SMU Doubletree Classic
- Dallas, Texas
- Aug. 31-Sept. 1, 2018
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
- Box Score
- Creighton Recap / Arkansas State Recap
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)
- NC State moves to 2-1; SMU moves to 0-3
- Box Score
- NC State Recap / SMU Recap
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.
Creighton def. NC State 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-22)
- Creighton moves to 3-2; NC State falls to 2-2
- Box Score
- Creighton Recap / NC State Recap
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 def. Arkansas State 3-0
- SMU moves to 1-3; Arkansas State falls to 2-3
- Box Score
- SMU Recap / Arkansas State Recap
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.
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