Friday, March 26

Tulane 3, Tulsa 1 (17-25, 25-23, 25-16, 25-21)	Box Score
Wichita State 3, Houston 1 (25-21, 20-25, 25-20, 25-20)	Box Score
Temple 3, Cincinnati 1 (25-19, 25-18, 25-27, 25-21)	Box Score
No. RV UCF 3, USF 0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-20)	Box Score
North Carolina A&T 3, East Carolina 2 (20-25, 14-15, 28-26, 25-14, 17-15	Box Score

Tulane 3, Tulsa 1

The Tulane volleyball team (9-9, 6-3 AAC) earned a four-set win (17-25, 25-23, 25-16, 25-21) over Tulsa (2-7, 2-7 AAC) on Friday, clinching the second-place spot in the American Athletic Conference West Division with one match remaining in the regular season.

"Many counted us out but this team pulled together and just clinched a second-place spot in the AAC tournament," head coach Jim Barnes said. "Taylor [Henigsman] ran our offense very well and our middles dominated the match. Sophia [Ervanian], Mia [Primavera] and Jillian [Dits] played lock down defense and serve receive."

With the win, the Green Wave have secured a spot in the AAC Tournament and are set to travel to Cincinnati, Ohio, next weekend, taking on the East Division's top team in UCF on Friday at 1 p.m. in the semifinal match.

Junior middle hitter Kayla Dinkins led the way for the Green Wave's offense in the victory, totaling 15 kills while hitting .387 and adding four blocks. Freshman middle hitter Anna Davis also notched double-digit kills in the match, recording 13 while hitting .393.

Freshman libero Sophia Ervanian totaled 22 digs on the defensive end of the court, while freshman outside hitter Mackenzie Martin had 17, and seniors outside hitter Lexie Douglas and defensive specialist Mia Primavera each added 10.

Earning 41 assists in four sets was junior setter Taylor Henigsman, who also added nine digs and six kills.

Tulsa jumped out to a 4-1 lead to start the match, ultimately staying ahead to finish it out and take the first set, 25-17. Two kills from Dinkins and one from junior right side hitter Yvette Burcescu sent the Green Wave on a 3-0 run to tie the score at 5-5 before the Olive and Blue tied it again at 9-9 with another 3-0 run. A 5-0 run from the Golden Hurricane put the home team ahead, 17-11, where they would stay until closing it out with a kill.

The Green Wave started off strong in set two, as a block from Burcescu and Davis capped off a 6-1 run early. A 5-0 Olive and Blue run, with two kills from Martin, extended Tulane's lead to eight at 18-10, staying head for the entirety of the set before closing it out, 25-23, with a kill from Burcescu to even the match at 1-1.

Tulane went on a 9-1 run to start the third as Dinkins dominated with three kills and two blocks, putting the Green Wave ahead at 13-8. The Olive and Blue kept their lead for the remainder of the set, as consecutive kills from Davis, Douglas and Henigsman made it an eight-point game at 20-12, before a kill from Douglas closed it out at 25-16 and gave the Green Wave a 2-1 match lead.

Both teams came out fighting to start set four before a 5-0 Tulane run, with kills from Douglas and Dinkins, put the team up 11-6. A second 5-0 Olive and Blue run extended their lead to 17-9, with two service aces from Douglas and two kills from sophomore outside hitter Lizzy Stefanov. The Golden Hurricane closed the gap to three with a 3-0 run but Tulane remained on top as a kill from Stefanov ended it at 25-21.

Wichita State 3, Houston 1

Wichita State used a career-high 17 kills from Natalie Foster to take down first place Houston, 3-1. The Shockers won by scores of 25-21, 20-25, 25-20 and 25-20.
 
Foster hit .556 and also added six block assists in the match. Emma Wright added 10 kills and eight blocks, while Lily Liekweg had a team-high 23 digs. McKayla Wuensch had a double-double with 25 assists and 15 digs.
 
WSU hit .231 in the match, while holding UH to a .139 hitting percentage. The Shockers finished with 15 blocks and 84 digs.
 
The Shockers used an 8-0 run in the first set to jump in front 10-3. The two teams traded points until Houston used back-to-back kills to pull within 18-14. An Abbie Jackson kill closed the gap to 19-17, but the Shockers responded with a kill from Emma Wright and a block by Wright and Brylee Kelly to push the lead back to 21-17. The Shockers reached set point at 24-21 on a kill by Natalie Foster and won the set 25-21 on a Cougar hitting error.
 
The second set went back and forth until Houston used a 7-0 run to go in front 21-16. The Shockers pulled within 21-18 after a couple of Cougar miscues, but that was the closest they would get as Houston won the set 25-20.
 
The Shockers raced out to a quick 5-2 lead in the third set, but the Cougars tied it at 12. A 6-1 Shocker run put WSU in front 18-13 and the Cougars did not get closer than three the rest of the way. WSU ended the set with back-to-back kills from Foster for the 25-20 win.
 
UH jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the fourth set, but the Shockers fought back. WSU scored six of the next seven points to tie it at eight. The set went back and forth until a 4-0 Shocker run, highlighted by a couple of kills from Foster, put WSU up 16-14. A kill from Sophia Rohling and a service ace from Bryn Stansberry pushed the lead to 20-16. WSU reached match point at 24-20 on a Cougar service error and won the match 25-20 on a block by Foster and Kelly.

Temple 3, Cincinnati 1

The Temple volleyball team completed step one of its two-part goal this weekend, opening the series against Cincinnati with a victory on Friday afternoon. The Owls won the match 25-19, 25-18, 25-27, 25-21 at McGonigle Hall, to move to 9-5 overall, 3-4 in the AAC. Temple came into this weekend needing a pair of wins against the Bearcats (6-6, 4-3 AAC) to have a chance to earn the final conference tournament berth and will look to seal the spot tomorrow.

How it Happened
> Temple used an efficient block and strong serving to stifle Cincinnati's balance offense. 
> The Owls racked up 13 blocks, a season best, while holding the Bearcats to just a .117 attack.
> Temple used an 8-1 run midway through the first frame to set the tone of the match, winning it 25-19.
> The Cherry & White made it 2-0 with a 25-18 win in set two. 
> After leading much of set three, the Owls saw a late run from Cincinnati put the Bearcats on the board with an extra points win, 27-25.
> Temple regained the momentum early in the fourth set, finishing out the victory with a 25-21 win.

Individual Highlights
> Junior Miray Bolukbasi paced Temple's offense to the tune of 17 kills, adding seven digs and a pair of blocks. 
> Senior Katerina Papazoglou recorded the 25th double-double of her career, going for 12 kills and 16 digs.
> Junior Tyler Lindgren dished out 43 total assists with five digs and a career-best four blocks.
> Junior Gem Grimshaw stuffed her stat line with nine kills, six blocks (a career-high), and 11 digs.
> Freshman Taylor Davenport tallied six kills with a match-best nine blocks, a new collegiate high.
> Sophomore Kayla Spells added seven digs and four blocks to Temple's arsenal.
> Freshman Falanika Danielson led all players with 26 digs, adding three aces in the win.

Set One: Temple 25, Cincinnati 19
> Early action stayed tight in set one, until Temple broke a 5-5 tie with an 8-1 run to lead 13-6.
> Cincinnati cut into the lead slightly, whittling it to a 14-11 Temple advantage.
> Temple struck for another run, this time, 6-2, to go up 20-13.
> Cincinnati rallied at the close, but Temple got on the board with a 25-19 win.

Set Two: Temple 25, Cincinnati 18
> Cincinnati had the early edge in the second set, but Temple stayed close.
> With the Bearcats up 14-12, Temple rallied with a 7-2 surge to take a 19-16 lead.
> Cincinnati cut it to 20-18, but the Owls got the last five points of the frame to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Set Three: Cincinnati 27, Temple 25
> Temple opened the third set with a 4-2 lead looking for a sweep.
> Cincinnati tied the match at four and the score was knotted eight more times until Temple surged ahead 16-13.
> Temple pushed the lead to 24-21 before Cincinnati spoiled three straight set and match points to tie things at 24-24.
> The Owls went back up 25-24, but three straight Bearcats points closed out the set for the visitors.

Set Four: Temple 25, Cincinnati 21
> Cincinnati held a slim lead to start the fourth frame, but the Owls used a 4-0 run to go up 9-7.
> Though the Bearcats rallied, Temple held a slim 18-16 lead later in the frame.
> The Owls created separation with a 5-0 surge to go up 23-16, before Cincinnati countered with a 5-0 run of their own to cut it to 23-21.
> Temple was able to close it out, as the final two points of the frame game Temple the set and the match.

No. RV UCF 3, USF 0

It was a clean sweep for the Knights to start the War on I-4 in Orlando on Friday night as UCF bested the Bulls 3-0 to move to 13-1 on the season and remain undefeated in conference play.

With the win, the Knights now sit just one victory out from finishing the season with an undefeated record in conference play, a feat that has not been accomplished since 2018 when UCF went a perfect, 18-0 against AAC competition. The Knights currently have a 7-0 record against American opponents in 2020-21.

Knights' head coach Todd Dagenais also achieved a milestone victory with the win as he earned his 250th career-win with the Knights. Dagenais is currently UCF Volleyball's all-time winningest head coach.

The Knights were dominant in the first set, winning by ten points before holding the bulls to just 18 in the second set and finishing the night off with a 25-20 final set victory.

UCF out blocked the Bulls 11-3 en route to the sweep. Nothing new for the Knights as they currently lead the conference in blocks. At 2.92 blocks per set, UCF is also sixth overall in the country.

Leading the way on that front were Nerissa Moravec and Anne-Marie Watson, who each turned in five stuffs in just the three sets. Heading into the match, Moravec's 1.38 blocks per set ranked 22nd in the nation and first in the conference.

Offensively, UCF was efficient from pole to pole as outside hitter McKenna Melville turned in 12 kills while hitting .364 on her attacks while the right side hitter, Watson, had 11 kills and hit an even .400 on the night. Earlier in the season, the pair were both named preseason All-Conference, while Melville was unanimously tabbed the conference preseason Player of the Year.

The black and gold will do battle with the Bulls once more on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. UCF will honor its seniors before the match as it is the last home match of the season.

North Carolina A&T 3, East Carolina 2

North Carolina A&T defeated East Carolina for the first time in nine tries Friday afternoon, rallying for a 3-2 (20-25, 14-25, 28-26, 25-14, 17-15) non-conference victory inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.
 
The Pirates end their first season under head coach Adler Augustin at 4-8 while the Aggies improve to 9-1 with one regular season match remaining.
 
Fatimah Shabazz paced the visitors with 25 kills while Edie Brewer tallied a double-double of 32 assists and 13 digs. Bri Wood led ECU with 15 kills and a career-high 23 digs in her final appearance as a Pirate. Natalie Tyson and Sydney Kleinman followed with 13 and 11 kills respectively and Camryn Allen capped her short stint at East Carolina with 22 digs.
 
The Pirates hit below .200 in four of the five sets, finishing at .143 efficiency. Conversely, A&T swung at a .184 clip with a 60-53 advantage in kills. ECU did notch more digs (77-67) and total blocks (7.0-5.0).
 
The teams battled to a tie at 14 in the first set before a pair of errors and a Kleinman ace helped the Pirates establish some breathing room at 17-14. The Aggies drew within 21-19 following an East Carolina ball-handling error, but the Pirates scored four of the final points to seize early control in the match.
 
After a bad set by A&T setter Addy Warfield afforded ECU a 9-6 lead in the second stanza, the Aggies called a timeout to regroup. The Pirates just pulled further ahead, building as much as a nine-point cushion at 18-9 before closing out the set by 11 to take a 2-0 cushion into the intermission.
 
Brewer put down a kill to give the visitors a 16-10 lead in the third frame, but a strong serving run by Wood equaled 10-straight East Carolina points as a service ace made the score 19-16. Kleinman added a kill to put the Pirates up by four, and a block by S'mara Riley and Kaiya Heyliger-Powell put ECU at match point, 24-21. East Carolina could not close A&T out as the Aggies rallied to win the set in extra points to extend the match.
 
North Carolina A&T rolled in the fourth set, limiting to Pirates to a negative hitting percentage (-.027) in forcing a decider. The Aggies raced out to an 8-3 edge in the fifth, forcing ECU to call for time. However, the Pirates chipped away and eventually knotted the score at 10 thanks to an A&T attack error. Both sides had match points down the stretch, but the Aggies had the last word, breaking a 15-15 deadlock with an East Carolina attack error and a service ace.