Round 1, 2 recaps from Saturday, Dec. 4

UNLV 3, ARIZONA 2 (25-22, 25-20, 17-25, 19-25, 15-9)

TUCSON, AZ — Mariena Hayden punched home four kills in crunch time during the fifth set as UNLV outlasted Arizona to earn a spot in the quarterfinals of the 2021 NIVC. UNLV will play Arkansas next in a match hosted by UTEP, Tuesday, Dec. 7 at 7 p.m. ET.

Set 5 was tied at 7-7 before the Rebels (25-9) made the big push. Hayden (a two-time Mountain West Conference player of the year) finished with 17 kills, and Shelby Capllonch closed with 11 kills and 24 digs as UNLV won for the first time in four meetings versus the Wildcats (17-16).

Jaelyn Hodge had 23 kills and 12 digs for Arizona. Sofia Maldonado Diaz had 11 kills, Alayna Johnson added nine kills and Emery Herman dished out 49 assists. Kamaile Hiapo came up with 30 digs.

UCONN 3, NORTH CAROLINA A&T 0 (25-12, 25-14, 25-19)

CHESTNUT HILL, MA — UConn hit .300 overall and rang up five service aces in a sweep of North Carolina A&T in a Round 1 matchup at the 2021 NIVC.

The Huskies (22-10) will face Boston College on Sunday at 4 p.m. ET in Round 2. Caylee Parker had 11 kills and nine digs for the Huskies; Taylor Pannell added 10 kills and McKayla Wuensch delivered 28 assists. Karly Berkland tallied 11 digs.

The Aggies (20-11) were paced by Naiya Sawtelle’s 12 kills. Macenzie Richards had four kills and Edie Brewer added 15 assists.

ARKANSAS 3, STEPHEN F. AUSTIN 0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-18) 

NACOGDOCHES, TX – Taylor Head paced Arkansas with 15 kills as the Razorbacks swept by Stephen F. Austin to advance out of Round 2 at the 2021 NIVC.

Arkansas, which hit .347 overall, will take on UNLV in Round 3. That match will be hosted by UTEP and be held Tuesday, Dec. 7 at 7 p.m. ET.

The Razorbacks (20-10) got 34 assists from Gracie Ryan and 12 digs from Courtney Jackson. Three other players had eight kills apiece.

The Ladyjacks (19-10) got eight kills from Leah Powell. Bryli Contreras added 13 digs.

​NORTH FLORIDA 3, TROY 0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-14)
 
TROY, AL – In a thoroughly dominating fashion, North Florida advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2021 NIVC with a road sweep.
 
The Ospreys dominated all facets of the match, hitting .321 compared to just .069 for Troy. Leading the way for UNF was Dariana Hollingsworth-Santana, who had 11 kills on .474 hitting, and added a season-high five service aces.
 
The first set found the two teams all tied up at 16-16, but North Florida rattled off a 9-3 run to close the set in convincing fashion. The Ospreys used that momentum and carried it through to the rest of the match, never looking in danger of dropping either of the final two sets. North Florida will take on the winner of the Boston College region (Boston College, Delaware State, UConn and North Carolina A&T) in the quarterfinals. 

BOSTON COLLEGE 3, DELAWARE STATE 0 (28-26, 25-16, 25-21)
 
BOSTON, MA – The Boston College volleyball team advanced to the second round of the 2021 NIVC with an opening-round sweep over Delaware State on Saturday afternoon to secure the program’s first-ever postseason victory.
 
The first set was a close back-and-forth affair that saw Boston College fight off two set points before the Eagles were able to take a 28-26 victory. Boston College carried its late-set surge into the second set, and dominated the frame, hitting .370, en route to a 25-16 victory. Conversely, Delaware State was held to just eight kills and five attack errors in the frame.
 
Katrina Jensen and Clare Naughton led the way for the Eagles with 12 kills each, while Amaka Chukwujekwu added nine. Boston College will take on the winner of UConn and North Carolina A&T in the second round of the 2021 NIVC on Sunday.

WEBER STATE 3, PORTLAND STATE 1 (16-25, 25-13, 25-20, 25-23)
 
OGDEN, UT – After dropping the first set, Weber State rattled off three straight sets to knock off Portland, 3-1, and advance to the quarterfinals of the 2021 NIVC, where the Wildcats will take on UTEP.
 
Portland State jumped all over Weber State in the opening set and scored the final four points of the frame to win the opening set 25-16 on Weber State’s home court. The Wildcats weren’t rattled from the shaky start, however, and quickly responded with a 9-2 run to open the second set. Weber State led by as much as 15 points in the second set en route to its 25-13 victory.
 
The third and fourth sets started just as the second set did, with Weber State jumping out to a large lead and holding onto it for the 3-1 victory. The Wildcats were led by Dani Nay, who registered her fourth 20-kill game of the season with 20 kills on .474 hitting. Nay also chipped in with four of the team’s 11 service aces in the match. As a team, Weber State hit .311 compared to .217 for Portland State.​