CANTON, NY - The 2013 USCAA Volleyball National Championship is underway at SUNY Canton in Canton, NY. Day one of pool play started at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday as ten teams began their quest for a USCAA National Championship.
Defending champion Daemen College kicked off the championships with the opening match in the Convention, Athletics and Recreation Center while host SUNY Canton opened the day in Dana Hall. Pool play matches are a best of three format.
Top seeds Marygrove College and Florida College escaped day one unscathed in their respective pools, both finishing 2-0 heading into day two of the round robin format. Ten-seed Lindenwood-Belleville pulled off two upsets to finish the day 2-1 in Pool B to secure their spot in the knockout rounds.
Daemen finished the day in Pool A at 2-0 as well, setting up a showdown with Marygrove on Friday for what is likely to decide the number one seed in Pool A. Also in Pool A, Cincinnati-Clermont moves into day two at 1-1, while Carlow picked up their first win in three matches on the day over Penn State Fayette in what was the last game to finish. The Celtics sit at 1-2, while Fayette ended the day 0-3 after falling in the deciding set in each of their matches.
Joining Florida in Pool B is SUNY Canton, who bounced back from a loss to Lindenwood-Belleville in their opening game to defeat Johnson & Wales (NC) to even their record at 1-1. Rochester College also sits at 1-1 in Pool B after claiming a victory over Lindenwood-Belleville before falling to Florida. Johnson & Wales rounds out Pool B at 0-3--the Wildcats struggled in the first set of each of their matches before putting a scare in each of their opponents in the second set.
You can find all the game recaps for day one action below.
Pool A -- 10:00 a.m., Convention, Athletics and Recreation Center (CARC)
Daemen College def. Penn State Fayette, 2-1 (25-7, 23-25, 15-9)
Defending National Champions Daemen College took down the Penn State University Athletic Conference Champions, Penn State Fayette, in three sets to open up the round robin portion of Pool A play in the CARC on Thursday morning. The Wildcats opened up a big lead in the first set, capturing a 1-0 lead early. But Fayette matched Daemen with a second set win to send the match to a deciding set.
The teams traded points early before Daemen took an 8-6 lead. From there the Wildcats outscored the Roaring Lions 7-3 to improve to 1-0 in Pool A play, while Fayette fell to 0-1.
Daemen was led by USCAA All-American Ye Wang, who notched seven kills and two blocks. Kaley Vazquez and Cheslea Turcer had 13 and 12 assists, respectively, and All-American Lindsey Nowak added six kills for the Wildcats. Daemen outhit Fayette .253 to .093 over the three sets.
Fayette was led by Second Team All-American Emily Konter who dished out 12 assists, while Janelle Cooper had a team high four kills.
Pool B -- 10:00 a.m., Dana Hall
Lindenwood University-Belleville def. SUNY Canton, 2-1 (15-25, 25-20, 15-12)
Host SUNY Canton squared off with Lindenwood-Belleville in the opening match of Pool B. After taking the first set with ease, Canton dropped set two to the Lynx to force a deciding set.
The Lynx, who were paced by Chelsi Hummert with 18 assists, traded points with the 'Roos to a 7-7 tie, then took an 8-7 lead and would not trail again before taking the final set, 15-12.
Madison Farrier and Kenlea Herndon each notched five kills for Lindenwood-Belleville, while Charis Stewart had a match-high three blocks. Kelly Shields added four kills for the Lynx, who improve to 1-0 in Pool B.
SUNY Canton was led by Second Team All-American Morgan Bills with eight kills, while teammate Lindsay Bryer added seven for the 'Roos. First Team All-American Mackenzie Mynter had a match-high 21 assists and added to block assists as Canton drops to 0-1.
Pool A -- 11:30 a.m., CARC
Marygrove College def. Carlow University, 2-0 (25-12, 25-20)
Overall number one seed Marygrove College opened their pool play portion of the USCAA Volleyball National Championships against Carlow University, topping the Celtics 2-0 to move to 1-0 in Pool A.
Nicole Kempinski dished out 20 assists for the Mustangs, setting up a majority of All-American Amelia Velez's match-high eight kills. All-American Kara Kempinski had a match-high 16 digs over two sets and the Mustangs recorded 10 blocks while holding Carlow to a .103 hitting percentage.
The Celtics hung with the top seed for most of the second set before Marygrove pulled away for the final few points. Carlow was led by Karly Murray with five kills. Teammate Amanda Knobeloch recorded 10 assists and one of Carlow's three service aces.
Carlow falls to 0-1 in pool play and will face Daemen College next. The Mustangs await Cincinnati-Clermont for their second match of the day.
Pool B -- 11:30 a.m., Dana Hall
Florida College def. Johnson & Wales (NC) University, 2-0 (25-8, 25-16)
Pool B's top seed, Florida College, opened their round robin schedule with a decisive 2-0 win over Johnson & Wales (NC) in the USCAA Volleyball National Championships.
The Falcons took the first set easily, 25-8, before handling the Wildcats 25-16 in the second set. Malea Kalina led Florida with a match-high 15 kills on 28 total attacks. Laura Smith had 25 assists, four digs and two service aces for Florida. The Falcons played without two-time First Team All-American Devyn Jackson, but fellow All-American Camille Crim helped pick up some of the slack with four kills and four digs.
Johnson & Wales (NC) was led by Kylie Marquardt with five kills and three assists. Teammate Summer Meredith added a match-high eight digs for the Wildcats, as they fell to 0-1 in Pool B.
Pool A -- 1:00 p.m., CARC
University of Cincinnati-Clermont def. Penn State Fayette, 2-1 (24-26, 28-26, 15-12)
In what turned out as the closest match to date, the University of Cincinnati-Clermont beat Penn State Fayette in three sets. Fayette took the first match 26-24, but the Cougars battled back in the second set. Down 19-13, Clermont went on a 15-7 run to even the match at a set apiece.
Fayette took an early advantage in the deciding third set, but leading 10-6 at one point, but the Cougars went on a 9-2 run to seal the win to start 1-0 in Pool A. The Roaring Lions fall to 0-2 on day one of pool play.
Haley Weber and Amber Lawrence led a balanced attack for the Cougars, finishing with nine kills apiece. All-American Heather Rowland and Amber Peters added eight and seven kills respectively, while All-American Becca Walton led the way with a match-high 25 assists.
Fayette was led by Second Team All-American Emily Konter with 20 assists and five kills. Megan Manack added six kills, while Victoria Helmantoler led the way with 14 digs.
Pool B -- 1:00 p.m., Dana Hall
Rochester College def. Lindenwood University-Belleville, 2-1 (25-18, 24-26, 15-8)
For the fourth time in the first six matches of day one, a third and deciding set was needed to crown a winner. This time Rochester College needed three sets to down Lindenwood-Belleville, taking the first set before dropping the second to the Lynx. Rochester pulled away in the third set to earn a win in their first match of the tournament.
The Warriors were paced by All-American Sara Hayes, who tallied 18 assists and nine digs. Brittany Alexander had a team-high seven kills, while Kayla Loepp dug out 13 Lindenwood attacks to lead Rochester.
Meanwhile, the Lynx, in their second match of the day, received 23 assists from All-American Chelsi Hummert while fellow All-American and teammate Taylor Albrecht notched 11 kills for Lindenwood-Belleville. Taylor Boyer added a match-high 17 digs as the Lynx fell to 1-1 in Pool B.
Pool A -- 2:30 p.m., CARC
Daemen College def. Carlow University, 2-0 (25-15, 25-22)
Daemen College improved to 2-0 in Pool A with a 2-0 win over Carlow University. The Celtics drop to 0-2 in pool play, with matches against regional rivals Penn State Fayette and Cincinnati-Clermont left.
The Wildcats took the first set easily behind All-American Ye Wang, who finished with 11 kills and three blocks. Kaley Vazquez dished out 12 more assists, while teammate Chelsea Turcer added 11. All-American Paige Tilert had 11 digs for Daemen, while All-American Lindsey Nowak added six kills.
Carlow got three kills apiece from Leah Stack and Nicolle Driscoll, but it wasn't enough to keep pace with Daemen. All-American Amanda McKenzie added a team-high eight digs for the Celtics, who will face Fayette in the final game of the day on Thursday in Pool A.
Pool B -- 2:30 p.m., Dana Hall
SUNY Canton def. Johnson & Wales (NC) University, 2-0 (25-16, 25-22)
In a battle of winless teams on day one, host SUNY Canton battled back from an upset loss to Lindenwood-Belleville to take down Johnson & Wales (NC) in two sets to even their record at 1-1 in Pool B. Meanwhile, the Wildcats drop to 0-2 and face an uphill battle on their quest to advance to the round of eight.
Canton was led by All-American Mackenzie Mynter with 23 assists and six digs. Mynter spread the ball to a number of teammates, as four 'Roos players finished with four or more kills, led by Jessica Reynolds with eight. Kelsy Cornish added six kills as the 'Roos improved their chances of advancing out of pool play.
The Wildcats got four klls from Reanna Bray, who helped Johnson & Wales take a lead in the second set. All-American Tori Dublino added a match-high nine digs. Johnson & Wales meets Lindenwood-Belleville to round out Pool B play on day one. They face off with Rochester in their only pool play match of day two at 1:00 p.m. on Friday.
Pool A -- 3:45 p.m., CARC
Marygrove College def. University of Cincinnati-Clermont, 2-0 (25-17 , 25-23)
Top seed Marygrove picked up their second win of the week in Pool A, toppling Cincinnati-Clermont 2-0 in both teams second match of the day. Marygrove pulled away early in the first set, but struggled to put away the Cougars in set two as Cincinnati-Clermont traded points with the Mustangs throughout the set.
Ultimately, Marygrove was able to grab the victory behind 24 more assists from Nicole Kempinski. Teammate and All-American Amelia Velez added a team-high eight kills, and All-American Kara Kempinski added nine digs for the Mustangs.
The Cougars, who fell to 1-1 in Pool A, received eight kills from Amber Lawrence, while Amber Peters added six. Becca Walton had 13 assists and a team-high nine digs.
Both the Cougars and Marygrove will play two games on Friday to round out their pool play matches.
Pool B -- 3:45 p.m., Dana Hall
Florida College def. Rochester College, 2-0 (25-14, 25-14)
Pool B's perennial contenders Florida College and Rochester College faced off in the second match of the day for each team. The Falcons pulled ahead early and were able to put away the Warriors in both sets, 25-14.
Florida was led by Camille Crim and Malea Kalina with eight kills apiece, while Devyn Jackson saw her first action and recorded six kills. Laura Smith notched a match-high 22 assists and five service aces, while Olivia Luallen led the defensive charge for the Falcons with seven digs.
Rochester received 13 assists from Sara Hayes, and Brittany Alexander added five kills. The rest of the Rochester attack was balanced, as six other players recorded kills, but none other than Alexander had more than three. Vicki LaFramboise had a match-high 10 digs for the Warriors.
Both Rochester and Florida will play their final two games of pool play on Friday.
Pool A -- 5:00 p.m., CARC
Carlow University def. Penn State Fayette, 2-1 (25-17, 24-26, 15-10)
Carlow picked up their first win of pool play over Penn State Fayette, improving to 1-1 in Pool A. The loss marks the end of a tough day for the Roaring Lions, who fall to 0-3 and have been virtually eliminated from the possibility of advancing to the bracket rounds. All three losses for Fayette came in the third and final set.
Carlow took advantage in the opening set, notching 10 kills on 25 attacks. Karly Murray led the way with six kills for the Celtics, while Carly Bonk added five kills. Ashley Grooms finished with 12 assists, and Amanda Knobeloch had a team-high 16 assists while adding three digs.
Fayette took a back and forth second set, finally capitalizing on a few Carlow errors to win 26-24. The final set included the trading of points to a 7-7 tie, but then Carlow pulled ahead and would not trail again. Emily Konter had a match-high 19 assists, while fellow All-American Samantha Helmantoler had a match-high eight kills.
The Roaring Lions have one match remaining on Friday, against top seed Marygrove College while Carlow awaits a tilt with Cincinnati-Clermont.
Pool B -- 5:00 p.m., Dana Hall
Lindenwood University-Belleville def. Johnson & Wales (NC) University, 2-0 (25-18, 25-23)
Lindenwood-Belleville shook off their ten seed ranking and secured their ticket into bracket play with a win over Johnson & Wales (NC). The Lynx won in straight sets, 25-18 and 25-23 over the Wildcats, who were the second team of the day to fall to 0-3.
Lindenwood-Belleville picked up another strong performance from Chelsi Hummert notched 16 assists to go with nine digs. Another balanced attack from the Lynx helped pace the offense as four players finished with at least four kills. Madison Ferrier led the way with five kills, while Hummert, Kenlea Herndon and Taylor Albrecht each added four.
Johnson & Wales was led by All-American Moriah Hughes with seven kills and eight digs, while Kylie Marquardt added seven assists, seven kills and a team-high 12 digs. The Wildcats will face Rochester College on Friday in a must win--they will also need some help in Pool B play in order to advance to the knockout rounds.
The Lynx will face Pool B's top seed Florida College in what could end up deciding the top seed coming out of their pool.
