Winning for a Legend: Penn State Sweeps Invitational, Honors Rose
Penn State Invitational
State College, Pennsylvania
Aug. 31-Sept. 1, 2018
In a weekend selected to celebrate 40 seasons with head coach Russ Rose at the helm of Penn State volleyball, the Nittany Lions did their best to honor his legacy of winning, posting a pair of sweeps en route to the Penn State Invitational title.
More than 60 former players returned for the festivities and former assistant coach Steve Aird had his Indiana Hoosiers in the tournament as well.
Penn State Invitational All-Tournament Team
Bryanna Weiskircher – PSU – MVP
Serena Gray – PSU
Kaitlyn Hord – PSU
Hollann Hans – TAMU
Camille Conner – TAMU
Katerina Papazoglou – Temple
Breana Edwards – IU
Bayli Lebo – IU
Notables
Although Penn State (5-0) won via sweep twice, it was not without a fight from its foes.
The Nittany Lions had to come from behind in the final two sets against Temple. In Set 2, PSU overcame a 17-13 deficit and trailed as late as 20-18. In Set 3, the Owls went up 8-3 early and led by as many as six at 19-13, before succumbing to the No. 9 team in the nation.
Blocking prowess led the way for Penn State as the team hit under .300 in both matches. PSU put up 11 stuffs to stifle Texas A&M and nine against Temple, while allowing 11 total. The team also outserved its foes 13-5.
Temple’s Katerina Papazoglou had a breakout match, leading the Owls with a 17-kill, 27-dig double-double in the five-set loss to Indiana. It was the second of the season for the Thessaloniki, Greece, native.
Indiana piled up 19 blocks in the win over Temple, the team’s fourth double-digit effort in five matches this year. Deyshia Lofton put up a team-high nine stuffs, while Lexi Johnson and Hayden Huybers added eight apiece.
As the sun set on Chicago Saturday night, the semifinals field was set for the AVP Gold Series Championships.
On the women’s side, No. 18 Terese Cannon and partner for the weekend Sarah Sponcil were the story of the day, advancing to the final four with five contender’s bracket wins. After falling to No. 2 seed Kelly Claes/Brittany Hochevar in the second round of the main draw, Cannon/Sponcil began their journey back to the semifinals with a Friday tiebreak win over No. 17 Lindsey Knudsen/Jessica Sykora (17-21, 21-18, 15-13).
From there, the pair took out four Top 10 seeds, two in tiebreak to pave their way to a semifinal appearance and a minimum payday of $10,500.
Can’t wait to battle another day with @teresecannon here at the Chicago AVP Gold Series Championships👊🏽 Catch us on Amazon prime tomorrow at 10:15am CST😎 pic.twitter.com/dvD3MovL6d
Also earning upsets in the contender’s bracket, but not making it all the way back were: No. 20 Falyn Fonoimoana/Priscilla Piantadosi-Lima who won twice, before falling to Dowdy/Pollock. No. 9 Karissa Cook/Katie Spieler topped No. 6 Nicole Branagh/Caitlin Ledoux but fell in the next round to No. 2 Claes/Hochevar.
Claes/Hochevar continued on from there with a 21-19, 21-15 win over No. 5 Kelley Larsen/Emily Stockman to claim their spot in the final four.
It took just one Saturday victory for top seeded Sara Hughes/Summer Ross and No. 3 Alix Klineman/April Ross to finish off play in the winner’s bracket as each won in straight sets. Hughes/Ross bested Larsen/Stockman 21-18, 21-18, while Klineman/Ross knocked Howard/Reeves off 21-16, 21-18.
Sunday’s semifinals pit Sponcil/Cannon against Hughes/Ross, while Klineman/Ross will contend with Claes/Hochevar.
On the men’s side, No. 3 seed Jeremy Casebeer/Reid Priddy and No. 4 Ed Ratledge/Roberto Rodriguez survived all tests in the winner’s bracket. Ratledge/Rodriguez closed out Day 2 with a straight set win over Tim Bomgren/Chaim Schalk (21-19, 21-17), while Casebeer/Priddy had to dig deep for a 20-22, 21-19, 18-16 win over No. 2 seed Taylor Crabb/Jake Gibb to stay perfect.
The pairs had to then wait for the contender’s bracket ripe with upsets to play out before finding out their Sunday foes.
The first surprise result of the day in the contender’s bracket was a 21-19, 25-23 win by No. 14 Mark Burik/Ian Satterfield over sixth-seeded Casey Patterson/Stafford Slick.
No. 12 Piotr Marciniak/Eric Zaun were next up with a 21-16, 21-13 win over No. 10 Avery Drost/John Mayer. The biggest upset of all came in the third round of matches as Marciniak/Zaun continued their ride with a 21-16, 13-21, 15-8 win over top seeded Phil Dalhausser/Nick Lucena, who were runnerup in 2017 and won the AVP Chicago title in 2016.
No. 11 Tri Bourne/Trevor Crabb continued a solid outing with a 21-12, 17-21, 15-10 win over No. 5 seed and defending Chicago champ Ryan Doherty and his partner Billy Allen.
In the end though, it was Crabb/Gibb and Bomgren/Schalk, who advanced out of the contender’s bracket to round out the final four. Crabb/Gibb won 21-18, 21-16 to end Marciniak/Zaun’s run, while Bomgren/Schalk bested Bourne/Crabb 21-19, 24-22.
The semifinals will pit No. 4 Ratledge/Rodriguez against No. 2 Crabb/Gibb, while No. 3 Casebeer/Priddy will take on No. 9 Bomgren/Schalk.
USA outside hitter Jessica Mruzik was tabbed as the Most Valuable Player at the NORCECA U18 Championships on Saturday after leading the Americans to the gold medal and a berth in the U18 World Cup.
Mruzik notched eight points (6 kills, 2 aces) in the team’s pool play opener vs. Nicaragua. After resting against Barbados, the Livonia, Michigan native and Michigan verbal commit posted a match-high 12 kills and a block against Honduras to secure the USA a spot in the semifinals.
In the semifinals, Mruzik scored a team-leading 14 points (12 kills, 1 block, 1 ace). She finished off the week with a 19-point haul in the title match vs. Canada (14 kills, 3 aces, 2 blocks).
Mruzik also was honored as the tournament’s top outside hitter. Allison Jacobs, Emily Londot, Kennedi Orr and Hattie Monson also were honored among the NORCECA U18 Dream Team.
Cuba’s Thainalien Castillo was honored as the tournament’s top scorer, posting 77 points, including 24 aces.
The United States won its eighth NORCECA continental title without losing a set in five matches, besting border foe Canada in three sets Saturday night in front of a packed crowd. Both teams already had earned spots in the U18 World Cup in Egypt by virtue of making the final.
USA def. Canada 3-0 (25-13, 25-12, 25-23)
It took just over an hour for the Americans to claim the crown behind an MVP effort by outside hitter Jessica Mruzik and 14 team blocks.
Mruzik downed a match-high 14 kills and added three aces and two blocks to pace the USA with 19 points. Middle blocker Devyn Robinson and opposite Emily Londot tacked on 13 points apiece. Londot starred offensive with 12 kills and an ace, while Robinson turned in eight kills and a team-best five blocks.
“A couple weeks ago, we were out in Colorado Springs – nobody really knew each other. We were only training together for two weeks,” Mruzik said. “This team has bonded better than any team I have ever been on. The team chemistry was out of this world – no team drama, we held each other accountable. We each did our job, and I think that is so important. Winning this tournament was a team effort as every single person contributed every single practice, every single game.”
Outside Katarina Pantovic was the top scorer for Team Canada with nine points, five kills and a match-leading four aces. Captain Hannah Duchesneau also added five putaways from the opposite position.
The United States dominated the net, outdoing the Canadians 14-3 on the block and 39-21 in kills. The Americans also boasted an 8-6 advantage in aces. Canada did benefit from 18 USA miscues, while committing just 14 of its own.
The Americans were strong at the end of each set, outscoring Canada 13-3 in the final stages of Set 1, 13-2 to close out Set 2 and 24-16 in Set 3 after falling behind 7-1 to open the stanza.
“We are happy,” USA head coach Jim Stone said. “The thing that I really like about this team is that they improved. They kept improving over the course of the training period. If that meant we qualified, that is great, but we wanted to keep improving and they did that.”
Despite the loss, Canadian coach Dale Melnick was also pleased with her team, which made the championship match for the first time in tournament history and bested its only other podium finish, a bronze in 1998.
“The United States is a tremendous team and its coach is very good, but I am very proud of the work that our young athletes did,” Melnick said. “We are going to get something very good from this team. We are very happy, throughout the tournament we could see the support of the Honduran public, also young athletes from here in Honduras have a good relationship with our players.”
USA U18 girls – NORCECA gold medalists
Cuba def. Dominican Republic 3-1 (19-25, 25-20, 28-26, 25-16)
After falling to Canada in five sets after leading 2-1, the Cubans faced an uphill battle against the Dominican Republic after dropping the first set, but came through to claim the bronze.
“We were very affected after losing the first set, because we thought we had lost everything, but we knew how to react,” setter Thalia Moreno said. “In the second set, when we started from the bottom to get up, we realized we could win it.
“We took a lot of experience from this tournament, especially not understate our opponents. We beat Canada in the group stage in three sets and we thought it would be the same team and it was not like that. We trusted each other. We had the public supporting us and that motivated us a lot, despite not playing in Cuba we felt at home .”
Outside Thainalien Castillo registered a match-high 21 points, leading Cuba in kills (16), aces (3) and blocks (2) to lead her team to victory. Opposite Dezirett Madan (12) and Moreno followed with 12 and 11 points respectively. Madan downed nine kills to go with two aces and a block, while Moreno added eight putaways, two stuffs and an ace. Dayana Martinez (8) and Yaimaris Garcia (7) rounded out the scoring.
Outside Flormarie Heredia was the all-around leader for the Dominicans with 17 points (12 kills, 3 blocks, 2 ace). Middle Geraldine Gonzalez (11), middle blocker Esthefany Rabit (10), opposite Yanelys Cabada (9) and outside Romina Cornelio (8) finished off a balanced attack. Rabit put up a team-high four blocks, while Gonzalez posted eight kills followed by Cabada’s seven and Cornelio’s six.
Cuba edged the Dominican Republic 44-38 in kills and 9-7 in aces and earned four more points on errors (34-30). The DR was better on the block, outdoing the Cubans 12-10.
Bluegrass Battle
Lexington, Kentucky
Aug. 31-Sept. 1, 2018
Kentucky completed an undefeated weekend at home and wrapped up the Bluegrass Battle title with a five-set thriller against Kansas on Saturday. Meanwhile, Dayton did not go home empty handed, earning a victory in its final match of the weekend, posting a four-set win over College of Charleston.
Standings
Kentucky 3-0
Kansas 2-1
Dayton 1-2
College of Charleston 0-3
All-Tournament Team
MVP – Leah Edmond (Kentucky)
Madison Lilley (Kentucky)
Brooke Morgan (Kentucky)
Jade Burse (Kansas)
Ashley Smith (Kansas)
Dayton def. College of Charleston 3-1 (25-21, 13-25, 27-25, 25-15)
Dayton moves to 4-2; College of Charleston falls to 2-4
Key Stats: Dayton bookended the match with stellar hitting efforts. The Flyers started with a .356 clip and ended with a .481 effort, committing just one error en route to the 25-15 Set 4 win.
All told, Dayton hit .300 for the match, while holding College of Charleston to a .202 effort. The Flyers also led the way in kills (57-50) and blocks (9-6), while the Cougars were better from the service line (9-5 in aces).
Stat Leaders:Lauren Bruns racked up a match-high 17 kills and four blocks, while Amelia Moore hit at a .714 clip for the Flyers, posting 10 kills in 14 errorless swings. Brooke Westbeld was all over the stat sheet for Dayton, notching 29 assists, eight digs, six kills, two aces and two blocks. Margo Wolf pulled up 13 digs.
Three Cougar players posted double-digit kill efforts: Madison Kennedy (14), Lauren Freed (11) and Mandy Napierala (10), while Devon Rachel added nine putaways. Devon just missed a double-double, adding a team-best 11 digs to her offensive efforts. Kennedy hit at a team-high .345 clip, while Napierala put up five blocks.
Call them the comeback kids if you like, but call them tournament champions, regardless. The Wildcats went down 2-0 in the match, but pulled off the championship with three straight wins. The victory was Kentucky’ second over the Jayhawks and first since 1998, giving the team a 2-1 lead in the all-time series.
“It was a tale of two teams throughout the match,” Wildcat head coach Craig Skinner said. “Obviously we didn’t start very well, and it was ugly volleyball for a couple of sets. Credit Kansas they played great the first two, then we played extremely well (sets) three, four and five. Give a lot of credit to a couple of seniors making differences with the serving: McKenzie Watson and Brooke Morgan.”
Key Stats: Kentucky was the better team offensively, outdoing Kansas 53-51 in kills and .255 to .143 in hitting percentage. The Wildcats also boasted a 12.5 to 9 lead in blocks. The Jayhawks were tops in aces (8-6) and digs (57-56).
Stat Leaders:Leah Edmond downed 18 kills, while Allie Stumler, Avery Skinner and Brooke Morgan turned in 12, 9 and 8 respectively to round out the offense. Morgan served up three aces and put up a team-high six blocks, while six players managed two or more stuffs. Stumler added five followed by Madison Lilley and Gabby Goddard with four apiece. Curry was tops in the backcourt with 18 digs.
Jada Burse and Ashley Smith were tops for the Jayhawks with 14 kills apiece, although three other players added six or more putaways. Mmachi Nwoke added six kills and a team-leading seven blocks. Setter Gabby Simpson was just off a triple double with 20 assists, eight digs and seven kills, while her running mate Camryn Ennis accounted for 24 assists and 10 digs. Lacey Angello pulled up 20 digs for the third time in five matches.
How It Happened: The Wildcats turned it around with the match tied at 11-all in Set 3, scoring 14 of the next 20 points for the win. After that, Kentucky was in control, starting Set 4 with an 8-1 run and never looking back as Kansas hit -.025 with nine miscues.
The decisive fifth set saw the Wildcats score the first three points and go up 6-2 with two Alli Stumler kills and aces by McKenzie Watson and Brooke Morgan. A 4-0 run, including three Kansas miscues, pushed the advantage to seven at 10-3. An Ashley Smith stopped UK momentarily, but Kentucky poured on three more points to take a 13-4 lead on a block by Stumler and Gabby Goddard. The Jayhawks made it a game with four straight points all on kills, two by Smith, to force a Wildcat timeout at 13-8. An Avery Skinner kill and the fifth KU error of the stanza finished off the comeback at 15-8. Kentucky posted a .583 hitting effort to wrap up the win.
It was an eventful night, to say the least. Relive it through tonight's cut. 🎥 pic.twitter.com/Ww9ShPuaCW
Creighton snapped its two-match losing skid with a pair of sweeps to open the SMU Double Tree Classic. NC State and the host Mustangs each went 1-1 on the day.
Creighton def. Arkansas State 3-0 (25-15, 25-13, 28-26)
Creighton moves to 2-2; Arkansas State falls to 2-2
The Bluejays followed a 17-kill effort by Jaali Winters and outdid the Red Wolves .269 to .091 in efficiency and 44-29 in putaways. Both teams posted nine blocks and an ace.
Winters led all hitters with 17 putaways and 12 digs, while Carlisa May was tops for Arkansas State with 14 kills. Setter Madelyn Cole joined Winters with a double-double for Creighton, notching 37 assists and 11 digs. Naomi Hickman led the Bluejay block with six stuffs, while Timber Terrell was the top stuffer for ASU.
Set 3 featured 22 ties and neither team led by more than two throughout. Creighton went up 14-12 midway through, but NC State countered with six of the next eight to go up 18-16. A kill by Winters and two Hickman blocks put the Bluejays up 21-20, but it was the Wolfpack that earned the first set point at 24-23, with two blocks and a kill by Terrell. Taryn Kloth stopped that try and another at 25-24, before Cole and Megan Ballenger teamed up for a block to give Creighton a match-point chance at 26-25. A May putdown thwarted that attempt, but, in the end, a service error and Winters putaway clinched the 28-26 win and the match.
NC State def. SMU 3-1 (25-18, 21-25, 25-23, 25-20)
Six aces and an 11 point lead in kills (57-46) were key as NC State edged past SMU. The Wolfpack also led .225 to .154 in hitting efficiency, but the Mustangs boasted a 13-9 lead in blocks.
Three NC State players posted double-digit kill efforts: Teni Sopitan (15), Jade Parchment (12) and Melissa Evans (10). Evans rounded out a double-double with 16 digs and four blocks, while Makenzie Kuchmaner racked up 23 saves. Keira Moore was tops at the net with six blocks.
Brittany Adams put down 13 kills and added nine digs to lead SMU. Rachel Woulfe added eight putaways and five blocks. Lexi Nordmann followed with seven kills on a .429 hitting effort and nine stuffs. Montana Watts pulled up 20 digs to pace the backcourt.
SMU led 11-8 in Set 4 after back to back stuffs by Nordmann and Woulfe. NC State tied it up at 11 but could not break through. Later, trailing 16-14, the Wolfpack found five straight points, including two Sopitan kills to vault ahead 19-16. SMU called timeout and pulled within one at 21-20, but could not complete the comeback. NC State rounded out the match on a 4-0 run, capped by back to back blocks by Moore.
NC State outdid Creighton 46-41 in kills, but trailed the Bluejays on the rest of the stat sheet. Creighton hit at a .337 clip, including a .438 effort in Set 1, while the Wolfpack hit .237. The Bluejays also had the upper hand in aces (4-1) and blocks (8-4).
It was a milestone day for Taryn Kloth, who paced Creighton with 14 kills en route to her 1,000th career putaway. Jaali Winters (9), Jaela Zimmerman (8) and Megan Ballenger (7) followed offensively. Winters just missed a double-double, adding 11 digs, while Naomi Hickman put up a team-best seven blocks.
Jade Parchment notched 13 kills and Teni Sopitan added 10 to lead NC State. Melissa Evans (9) and Keira Moore (8) rounded out the offense.
The teams tied six times, last at 11, before Creighton pulled away in Set 3. Kloth turned in back to back kills to put the Bluejays up 16-13. Up just one at 18-17, Creighton scored four in a row on two blocks and a kill by Zimmerman to make it 22-17. Kloth tacked on two more putaways to put the Bluejays on the hill at 24-19. NC State dug deep for three straight points to cut the margin to 24-22, but a hitting error ended the rally and the match at 25-22.
SMU rounded out its opening day at home with its first win of the season, sweeping the Red Wolves. Arkansas State led the way in kills (44-39), aces (4-3) and blocks (9-8) but committed 28 miscues in the loss. The Mustangs outhit ASU .219 to .125.
A balanced offensive effort led SMU to victory, paced by Brittany Adams, who notched an 11-kill, 13-dig double-double. Kelly Brunstein (9), Meryn Kennedy (6) and Rachel Woulfe (5) followed. Kennedy posted a team-best four blocks, while Bria Merchant served up all three of the team’s aces. Montana Watts buoyed the backcourt with 17 digs.
Carlisa May downed a match-high 18 kills and added eight digs, but her nearest help came from Macey Putt’s eight putaways. Timber Terrell put up five blocks to lead the team at the net, while Tatum Ticknor pulled up a team-high 14 digs.
SMU vaulted ahead 6-2 in Set 3 with help from four ASU miscues. The Red Wolves rallied, however, with seven of the next 10 to narrow the gap to one at 10-9. The Mustangs put the match away with an 11-4 run from there to make it 21-13. Five players posted kills and ASU gave away three points on errors in the rally. May stopped SMU briefly, but the Mustangs claimed their first win with a 4-0 final push, capped by a Woulfe kill.
Senior outside hitter Brenna McIlroy became the 15th player in Auburn volleyball history to reach the 1,000 kill milestone and first since Katherine Culwell (2009-2013).
McIlroy needed just 24 kills to join the elite group coming into 2018. She posted 19 on opening weekend vs. High Point and Michigan, leaving her just a handful away from the milestone.
With 11 in the team’s Friday win over Butler, the Garland, Texas, native has now posted 1,006 putaways in her Tiger career, averaging 2.92 per set. In 2018, she has managed 30 kills in the team’s three matches: seven against High Points, 12 vs. Michigan and 11 at Butler.
S2: Kill No. 5⃣ for McIlroy and its a BIG one for the senior!
McIlroy has been steady throughout her career, posting 333 kills (2.75 per set) as a rookie in 2015, 351 as a sophomore (3.13 per set) and 292 last season (2.86 per set).
In addition to her 1,006 kill haul, McIlroy has turned in 846 digs (2.46 per set), 101 blocks and 93 aces. It is certainly within reach for her to join the even more elite 1,000-1,000 club, having posted 20 saves so far in three matches.
If she were to reach 1,000 digs, McIlroy would become the seventh Auburn player to do and first since Culwell (1013 kills, 1005 digs).
Auburn is 2-1 on the season with matches against Illinois State and Eastern Illinois on the slate for Saturday to close out the Butler Invitational.
Costa Rica and Honduras will meet on Saturday with fifth place on the line after both teams won their classification matches via sweep on Friday afternoon.
Costa Rica def. Nicaragua 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-12)
Eleven aces, nine by Alfaro, and nearly double the offensive output gave Costa Rica the edge over Nicaragua.
The Costa Ricans outdid their foes 30-16 in kills and 11-5 in aces, while also benefitting from 29 miscues (to 21 of their own). Nicaragua boasted a slight 6-5 edge in blocks.
Mary Alfaro scored a team-best 13 points, combining four kills with her ace tally. Nicole Mata notched 10 points, all on kills, while Ana Rojas and Lakysha Thompson added eight apiece. Rojas was all over the stat sheet with six putaways, a block and an ace, while Thomas put up three blocks, an ace and four kills.
Maria Belen Arcia led the way for Nicaragua with nine points, posting team highs in kills (5), blocks (2) and aces (2). Claudia Brenes Masiel was next on the team with five points (3 kills, 1 block, 1 ace).
“We have been striving for several months to get here, to this goal,” Alfaro said. “We were in a very strong group and until now we were able to do our type of game and we took advantage of it. I feel that we were very sure of ourselves, we had a lot of confidence, we united a lot.
“It was a great experience to play against teams like Cuba, Dominican Republic or Canada, because it teaches us, despite not winning the games, they taught us for a future, not only things on the court, but also outside, that we take that to our country and be able to share with the other players. We are going for the fifth place against Honduras or Barbados, both are great rivals, but we will go with the same mentality, the same confidence.”
Honduras def. Barbados 3-0 (25-14, 25-16, 25-16)
Thirty-one errors and 18 Honduran aces spelled doom for Barbados.
Barbados won the blocking battle 7-3, but the rest of the stat sheet belonged to Honduras. The victors outdid Barbados 23-20 in kills, 18-4 in aces and 31-15 in points off errors.
Rocio Duron (14), Andrea Aceituno (12) and Isabella Rosa (10) guided the Honduran effort. Duron was tops offensively with 13 putaways, while Aceituno led the way from the end line with eight aces to go with three kills and a block. Rosa put up six blocks and tacked on four putdowns.
Tenneille Chapman-Goodluck was the lone Barbadan player to reach double-digits in points with 12 (9 kills, 2 blocks, 1 ace). Dashonta Addison was next on the team with four points (2 aces, 1 kill, 1 block).
“I told my teammates, I told them we do not have to enter the court with fear, although the other team is superior, that we are in our country, we are in our court, with our public,” Honduran captain Nathaly Perez said. “We have been training for more than a year; we have to play with confidence because of what we have worked in.”
With the top two teams earning spots in the U18 World Championships in Egypt, Friday’s semifinals had an added level of pressure. In the end, the United States and Canada rose to the occasion and punched their tickets. The Americans cruised to a sweep, while Canada had to rally for a five-set win to move on.
Canada def. Cuba 3-2 (18-25, 25-19, 20-25, 25-23, 16-14)
The Canadians trailed by as many as four en route to a 25-23 Set 4 rally and denied Cuba four match point tries to grab the 16-14 Set 5 victory and the win. With the victory, Canada secures at least a silver medal, surpassing their best finish, a bronze medal from 20 years ago.
“What happened to us tonight was that we believed, we always believed,” Canadian captain Hannah Duchesneau said. “Our team trusted that we could get the win … we believed… In the fourth set we were down four points and we believed, we wanted this victory. I was on the bench in the last set, but you also have to be prepared to be on the bench and enter the game, you must come with a very strong work, have concentration, but we were all supporting, both those who were outside, and the public.”
Canada scored 43 points off Cuban miscues, while giving away 28 points of their own in a match decided by just two points (106-104 Cuba). The Canadian also outblocked Cuba 14-8. Cuba boasted the advantage in kills (56-37) and aces (14-10).
Katarina Pantovic and Anna Smrek led a group of four Canadians with double-digit point tallies, notching 13 apiece. Raekelle Powell and Emma Mckinnon were right behind with 12 each. Pantovic put down a team-high 10 kills and added two aces, while Mckinnon and Powell followed with nine and eight putaways respectively. Powell served up three aces, while Smrek put up a team-high seven blocks and chipped in five putaways. McKinnon was second in blocks with three.
Thainalien Castillo was tops in scoring in the match with 22 points (15 kills, 6 aces , 1 block). Thalia Moreno added 16 points, including a team-high 15 kills), while Dezirett Madan (14), Dayana Martinez (13) and Yaimaris Garcia (10) also scored in double digits. Madan notched 11 kills and three stuffs, while Martinez posted seven putaways and three aces. Garcia downed seven kills and tacked on two aces and a block.
Canada celebration – U18 girls vs. Cuba
United States def. Dominican Republic 3-0 (25-12, 25-17, 25-17)
The Americans sewed up a ticket to the U18 World Championships with a sweep, while also earning their 10th finals appearance and staying in the running for their seventh title since 1998.
“It was not an easy match,” USA coach James Stone said. “The Dominican Republic is a very good one, but also the girls held the block well. We served well and got the ball as we wanted, but it was not an easy game. I have a good team and I am proud of them. The plan was to qualify for the World Cup. It will not be easy tomorrow against Canada, but we will play to win, that is what we have to do, we will look for how to finish the tournament well.”
The Americans dominated the match offensive, posting 38 kills to just 16 for the Dominicans. The USA also boasted a 12-5 lead in blocks and outserved its foes 4-0.
Jessica Mruzik and Emily Landot led the way for the USA with 14 and 13 points respectively. Mruzik downed a match-best 12 kills to go with an ace and a block. Landot turned in nine kills, three blocks and an ace. Allison Jacobs and Caroline Crawford notched eight points apiece, while Devyn Robinson added seven. Jacobs posted seven kills, while Robinson and Crawford put up three blocks apiece.
Flormarie Heredia notched six points to top the scoring for the DR, managing five kills and a block. Yanelys Cabada and Romina Cornelio added four putaways apiece, while Esthefany Rabit put up three of the team’s five blocks.
“I can not say how I feel, it’s something from another world,” USA captain Allison Jacobs said. “We were not intimidated by the Dominican Republic, we knew it was a good team, but we were more focused on what we would do as a team, play our game, without thinking about the opposite. The pass was very good, the reception also, that has improved a lot since the start of the tournament. Although we had not trained much time together, now we see ourselves as a team that has been known for a long time and that is important.”
No. 9 Tim Bomgren/Chaim Schalk pulled off the upset of the day, sending top seeded Phil Dalhausser/Nick Lucena to the contender’s bracket with a tiebreak win in Round 3 on Friday to remain in the winner’s bracket final four.
Also pulling off upset on the day were No. 12 Piotr Marciniak/Eric Zaun, who bested No. 5 Billy Allen/Ryan Doherty in the second round (21-18, 16-21, 15-12). The pair ran into a buzzsaw in No. 4 Ed Ratledge/Roberto Rodriguez in Round 3, however.
Qualifiers Bruno Amorim/Skylar del Sol won their first main draw match against No. 15 Troy Field/Chase Frishman (26-24, 21-19), earning a matchup with No. 2 Taylor Crabb/Jake Gibb (21-13, 21-18).
Qualifiers Kyle Friend/Myles Muagututia also won their opening match on Friday, topping Maddison McKibbin/Riley McKibbin (21-18, 21-18), but ran into Dalhausser/Lucena in Round 2 (21-18, 21-14).
Rounding out the top four teams in the winner’s bracket were No. 3 Jeremy Casebeer/Reid Priddy, who posted wins over No. 14 Mark Burik/Ian Satterfield (21-15, 18-21, 15-8) and No. 11 Tri Bourne/Trevor Crabb (21-16, 21-19).
Only Steven Roschitz/Silla Tucker remain of the qualifiers after the pair won via forfeit against Duncan Budinger/John Hyden in the first contender’s bracket match.
On the women’s side, qualifiers Cassie House/Molly Turner, Mackenzie Ponnet/Brittany Tiegs and Terese Cannon/Sarah Sponcil each won their opening main draw matches. House Turner did so in tiebreak, rallying past No. 12 Lane Carico/Bree Scarbrough (19-21, 21-15, 17-15). Ponnet/Tiegs topped No. 11 Janelle Allen/Kerri Schuh (21-18, 21-16), while new pair for the weekend Cannon/Sponcil won 21-16, 21-12 over No. 15 Lara Dykstra/Sheila Shaw.
The win streaks ended for all three teams in Round 2 of the main draw. Cannon/Sponcil gave it their best shot, before being edged by No. 2 Kelly Claes/Brittany Hochevar (21-18, 14-21, 15-10).
Claes/Hochevar turned around and lost their next match as No. 10 Brittany Howard/Kelly Reeves won their third match of the day, issuing a 21-17, 21-17 loss to the No. 2 seed.
Pulling off a slight upset in Round 3 to make the winner’s final four were No. 5 Kelly Larsen/Emily Stockman, who crept past No. 4 Emily Day/Betsi Flint 21-16, 13-21, 15-13.
Top seeded Summer Ross/Sara Hughes had to rally for their opening victory of the tournament, edging out No. 16 Aurora Davis/Jace Pardon 19-21, 21-13, 15-9, but were back on solid ground with a straight set victory over No. 8 Amanda Dowdy/Irene Pollock.
No. 3 Alix Klineman/April Ross also had to make it through a tiebreak match to stay alive in the contender’s bracket, getting past No. 14 Corinne Quiggle/Kim Smith 21-14, 19-21, 15-12 before besting No. 6 Nicole Branagh/Caitlin Ledoux (21-14, 21-13).
In the contender’s bracket, four qualifiers picked up opening round victories. In addition to Cannon/Sponcil, who won 17-21, 21-81, 15-13 over fellow qualifiers Delaney Knudsen/Jessica Sykora. Ponnet/Tiegs also advanced in tiebreak over Carico/Scarbrough. House/Turner bounced back with a 21-19, 21-13 win over Allen/Schuh. Falyn Fonoimoana/Priscilla Piantadosi-Lima dropped their opening main draw match, but remain in the game after a 21-13, 21-19 win over Quiggle/Smith.
