weekend as she led the Panthers with 55 kills to make the All-Tournament team. Myanna Ruiz added 29 kills and 39 digs in the four matches, while Taylor Golabowksi had 50 digs.
Oakland at Tiger Invitational
Sept. 5: Lost to Illinois State, 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-14, 25-22)
Sept. 5: Lost to Xavier, 3-0 (25-11, 25-19, 25-18)
Sept. 6: Lost to Lipscomb, 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-18)
Sept. 6: Defeated Missouri, 3-1 (25-19, 23-25, 25-19, 25-11)
The Golden Grizzlies finished the Tiger Invitational by knocking off tournament-host Missouri in four sets. Oakland hit a stellar .331 for the four-set match match to knock off the defending SEC champions. Cassie Pelloni (12) and Jessica Dood (10) each were in double figures in kills against Missouri. Ciara Schultz had a double-double with 43 assists and 12 digs, while Taylor Humm added 15 digs for the Golden Grizzlies.
Valparaiso at Jackrabbit Invitational
Sept. 5: Defeated UMKC, 3-1 (15-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-14)
Sept. 5: Defeated Stephen F. Austin, 3-1 (25-19, 21-25, 25-18, 25-14)
Sept. 6: Defeated South Dakota State, 3-0 (25-20, 25-15, 25-17)
The Crusaders captured the Jackrabbit Invitational to give Head Coach Carin Avery her 18th regular season tournament title. Junior setter Kelsey Berrington was named tournament MVP after averaging 11.18 assists/set for the weekend in helping lead Valpo to the three victories, including 28 assists in Saturday’s win over SDSU. Berrington guided the offense as it hit at a .286 clip for the tournament while also contributing 22 digs. Joining Berrington on the All-Tournament Team were senior Morgan Beil and freshman Allison Ketcham. Beil hit a team-high .403 for the tournament with 28 kills, capping the weekend with seven kills on .583 hitting and three blocks in Saturday’s victory. Ketcham posted 33 kills over the three matches, including a team-high 16 kills in Friday afternoon’s win over Stephen F. Austin, and added 29 digs as well.
Wright State at Flyer-Raider Invitational
Sept. 5: Lost to Eastern Kentucky, 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-18)
Sept. 6: Lost to Dayton, 3-2 (22-25, 25-14, 23-25, 25-21, 15-6)
Sept. 6: Lost to Bowling Green, 3-2 (25-18, 21-25, 21-25, 25-18, 15-9)
The Raiders couldn’t put one in the win column, although they took Dayton and Bowling Green to five sets on Saturday. Freshman libero Jessie Thornton, who was named to the All-Tournament Team, had 31 digs in the match versus Bowling Green and 71 total on the weekend. Freshman Katie Klusman led the Raiders with 36 kills on the weekend. She had 17 kills against Dayton and 16 kills vs. Bowling Green. Another freshman Maddie Lohmeier paced the Raiders with 117 assists on the weekend.
Youngstown State at Duquesne/Robert Morris Invitational
Sept. 5: Defeated UMass-Lowell, 3-0 (25-17, 25-15, 25-11)
Sept. 5: Defeated Robert Morris, 3-1 (19-25, 25-22, 25-11, 25-13)
Sept. 6: Defeated Indiana State, 3-1 (25-22, 26-28, 25-17, 26-24)
Sept. 6: Lost to Duquesne, 3-2 (25-22, 19-25, 25-19, 13-25, 10-15)
The Penguins won three of their four matches this weekend at the Duquesne/Robert Morris Invitational. Saturday morning’s win over Indiana State pushed YSU’s record to 6-0 on the season and marked the best start to a season in program history. Senior middle blocker Shannon Watson was named to the All-Tournament team after recording 46 kills and 21 blocks in the tournament. She was joined on the All-Tournament team by sophomore Val Jeffery who had 145 assists in the four matches as she directed the Penguin offense.
