Throughout this NCAA Division I women’s volleybal season, Fridays were usually something to behold. In these roundups we called them freaky Fridays. The NCAA Tournament opened Thursday with 16 matches that included a minor upset and no matches that even went five sets. Hello, Friday! To wit: TCU upset ACC co-champion Florida State. Penn State […]
The post Thanks to TCU, Penn St., GT, and more, another freaky Friday in NCAA volleyball appeared first on Volleyballmag.com.
Throughout this NCAA Division I women’s volleybal season, Fridays were usually something to behold. In these roundups we called them freaky Fridays.
The NCAA Tournament opened Thursday with 16 matches that included a minor upset and no matches that even went five sets.
Hello, Friday!
To wit:
TCU upset ACC co-champion Florida State.
Penn State beat 14th-seeded Kansas on its home court in a wild five.
Georgia Tech won a tremendous battle in five at 16th-seeded Florida.
Dayton won an up-and-down five-setter over Pepperdine.
And, in the biggest surprise, the NEC’s LIU — the 64th seed and only team in the field with a losing record — ultimately got swept at top-seeded Nebraska but not before actually leading as late as 19-18 in the third. That caused ESPN 5th Set host Sam Gore to later joke that “Nebraska survived LIU.”
That might have been the best line in the studio, but the best lines on the court?
Reagan Cooper of Kansas tied the 15-year-old school record with a career best 29 kills while hitting .464 against Penn State.
Purdue had too many to list.
Oregon’s Morgan Lewis had 14 kills with no errors in 21 swings to go with two blocks in a sweep of Hawai’i.
Kentucky hit .500 with 51 kills and 10 errors in 82 attacks in a sweep of Baylor.
And in the NIVC, Georgia Southern’s Ashlyn Lovett had 45 digs.
All that being said, here are the eight teams that have advanced to next week’s NCAA Tournament round of 16:
Georgia Tech
Kentucky
Louisville
Penn State
Purdue
Oregon
Texas
Wisconsin
And here are Saturday’s eight second-round matches to see who joins them. The times are Eastern and all can be seen only on ESPN+. We have the complete schedule and viewing links on our VolleyballMag.com TV & Streaming Listings page.
6 p.m. — Western Kentucy at Tennessee
7 p.m. — USC at Pittsburgh
7:30 p.m. — Minnesota at Creighton
8 p.m. — TCU at Arkansas
8 p.m. — Missouri at Nebraska
9 p.m. — Houston at Stanford
9 p.m. Arizona State at BYU
10 p.m. — Dayton at Washington State
The recaps from Saturday follow, so do NIVC results, and we have our first two Power 5 coaching openings.
Louisville (26-4) hit .342 and swept Western Michigan (31-3), ending the Broncos’ 21-match winning streak, 26-24, 25-18, 25-22. Charitie Luper led the Cardinals with 11 kills six digs, and two blocks. Aiko Jones and Cara Cresse had nine kills each and Elena Scott had 22 digs, seven assists and two aces. WMU, which hit .205, got 13 kills from Anna Calcagno, who had an assist, seven digs and a block …
Penn State (23-8) pulled out a 25-20, 22-25, 25-21, 13-25, 15-13 victory at Kanasas (24-6). Jess Mruzik led with 21 kills, an assist, 10 digs and a block. Camryn Hannah had 17 kills, hit .342 and had two aces, a dig and two blocks. Allie Holland had eight kills in 15 errorless attacks, an assist, seven digs and seven blocks. Taylor Trammel had 10 kills and hit .471 with two blocks, and Zoe Weatherington had 10 kills and two blocks. Mac Podraza had two kills in four errorless tries, 52 assists, two aces, nine digs and four blocks. Her team hit .292. Kansas was led by Reagan Cooper, who had 29 kills — a career record for her and it tied the Kansas best set in 2008 — with three errors in 56 attacks to hit .464 and she had two digs and two blocks. London Davis had 13 kills, four digs and two blocks. Camryn Turner had four kills, 54 assists, an ace, six digs and three blocks, one solo. KU hit .294 …
Georgia Tech (24-6) rallied from a 10-7 fifth-set deficit and still trailed 13-11 before winning 22-25, 30-28, 25-21, 18-25, 16-14 at Florida (19-10). Tamara Otene led with 21 kills, eight in the fifth set when she had just two errors in 14 attacks. She finished with an ace, eight digs and a solo block. Bianca Bertolino had 18 kills, hit .341 and had an assist, an ce, 17 digs and two blocks, one solo. GT hit .261, while Florida hit .262. Kennedy Martin capped her spectacular freshman season with 21 kills while hitting .306 with nine digs and two blocks. She had five kills in the fifth set. Gabbi Essix had 12 kills, hit .318 and had five blocks. Nnedi Okammor had six kills and eight blocks and Kennedy Muff had a kill, 54 assists, ana ce, 11 digs and two blocks …
Kentucky (21-7) hit .500 and has won 18 in a row after its 25-18, 25-22, 25-17 ousting of Baylor (17-13). Reagan Rutherford had 14 kills with two errors in 19 attacks to hit .632 and added two aces, three digs and two blocks, one solo. Brooklyn DeLeye had 13 kills, hit .524, and had an assist, 10 digs and three blocks. Azhani Tealer had 11 kills in 15 errorless tries, two digs and three assists. Emma Grome had a kill, 45 assists, two digs and a solo block. Baylor had 15 kills from Elise McGhee, who hit .343 andhad two digs and two blocks. The Bears hit .258 …
Purdue (23-8) survived a determined Marquette (21-11) team that fell behind and made the Boilermakers scratch and claw for their 25-21, 25-23, 24-26, 26-24 victory. Maddie Schermerhorn broke her own Purdue NCAA tourney record for digs in a match with 25 and had five assists and two aces. Eva Hudson led with 27 kills, an assist, two aces, eight digs and a solo block. Chloe Chicoine had 15 kills, two aces, 10 digs and a solo block, and Raven Colvin had 13 kills, two assists, four digs and four blocks. Taylor Anderson had five kills in six errorless tries, 60 assists, 15 digs and three blocks. Her team hit .274, while Marquette hit .254. Marquette’s Aubrey Hamitlon had 22 kills, an assist, an ace, eight digs and two blocks, one solo. Hattie Bray added 16 kills in 26 errorless swings to hit .615 and had an assist and a dig. Yadhira Achante had three kills, 43 assists, an ace and 20 digs. Sarah Kushner had 24 digs, six assists, an ace and a kill …
Texas (24-4) hit .446 and is in the round of 16 for the 18th year in a row after its 25-16, 25-14, 25-17 whitewash of SMU (26-7). Madisen Skinner led with 21 kills and hit .486 after having three errors in 37 attacks to go with two aces, three blocks and six digs. Jenna Wenaas had 10 kills and hit .421 and Molly Phillips had six kills with no errors in 11 swings and Asjia O’Neal had six kills in 15 errorless attacks. O’Neal had five blocks, one solo. SMU’s Niya Shime had 13 kills …
Wisconsin (28-3) swept Miami (18-12) after trailing in both of the first two sets before winning 25-23, 25-15, 25-17. Anna Smrek led with 15 kills, hitting .542 with two errors in 24 attacks, and a dig and four blocks. Sarah Franklin had 13 kills, an ace, a block and four digs. Miami’s Grace Lopez, who had 30 kills the day before against Northern Iowa, had 15 kills, hit .324 and five digs. Flormarie Heredia Colon had 13 kills, three blocks and eight digs …
Oregon (28-5) fell behind by seven points in the first set and then made short work of Hawai’i (24-9) by sweeping 25-23, 25-12, 25-17. Oregon, in the round of 16 for back-to-back seasons for just the second time, got 14 kills in 21 errorless attacks from Morgan Lewis. She had two blocks, one solo. Hannah Pukis had two kills in four errorless tries, 29 assists, an ace, three blocks and seven digs. Hawai’i, which hit .061 got 13 kills from Caylen Alexander.
At Pittsburgh: USC (19-12) swept UMBC (17-8) as the Trojans hit .420 in the 25-18, 25-10, 25-12 sweep. Skylar Fields had 10 kills with one error in 22 attacks, four digs and two blocks.
Pittsburgh (26-4) swept Coppin State (27-5) as Olivia Babcock had 12 kills, Torrey Stafford 11 and Valeria Vazquez Gomez 10. Stafford’s sister, TaKenya had two kills for Coppin State.
At Tennessee: The last of the four Sun Belt teams, Coastal Carolina (22-10) made the league 0-4 when the Chanticleer were swept by Western Kentucky (30-4). WKU, which has won 25 in a row, hit .478 in the 25-14, 25-20, 25-23 victory. Paige Briggs had 18 kills, hit .531 and had an assist, nine digs and a block. Kaylee Cox had 17 kills, hit.462, and had an assist, three aces, nine digs and three blocks. Coastal lost despite hitting .330. Jayln Stout had 12 kills, hit .381, and had 15 assists and a dig.
Tennessee (25-4) rolled to a 25-20, 25-19, 25-15 sweep of High Point (23-8) as the Vols hit .398. Morgahn Fingall had 19 kills, hit .469 and had seven digs and two blocks. Jenaisya Moore had 17 kills with one error in 30 attacks, three digs and three blocks.
At Creighton: Minnesota (17-12) overpowered Utah State (24-7). Lydia Grote led with 10 kills and hit .471 i the 25-17, 25-14, 25-23 win. Grote added two aces, two digs and five blocks. While the Gophers hit just .196, Utah State hit .048.
Creighton (28-4) swept Colgate (22-8) 25-19, 25-23, 25-20. Norah Sis led with 12 kills, an assist, eight digs and a block. Kendra Wait had five kills in 16 errorless tries, 36 assists, nine digs and two blocks. Colgate’s Frances Torre had 11 kills with one error in 19 attacks.
At Nebraska: Missouri (18-12) swept Delaware (24-5) 25-17, 25-22, 25-23. Janet deMarrais led with 13 kills, an ace, four digs and two blocks. Maya Sands had nine digs, three assists and two aces.
Nebraska (29-1) had a lackluster 25-13, 25-16, 25-22 sweep of LIU (13-19). Merritt Beason led with 13 kills, hit .478 and had an ace, even digs and two blocks. The Huskers hit .280. LIU’s Camelia Melendez led the Sharks with 12 kills and five digs.
At Arkansas: TCU (17-14) pulled off the biggest upset of the first round with its 26-24, 16-25, 25-18, 26-24 victory over Florida State (23-9). TCU, which has never been in the round of 16, got 23 kills from Melanie Parra, who hit .304 and had an ace, two blocks and 11 digs. Jalyn Gibson had 17 kills, hit .378 and had two ace, a block and eight digs. Audrey Nalls added 13 kills, three aces, two blocks and 10 digs. Lily Nicholson had 46 assists, three blocks and 13 digs. FSU’s Audrey Koenig had 13 kills and hit .370 to go with an ace, a block and 21 digs. Audrey Rothman had 21 kills, an assist, an ace, a block and 12 digs.
Arkansas (26-5) blasted Stephen F. Austin (29-5), hitting .333 in the 25-8, 25-17, 25-23 sweep. Jillian Gillen had 19 kills, hit .333, and had seven digs and a block. Maggie Cartwright had 14 kills, hit .407 and had two aces, 19 digs and a block. Taylor Head added 11 kills with one error in 26 attacks and had four assists, two aces, nine digs and three blocks. SFA lost its leading attacker, Ielan Bradley, to injury in the first set.
At BYU: Arizona State (27-6) swept Georgia (19-12) as the Sun Devils hit .427 in the 25-21, 25-12, 25-20 win. Marta Levinska had 17 kills, hit .464 and had four blocks. Geli Cyr had 10 kills with one error in 17 attacks, two assists, seven digs and two blocks.
BYU (25-6) rallied from a 24-22 third-set deficit and swept Weber State (21-10) 25-16, 25-16, 27-25 as Erin Livingston had 21 kills, hit .341 and had four digs and two blocks.
At Washington State: Dayton (32-2) won its 27th match in a row, a 26-28, 26-24, 20-25, 25-14, 15-11 win over Pepperdine (19-9) that took 2 hours, 43 minutes. Lexie Almodovar led with 19 kills, three assists, two aces, two blocks and 17 digs. Taylor Russell had 15 kills, an ace and three digs. Gaby Arroyo had 22 digs, four assists and three aces. Pepperdine’s Grace Chillingswoth had 19 kills, an assist, three aces and 15 digs.
Washington State (25-7) hit .375 and swept Grand Canyon (23-8) 25-12, 31-29, 25-17. Iman Isanovic had 16 kills, hit .375 and had added an ace, a block and seven digs. Pia Timmer had 15 kills, an assist and seven digs. GCU’s Tatum Parrott had 12 kills, hit .310, and had four digs and two blocks, one solo.
At Stanford: Houston (19-9) lost the first set to UC Santa Barbara (27-5), saw an 18-13 lead evaporate in th second, and then won 21-25, 25-23, 25-16, 25-18. Kenna Sauer had 18 kills, five her team’s eight aces, six blocks and nine digs. Abbie Jackson had 16 kills, hit .353 and had an assist, two aces, a block and 11 digs. Nena Mbonu had 12 kills in 22 errorless attacks and three blocks. UCSB’s Michelle Ohwobete had 15 kills, two blocks and seven digs.
Stanford (27-3) won its ninth in a row, a 25-21, 25-12, 25-15 sweep of Fresno State (19-14). Catiie Baird hit a career-high .591 with 15 kills and two errors in 22 attacks to go with an assist, an ace, a block and nine digs. Kendall Kipp had nine kills, hit .400 and had two aces, five blocks and five digs. Elia Rubin had nine kills, two assists, a block and three digs.
There are three second-round matches Saturday as Georgia Southern plays East Carolina, UT Arlington plays UTEP and South Florida plays St. John’s.
In action second-round action Friday, Wichita State beat Tulsa in four despite 17 kills from NCAA kills leader Kayley Cassaday; Montana State beat Sacramento State in four as Kira Thomsen had 15 kills, three assists, two aces, two blocks and nine digs; Wyoming beat Northern Colorado in four as Paige Lauterwasser had 14 kills, hit .440 and had three blocks and three digs; and Clemson beat Ball State in five, hitting .333 with five players with eight or more kills, 15 by Kateryna Tkachenko, how hit .400. Ball State’s Aniya Kennedy had 22 kills with one error in 46 attacks, two blocks and a dig.
In first-round matches, South Florida hit .329 and swept Buffalo; St. John’s swept Howard as Erin Jones had 16 kills, hit .345 and had three assists, an ace, a block and seven digs; Georgia Southern beat Winthrop in five behind a program-record 45 digs by Ashlyn Lovett, who had four assists; East Carolina swept The Citadel as Angeles Alderete had 18 kills, hit .417 and had three assists, 11 digs and two blocks, one solo; UT Arlington swept Florida Atlantic as Brianna Ford had 20 kills, hit .472 and had an ace, six blocks and 13 digs; and UTEP beat North Texas in four.
NORTHWESTERN: The headline on the school’s website read, “Volleyball Head Coach Shane Davis And Northwestern Athletics Mutually Agree To Part Ways.”
In eight seaons, Davis compiled a record of 103-128, 45-105 in the Big Ten. This past season, the Wildcats finished 15-15, 9-11 in the B1G, Northwestern’s best conference record since going 9-11 in 2010. That was also the last time the school went to the NCAA Tournament.
WEST VIRGINIA: Reed Sunahara resigned after nine seasons, 9-22 this season, xx in the Big 12. Overall, Sunahara compiled a record of 106-156, 32-114 in the conference. Sunahara took the Mountaineers to the school’s only NCAA Tournament just two years ago.
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