CANTON, NY -- Day two of the 2013 USCAA Volleyball National Championship kicked off on Friday with the final day of pool play. Eight teams would advance, four from each pool, to compete in the quarterfinals and the right to be crowned USCAA National Champion.
Day two saw Penn State Fayette and Johnson & Wales (NC) eliminated, while defending champion Daemen College and Florida College each grabbed number one seeds. Host SUNY Canton picked up the fourth and final seed out of Pool B, while Carlow defeated Cincinnati-Clermont to give those teams the third and fourth seeds, respectively, out of Pool A. Top seed Marygrove dropped their match-up to Daemen, earning the number two seed from Pool A, while Lindenwood-Belleville was the three seed in Pool B. Rochester College rounds out the field of eight as the two seed in Pool B.
Game recaps for each game are below.
Pool A -- 10:00 a.m., Dana Hall
Daemen College def. University of Cincinnati-Clermont, 2-0 (25-12, 25-19)
Daemen improved to 3-0 in Pool A with a straight set win over Cincinnati-Clermont in the opening match of the day in Dana Hall. The Wildcats will advance to the elimination rounds as either the number one or number two seed in Pool A, which will be determined by their showdown with Marygrove on Friday afternoon.
Daemen was led by Ye Wang with nine kills and an outstanding .533 hitting percentage. Kaley Vazquez and Chelsea Turcer combined for 26 assists while Paige Tilert added a match-high 11 digs. The Wildcats have lost only one set in three matches.
Cincinnati-Clermont, who falls to 1-2 in Pool A, was led by Becca Walton with 10 assists and 10 digs, while Amber Peters notched eight kills. The loss sets up a showdown with Carlow University to decide the three seed coming out of Pool A.
Pool B -- 10:00 a.m., CARC
Rochester College def. SUNY Canton, 2-0 (25-19, 25-20)
Rochester College put themselves in position to grab the number two seed out of Pool B with a 2-0 win over SUNY Canton in Friday morning pool play. The Warriors seed will be determined after the Florida College-Lindenwood-Belleville match.
Rochester was led by Sara Hayes with 17 assists, while Kayla Loepp added a match-high 12 digs. The Warriors had a balanced offensive attack, as five players finished with at least three kills. Paige TenBrink led the charge with five kills and Brittany Alexander added four.
SUNY Canton received another strong performance from setter Mackenzie Mynter who finished with 13 assists and four digs. Jessica Reynolds led the offense with five kills, and Emily Thomas was the defensive leader with five digs, while also recording two service aces.
The loss secures Canton's place as the four seed coming out of Pool B, where they will face the number one seed from Pool A at 5:30 p.m. in the CARC.
Pool A -- 11:30 a.m., Dana Hall
Marygrove College def. Penn State Fayette, 2-0 (25-14, 25-22)
Marygrove did their part in setting up an undefeated showdown with Daemen College to determine the number one seed from Pool A. The Mustangs defeated Penn State Fayette in straight sets to improve to 3-0, while the Roaring Lions finish pool play winless for the first time in six tournament appearances.
Kat Hall led the Marygrove offense with seven kills and 12 digs, while Nicole Kempenski dished out 18 assists and picked up 12 digs. Sarah Suppelsa, Amelia Velez and Kiara Cobbs each added five kills for the balanced Mustangs attack.
Fayette was led by Emily Konter, who picked up 17 assists and six digs. Samantha Helmantoler recorded seven kills while Janelle Cooper added 11 digs for the Roaring Lions, who were eliminated from Pool A.
Pool B -- 11:30 a.m., CARC
Florida College def. Lindenwood University-Belleville, 2-0 (25-14, 25-16)
Florida College picked up their third straight 2-0 victory in Pool B, securing their spot as the number one seed from the pool heading into the elimination rounds. The Florida win also secured the seeds for the rest of Pool B, as Rochester will be the two-seed, Lindenwood-Belleville will be the three and SUNY Canton will advance as the fourth seed.
The Falcons were led by Malea Kalina with nine kills, and teammates Devyn Jackson and Camille Crim added five kills apiece. Setter Laura Smith had a match-high 17 assists, while Olivia Luallen recorded six digs for Florida.
Lindenwood-Belleville was paced by Chelsi Hummert with 15 assists and nine digs, while Taylor Boyer picked out a match-high 11 digs. Taylor Albrecht finished with five kills for the Lynx, who will play at 4:00 p.m. in Dana Hall against the two-seed from Pool A.
Florida College is set to play at 4:00 p.m. in CARC against the four-seed from Pool A.
Pool A -- 1:00 p.m., Dana Hall
Carlow University def. University of Cincinnati-Clermont, 2-1 (23-25, 25-16, 15-8)
In a match to decide the three-seed in Pool A, Carlow took down Cincinnati-Clermont in a third and deciding set to claim their spot in the bracket. Cincinnati-Clermont, who was guaranteed a spot in the elimination round, fell to 1-3 in Pool A and will face the number one seed Florida College from Pool B to open the quarterfinals.
Carlow narrowly dropped the first set, but was able to mount a comeback and take the final two sets to finish 2-2 in pool play. Carly Bonk led the attack with eight kills, while teammate Ashley Grooms dished out 12 assists. The Celtics, who hit .041 in the first set, got on track to hit .366 and .333 in the second and third sets, respectively.
Cincinnati-Clermont was led by Heather Rowland who recorded seven kills and seven digs for the Cougars. Becca Walton added 12 assists, and Amber Lawrence added another strong performance with five kills.
Carlow will face Pool B's two-seed, Rochester College, at 5:30 p.m. in Dana Hall.
Pool B -- 1:00 p.m., CARC
Rochester College def. Johnson & Wales (NC) University, 2-0 (25-14, 25-14)
Rochester College improved to 3-1 in Pool B with a win over Johnson & Wales in both teams final matches of pool play. The Wildcats leave the 2013 USCAA Volleyball Championships winless in Pool B as they fail to advance into the elimination round.
Sara Hayes once again distributed the ball to numerous teammates, notching 22 assists. Six of her teammates recorded at least three kills, including a match-high eight from Breanna Pelloni. Brittany Alexander added five kills for Rochester, while Kayla Loepp recorded 10 digs.
Johnson & Wales was paced by Moriah Hughes who finished with four kills and five digs. Teammate Madelyn Leonard was the only other Wildcats player to finish with more than two kills, tallying four as well while hitting a team-best .364.
Rochester will face Pool A's three-seed, Carlow University, at 5:30 p.m. in Dana Hall.
Pool A -- 2:30 p.m., Dana Hall
Daemen College def. Marygrove College, 2-0 (25-18, 25-18)
Daemen College came out victorious in a match-up of unbeatens with Marygrove, winning in straight sets to grab the number one seed out of Pool A.
The Wildcats were once again led by Ye Wang, who finished with 11 kills while hitting .500. Teammate Lindsey Nowak added seven kills for Daemen, while Paige Tilert picked up 12 digs and Chelsea Turcer dished out 12 assists.
Marygrove got another strong performance from Nicole Kempinski, who finished with 11 assists. While Marygrove had a balanced offensive attack--six players recorded a kill--it was not enough as the Mustangs took their only defeat in pool play.
Marygrove will face Lindenwood-Belleville at 4:00 p.m. in Dana Hall, while Daemen advances to meet host SUNY Canton at 5:30 p.m. in the CARC.
Pool B -- 2:30 p.m., CARC
Florida College def. SUNY Canton, 2-0 (25-19, 25-20)
Florida College picked up their fourth win of pool play over SUNY Canton to finish 4-0 and earn the number one seed in Pool B. The Falcons took down the hosts in straight sets, using a comeback in set two to put away the 'Roos.
Savannah Gorman led Florida with seven kills, while Camille Crim added six for the eight-time National Champions. Laura Smith recorded 18 assists, while Malea Kalin added five kills and three digs for the Falcons.
SUNY Canton, who was already set to be the four-seed coming out of Pool B, once again received a strong performance from Mackenzie Mynter, who finished with 14 assists and three digs, both team-highs. Kelsy Cornish led the 'Roos with five of the team's 17 kills. Three other players tallied at least three kills, including four from Morgan Bills.
SUNY Canton will face Daemen College at 5:30 p.m. in the CARC, while Florida moves on to face Cincinnati-Clermont in the quarterfinals at 4:00 p.m. in the CARC.
