Friday, Feb. 5

Wichita State 3, North Texas 1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-18, 25-18)	Box Score
UCF 3, Tulane 1 (19-25, 25-15, 25-16, 25-22)	Box Score
No. RV SMU 3, UTSA 2 (21-25, 25-17, 25-22, 25-27, 15-8)	Box Score
East Carolina 3, NC A&T 1 (25-17, 25-22, 23-25, 25-14)	Box Score
Temple 3, Coppin State 0 (25-22, 26-24, 25-20)	Box Score
Cincinnati 3, Xavier 1 (24-26, 25-21, 25-19, 25-21)	Box Score

Wichita State 3, North Texas 1

Megan Taflinger posted a team-high 13 kills and Sophia Rohling added 12 kills to lead the Wichita State University volleyball team to a 3-1 victory over the University of North Texas Mean Green Friday afternoon, Feb. 5, at Charles Koch Arena. The set scores were 25-20, 23-25, 25-18 and 25-18.

Wichita State improves to 5-0 with triumph and has won five consecutive matches for the first time since 2017.

Taflinger, who hails from Leona Valley, Calif., had a season-best 13 kills on 36 attempts with three errors for a .278 attacking percentage, while Rohling, a native of Thayer, Kan., added a dozen kills on 31 swings with a trio of miscues for .290 hitting.

Kayce Litzau (22 assists), McKayla Wuensch (20 assists), Lily Liekweg (18 digs), Morgan Weber (three service aces) and Emma Wright (five blocks) wrapped up the WSU leaders for the contest.

The Shockers outhit UNT (0-2), .240 to .188, and had seven service aces going along with nine blocks, 49 assists and 52 kills.

North Texas was paced by Rhett Robinson, who had a match-high 21 kills on 65 attempts with 14 errors for a .108 attacking percentage.

UCF 3, Tulane 1

The Knights started off slow but bounced back big to secure the 3-1 victory over Tulane Friday afternoon in The Venue, moving UCF to 4-0 on the young season.

"[Tulane] tested us in ways that we haven't been tested yet," said UCF head coach Todd Dagenais. "That's why we are playing these matches. We want to play teams that test us, so when the 'final exams' start – and there are four weeks of 'final exams' in conference play – we are ready to go."

As has been on the case for serval matches early in the season for UCF, it took some time to settle in. Despite solid contributions from the reining American Athletic Conference Player of the Week McKenna Melville, who had eight kills in the first set, the Knights lost, 25-19 before battling back in the second.

After falling behind in the second set too, UCF would battle back to tie it at 11 apiece before Tulane called timeout. Following the stoppage, the Knights went on a four-point run and Tulane would call time once more, but it would not slow the Knights down as they would go on to win the second set, 25-15, to tie the match at one all.

Once settled in, UCF would find their groove in the third set, going up 11-4 before Tulane called time. The Knights kept their momentum rolling and managed to keep Tulane at bay, going on to win the set, 25-16 to take a 2-1 lead in the match.

Set four was a nail biter to the end as the two sides tied scores 10 different times and the lead changed hands three times. With both teams neck-and-neck until the end, UCF made a strong push late to edge out Tulane, 25-22 to win the match.

Anne-Marie Watson and McKenna Melville both notched double-digit kills in the match with 12 and 21, respectively. It was Melville's second game of the season with 20 or more kills and she has finished no match with less than 10.

Nerissa Moravec also had a nice afternoon from the middle position, turning in five kills to go along with five block assists. Moravec was efficient, hitting .400 when attacking.

No. RV SMU 3, UTSA 2

SMU beat UTSA 3-2 (21-25, 25-17, 25-22, 25-27, 15-8) on Friday afternoon inside Moody Coliseum. The Mustangs begin the season 4-0 for the first time since 2010. Jadyn Bauss had career-highs in both kills (25) and digs (25) to lead the Mustangs attack. Bauss has now secured a double-double in all four games this season. SMU (4-0) also produced a season-high 74 kills.

Neither team had a lead of more than two points midway through the opening set. UTSA found a 5-0 run to push its lead to 19-14. UTSA (2-3) limited themselves to just three errors and were led by Alison Jennings with four kills to take the first set. Both teams battled in the second as the set was tied at 10 and again at 13. A 7-2 Mustangs advantage at this point in the set pushed SMU to its largest lead on the night with a 20-15 lead. Bauss converted four-straight kills to end the set for the Mustangs. SMU had a good hitting percentage in that set ending at .341.

Bauss combined for 12 kills in the second and third set and gave SMU a 2-1 advantage in the match. In the fourth, SMU had a 24-21 lead and looked to end the match, but the Roadrunners kept the match alive with three-straight points. UTSA eventually took this momentum for a 27-25 win to set up a fifth set. The Mustangs took advantage of some early mistakes by the Roadrunners by grabbing an 8-3 lead in the pivotal fifth set. SMU limited the Roadrunners to just four kills in this set. UTSA cut the lead down to three points twice, but SMU held tough and came away with the victory and the season sweep versus UTSA.

Makayla Miller and Zairyn Hemsley both had a career night receiving, as they both totaled a personal-best 20 digs. Bria' Merchant matched her career-best with 15 digs to boost the Mustangs.  Lily Heim continued her excellent play with 57 assists to help set up the Mustangs at the net.

East Carolina 3, NC A&T 1

East Carolina made head coach Adler Augustin a winner in his Pirate debut, knocking off North Carolina A&T 3-1 (25-17, 25-22, 23-25, 25-14) Friday evening inside Moore Gymnasium.

Bri Wood and Sydney Kleinman both posted a match-high 15 kills and added 13 and 14 digs respectively for their first double-doubles of the campaign. Alisi Motu'apuaka turned in a solid ECU debut, posting a double-double of 40 assists and 13 digs. Camryn Allen recorded 12 digs in her first match as a Pirate. Additionally, redshirt sophomore S'mara Riley notched seven kills and 13 digs in her first action since her freshman campaign. Courteney Pitt paced the home side with 16 kills and eight digs while Edie Brewer ended up with a double-double of 30 assists and 11 digs.

East Carolina compiled 54 kills on 150 attempts with 22 errors for a respectable .213 hitting percentage. The Pirates limited the Aggies to .104 efficiency with 41 kills on 144 attempts and 26 errors. The squads finished the match with seven blocks apiece while ECU out-dug North Carolina A&T 70-59.

The Aggies jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the first set, but ECU settled down and eventually took a 15-11 off nice kill by Natalie Tyson. The Pirate lead was too much for A&T to overcome as East Carolina rolled to the seven-point win the opening frame.

The Pirates got off to a fast start in the second frame as an Aggie attacking error put ECU ahead 11-6. With East Carolina holding a 19-15 lead later on in the set, North Carolina A&T began to rally. The Aggies were able to draw within 23-22 thanks to an ace, but the Pirates secured the final two points to enter the break ahead two sets to none.

ECU trailed for a majority of the third stanza, falling behind 23-21 late. An ace from Allen knotted the score at 23, but a Pirate attacking error and A&T kill secured the set for the home team and cut the East Carolina match lead to two sets to one.

The Pirates left little doubt in the fourth, racing out to an 8-3 cushion. They grew the lead all the way to 16-7 after a Wood kill and the Aggies would come no closer than five the rest of the way. ECU scored the final four points of the contest, clinching it on a kill by Kleinman.

Temple 3, Coppin State 0

Temple juniors Miray Bolukbasi and Gem Grimshaw combined for 35 kills to lead the Owls' volleyball team to a 3-0 sweep over visiting Coppin State on Friday night. The Cherry and White won three tight sets, 25-22, 26-24, and 25-19 to move to 3-0 on the season. Coppin State falls to 1-1 with the loss.

How It Happened
> Temple trailed most of the first set, but a late run gave the Owls the momentum.
> The Owls needed extra points to take the second set, before winning by a comfortable margin in the third to complete the sweep.
> Temple hit .256 for the match, holding the Eagles to .217.
> The Owls had a slight edge in digs 58-54, but Coppin State won the battle at the net with four blocks to Temple's three.

Individual Highlights
> Grimshaw and Bolukbasi provided the bulk of Temple's offense on the night, as Grimshaw netted a season-best 17 kills, hitting .433 with eight digs. Bolukbasi continued her early hot streak with a match-best 18 kills, hitting an efficient .375.
> Another junior, Tyler Lindgren, captained the offense, as the setter dished out 33 assists, adding 13 digs for her second double-double of the season.
> Freshman Falanika Danielson led all players with 21 digs, adding nine assists to her stat line.
> Junior Xeryah Salanoa tallied 10 digs, freshman Taylor Davenport had five kills and a pair of blocks, and junior Peyton Boyd finished with four kills an dtwo blocks.

Set One: Temple 25, Coppin State 22
> Coppin State jumped out to a 6-1 lead and held an advantage most of the match. 
> Trailing 15-10, the Owls rallied with Salanoa on the service line, cutting the lead to just one point.
> The Eagles still held an advantage, as late as 19-17, before Temple made its comeback.
> The Owls ended the set on an 8-3 run to go up 1-0 in the match.

Set Two: Temple 26, Coppin State 24
> A 6-2 start to the second second by Temple was nearly erased with a a 7-3 surge from the Eagles.
> The Owls then pushed the advantage to 17-11 on the arms of Bolukbasi and Grimshaw, before another Coppin State run.
> The visitors closed the gap and came all the way back to tie the set at 23-23.
> Temple held firm, however, finishing the set with back-to-back Grimshaw points to go up 2-0.

Set Three: Temple 25, Coppin State 19
> Temple hit .297 in the third set to finish out the victory.
> Tied 4-4, the Owls created some separation with a 6-2 run to go up 10-6.
> Temple would let Coppin State get no closer the rest of the way, closing out the set 25-19. 

Cincinnati 3, Xavier 1

The University of Cincinnati volleyball team earned a 3-1 victory over crosstown rival Xavier University on Friday night at Cintas Center. 

Cincinnati (2-1) totaled 59 kills, with a season high 82 digs and 13 aces in its win over the Musketeers (1-2).

NOTES
Maria Tobergte led the Bearcats with 13 kills and a career-high 21 digs, enough for her second double-double of the season. Tobergte also put up a career-best 5 aces against the Musketeers. 
Ashley Kozer continues to feed UC, matching her performance against Illinois State with a career-high tying 51 assists while also securing 5 aces of her own, another career mark. 
Kailea Carrier led the team in kills alongside Tobergte with a career-high 13 along with a .429 hit percentage. 

SET BREAKDOWN

SET 1: XU, 26-24
An ace by Kozer would give the Bearcats an early 7-6 lead. UC would then go on a four-point streak, led by Madison Waters, extending its lead by three. Xavier would slowly chip away at the score, tying it up 21-21 on a kill by Ellie Chaffee. After a long rally, a kill by Oliver put UC up 22-21 forcing an XU timeout. The Musketeers would then battle back, tying it up 24-24 followed by 2 unanswered points, giving XU set 1. 
 
SET 2: UC, 25-21
Cincinnati went up early in the second with a 4-1 advantage over the Musketeers. Following a back-and-forth battle, Kozer's second ace of the match extended the Bearcats lead by four. Xavier would go on a four-point streak of their own led by Chaffee, tying it up at 14. Carrier came in clutch, placing 3 points on the board for the Bearcats. A huge service ace by Tobergtre would take set point and tie the match up 1-1 going into the third. 
 
SET 3: UC, 25-19
Xavier came out strong in the third putting up a 3-0 start on the Bearcats. UC chimed back with five unanswered points, including back-to-back aces by Tobergtre, bringing her game total to three. UC would then extend its lead by six following another ace by Kozer.  UC would hold the lead and take the set 25-19 with kill by Carrier.
 
SET 4: UC, 25-21
UC and Xavier would evenly match up early in fourth, tying it through six. Payton Frederick would start the Bearcat's transition into the lead on a service ace, her second of the season. UC would go on a five-point streak, maintaining its lead through the fourth. Xavier would push back in a last-ditch effort putting up three unanswered points. However, a service error would line UC up for match point, followed up by an attack error and a final score of 25-21 in the fourth.