NIVC Day 1 Features Seven Five-Setters

NIVC

Thursday Results

Friday Schedule

• Wichita State at North Texas – 6:30 p.m. ET
• Valparaiso at Miami-Ohio – 7 p.m. ET
• College of Charleston at Georgia Tech – 7 p.m. ET
• Radford at Clemson – 7 p.m. ET
• Bradley at Iowa State – 7:30 p.m. ET
• Cal Baptist at Tulane – 8 p.m. ET
• Portland vs. Utah Valley (at Wyoming) – 8:30 p.m. ET
• Fresno State at UNLV – 10 p.m. ET

Courtesy: NIVC

RADFORD 3, APPALACHIAN STATE 1 (23-25, 25-17, 25-20, 25-19)

Oxford, OH – Radford stumbled early but came back strong to post a win in Round 1 of the NIVC, moving past Appalachian State.

Becky Porter had 14 assists in the first set as the Mountaineers held on after nearly blowing a nine-point lead (21-12). Radford rode the momentum from that rally and used a 7-0 run in the second set to build a lead, and Haley Kleespies finished the game off for the Highlanders with two aces.

Radford moved ahead 2-1 after the third set; at that point Mallory McNight and Amaya Rousseau had combined for 19 kills and no errors.

In the fourth set, the Highlanders built a small lead, 20-18, then sprinted to the finish with a match-capping kill by McNight. She closed with 16 kills and just one error. Stephanie Neast had 12 kills, and Kleespies finished with 46 assists.

Kara Spicer had 16 kills for the Mountaineers; Emma Longley added 13 kills and Porter closed with 44 assists.

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 3, ST. JOHN’S 1 (19-25, 25-20, 26-24, 25-18)

Atlanta, GA – Lauren Freed filled the boxscore with 18 kills and 16 digs, and Devon Rachel had 18 kills as College of Charleston topped St. John’s in Round 1 on the NIVC.

Rachele Rastelli had five kills with no errors in the first set for St. John’s, but the Cougars rallied in the next set as Mandy Napierala had two late kills to help even the match. College of Charleston pulled off a tight win in the third set, as a kill from Lauren Freed and an error by the Red Storm was the final difference.

Set four was close at one point, with CofC up 19-16, but the Cougars pulled away in the final stretch. Kennedy Madison had 15 kills, and Allison Beckman had 55 assists.

For St. John’s, Rastelli had 17 kills, and Efrosini Alexakou added 16 kills and 13 digs.

VALPARAISO 3, BALL STATE 1 (25-9, 13-25, 25-23, 25-18)

Oxford, OH – Allison Ketcham and Katherine Carlson each had 10 kills and 14 digs for Valparaiso, which committed just 14 hitting errors on the way to a first-round victory on the NIVC over Ball State.

The match featured two one-sided sets to start; Valparaiso won the first close set of the match, taking the third set on a kill from Ally Cummings.

The Crusaders (26-10) had 36 assists from Brittany Anderson. Ball State (22-10) got 12 kills from Sydnee Vanbeek and 11 kills from Ellie Dunn. Amber Seaman had 36 assists.

PORTLAND 3, NORTHERN COLORADO 0 (25-19, 25-15, 25-18)

Laramie, WY – Portland hit a stellar .323 and had only 10 hitting errors, rolling past Northern Colorado as Katie Barker had 13 kills in the first round of the NIVC.

The Pilots (19-12) also got 10 kills from Reghan Pukis, and Cali Thompson came through with 34 assists.

Northern Colorado (15-14) was paced by Kortney Lockey’s nine kills and 23 assists from Daisy Schultz.

BRADLEY 3, BOWLING GREEN 2 (26-24, 21-25, 23-25, 25-21, 15-13)

Ames, IA – After dropping the third and fourth sets to Bowling Green, Bradley battled back, winning two straight to take down the Falcons, 3-2, advancing to Round 2 of the 2018 NIVC. The Braves (24-8) will await the winner of Iowa State and Drake.

Bowling Green (19-12) were led by Isabel Kovacic, who finished with a team-high 14 kills. Madeline Brandewie also finished in double figures with 10 kills. Defensively, BGSU received strong efforts from Kallie Seimet and Paulina Iacobelli, totaling 33 and 20 digs, respectively.

Erica Haslag outpaced everyone with 29 kills, while Hannah Thompson recorded the game’s only double-double (13 kills and 22 digs) for the Braves. No one could beat Yavianliz Rosado on Thursday night. The defensive specialist tallied 41 digs.

Bradley recorded 30 errors on the evening but used nine aces to overcome the mistakes.

WICHITA STATE 3, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 2 (20-25, 25-18, 25-13, 23-25, 15-11)

Denton, TX – Tabitha Brown and Megan Taflinger each had 22 kills for Wichita State, which hit .300 overall to go with eight blocks in a nail-biter versus Central Arkansas.

Kora Kauling had 50 assists for the Shockers (14-17); Giorgia Civita added 19 digs. For the Sugar Bears (26-7), Samantha Anderson had 18 kills, and Haley Tippett added 12 kills.

CLEMSON 3, ALABAMA A&M 0 (25-9, 25-19, 25-15)
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Clemson, SC – Clemson asserted itself from the opening whistle, rumbling past Alabama A&M and into the second round of the NIVC.

The Tigers (18-14) will face Radford in the next round, with game time set for 7 p.m. ET Friday, Nov. 30. Clemson (which hit .391 for the night) got 11 kills from Brooke Bailey, 41 assists from Gabby Easton and 17 digs from Emily Curtis.

Alabama A&M (22-16) was paced by Alana Cox, who had 10 kills.

CALIFORNIA BAPTIST 3, LITTLE ROCK 2 (17-25, 25-12, 25-17, 20-25, 15-11)

New Orleans, LA – In its first year as a D-I program, California Baptist earned a postseason victory, getting 18 kills from Summer Avery to move by Little Rock in the NIVC.

Sydney Marks and Tesa Oaks both had 14 kills for California Baptist (20-10); Natalie Zimmerer closed with 51 assists and 15 digs, and Nicole Abreu chipped in with 29 digs.
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Little Rock (19-13) got 13 kills from Maritza Mesa and 12 kills from Veronica Marin. Pamela Zuluaga had 25 digs.

MIAMI-OHIO 3, NORTHERN KENTUCKY 0 (25-14, 25-18, 25-22)

Oxford, OH – Margaret Payne and Sophie Riemersma each had 12 kills for Miami-Ohio, which swept past Northern Kentucky in the NIVC.

The Redhawks (23-8) will face Valparaiso in Round 2 on Friday, Nov. 30, with start time set for 7 p.m. ET. Miami-Ohio got 21 assists from Morgan Seaman, while three players had double-figure results in digs, and held the opposition to an .083 hitting percentage.
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For the Norse (21-10), Natalie Hardig and Laura Crawford each had eight kills. Ashton Terrill added 22 digs.

GEORGIA TECH 3, SOUTH FLORIDA 2 (19-25, 14-25, 25-21, 25-17, 15-9)

Atlanta, GA – Georgia Tech came from a 2-0 hole to surprise South Florida and slip into Round 2 of the NIVC.

The Yellow Jackets (18-14) will play College of Charleston on Friday, Nov. 30, with start time set for 7 p.m. ET.

Mariana Brambilla had 22 kills and 16 digs for Georgia Tech; Mikaila Dowd added 19 kills. For USF, Jac’cara Walker closed with 19 kills and 19 digs, and Lindsey Pliapol came through with 13 kills. Clara Payne added 11 kills, and Lauren Labeck had 45 assists.

IOWA STATE 3, DRAKE 0 (25-16, 27-25, 25-22)

Ames, IA – Iowa State hit .327 and got 18 kills and 14 digs from Jess Schaben to sweep by Drake and into Round 2 of the NIVC.

The Cyclones (17-13) will face Bradley on Friday, Nov. 30, with start time set for 7:30 p.m. ET.

Grace Lazard added 10 kills for ISU; Piper Mauch came through with 45 assists. For the Bulldogs (21-15), Grace Schofield had 12 kills; Caitlyn Smith added 28 assists.

NORTH TEXAS 3, TULSA 1 (13-25, 25-17, 25-23, 25-21)

Denton, TX – North Texas had problems getting started, but then broke off three straight sets to move past Tulsa in Round 1 of the NIVC.

The Mean Green (18-16) will take on Wichita State in Round 2 on Friday, Nov. 30 at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Valerie Valerian had 18 kills and 13 digs for North Texas. Rhett Robinson added 12 kills, while Karley York finished with 48 assists. Barbara Teakell had nine kills and 17 digs.
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For Tulsa (19-12), Rachel Moore and Callie Cook each had 12 kills. Mariah Pardo had 42 assists, and Taylor Horsfall added 21 digs while the team rang up 11 blocks.

FRESNO STATE 3, UC SANTA BARBARA 2 (25-23, 22-25, 25-16, 26-28, 15-11)

Las Vegas, NV – Fresno State survived a back-and-forth challenge against UC Santa Barbara, getting 15 kills from Aubrey Folk to move into Round 2 of the NIVC.

The Bulldogs (21-10) also got 13 kills from Haile Watson and 10 more from Taylor Slover. Madelyn Halteman had 44 assists, while Reagan Leonard chipped in with 16 digs.
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For the Gauchos (17-12), Gigi Ruddins had 18 kills, and Lindsey Ruddin added 12 kills. Olivia Lovenberg had 58 assists, and Emilia Petrachi added 18 digs.

TULANE 3, ARKANSAS STATE 2 (23-25, 27-25, 22-25, 25-8, 15-13)

New Orleans, LA – Tulane fended off an upset charge from Arkansas State, winning the fourth set handily and holding on late in the fifth to advance out of the first round of the NIVC.

The Green Wave (26-8) will play California Baptist on Friday, Nov. 30, with a start time of 8 p.m. ET.

Tulane was paced by the 15 kills of Erica Hansel, and Dayna Kern added 12 kills. Makala Heidelberg added 23 digs. Yvette Burcescu was clutch at the end, with two kills and a block to preserve the victory.

The Red Wolves (19-14) were paced by the 21 kills of Carlisa May, while Macey Putt added 14 kills. Ellie Watkins had 39 assists, and Kenzie Fields had 17 digs.

UTAH VALLEY 3, WYOMING 2 (11-25, 28-26, 23-25, 25-22, 21-19)

Laramie, WY – Utah Valley got off to a rough start but prevailed in the two sets that went past regulation, including a wild fifth set that ended on a kill from Kazna Tarawhiti and an error by the Cowgirls.

The Wolverines (20-13) will play Portland in Round 2 of the NIVC on Friday, Nov. 30 with a start time of 8:30 p.m. ET.

Utah Valley got 22 kills from Tarawhiti; Kristen Allred added 13 kills and Jasmin Niutupuivaha had 10 kills. BriAnne Mortensen had 33 assists, and Seren Merrill had 25 digs.

Halie McArdle had 19 kills for Wyoming (20-11); Emily Lewis added 14 kills and Reed Copeland had 10 kills. Cora Aafedt had 39 assists and Madi Fields had 24 digs.

UNLV 3, UC IRVINE 0 (25-19, 25-23, 25-19)

Las Vegas, NV – UNLV protected its home court in the NIVC, sweeping past UC Irvine and into Round 2 of the tournament.

UNLV will play Fresno State on Friday, Nov. 30 at 10 p.m. ET. The Rebels (20-11) got a boost from sophomore Mariena Hayden, who closed with 14 kills. The team hit .280 overall.

UC Irvine (16-13) was paced by Abby Marjama, who had 12 kills. Leading the way in assists was Ali Koumelis with 26.