No. 1 Concordia-St. Paul 3, No. 6 Southwest Minnesota State 0
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Concordia-St. Paul (19-1, 11-0 NSIC) is the lone unbeaten team in NSIC conference play after a 3-0 win against Southwest Minnesota State (15-4, 10-1 NSIC). Concordia has now won 25 consecutive NSIC regular season matches dating back to September 28, 2012.
The Golden Bears and Mustangs battled early on in what looked like another hard fought match between these two conference stalwarts, but a five-point run midway through the first set turned the momentum in the Golden Bears favor as they grabbed a 16-11 lead. SMSU got it back to 18-15 but CU used a solid serve from Erienne Lauersdorf to score the last seven of the game to close it out 25-15.
Southwest Minnesota State played from behind for much of the second game and got it back even at 10 apiece, but Concordia would not relinquish the lead. The Mustangs committed seven attack errors in the game which stifled any comeback attempt in the 25-18 set win for the Golden Bears.
It seemed to be a repeat performance in the third set with the score tied 12-12 before Concordia turned it on and closed it out. The Golden Bears scored nine of the last 11 points to win the set 25-16 and the match 3-0.
Northern State 3, No. 2 Minnesota-Duluth 1
DULUTH, Minn. -- Northern State won its fifth in a row, knocking off the No. 2 Minnesota-Duluth at Romano Gym on Saturday afternoon in four sets.
It was the second time in the five-game stretch that the surging Wolves (15-3, 8-3 NSIC) beat a ranked opponent in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, previously defeating Wayne State (Neb.) earlier this month. After falling behind 2-0 in a pair of defensive sets , the Bulldogs (19-2, 9-2 NSIC) took the third game before finally succumbing to Northern in the fourth. The loss is the first at home for UMD since the 2011 season.
The Wolves scored nine blocks and continuously stymied the Bulldogs' attack, holding UMD to a .165 kill percentage. Still, senior outside hitter Kate Lange collected 20 kills on 51 swings and now sits 41 behind Vicky Braegelman for most in a Bulldog career. Junior right-side hitter Maddy Siroin barely missed double digts as she collected nine kills in the match. Four players for Northern State had at least 10 kills.
No. 3 Tampa 3, North Alabama 0
No. 3 Tampa 3, Valdosta State 0
PENSACOLA, Fla. -- Closing out the South Regional Crossover in perfect form, No. 3 Tampa (18-1) emerged victorious with a pair of wins against the North Alabama (5-15) and Valdosta State (14-8), both coming in three sets.
In the first match, Tampa spun a 3-0 victory with Jackie Neff and Allee Stelogeannis stepping into Spartan form. Each notched a team-high six kills as Neff swung at a .625 clip with Stelogeannis posting a .600 mark along with five digs.
Tampa won its first set 25-17 with Berkley Whaley swatting three kills for the offense while recording four digs. The second frame was won by a 25-14 margin where Kim Amerell, Neff, and Stelogeannis recorded three kills each. The final stanza saw Megan Heffron kill three and libero Jen Scholz dig out three, as the Spartans won 25-19.
The nightcap of the twin bill saw the Spartans stampede the Blazers behind a dominating performance from Whaley. Valdosta State had no answer to the swift swinging middle hitter as she paced the offensive attack with 11 kills in 16 swings for a staggering .688 attack percentage.
In the first frame, Whaley grounded five for the Spartan tempo with libero Scholz notching seven digs as UT won 25-11. Round two followed suit as Holly Reschke hit a blistering six kills to silence the VSU defense, winning by a 25-13 tally. Tampa won the final set 25-18 as Marissa Lisenbee, Burke, and Reschke each grounded six while Frances Cardenas dug out six to stifle the opposition.
No. 4 Central Missouri 3, No. 12 Washburn 0
TOPEKA, Kan. -- Central Missouri (22-0, 8-0) beat No. 12 Washburn in consecutive sets Saturday to stay undefeated this season. Washburn (19-4, 6-1 MIAA) was the only other team in the MIAA that had not lost a conference match.
The Ichabods took a small lead early in the first set, and were the first team to reach double digit points, at 10-8. The Jennies earned the last point of the set with a kill from Carly Sojka.
Central Missouri won the first and second point of match two, and went on to win the first seven of ten points in the match. The Jennies won four points in a row to reach match point, with a kill Haley Thompson and Harding. Sojka again finished the set with a kill.
In the final set of the match, Central Missouri won four points in a to start the match, with a kill by Harding and Goodness and a block from Harding and Lauren Dudgeon. The Ichabods were never able to break 20 points, with the Jennies ending the match at 25-16 with a kill from Harding.
No. 5 BYU-Hawaii 3, California Baptist 0
LAIE, Hawaii -- Shih Ting (Stella) Chen recorded 22 kills and helped lead No. 5 BYU-Hawaii to victory in three sets against California Baptist (25-20, 25-18, 25-21).
With the win against Cal Baptist (14-7, 11-2) the Seasiders (15-1, 10-1) knocked off the Pacific West Conference's No. 2 team on the heels of Friday night's 3-1 victory against the first-place team, No. 25 Point Loma.
Chen's 22 kills were a match high to go along with 13 digs. Teammate Erica Willes added 11 kills on a night when BYU-Hawaii seemed in control in each set.
The match started out in the Seasiders' favor as they closed out the first set 25-20 after taking the lead at 6-5 and never looking back. Chen had seven kills and Willies recorded six of her own.
At one point in the second set the Seasiders led things 16-7, but Cal Baptist didn't shy away from the heavy attack of BYU-Hawaii. The Lancers kept things fairly even after that until the Seasiders closed things out 25-18 to take a 2-0 lead.
Set three proved to be the most exciting of the night with both teams working hard for every point.
Cal Baptist came from behind tying things up 17-17 late in the set. Grueling efforts to keep the ball in play helped the home team come away with the win as the Seasiders finished off the third set 25-21.
Alaska-Anchorage 3, No. 7 Western Washington 2
BELLINGHAM, Wash. -- Despite getting 19 kills and eight blocks from middle blocker Kayla Erickson, Western Washington saw its seven-match winning streak snapped Saturday as the Vikings fell to Alaska Anchorage 23-2526-24, 25-23, 19-25, 15-12 in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference match before a crowd of 920 at Sam Carver Gymnasium on the WWU campus.
The Vikings, ranked No. 7 in the latest coaches' poll, fell to 14-2 overall and 7-1 in the GNAC. WWU had not lost a set in its first seven GNAC matches.
UAA improved to 15-6 overall and stayed alone atop the GNAC at 9-0. Outside hitter Katelynn Zanders had a match-high 22 kills for the Seawolves, matching the best by a GNAC player this season.
Lindenwood 3, No. 8 Nebraska-Kearney 1
ST. CHARLES, Mo. -- Lindenwood upset No. 8 Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday evening at Hyland arena 3-1 by scores of 19-25, 25-21, 25-23, and 25-19.
The Lady Lions got off to a rough start in the matches' first set against Nebraska-Kearney. Lindenwood played well early in the set and were tied with Nebraska-Kearney 19-19 at one point. Nebraska-Kearney caught fire though, scoring six straight against Lindenwood to win set one 25-19.
The Lady Lions jumped out to an early 12-8 lead in set two. However, Nebraska-Kearney immediately came storming back by scoring four straight and tying the game at 12 each. The Lady Lions regrouped though after a timeout by Coach Young, taking a 20-15 lead. Nebraska-Kearney nearly closed the gap on Lindenwood's lead by making the score 22-21. The Lady Lions kept Nebraska-Kearney at bay though as they closed out the set with a 25-21 win.
Nebraska-Kearney led almost all of set three before Lindenwood tied the score 21-21. After this, both squads were neck and neck, trading scores constantly. Leading Nebraska-Kearney 24-23, Kayla Guyot closed out the set with a kill to win 25-23.
Lindenwood built on its momentum and dominated Nebraska-Kearney throughout set number four. The Lady Lions led by as many as seven in the set. Lindenwood continued to put on the gas as it went on to defeat Nebraska-Kearney 25-19.
Freshmen Shannon Doyle and Sarah Makowski both came up big for Lindenwood in kills. Doyle had 14 kills while Makowski contributed 10 of her own. Megan Dillon, Kailene Young and Kayla Guyot also had eight kills each.
No. 9 West Texas A&M 3, Cameron 0
CANYON, Texas -- West Texas A&M won its 20th consecutive match at the WTAMU Fieldhouse on Saturday as it rolled through the visiting Aggies of Cameron (25-22, 25-20, 25-21). The Lady Buffs move to 19-3 (9-0 LSC) on the season while the Aggies fall to 5-15 (0-9 LSC).
"Cameron is an athletic team that can really put pressure on you," WT head coach Jason Skoch said. "We need to work on closing out an opponent when we get a chance, we allowed a lot of late points during each set that weren't necessary."
Halie Harton opened up the first set with a service ace on the matches first serve as WT hit .235 in the opening frame while the Aggies hit just .200. The second set saw much of the same as the teams traded blows but a WT run with Lauren Britten at the service line gave the Lady Buffs the 25-20 victory as WT hit .323 with 15 kills.
The third set saw the Lady Buffs take an early lead and never let go as they hit .250 in the match with 13 kills to go along with just four attack errors as they took the third and deciding set 25-21 for the sweep.
Cal State Los Angeles 3, No. 10 UC San Diego 2
LA JOLLA, Calif. -- UC San Diego saw its seven-match win streak come to an end Saturday night as it was upset in five sets by Cal State Los Angeles at RIMAC Arena.
Scores were 25-21, 17-25, 25-22, 13-25 and 22-20 in favor of CSULA. UCSD fell to 16-3 overall and 8-3 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), while the Golden Eagles improved to 12-7 and 7-4.
Down 20-19 in the marathon fifth set, Cal State L.A. won it with three consecutive points on a kill by Kymberly Silveyra and back-to-back kills from Iona Lofrano.
UCSD was led by sophomore outside hitters Sophie Rowe and Danielle Dahle with 21.5 and 21.0 points, respectively. Rowe had a team-high 20 kills with 15 digs and a pair of blocks. Dahle finished with 19 kills, 14 digs and three blocks. She hit .400 with three errors in 40 attacks.
