DAVIDSON 3, UTRGV 0 (26-24, 27-25, 25-19)
DAVIDSON, N.C. – Davidson rang up eight aces and played a stellar night of defense in the NIVC quarterfinals, moving past UTRGV and into the semis with a sweep at home. The Wildcats (23-10) will host Drake in the semis; that match is set for 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, Dec. 11. Davidson, in the postseason for the first time since earning NCAA tourney bids in 1999 and 2000, used an ace by Ioanna Charitonidi to win Set 2. Overall, Isabel Decker had 14 kills and Emma Slusser and Anela Davis each finished with nine kills – Jessie Doyal had 19 assists and Jan Marie Duhaylungsod added 16 assists. Bella Brady finished with 24 digs. The Vaqueros (27-7) got 12 kills from Sarah Cruz; Luanna Emiliano had 33 assists and set the program’s single-season record for assists with 1,348. Perris Key had 11 digs, while Regina Tijerina and Emiliano each added 10 digs. DRAKE 3, PACIFIC 0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-21) DES MOINES, Iowa – Drake returned to its home gym for an NIVC quarterfinal Thursday, coming strong with a defense that held Pacific to a .084 hitting percentage as the Bulldogs advanced to the semifinals. Drake (29-7) will play at Davidson in the semis; that match is set for 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, Dec. 11. The Bulldogs, who also swept Grand Canyon in Round 2, were paced by Mariana Rodrigues, who had 14 kills. Addison Beagle finished with 27 assists and Haley Bush had nine digs. The Tigers (18-14) got 13 kills from Biamba Kabengele as Alexa Edwards added nine kills with nine digs. Jenna Heller closed with 30 assists and nine digs, and Jadyn Tubbs had 11 digs. SOUTHERN MISS 3, WESTERN CAROLINA 2 (22-25, 25-15, 15-25, 25-22, 15-12)
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Southern Miss bounced back from a difficult third set and authored a comeback victory over host Western Carolina to move into the semifinals of the 2022 NIVC. Southern Miss will play at Boston College in the semifinals; the match is set for 4 p.m. ET on Saturday, Dec. 10. The Golden Eagles (21-11) got to double figures first in the fifth set, 10-9, and saw the lead grow to 13-11 on a service error. The best swings at the end came from Reagan Leinen, who had two big kills, including the match winner. Western Carolina took a 20-16 lead in the first set, with Southern Miss responding to tie it up at 20-all, then 22-all. The Catamounts then scored three straight to close it out, including a kill from Livi Wiedmann. Southern Miss got off to a much better start in Set 2, taking an 11-3 lead and extending it to 14-4. The teams were tied up at 6-all in the third set before WCU stormed ahead to take the set comfortably. In Set 4, USM had a 16-15 lead before a cluster of kills from Cara Atkinson pushed the visitors up, 20-16. Atkinson had 19 kills for Southern Miss, and Mia Wesley closed with 18 kills. Kenzie Smith came through with 56 assists; Megan Harris had 32 digs (tying her career best), Lindsey Legg added 16 digs and Lauren Talbert finished with 14 digs. The Catamounts (20-13) were paced by Bailey Hartsough’s 22 kills (tying her career high) to go with 14 digs. Merry Gebel had 16 kills and 21 digs. Sarah Janourova closed with 25 assists and Sydney Carlson added 21 assists; Destinee Dorsey had 33 digs. BOSTON COLLEGE 3, XAVIER 2 (23-25, 25-22, 19-25, 25-18, 15-10) NEWTON, Mass. – Boston College, which won its first two 2022 NIVC matches in sweeps, fought through to claim a five-setter against Xavier to earn a spot in the semifinals. The Eagles (22-13) will take on Southern Miss in the semis; that match is slated for 4 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 10. In the fifth set, Boston College jumped ahead early, 10-4, and closed the deal with kills from Izzy Clavenna, Silvia Ianeselli, Kate Brennan (who played on last year’s NIVC champion’s roster at UNLV) and the finale from Julie Haggerty. Xavier (21-12) won a hard-fought first set; Boston College answered in Set 2, which was tied 10-all before the Eagles took command with an 8-1 run. The third set saw Xavier jump ahead 16-5, and a well-timed kill from Brooklyn Cink put the Musketeers up, 18-10. In Set 4, it was 10-all when BC’s Ianeselli cracked out two aces, and the lead was fortified to 17-12 for the Eagles on a kill from Haggerty. For the Eagles, Ianeselli had 15 kills; Clavenna, Jensen and Alayna Crabtree each finished with 14 kills. Grace Penn had 36 assists, Sophia Lambros added 22 assists and Anna Murphy closed with 22 digs. Crabtree had 17 digs, and Ianeselli added 16 digs. Xavier got 16 kills from both Cink (who also chipped in with 11 digs) and Delaney Hogan; Angel Robinson and Maryann O’Toole both finished with 11 kills. Carrigan O’Reilly came through with 52 assists and 11 digs; Lucia Corsaro had 20 digs and Stevie Wolf added 12 digs. By Kyle Koso
We’re often told to not dwell on the past, but a well-timed look in the rear-view mirror can be the best way to gauge just how far you’ve come. The Boston College volleyball program has a generation-plus of baggage to navigate when it comes to wins and losses – since starting D-I play in 1990, they had exactly three above-.500 seasons (2001, 2003-04) before current coach Jason Kennedy arrived ahead of the 2018 slate. The Eagles got above water in 2019 and have repeated the feat in 2022 (21-13), earning a berth in the NIVC postseason event and ready to host a quarterfinal match, Wednesday against Xavier (21-11). Life in the Big East and Atlantic Coast conferences over the years has been heavy sledding for BC, which is playing in the NIVC for the third time. Kennedy is already on the cusp of being the program’s all-time winning coach, and there’s certainly real desire coursing through the Eagles roster as they swept Buffalo and St. John’s in the first two rounds of the NIVC. “The girls are motivated to do it. You get to this point of the season, you have to have a group that wants to play together and live to see another day,” said Kennedy, whose 79 wins is one off the BC program record. “I’ve never been around a group that likes each other and enjoys playing together as much as this one. They don’t want it to end, they’re working as hard in practice now as they did in August, and they want to see how many more steps they can take.” Boston College’s win over St. John’s in Round 2 showed a certain mettle and determination, given how the Red Storm had beaten BC earlier in the season. The Eagles also won rematches this year against Virginia Tech and Syracuse – these moments of inspiration are pretty vital for a team in BC’s shoes, when dealing with ACC powerhouses like Georgia Tech, Pitt, Notre Dame, Miami and Florida State. At one point this season, Boston College was 1-7 in league play, but the roster refused to surrender belief in its progress and process. “You have to find a break, catch a break where you win a match where you’re the underdog and you’re able to win one,” Kennedy said. “At NC State (Oct. 16), after a long road trip, we found a way to win it in five, and that was huge for our team. We clinched that, came home and won a couple … beating Miami and Florida State was maybe the best weekend this program ever had in terms of the opponent RPI perspective. They were top 30 in the RPI, and that got us some confidence. You’re not thinking, ‘we’re 1-7’ – it’s more like, ‘we beat some teams, and who’s next?’ We played well, maybe were a little banged up, changed the lineup a bit, and that got us rolling toward being a lot better now than we were then.” The Eagles’ offense is confidently steered in its 6-2 format by junior setters Grace Penn and Sophia Lambros, and the big shots come comfortably from senior Izzy Clavenna (281 kills), junior Katrina Jensen (255), sophomore Jenna Pollock (247) and grad transfer Kate Brennan (213), who played on the 2021 NIVC championship team from UNLV. Kennedy says the lineup benefits from those multiple options, along with the singular skills of junior libero Anna Murphy. “Anna Murphy, the steadiest pierce of them all, the core of our defense and serve-receive. Liberos don’t always get the credit they deserve for their job,” Kennedy said. “Our lineup, the beauty is we have four or five kids who can be the kill leader on a given night. The one staple that never seems to change is Anna back there. Having her as the core of the defense has been a positive, a peace of mind for the team. “Jenna Pollock has stepped into a role that we never anticipated. We recruited her as a middle initially, we played her on the right a bit as a freshman, now she’s on the left side. She’s been the arm that we’ve needed to get here – you always want one kid you can toss the ball to at 23-all and have confidence she’ll be able to take a swing and won’t be afraid of that moment. Kate Brennan, she’s got the experience and been a great resource for the team to fall back on. She knows what this will take to win it all … it’s not an easy tournament. You’re not that familiar with the other teams, and there’s not a lot of time to prepare for it.” Kennedy had never set foot in Boston before interviewing for the head coaching position at BC; all his history in out West as a native of Hawaii, a player at Santa Clara and coaching gigs at California high schools and then USC. His insight into those club worlds has helped bring a variety of players back East, creating unexpected and unprecedented momentum for the Eagles program. “A lot of people initially, to be quite candid, told me this wasn’t the best career move. A cellar-dweller program in a conference that was OK at the time, but not great,” Kennedy added. “Our ability to make inroads has been monumental to what the future can be. We are in new territory, with a single-season win record of 21 wins, and it’s fun to build something where nobody thought it could happen. The staff has been intact since January 2018. We’re not playing the transfer card a whole lot, and it’s special to find that group that buys into you as coaches and the culture and have them stay. When you get there, you get that 21st win, it’s a pretty good feeling.” LAST WORD – Kennedy on the value of the NIVC: “The team that wins it (lately) seems to make the NCAA tournament the next year. Georgia Tech wins it, hasn’t missed the tournament, UNLV wins, is in the tournament. It carries a lot of weight and can prepare you for the next year. You have to have kids coming back, and fortunately we do. A lot of bigger conferences don’t have tournaments, and you have to feel that pressure where the season is on the line. We don’t get that in a conference tournament. If you have the buy-in from the staff and admin and players, especially, I don’t know that you can be in Division I athletics and not want to compete for a national tournament. If we get selected … as a competitor I want to play in it, and then I want to win it. I don’t get the mindset of ‘we’re too good for this, we’ll try again next year’ – give me a chance to win something at the end.” DRAKE 3, GRAND CANYON 0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-23)
WICHITA, Kan. – Drake powered up in time to secure the sweep over Grand Canyon, coming back from a 21-18 deficit in the third set to advance past the Lopes and into the quarterfinals of the 2022 NIVC. The Bulldogs (28-7) will play host to Pacific in the next round; that match is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 8 at 7 p.m. ET. Haley Bush, the Missouri Valley Conference player of the year, had 17 kills and 14 digs for Drake. Mariana Rodrigues added 12 kills and Taylor Oberpriller closed with eight kills. Addison Beagle finished with 39 assists and Jada Wills had 12 digs. The Lopes (18-11) got 14 kills from McKenzie Wise; Tatum Parrott and Anaelena Ramirez each had seven kills. Klaire Mitchell closed with 29 assists – Tatum Thomas had 13 digs and Megan Taflinger added 11 digs. Grand Canyon’s win over Wichita State on Sunday marked the program’s best victory in terms of opponent RPI, as the Shockers were No. 60 in the nation entering the postseason. WESTERN CAROLINA 3, TOLEDO 0 (25-14, 30-28, 25-22)
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Western Carolina swept past Toledo to claim a spot in the quarterfinals of the 2022 NIVC on Sunday afternoon. The Catamounts (20-12) will face Southern Miss in the quarterfinals. Merry Gebel led Western Carolina with 13 kills and 6 digs on .400 hitting, while Livi Weidmann added 12 kills and 6 blocks on .526 hitting. As a team, the Catamounts were efficient on offense, hitting .336. Sydney Carlson had a double-double with 19 assists and 14 digs. Toledo (19-13) got 16 kills and eight digs from Taylor Alt, but as a team, hit just .188. DRAKE 3, WEBER STATE 2 (21-25, 25-21, 17-25, 26-24, 15-7) Wichita, Kan, — Drake fought out of a 2-1 hole Sunday against Weber State and had all the answers if the final set, advancing the Bulldogs into Round 2 of the 2022 NIVC. Drake (27-7) will face Grand Canyon in the next round Monday. Taylor Oberpriller had 28 kills and 11 digs, and Mariana Rodrigues finished with 16 kills. Addison Beagle closed with 56 assists and 11 digs; Jada Wills had 24 digs. In the fifth set, the Bulldogs jumped ahead 8-2, and they sealed the deal with a kill from Ashlynn Kuhn and two in a row by Rodrigues. The Wildcats (17-12) were paced by Dani Richins, who had 18 kills and 14 digs. Emma Mangum added 11 kills and Makayla Sorensen closed with eight kills and 11 digs. Kate Standifird added 43 assists and 22 digs. Charli Bouquet chipped in with 17 digs. GRAND CANYON 3, WICHITA STATE 1 (25-15, 25-27, 26-24, 25-23) Wichita, Kan. — Grand Canyon used a balanced offensive attack to move past host Wichita State and advance to Round 2 of the 2022 NIVC. The Lopes (18-10) got 15 kills from Melanie Brecka; McKenzie Wise had 14 kills and 12 digs, while Tatum Parrott closed with 14 kills and 15 digs. Klaire Mitchell finished with 51 assists and WSU transfer Megan Taflinger had 16 digs. Grand Canyon will play Drake on Monday in the next round. The Shockers (18-13) got 12 kills and 12 digs from Brylee Kelly. Natalie Foster had 12 kills, and Kayce Litzau closed with 41 assists. PACIFIC 3, SANTA CLARA 1 (25-18, 21-25, 25-12, 25-18)
PORTLAND, Ore. — Sharpened all year by playing in the difficult West Coast Conference, Pacific moved past Santa Clara late Saturday to earn a spot in the quarterfinals of the 2022 NIVC. The Tigers (18-13) used a10-0 run to spur their first-set win. Biamba Kabengele and Alexa Edwards both had 13 kills; Edwards added 10 digs. Darina Kumanova closed with 11 kills. Jenna Heller had 30 assists and 14 digs, and Jadyn Tubbs finished with 14 assists and 12 digs. The Broncos (13-19) got 13 kills from Julia Sangiacomo; Sophia Tulino and Layla Truitt each had nine kills as Truitt added 12 digs. Nive Tuileta closed with 35 assists. 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. |
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December 2023
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