By Kyle Koso
No seniors? No imported fifth- or sixth-year players bouncing around the nation, looking for that last, best roster gig? No transfers from the portal, even? The look of the Wichita State volleyball roster is downright bizarre in 2022, as homegrown and stable as you can find in Division I, a world that was turned upside down during the COIVID pandemic. It’s been an impossible-to-imagine churn of athletes moving from place to place since 2020, but the Shockers are a true outlier, essentially unchanged and very young, to boot. Head coach Chris Lamb gets it – other programs are just doing what the rules allow, and Wichita State is just fine with its own road map. The Shockers (18-12) won seven of their last eight matches this season and accepted a bid to the 2022 NIVC, where they will host a four-team pod starting Sunday and face Grand Canyon (17-10). WSU’s RPI number of 60 put it just outside the conversation for an NCAA tournament bid, but the year has already been a source of pride by thriving in the arduous American Athletic Conference dominated by NCAA-tourney qualifiers Houston and Central Florida. Ideally, Wichita State will be ready to pounce going forward, unified in their approach and fortified by doing it all together from the start. “When COVID hit, we were as young as you could be. That was a disadvantage for us, the older teams had kids who got that fifth year, or retooled with other grads, and I’m sitting here wondering do we get any credit for holding things together?,” said Lamb, in his 23rd season running the show at WSU. “Everybody has the one-off mercenaries who come in and make the team better; teams we played had four or five new starters … I’m not running anybody off, the team is happy and together. We did it the old-fashioned way. “The league got way older, a lot of seniors graduated out of our league last year, and I’m thinking the conference is younger, and it absolutely was not. Of course, it’s not like anyone really cares, they just want to have a good team and beat you. I’m old, been doing this forever, and I guess I know we held something together through all the craziness. The league got older and better, and we managed to do pretty well. Without a handful of injuries all at the same time, we might have stolen a couple in the middle there.” Lamb was also determined to stick with his time-honored plan of playing a difficult pre-conference schedule. A five-set win over Iowa State was a clear highlight, but good things came out of tough assignments against the likes of Creighton, Omaha, Northern Colorado, UNLV, Kansas and Wright State (five of those qualified for the NCAA tournament). “I’d rather watch tape of my team with good teams on the other sides. I’m a math guy, I know how RPI works, and you got to go play teams. If you’re not good, you won’t make the tournament anyway,” Lamb said. “The real crime is when you’re good but the schedule didn’t give you a chance. I don’t buy that you have to win to build confidence – who made that rule? Why can’t you have great performances against great teams and still learn how to feel good about that?” The Shockers have been reliably good on defense in 2022, with better numbers in blocks and digs than the opposition and holding teams below a .200 hitting percentage. Offensively, there are great swings coming regularly from junior Brylee Kelly (team-high 384 kills), sophomore Natalie Foster (349) and junior Sophia Rohling (263), with the whole mission piloted with great skill from junior setter Kayce Litzau. “Kayce was all-conference last year and she was at least as good this year – they only had only two setters for all-conference, which really bummed me out,” Lamb said. “For us, when it’s clicking, we get three girls on the scoreboard. Some teams can do more, but we work best when Brylee is scoring, Sophia is scoring, Natalie is scoring, and you hope to get a little more from either of the two Morgans (sophomores Weber and Stout) – you feel like you’ve got a chance to do something.” Kelly and Foster were both first-team all-conference honorees this season. LAST WORD – Lamb on the NIVC: “We don’t have a postseason tournament in the conference – this is wonderful for so many. I told the team I’d never take anything from qualifying for the NCAA tournament, but if we are fortunate to make a run in this, from a development standpoint I’d rather do that than be a one-and-done in the NCAA’s. You might not feel that today, but you’d feel it down the road, to get some postseason run and experience. You can get a lot from that.” WESTERN CAROLINA 3, LIBERTY 1 (15-25, 25-21, 25-16, 25-19)
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Western Carolina prevailed on the road for its first postseason win as a Division I program, coming back from a 1-0 deficit to top Liberty on Saturday in the 2022 NIVC. The Catamounts (19-12) will face Toledo in Round 2 on Sunday. Bailey Hartsough and Livi Weidmann each had 11 kills and Sydney Carlson closed with 18 assists – Merry Gebel and Destinee Dorsey added 12 digs apiece. The Flames (23-9), who had won 12 straight matches before losing in the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament, got 17 kills from Lydia Burts. Kate Phillips added 16 kills and 10 digs, Kamryn Bacus had 11 kills and Madison Blane closed with 10 kills. Delaney Dilfer came through with 51 assists and Erica Lowery closed with 14 digs. UTRGV 3, SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-16) EDINBURG, Texas – UT Rio Grande Valley swept past South Dakota State to claim a spot in the quarterfinals of the 2022 NIVC. The Vaqueros (27-6) will play at Davidson in the next round; that match is slated for Thursday, Dec. 8 at 7 p.m. ET. They were paced Saturday by Sarah Cruz, who rang up 12 kills and eight digs. Perris Key added 10 kills and nine digs, and Luanna Emiliano closed with 35 assists. The Jackrabbits (18-15) got 12 kills from Masa Scheierman and 11 kills by Crystal Burk. Raegen Reilly added 26 assists and Alia Schlimgen had 13 digs. BOSTON COLLEGE 3, ST. JOHN’S 0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-20) NEWTON, Mass. – Boston College earned its second sweep of the 2022 NIVC, moving past St. John’s and into the quarterfinals. The Eagles (21-13) hit .421 and set a record for the most wins in a single season for the program; they will face Xavier in the next round, with the match scheduled for xxx.. Silvia Ianeselli had nine kills and eight digs for BC, with Izzy Clavenna also banging in nine kills. Kate Brennan had seven kills; Grace Penn closed with 17 assists. The Red Storm (20-14) had won a five-setter between these two teams in September. Rachele Rastelli finished with 12 kills, leaving her second in program history with 1,874 kills. Wiktoria Kowalczyk had 22 assists and Bre Martin added nine digs. TOLEDO 3, CLEMSON 1 (26-28, 25-23, 25-22, 25-18) LYNCHBURG, Va. – Toledo threw a balanced offensive attack at Clemson in a Round 1 matchup at the 2022 NIVC, with the Rockets coming back for the win after dropping an extended first set. The Rockets (19-12) will play Western Carolina on Sunday in Round 2. Taylor Alt had 21 kills and seven digs; Olivia Vance and Jada Bouyer each had 11 kills and Sinalauli’I Uluave added nine kills and nine digs. Mary Kate Lopez finished with 45 assists and Ryann Jaqua had 24 digs. The Tigers (13-18) got 12 kills each from Cate Long and Camryn Hannah; Colleen Finney had nine kills. McKenna Slavik closed with 37 assists and nine digs, with both Mia McGrath and Anna Renwick closing with 10 digs. DAVIDSON 3, WAKE FOREST 2 (22-25, 25-19, 26-24, 21-25, 17-15) WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Davidson won its second five-set match in the 2022 NIVC in two days, working past Wake Forest to advance to Round 3. The Wildcats (22-10) will host UTRGV in the quarterfinals; that match is set for 7 p.m. ET on Thursday, Dec. 8. Isabel Decker had 18 kills and 12 digs; Emma Slusser closed with 14 kills and Jackie Bardin added 10 kills. Jessie Doyal added 32 assists to go with 10 digs, and Brady Bella finished with 14 digs. The fifth set was snug the entire way; Decker’s kill made it 14-14 for Davidson, and Slusser converted a shot to make it 16-15. The match then ended on a Wake Forest error. The Deacons (17-14) got 18 kills from Paige Crawford, with 14 kills coming from Peyton Suess. Emmy Ogogor closed with 10 kills, and Andrea Fuentes had 48 assists and 10 digs. Emma Farrell added 20 digs. WAKE FOREST 3, COPPIN STATE 2 (25-23, 22-25, 22-25, 25-17, 21-19)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Wake Forest needed every corner of the roster to contribute Friday, and the Deacons got it done with a tough five-set win over Coppin State to advance to Round 2 of the 2022 NIVC. The Deacons (17-13) had a couple leads in the final set thanks to kills from Emmy Ogogor and Peyton Suess, but the Eagles (23-11) tied it up at 14-all and took a 16-15 lead on an ace from Ashley Roman. The neck-and-neck affair continued until Suess got a kill to make it 20-19, and an error followed, giving Wake Forest the win. The team will face Davidson in Round 2. Paige Crawford closed with 21 kills; Suess had 15 kills, with both Ogogor and Olivia Franke adding 11 kills. Andrea Fuentes added 31 assists and Emma Farrell closed with 23 digs. Coppin State got 17 kills from Yaniri Miller-Green; Ammaarah Williams chipped in with 12 kills and Geraldyn Palacios had 10 kills. Andrea Tsvetanova closed with 49 assists and 15 digs, with Roman providing 23 digs. PACIFIC 3, OMAHA 1 (25-20, 22-25, 25-19, 27-25) PORTLAND, Ore. – Pacific had five players in double figures for digs, a sign of a great defensive effort that held Omaha to a .064 hitting percentage, propelling the Tigers to Round 2 of the 2022 NIVC. Pacific (17-13) got 22 kills and 14 digs from Biamba Kabengele; Alexa Edwards added 17 kills and 11 digs. Jenna Heller added 40 assists and 19 digs, and Jadyn Tubbs closed with 16 digs for the Tigers, who will play Santa Clara or Portland State in Round 2. The Mavericks (20-11) were paced by Shayla McCormick’s 12 kills and 18 digs. Olivia Curry had 16 assists, Sami Clarkson added 15 assists and both Brilee Wieseler and Jaiden Centeno had 14 digs. UTRGV 3, HOUSTON CHRISTIAN 1 (21-25, 26-24, 25-23, 25-22) EDINBURG, Texas – UT-Rio Grande Valley entered the 2022 NIVC with the best RPI ranking in the 32-team field and held up against a tough challenge by Houston Christian. The Vaqueros (26-6) will play South Dakota State on Saturday in Round 2. Claudia Lupescu had 20 kills, Luisa Silva Dos Santos finished with 17 kills and Luanna Emiliano added 49 assists and 16 digs. Perris Key also closed with 16 digs. The Huskies (23-11) saw Shelby O’Neal post 17 kills and 12 digs. Anna Gadway and Audrey Pearce each had 11 kills, Grace McLaughlin came through with 49 assists and Kaley Feris had 25 digs. Alexia Jones came through with 15 digs. SANTA CLARA 3, PORTLAND STATE 1 (27-25, 25-23, 26-28, 25-21) PORTLAND, Ore. – Santa Clara entered the 2022 NIVC with a sub-.500 record but continued a hot streak with its fifth straight win, getting past host Portland State to move to Round 2. The Broncos (13-18) will face Pacific on Saturday. Julia Sangiacomo had 17 kills, Layla Truitt closed with 15 kills and Sophia Tulino added 10 kills. NiveTuileta had a big day with 48 assists and nine digs, and she had a solo block for the final point in the second set. Kat Georgiadis finished with 18 digs. The Vikings (18-13) got 19 kills from Parker Webb; Makayla Lewis added 12 kills, Ashleigh Barto had 11 kills and Sophia Meyers added 10 kills. Madison Friebel finished with 35 assists and Ellie Snook had 21 digs. DAVIDSON 3, NORTH DAKOTA STATE 2 (23-25, 25-18, 12-25, 25-23, 15-13)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Davidson came back from multiple deficits on Friday, then had all the answers in a competitive fifth set in taking down North Dakota State in Round 1 of the 2022 NIVC. The Wildcats (21-10), who reached 20 victories for the first time in two decades, took 3-0 and 7-4 leads in the final set, with Buffalo (21-12) tying it at 9-all. A kill from Isabel Decker made it 14-12 for Davidson, and the match ended on a kill from Kayla Davis. Davidson, having earned its first-ever postseason victory, will play Wake Forest in Round 2. The Wildcats now have four players who have topped 200 kills on the season. Davis and Decker each had 12 kills Friday, as did Jackie Bardin. Xuan Nguyen closed with 23 assists and Bella Brady had 20 digs and three aces. North Dakota State got 18 kills from Ali Hinze and 15 kills by Syra Tanchin. Kelley Johnson, who entered the postseason ranked No. 8 in NCAA D-I in total assists, had 48 on Friday. Logan O’Brien closed with 21 digs. BOSTON COLLEGE 3, BUFFALO 0 (25-18, 25-17, 27-25) NEWTON, Mass. – Boston College hit just below .400 in winning the first two sets, taking control before taking down Buffalo in Round 1 of the 2022 NIVC. The Eagles (20-13), who hit .366 overall, will play St. John’s in Round 2. Katrina Jensen had 11 kills and Izzy Clavenna added 10 kills – Grace Penn had 22 assists and Sophia Lambros added 21 assists. The Bulls (19-14) got 10 kills each from Emma Gileas and Courtney Okwara, with 29 assists coming from Mandy Leigh. SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 3, LOUISIANA 2 (25-19, 19-25, 23-25, 25-20, 16-14) EDINBURG, Texas – South Dakota State came back from a 2-1 deficit to drive past Louisiana and into Round 2 of the 2022 NIVC. The Jackrabbits (18-14), who went 7-0 in their seven matches ahead of the Summit Conference tournament, took an early lead in the fifth set, but the Ragin’ Cajuns (15-13) tied it at 13-all on a kill from Celeste Darling. Service errors gave SDSU a leg up in the final moments, and the match was secured on a kill from Masa Scheierman. Crystal Burk, who entered the postseason ranked No. 5 in the nation with 553 kills, had 25 kills and 12 digs for the Jackrabbits. Scheierman added 18 kills; Raegen Reilly came through with 53 assists and 16 digs, while Jadyn Makovicka also had 16 digs. Louisiana got 14 kills and 20 digs from Coco Gillett, 12 more kills from Darling and 10 kills from Kara Barnes. Reka Koterman added 32 assists and Paige Guidry had 19 digs. SOUTHERN MISS 3, UT MARTIN 0 (25-4, 28-26, 25-21) TROY, Ala. – Southern Miss stormed into the quarterfinals of the 2022 NIVC with a straight-sets win over UT Martin. The Golden Eagles (20-11) got 14 kills apiece from Cara Atkinson and Cailin Demps, with 37 assists coming off the hands of Kenzie Smith. Megan Harris added 27 digs. The Skyhawks (23-12) were paced by seven kills from Karen Scanlon. Dylan Mott had 14 digs. XAVIER 3, OHIO 1 (15-25, 25-21, 25-20, 25-20) ATHENS, Ohio – Xavier stumbled out of the gate Friday but found its footing the rest of the way, moving past host Ohio and into the quarterfinals of the 2022 NIVC. The Musketeers (21-11) took charge behind Brooklyn Cink, how had 13 kills and 15 digs. Maryann O’Toole added 11 kills and Delaney Hogan chipped in with 10 kills; Carrigan O’Reilly had 41 assists and Lucia Corsaro added 16 digs. The Bobcats (20-12) saw Kristy Frank ring up 13 kills and Anna Kharchynska add 10 kills. Chariti Winzeler and Tria McLean each registered 22 assists, and Sam Steele closed with 17 digs. ST. JOHN’S 3, BINGHAMTON 0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-16) NEWTON, Mass. – St. John’s hit a scorching .459 over three sets, sweeping past Binghamton and into Round 2 of the 2022 NIVC. Three players had 10 kills for the Red Storm (20-13) – Giorgia Walther, Lucrezia Lodi and Rachele Rastelli. Wiktoria Kowalczyk had 24 assists as St. John’s hit .560 in the final set – they’ll take on Boston College in Round 2. Binghamton (17-9) got nine kills each from Tsvetelina Ilieva and Anna Sprys. Jessie Bilello had 25 assists and Giulia Bonifacio added 10 digs. SOUTHERN MISS 3, ALABAMA STATE 1 (17-25, 25-19, 25-18, 25-18)
TROY, Ala. – Mia Wesley, who entered play Thursday ranked 10th in NCAA D-I with 512 kills, rang up 21 kills for Southern Miss in the first match of the 2022 NIVC to secure the program’s first-ever postseason victory. The Golden Eagles (19-11), who had dropped three of their last five matches heading into the NIVC, hit .248 overall and will play UT Martin on Friday for a spot in the quarterfinals. Cailin Demps had 11 kills and Cara Atkinson added 10 kills in the comeback win. Kenzie Smith closed with 46 assists and 10 digs; Megan Harris added 16 digs. The Hornets (20-15), who started the year 1-12 before going on a 19-1 run ahead of the postseason, got 12 kills from Kalysia Bates and 11 kills by Jada Rhodes. Madison Beasley added 29 assists and 14 digs; Temperance Chatman had 20 digs. UT MARTIN 3, TROY 0 (25-21, 25-23, 27-25) TROY, Ala. – UT Martin held firm while facing two big hitters for Troy, with the Skyhawks earning a sweep to advance into Round 2 of the 2022 NIVC. The Skyhawks (23-11) will play Southern Miss on Friday for a spot in the quarterfinals. UT Martin was paced by the 12 kills from Karen Scanlon; Logan Wallick added 10 kills and Angel Baylark registered eight kills. Dylan Mott closed with 18 digs, and Haeleigh Paulino and Addy Vaughn both had 17 assists. Tori Hester, who entered the day ranked No. 12 in all of NCAA D-I with 503 kills, closed with 19 kills and one hitting error for the Trojans (18-13). Amiah Butler closed with 17 kills – Amara Anderson had 43 assists and 13 digs. XAVIER 3, CENTRAL MICHIGAN 0 (25-23, 25-18, 29-27) ATHENS, Ohio – Xavier earned its first postseason win in program history Thursday, surviving a stress-packed third set to get past Central Michigan and into Round 2 of the 2022 NIVC, where they will face Ohio. The Musketeers (20-11) got an outstanding effort from Anna Taylor, who had 12 kills and no hitting errors. Brooklyn Cink came through with 12 kills and 24 digs, and Maryann O’Toole added 10 kills. Carrigan O’Reilly closed with 38 assists as the team hit .267 overall. The Chippewas (20-12) got 10 kills apiece from Elly Medendorp and Anna Erickson. Mallory Hernandez added nine kills; Claire Ammeraal closed with 33 assists and 13 digs, and Aly Gurtiza added 16 digs. OHIO 3, VALPARAISO 0 (25-19, 25-11, 25-17) ATHENS, Ohio – Ohio hit a solid .247 in a sweep of Valparaiso, holding the Beacons to a .031 hitting percentage and advancing to Round 2 of the 2022 NIVC. The Bobcats (20-11) will take on Xavier on Friday for a spot in the quarterfinals. Ohio spread the offense out, getting eight kills from Anna Kharchynska and seven from Caroline Clippard. Tria McLean came through with 18 assists and Sam Steele added 14 digs. The Beacons (22-11), who reached the championship match of the 2021 NIVC, got seven kills from Maddy Boyer and six kills from Jillie Grant. Emma Hickey closed with 13 digs. By Kyle Koso
In one of the southern-most locations in the country, the arrow continues to point up for the UT-Rio Grande Valley volleyball squad. The Vaqueros blitzed through and blasted away at their 2022 schedule, going 13-1 in the Western Athletic Conference to earn the regular season title after being picked to finish seventh in the preseason polling. UTRGV stumbled in the WAC tournament and didn’t get a berth in the NCAA Tournament, but their sterling RPI number (57) and 25-6 overall record made them ideal candidates to play in the 2022 National Invitational Volleyball Championship. UTRGV did decide to jump into the NIVC again (they went 0-1 in the event last season) and will host one of eight four-team pods, taking on Houston Christian (23-10) on Friday night. The other game in Edinburg, TX., will feature South Dakota State (17-14) vs. Louisiana (15-12) – the two winners will then play Saturday to earn a spot in the quarterfinals. Todd Lowery knew his roster needed a day or two to work past that WAC tourney loss, a startling 3-0 defeat in their gym against Utah Valley, a team they’d beaten on the road just two weeks before. Pretty quickly, the benefits of extending the season were easy to embrace. “We had conversations early on with them – after our experience in the NIVC last year, we thought it was a super positive thing and helped our growth going into this year,” said Lowery, head coach since 2015 and who steered UTRGV to its first-ever NCAA tourney bid in 2016. “As a staff we were ready to do it again if we had that opportunity. The day after (the Utah Valley loss), the girls were certainly a little somber and felt like they should have performed better than they did. The best thing about the NIVC, it’s another opportunity to perform in the postseason at the level they are capable of. “We gave them a couple days off, then we came back in over the weekend and started getting some touches. We have something to prepare for, and the fact we get to host puts a bit of excitement in.” On the court, UTRGV features a couple of players with Texas-sized resumes in outside hitter Sarah Cruz and setter Luanna Emiliano, both first-team all-WAC selections this year. Cruz, a grad student and native of the Czech Republic, has 508 kills on the season, which ranks 11th in NCAA D-I, leads the team in aces and is third in digs. She’s at the receiving end of Emiliano’s consistently excellent and clever touches from the setter spot – the Brazilian native has 1,231 assists (No. 15 in NCAA D-I) and as a sophomore is already widely respected for the quality of her play. “Everything we do starts with Luanna. She’s an amazing setter, and it’s a dream for a player like that to come in as a freshman, to show the growth she did and then to have the type of season she just had,” Lowery said. “We knew she was a special talent; she makes every hitter better, she makes every pass better because she has such ability with her hands. “Sarah had an amazing year and carried a big load for us early on, really went out and won some matches for us on her own. She took it upon her shoulders as some of the other kids developed and got time to establish a connection with our setter. Those things happen because Sarah’s had this kind of season early on when we were searching for offense.” Junior Luisa Silva Dos Santos is second in kills (271); sophomores Cladia Lupescu (214 kills) and Margherita Giani (213) come in next. Junior libero Regina Tijerina leads in digs (447) and defensively UTRGV has held the opposition to a .186 hitting percentage. The lineup maybe took a while to flex its full muscle, but it really didn’t come at the expense of the win-loss totals. The Vaqueros lost in five sets to UNLV (an NCAA qualifier) to start the season, then dashed off 11 victories before a three-match skid ending with a three-set loss to UTEP. That kind of streak just ahead of conference play could have rattled the young-ish roster, but Lowery said the setback provided the clarity that only comes when a team feels disappointment and the subsequent desire to not feel that way anymore. A sweep at New Mexico State (a typical WAC powerhouse) kicked off the league slate, and UTRGV never looked back. Under Lowery’s direction, the Vaqueros are distinctly international in makeup; five Americans and players coming from Brazil (five), Turkey (two), Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, Mexico and Romania. Not only that, many started at smaller schools before making the trip to South Texas – Cruz first played at an NAIA program in Kentucky. The challenge of blending personalities and cultures is something the UTRGV coaching staff has come to appreciate. “It’s something we base the program on; it’s been successful for us. We are in a unique geographical location, a bit far from everything,” Lowery said. “We put a lot of time in trying to figure out the kids’ personalities, and I think we recruit a certain type of personality. They need to fit that and our culture as much as they fit on the court. We went back to focusing on that the last two years, not just on what we are missing in the gym. “Leadership, personalities, the blend … like any organization, if you’ve got 15 people who are exactly the same, that’s not versatile enough. College athletics are changing so fast, and at the mid-major level those intangibles play a huge part in a program’s success.” LAST WORD – Lowery on playing in the NIVC: “That opportunity to play in the postseason is invaluable. To help the growth of the younger kids … the more times you play in the conference tournament, the postseason, the more the kids get comfortable, and it’s a huge part of being successful. The teams that are there, well, they’re used to it, and the culture of winning starts to develop at that level. We want to improve on what we did last year in the NIVC, and that will be key for us.” |
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