GEORGIA SOUTHERN 3, EAST CAROLINA 0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-22)

GREENVILLE, NC — Never intimidated by playing on the host team’s court, Georgia Southern swept past East Carolina to earn a berth in the Great 8 of the 2023 NIVC.

The Eagles (23-8) will host South Florida (21-11) on Thursday, Dec. 7 at 6 p.m. ET. The Pirates wrap up the season at 21-11.

Jillian Gray had 15 kills for Georgia Southern; Chamblee Russell added 10 kills. Kirsten Barrett had 22 assist, Paige Powers had 14 digs and Rebekah Farthing added 12 digs. Ashlyn Lovett had 10 digs.

For the Pirates, Angeles Alderete had 10 kills and 12 digs, with Payton Evenstad dishing out 21 assists. Tia Shum had 15 digs.

UTEP 3, UT ARLINGTON 1 (25-18, 23-25, 25-13, 25-21)

EL PASO, TX — UTEP hit .375 overall and looked comfortable Saturday either building leads or brewing up comebacks in a victory over UT Arlington, which puts the Miners in a Great 8 matchup next week.

The Miners (23-9) will host Clemson (19-13) on Wednesday, Dec. 6 at 9 p.m. ET. The Mavs close the season at 21-11.

The Miners got off to a good start in Set 1, using a quick 6-2 run to build a 14-10 lead they would maintain the rest of the way, hitting .435 in the frame. Set 2 featured huge momentum shifts — Brianna Ford notched a kill to push the Mavs ahead, 14-7, only to see the Miners tie it at 15-all on an ace from Alianza Darley. Two aces from Mollie Blank put UTA up, 23-22, and kills from Kortney Puckett and Ford closed out the set.

UTEP dominated Set 3, going ahead 13-3 and 19-7 and hitting .385; Set 4 saw the Mavs take a 15-14 lead before the Miners rolled to the finish — a kill from Marian Ovalle made it 20-16, and the last three UTEP points came from the arm of Darley. 

The Miners got 15 kills from Darley and 12 kills by Torrance Lovesee. Kalia Kohler had 27 assists and Alyssa Sianez added 11 digs. For UTA, Ford rang up 17 kills and 13 digs as Blank had 38 assists and 10 digs.

UTEP set a volleyball program attendance record Friday when 2,601 fans showed up for the Miners’ victory over North Texas.

MONTANA STATE 3, SACRAMENTO STATE 1 (25-27, 25-17, 25-19, 25-19)

SACRAMENTO, CA — Montana State took the victory over Big Sky Conference foe Sacramento State to advance to the Great 8 of the 2023 NIVC

The Bobcats (23-8) will travel to Wyoming (22-9) in the next round; that match is set for 8:30 ET on Wednesday, Dec. 6. The Hornets close the year at 22-12.

The Hornets had a 24-21 lead in Set 1 but saw Montana State climb back to tie it at 24-all. Sacramento State secured the set via a kill by Tiyanane Kamba-Griffin and a block from Kamba-Griffin and Bridgette Smith. Montana State tied it up 1-all with Kira Thomsen getting the kill to win the frame.

The Bobcats jumped ahead 8-0 in Set 3 and were never seriously threatened; Set 4 saw Montana hit a crisp .333, and Thomsen closed out that set as well, this time with an ace.

UTEP 3, NORTH TEXAS 1 (25-22, 25-21, 17-25, 25-20)

EL PASO, TX — UTEP hit a modest .150 over four sets, but held off North Texas on the important points to post a victory in Round 1 of the 2023 NIVC. 

The Miners (22-9) will face UT Arlington in a Super 16 match on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. The Mean Green close the season at 17-16.

UTEP had a 22-21 lead in Set 1 and closed it out with kills by Marian Ovalle, a North Texas error and a kill by Sakira LaCour. The Miners went up 2-0 but labored in the third set with eight errors against six kills.

In the fourth set, UTEP rode a 5-0 run to take a 22-19 lead and got a big point late on a block from Danika Washington and Torrance Lovesee. Alianza Darley had 12 kills and Loves added 10 kills — Kalia Kohler had 17 assists and 10 digs, and Mattie Gantt had 15 assists.

For North Texas, Treyaunna Rush had 11 kills; Kamryn Scroggins added 15 assists and Aleeyah Galdeira and Ceci Harness each added 10 digs.

WYOMING 3, NORTHERN COLORADO 0 (25-23, 32-30, 26-24)

GREELEY, CO — Wyoming survived two wild and competitive sets to take an early lead against Northern Colorado, then used a comeback in the last frame to register a hard-earned sweep in a Super 16 matchup at the 2023 NIVC.


The Cowgirls (22-9) hit .373 overall and will play Sacramento State or Montana State in the Great 8 next week. The Bears close their season at 18-12.


Paige Lauterwasser had 14 kills for Wyoming; Sarah Holcomb and Corin Carruth each added 10 kills. Kasia Partyka dished out 41 assists and Skylar Erickson added 14 digs.


For Northern Colorado, Makenzie Harris had 17 kills and Maddie Davies closed with 11 kills. Syd Cole had 35 assists.

CLEMSON 3, BALL STATE 2 (26-24, 25-17, 23-25, 18-25, 15-8)

MURFREESBORO, TN — Clemson and Ball State scrapped their way to a fifth set on Friday at the NIVC, with the Tigers elevating their play in crunch time to post the victory and earn a spot in the Great 8 next week.

Clemson (18-13) took a slim 6-4 lead in the final set and dashed off a 4-0 run to get control, with two Ball State errors and an ace from McKenna Slavik providing key points. The set was wrapped up with an ace from McKenna Gildon and a kill by Katie Hurta — the squad had nine kills and no errors in the frame, hitting .474.

The Tigers got 15 kills from Kateryna Tkachenko and 14 kills each by Adria Powell and Azyah Dailey. Slavik had a robust 59 assists; Devan Taylor wrapped up Set 1 with an ace and closed with 24 digs, and Mia McGrath added 14 digs.

The Cardinals (17-15) got 22 kills from Aniya Kennedy, 14 kills from Marie Plitt, 13 kills from Kendall Barnes and 12 kills by Madison Buckley. Megan Wielonski delivered a standout 57 assists with 12 digs and Haven Gates notched 21 digs. Kendall Seimet added 10 digs. 

UT ARLINGTON 3, FLORIDA ATLANTIC 0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-18)

EL PASO, TX — UT Arlington capped a terrific night by hitting .438 in the final set, earning a sweep over Florida Atlantic in a Round 1 contest at the 2023 NIVC.

The Mavs (21-10) got an impressive 20 kills and 13 digs from Brianna Ford, and Paige Reagor added 14 kills. Mollie Blank rang up 38 assists along with 10 digs, and Alli Wells contributed 10 digs.

The Owls (20-13) got 11 kills from Arianna Beckham and 31 assists from Victoria Hensley. 

ST. JOHN’S 3, HOWARD 0 (28-26, 25-21, 25-14)

QUEENS, NY — A surprise powerhouse in the Big East Conference this season, St. John’s advanced to the Super 16 on Friday with a sweep of Howard.

The Red Storm (24-10) will face South Florida on Saturday; the Bison wrap up their season at 17-15.

St. John's trailed for most of the first set, down 17-11 and 24-22 before pulling off a remarkable rally. Erin Jones had eight kills in Set 2 for the Red Storm, and an 8-1 run in the third set sealed the match.

Jones finished with 16 kills; Wiktoria Kowalczyk dished out 26 assists and Rashanny Solano Smith added 17 digs. Lucrezia Lodi added 12 digs.

For Howard, Rya McKinnon had 11 kills; Sydnei Jones added 17 assists and Claire Simpson finished with 16 digs.

EAST CAROLINA 3, THE CITADEL 0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-17)

GREENVILLE, NC — East Carolina built a lead and played a very clean, disciplined third set (hitting .382 with 14 kills and one error) to stop The Citadel in Round 1 of the 2023 NIVC.

The Pirates (21-10) will face Georgia Southern in a Super 16 matchup Saturday at 6 p.m. ET. The Bulldogs close their remarkable season at 27-4.

ECU had a lead as large as 22-14 in Set 1, but the Bulldogs drew close enough to make it 22-18 and force a timeout by the Pirates. Gina Delancey’s kill made it 22-19; East Carolina closed the drama with kills by Ellie Pate and Carlia Northcross.

Set 2 saw ECU use a 5-0 run to claim a 23-16 lead. Francesca McBride’s kill made it 24-17, and an error was the final point for the Pirates.

The Pirates got 18 kills and 11 digs from Angeles Alderete and 27 assists and 15 digs from Julianna Askew. Tia Shum had 16 digs and Payton Evenstad added 10 digs. 

For The Citadel, Ali Ruffin and Maddy Cardenas had 10 kills apiece. Belle Hogan dished out 32 assists; Jaelynn Elgert added 20 digs as Ruffin posted 18 digs. Mackenzie Martin closed with 10 digs.

GEORGIA SOUTHERN 3, WINTHROP 2 (20-25, 26-24, 26-24, 23-25, 15-10)

GREENVILLE, NC — In the first five-set match of the 2023 NIVC, Georgia Southern took the lead in the deciding set and made it hold up to slip past Winthrop in Round 1 of the event.

Georgia Southern (22-8) will play The Citadel or East Carolina in the Super 16; Winthrop closes the year at 14-14.

Winthrop trailed early in Set 1, 8-5, but an 8-1 run swung it back the other way, capped by an ace from Avery Jolley. Two GS errors got it to game point, and a kill from Brookelynn Thomas closed the deal. Set 2 was a true scuffle, as no team led by more than three points, with Georgia Southern getting the difference makers on two blocks from Megan Vickery and Jordan Christy.

Set 3 played out as another nail-biter, with Winthrop coming back from an 11-4 deficit to taking the lead, 21-20. GS sealed it with a kill from Chamblee Russell and a block from Ally Barnhart and Jillian Gray.

After Winthrop forced a deciding fifth set, Georgia Southern claimed a 7-5 lead on a kill from Gray. Kills from Christy (10-7) and Paige Powers (13-9) kept the lead intact, with the match ending on a Winthrop error and a kill from Gray.

Georgia Southern got 15 kills from Russell and 14 kills from Gray. Kirsten Barrett had 28 assists to go with 12 digs, and Ashlyn Lovett had a career-high 45 digs. For Winthrop, Thomas had 16 kills and Karli Shepherd had 15 kills. Isabella Murray dished out 48 assists to go with 17 digs; Madison Gorniak had 27 digs, Jolley closed with 15 digs, Rylie McMahen added 13 digs and Alicia Davis finished with 11 digs.

WICHITA STATE 3, TULSA 1 (25-12, 15-25, 25-16, 25-21)

WICHITA, KS — Wichita State hit .295 and worked hard defensively with four players getting 10 or more digs, as the Shockers topped Tulsa to advance to the Great 8 of the 2023 NIVC on Friday.

The Shockers (23-8) will play Drake (24-10) in the next round. The Hurricane end the season at 18-15.

Tulsa had a quick 7-6 lead in Set 1 before Wichita State ran wild and allowed just five points the rest of the way. The Hurricane responded nicely in Set 2, turning a 6-3 lead to 11-4 and closing the frame with 12 kills, four aces and just two errors.

Set 3 saw the Shockers take a 12-7 lead, pushing it to 18-13 on two kills from Brylee Kelly and another from Izzi Strand. The concluding set saw Wichita State take a 14-10 lead on a kill from Kelly, prompting a Tulsa timeout, and two straight kills from Sophia Rohling made it 17-11, leading to another timeout. Arianna Mongare’s kill for Tulsa made it 18-16, and after a WSU timeout the Shockers got their footing, with kills from Emerson Wilford and Morgan Stout and an ace from Rohling enough to tidy up the win.

Rohling had 15 kills for the Shockers; Kelly had 11 kills and Strand closed with 40 assists and 17 digs. Katie Galligan had 20 digs, Gabe Maas came through with 17 digs and Morgan Weber had 10 digs.

For Tulsa, Kayley Cassaday had 17 kills and 10 digs. Avery Kalsu came through with 35 assists and 14 digs; Marta Pecalli had 21 digs and Brayden closed with 10 digs.

SOUTH FLORIDA 3, BUFFALO 0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-14)

QUEENS, NY — South Florida rolled to a sweep of Buffalo in Round 1 of the NIVC, with Niki Khoshatefeh notching 10 kills.

Caroline Dykes dished out 27 assists and added 11 digs for USF, now 20-11 on the year. Tizi Puljiz added nine kills.

Buffalo (23-9) got 11 kills from Katrin Trebichavska; Mandy Leigh added 29 assists and Julianna Lopez had seven digs.