CLEMSON 3, EASTERN KENTUCKY 0 (26-24, 25-18, 25-15)
MURFREESBORO, TN — Clemson hit .385 overall and was steered in terrific fashion by Mckenna Slavik (29 assists and five kills) in a sweep of Eastern Kentucky in a Round 1 matchup Thursday at the 2023 NIVC. The Tigers (18-13) will play Ball State or Middle Tennessee in the Super 16 on Friday. The Colonels close the season at 21-9. Clemson took advantage of a slow start by EKU in Set 1, using a 6-1 run to move ahead 13-5 and looked in full control when leading 23-15. The Colonels stormed back and tied it at 24-all with kills from Sarah Mitchell and Carson Ledford; Clemson pulled it out after a kill by Ayah Dailey and a block assist from both Mckenna Slavik and Adria Powell. Another Tiger run in the second set drove a 19-17 lead to 23-17, with the set secured on a kill from Dailey and an ace from Mia McGrath. Clemson stormed ahead 7-0 in the final set and saw the lead carved back to 10-8. Two aces from McGrath helped restore the advantage to 15-9, and kills from Slavik and Sophie Catalano wrapped it all up. The Tigers closed with eight kills each from Powell and Dailey. For Eastern Kentucky, AG Vandagriff had 11 kills; Chloe Mason added 16 assists and 11 digs. TULSA 3, KANSAS CITY 1 (25-22, 18-25, 25-16, 25-19) WICHITA, KS — Leaning hard on Kayley Cassaday (23 kills) and Beth Bayless (19 kills), Tulsa worked past Kansas City in a Round 1 match at the 2023 NIVC. The Hurricane (18-14) will face either Arkansas State or Wichita State in the Super 16 on Friday. The Roos close the season at 22-9. Tulsa trailed for much of Set 1 but got it tied at 20-all on a block from Tytiana Johnson and Regan Pendleton; the game-winner was a kill by Bayless. Set 2 was a Kansas City success story, as Kaia Dunford’s kill tied it at 10-all before the Roos wrapped it up on a kill from Sydney Henry, a block from Henry and Carly Gillen and an error by the Hurricane. Tulsa rolled in Set 3 thanks to 16 kills and just three errors; a block from Bayless and Arianna Mongare and a kill by Cassaday wrapped up the set. Cassady hit .340 for the match; she topped 600 kills for the season. Avery Kalsu had 35 assists and 21 digs for Tulsa, while Marta Pecalli closed with 11 assists and 16 digs. Brayden Hipp had 11 digs. For Kansas City, Warren had 13 kills and 11 digs, and Dunford closed with 12 kills. Henry rang up 36 assists, while the dig leaders were Blair Taylor (19) and Leah Green (16). WYOMING 3, SOUTH DAKOTA 1 (26-24, 23-25, 25-19, 25-16) GREELEY, CO — After two back and forth sets that were split with South Dakota, Wyoming took charge the rest of the way to secure a Round 1 victory in the 2023 NIVC. The Cowgirls (21-9) will face Valparaiso or Northern Colorado in the Super 16 on Friday. The Coyotes wrap up their season at 18-11. Wyoming was especially dialed in on the fourth set, with kills from Sarah Holcomb pushing the squad ahead, 16-8. Sierra Grizzle’s fourth ace of the match made it 20-11 and the Cowgirls wrapped ip up with kills from Corin Carruth and Kasia Partyka. Wyoming trailed 20-15 in Set 1 and got key kills from Rylee Schulz and Grizzle to cut the USD lead to 21-20. An ace from Schulz and a South Dakota error gave the set to the Cowgirls, 26-24. Set 2 was another tight one, with USD tying the match 1-1 when a kill from Madison Harms gave the Coyotes a 25-23 win. Schulz had 17 kills for Wyoming; Holcomb added 13 kills and Partyka closed with 37 assists and 10 digs. Grizzle had 14 digs. For South Dakota, Harms had 14 kills and Kylen Sealock closed with 13 kills. Avery Van Hook had 27 assists, and the digs leader was Kamryn Farris at 14. |
Archives
December 2023
|