NCAA volleyball: No upsets, close call for Purdue, SFA and Milwaukee get 20th wins

No upsets? Not in the top 25, although No. 20 Purdue had to go five to beat Ohio State. Among the winners were No. 1 Baylor and No. 4 Texas in the Big 12  — and they play Wednesday in Austin — and No. 5 Nebraska and No. 6 Wisconsin in the Big Ten, all […]

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No upsets?

Not in the top 25, although No. 20 Purdue had to go five to beat Ohio State.

Among the winners were No. 1 Baylor and No. 4 Texas in the Big 12  — and they play Wednesday in Austin — and No. 5 Nebraska and No. 6 Wisconsin in the Big Ten, all by sweeps.

Also in the B1G, No. 7 Minnesota went four to beat No. 17 Illinois.

Stephen F. Austin and Milwaukee are the next teams to 20 victories after the Ladyjacks swept Southeastern Lousiana in the Southland, and Milwaukee beat Wright State in the Horizon League, while in Conference USA, WKU won its 20th on Friday and goes for No. 21 Sunday. 

No. 14 Colorado State won its 16th match in a row and with its best player out, UC Santa Barbara won big.

And The Citadel won its fourth in a row, the program’s longest winning streak since 2004.

All the recaps follow, but first a look at Sunday’s NCAA Division I women’s volleyball schedule.

The six-match Pac-12 schedule includes No. 2 Stanford home for No. 18 Utah and No. 10 Washington home for Arizona. No. 15 Cal plays host to Colorado, and No. 21 Washington State is home for Arizona State. Also, USC goes to Oregon and UCLA is at Oregon State.

The Big Ten has just two matches as No. 8 Penn State goes to Michigan State and Indiana is at Iowa.

All three ranked SEC teams are in action as No. 13 Florida goes to LSU, No. 16 Kentucky is at Alabama and No. 25 Missouri is home for Tennessee. Also, Ole Miss plays host to Texas A&M, Arkansas is at Mississippi State and Georgia goes to Auburn.

The Big 12, Mountain West and WCC are off, but the lone Big West match has No. 22 Hawai’i home for UC Davis. Creighton plays one of two Big East matches as the No. 11 Bluejays entertain Xavier and Butler goes to Providence. 

Conference USA has six matches including both its ranked teams as No. 19 Rice goes to Louisiana Tech and No. 24 Western Kentucky is home for UTSA.

There’s a full schedule in the American Athletic Conference, including the division leaders when Cincinnati goes to Houston. 

Towson tries to improve on its 17-2 record when College of Charleston visits for a Colonial Athletic Association match. 

Fairfield, 13-4 overall and now 8-0 in the Metro Atlantic, is home for Canisius. 

MAC West leader Central Michigan stands 17-2 and the only team unbeaten in league play at 7-0 in the MAC as it goes to Miami, Ohio.

South Dakota, at 18-1 overall and the lone team undefeated in the conference at 7-0, is home for a Summit League match against second-place Purdue Fort Wayne (12-9, 6-1) in a match that could go a long way in determining the regular-season champion.

Saturday’s recaps follow, but first a look at Sunday’s NCAA Division I volleyball schedule.

Third-ranked Pittsburgh is home for NC State as the ACC slate includes seven matches. No. 23 Louisville is at Virginia Tech and Florida State is home for Syracuse. Also, Boston College goes to Miami, North Carolina is at Virginia, Duke is at Georgia Tech and Wake Forest is at Clemson.

Want to watch a match? We’ve got you covered. 

Click here for the complete NCAA.com scoreboard and to watch any match that is being broadcast, go to the VolleyballMag.com daily TV and streaming listings.

Big 12: Now it’s on. 

Baylor (16-0, 6-0) goes to Texas (12-2, 6-0) on Wednesday.

Baylor remained the only unbeaten team in the land with a 25-19, 25-21, 25-19 sweep of visiting Texas Tech (14-7, 4-3). Baylor won its 31st set in a row as Yossiana Pressley led with 12 kills. Pressley, who hit 135, had two aces, a block and eight digs. Shelly Stafford had 10 kills with one error in 17 attacks and hit .529 to go with a block and four digs,and Marieke Van der Mark had nine kills, hit .467, and had an ace, a block and three digs. Kara McGhee and Gia Milano had eight kills each and McGhee had nine blocks, two solo.

“I like how we sided out so well at a high percentage. I felt like we were confident and held control of the match,” Baylor coach Ryan McGuyre said. “Momentum can shift quickly.

“Offensively, we weren’t as sharp the first two sets, but the blocking saved us. It was good to have some good blocks across the board. Marieke had a great match.”

Emily Hill had 13 kills to lead Texas Tech and had an assist, a block and a seven digs … 

Texas won at West Virginia (10-9, 1-5) 25-13, 25-17, 26-24 as the Longhorns put on a hitting clinic, led by Skylar Fields. She had 13 kills with one error in 23 swings and hit .522 and had eight blocks and a dig. Micaya White had 10 kills to go with an assist, two blocks and eight digs, and Asjia O’Neal had eight kills with no errors in eight swings to hit 1.000, and she had two aces, two digs and seven blocks. Brionne Butler had seven kills and five blocks and Jhenna Gabriel had a kill in her only try, 35 assists, nine digs and three blocks, one solo. 

Katelyn Evans has 14 kills for WVU, which hit .118 …

Oklahoma (13-5, 5-2), which has only lost to the leaders, beat visiting Iowa State (12-7, 3-4) 25-15, 25-12, 23-25, 25-18. Ashlynn Dunbar led a balanced attack with 13 kills, an assist, two aces, two blocks and eight digs. Paige Anderson and Sarah Maras had 12 kills each. Anderson had an assist and four blocks, one solo, and Maras had an assist, four aces and nine digs.

Eleanor Holthaus had 14 kills and hit .300 for ISU and had two assists, three blocks and 17 digs … 

And Kansas (6-10, 2-4) swept visiting TCU (6-11, 1-6), which took over sole possession of last place after the 25-18, 25-21, 25-19 outcome. Ashley Smith led KU with 12 kills and three blocks, two solo, and Christon Morgan had 12 kills, a dig and a block. TCU hit .073.

Big Ten: Minnesota (13-3, 7-1) beat visiting Illinois (9-8, 4-4) 25-16, 25-22, 22-25, 25-23 despite hitting .185. Stephanie Samedy led with 16 kills, an assist, an ace, a block and 12 digs, and Adanna Rollins had 11 kills, an assist, three blocks and also 12 digs. Regan Pittman had nine kills and hit .400 and added an assist, two digs and seven blocks, one solo. 

Illinois, which hit .141, got 16 kills from Megan Cooney, who had three blocks and three digs. Jacqueline Quade had 14 kills but hit .016 to go with an assist, two blocks and eight digs. Ashlyn Fleming had 12 kills and hit .321 and had two blocks and six digs. Diana Brown had 50 assists, three blocks and 14 digs … 

Nebraska (15-2, 7-1) won at Maryland (11-9, 3-5) 25-19, 25-16, 25-13 as Lexi Sun had 12 kills and hit .417 to go with an ace, two blocks and four digs. Madi Kubik had 10 kills and hit .333 and had three assists and eight digs. Nicklin Hames had three kills in four errorless tries and 27 assists, a block and nine digs. The Huskers hit .337.

Erika Pritchard led Maryland with 10 kills, four blocks and five digs … 

Wisconsin (12-4, 8-0) remained the only team unbeaten in B1G play with a 25-19, 25-16, 25-13 sweep of visiting Northwestern (9-11, 0-8). Grace Loberg led with 15 kills, hit .324, and had a block and three digs. Molly Haggerty had nine kills, two aces, a block and two digs. All-American Dana Rettke sat out with a foot injury. Temi Thomas-Ailara had 12 kills for Northwestern to go with a block and eight digs … 

Purdue (12-5, 4-4) won at Ohio State (10-10, 3-5) 25-17, 23-25, 26-24, 22-25, 15-13, closing out the last set on a 4-1 run. Caitlyn Newton led Purdue with 19 kills, an assist, two aces, seven digs and two blocks, one solo. Blake Mohler had 15 kills, a dig and eight blocks, one solo, and Shavona Cuttino had 11 kills, hit .429 with a dig and seven blocks, one solo. The Boilermakers hit .192. Ohio State, which hit .202, got 20 kills from Gabby Gonzales, who hit .326, and added an assist and 14 digs. Jenaisya Moore had 16 kills, a dig and seven blocks, four solo …

And Michigan (13-5, 6-2) crushed visiting Rutgers (6-13, 0-8) 25-10, 25-15, 25-16, hitting .463. Paige Jones led with 12 kills as she hit .364. Ten different Wolverines had kills, including eight each by May Pertofsky and Jess Robinson. Pertofsky had one error in 11 swings to go with an assist, three aces, seven blocks, two solo, and Robinson had no errors in 11 swings and added three blocks, one solo. Rutgers hit .039.

Marquette, Colorado State win: No. 12 Marquette (17-3, 7-1 Big East) swept at Georgetown (12-10, 2-6) 25-15, 25-10, 25-17 as the Golden Eagles hit .516. Allie Barber led with 11 kills, hit .524 after having no errors in 21 attacks, and had an ace, two blocks and four digs … Also in the Big East, Villanova (14-6, 5-3) beat visiting DePaul (10-10, 3-4) in four sets as five Wildcats had ten or more kills, including 11 each by Sanaa Barnes, who hit .364, and Mallory Potts, who hit .308 … 

No. 14 Colorado State (18-1, 8-0 Mountain West) cruised at Utah State (2-18, 2-6) 25-11, 25-13, 25-16 as it hit .397. Breana Runnels led with 11 kills and hit .429 to go with four of the Rams’ 12 aces, four blocks — one solo — and five digs. Paulina Hougaard-Jensen had 10 kills with no errors in 17 attacks and hit .714 and had three aces, a dig and 11 blocks, two solo. Kirstie Hillyer had six kills in nine errorless swings and three blocks, one solo. Setter Katie Oleksak had five blocks. Utah State hit .065 … Also in the Mountain West, Wyoming (12-7, 7-1) stayed a game back with a four-set win over Boise State (12-7, 4-4). KC McMahon had 17 kills for the Cowgirls … San Jose State (7-12, 2-6) beat New Mexico (6-14, 1-7)  in four as Fernanda Vido had 15 kills and 12 digs and Makayla Lewis 14 kills and 13 digs … UNLV (10-9, 6-2) beat Nevada (14-6, 4-4)  in four behind 20 kills by Mariena Hayden, who hit .375 and had two aces, two blocks and 15 digs. Kayla Afoa had 18 kills for Nevada to go with an ace, three blocks and 12 digs … and Air Force (7-13, 4-4) went five to beat San Diego State (9-10, 2-6) as Denise Ssozi had 19 kills and 11 digs. 

Big West: No Lindsey Ruddins? No problem. UC Santa Barbara’s star player — the team leader in kills and third in digs and blocks — was out with an injury, but the Gauchos (16-2, 6-1) beat visiting Cal Poly (13-6, 6-1) to force a tie between them atop the league. Tallulah Froley had 16 kills in the 25-19, 25-21, 15-25, 25-21 victory. Frohley added four digs and two blocks. Torre Glasker had 10 kills, an ace, 16 digs and four blocks, one solo. Setter Olivia Lovenberg had a kill, 23 assists, two aces, and nine digs.

Maia Dvoracek led Cal Poly with 19 kills and had six digs and two blocks. Three players had eight kills each, including Madilyn Mercer, who also had four blocks, one solo.

It was not a pretty offensive match. UCSB hit .191 and Cal Poly .184 … 

Also in the Big West, Long Beach State (5-14, 2-5) swept UC Irvine (4-15, 1-6) and CSUN (8-11, 3-4) did the same to Cal State Fullerton (10-8, 2-5).

West Coast Conference: The leaders, San Diego and BYU, were off, but three of the four matches in the league Saturday went five. 

And the other went four, as Saint Mary’s (7-11, 3-5) came up big against Pepperdine (10-9, 6-2) as Ashley Breyan had 19 kills in a 25-18, 18-25, 25-22, 25-22 victory. Breyan, who hit .351, had two assists, an ace, two blocks and eight digs. Elena Baka added nine kills, an assist, an ace, two blocks and nine digs. Rachel Ahrens led Pepperdine with 16 kills and hit .500 and added two assists, both of the Waves’ aces, and five blocks. Hannah Frohling had 14 kills … 

Loyola Marymount (12-8, 6-2) stayed two games off the lead with a win at Pacific (11-9, 3-5) as Savannah Slattery and Megan Rice had 14 kills each. Rice had five blocks, one solo, and seven digs. Allison Dennemann had 16 kills, three blocks and 15 digs for Pacific, which got 15 kills from Riley Patterson, who had a block and 13 digs … Santa Clara (14-7, 4-4) beat Portland (10-9, 2-6) behind 17 kills by Julia Sangiacomo … and San Francisco (5-14, 1-7) broke through with a win over Gonzaga (6-14, 0-8) as Kathya Garcia had a heck of a line with 23 kills, an assist, two blocks and 29 digs. Kennedy Croft had 20 kills for the Zags and 16 digs.

Around the nation: Northern Colorado (14-6, 8-0 Big Sky) is two games up in the standings over idle Idaho (10-10, 6-2) after a 25-16, 25-17, 25-16 sweep at Portland State as Jo Ince Kailey had 16 kills and hit .452 … 

Milwaukee (20-2, 7-1) is alone atop the Horizon League after beating Wright State (16-4, 5-3) as the Panthers had 90 digs, including a career-high by Jess Grabowski. Carmen Heilemann led with 12 kills, two digs and four blocks, one solo, and Kylie Wilks had 11 kills, two aces, a block and 13 digs … Green Bay (14-6, 6-2) stayed close with a four-set win over Northern Kentucky as Taylor Wolf had 18 kills, an assist, two aces, 17 digs and a block … Also in the Horizon, Jamie Walling had 22 kills for Oakland in its five-set win over Cleveland State …

In the Mid-American Conference, Akron won to stay atop the East at 5-1, but Bowling Green and Miami are both right behind at 5-2, while in the West, idle Central Michigan is 6-0 and has a three-game lead over Ball State, which was swept by Kent State. Akron beat Western Michigan in five as Alexis Adieta had 20 kills, hit .300, and had 23 digs and a block. Meredith Phillips had 20 kills and 13 digs for WMU. Also in the MAC, Katelyn Meyer had 28 kills for Bowling Green in its five-set win over Eastern Michigan as she hit .338 and had an ace and three digs. And Maggie Nedoma had 18 kills and hit .359 for Ohio in its sweep of Toledo and added an ace, 10 digs and four blocks … 

Stephen F. Austin won its 13th in a row and is 20-1 overall, 8-0 in the Southland, after sweeping Southeastern Louisiana. Corin Evans led with 15 kills and had five digs. Xariah Williams had seven kills in 12 errorless swings and six blocks, one solo. Also in the Southland, Chloe Simon had 19 kills and 14 digs in Texas A&M-Corpus Christi’s four-set win over Houston Baptist. Mikayla Vivens had 17 kills for HBU and added three assists, an ace and 20 digs … 

Grand Canyon (16-4, 6-2 Western Athletic Conference) had to go five to win at Cal Baptist but couldn’t make up any ground on NM State (17-3, 8-0), which swept at Chicago State. Kaira Moss, who hit .481, and Annabelle Kubinski, who hit .684, had 14 kills apiece for GCU. Moss had nine blocks and a dig, while Kubinski had four blocks, one solo. Sarah Hagge had 13 kills and hit .480 and had six blocks and three digs. NM State’s Cat Kelly and Savannah Davison had 11 kills each … 

Four teams that all won in sweeps — Morehead State, Southeast Missouri, Jacksonville State and Murray State — are tied for the Ohio Valley Conference lead at 6-2. Rachel Holthaus had 17 kills for Murray State in its win over Tennessee State as she hit .680 after having no errors in 25 swings and had an assist, two aces, nine digs and a block … 

All three ASUN matches were sweeps as Kennesaw State beat Jacksonville State, FGCU beat NJIT, and Stetson beat North Alabama. Kennesaw State and FGCU are 7-1 atop the league. Lauren Chastang had 12 kills and hit .400 for KSU to go with an ace, five digs and four blocks, one solo. FGCU hit .400 against NJIT … 

In the Atlantic 10, Dayton stayed in the league lead at 7-0 while VCU kept pace at 6-0 and Saint Louis stayed a game back at 6-1. Dayton swept Rhode Island and VCU did the same to Davidson, while the Billikens won at Fordham in four behind 23 kills by Maya Taylor, who also had 10 digs … 

Cornell, Princeton and Yale are all tied atop the Ivy League standings at 6-1. Yale beat Cornell in four and Princeton swept Dartmouth. Princeton’s Natasha Skove had 13 kills, hit .333, and had nine digs and three blocks, one solo … 

Winthrop (15-4, 7-0) stayed unbeaten and maintained its Big South lead as it beat Radford in four. Emily Wunder led with 16 kills and hit .500 to go with four digs and three blocks. Nikkia Benitez had 14 kills, hit .367, and had 10 digs and two solo blocks … High Point (14-9, 6-1) stayed a game back with a sweep of Gardner-Webb as Megan Kratzer had 16 kills, hit .464, and had six digs … Also in the Big South, Gabby Calloway had 22 kills in Hampton’s loss to Charleston Southern …

Fairfield is 8-0 in the Metro Atlantic, two games up on Canisius, after the Stags beat Niagara and Canisius lost in four at Quinnipiac. Mayda Garcia had 13 kills and nine digs for Fairfield, which has won 11 matches in a row … Also in the MAAC, Megan Fergus had 21 kills, 14 digs and four aces for Marist in its four-set win over Iona … 

Loyola and idle Northern Iowa are tied at 7-1 atop the Missouri Valley Conference — they play at Loyola on Monday — and Illinois State is a game back at 6-2. Loyola swept Bradley and Illinois State beat Valparaiso in four … 

Robert Morris (19-3, 9-0 Northeast Conference) won its ninth match in a row, a sweep of St. Francis Brooklyn despite hitting .185. Also in the Northeast, Kora Schaberl had 20 kills for LIU in a four-set loss to Bryant, and Madi Tyus had 19 kills for Saint Francis (Pa.) in a four-set loss to Central Connecticut … 

Zeynep Uzen had 18 kills for American in its four-set Patriot League win over Lafayette as she hit .455 and had an ace, 10 digs and two blocks. Also in the Patriot, Alli Lowe had 16 kills and hit .424 for Colgate in its sweep of Bucknell. She had five digs and two blocks, one solo … 

Kelsi Hobbs had 19 kills and 14 digs and Lauren Deaton 17 kills and 16 digs as Samford won a SoCon match in five over Western Carolina. Also in the Southern Conference, The Citadel won its fourth match in a row as it beat Chattanooga in five as Sharlissa De Jesus had 22 kills, hit .341, and had three assists, two aces, two block and 10 digs. Gylian Finch had 27 kills and hit .323 for Chattanooga and had an assist, two ace, a block and nine digs … 

And in the Sun Belt, Texas State built its lead in the West with a four-set win over South Alabama as Janell Fitzgerald had 18 kills and hit .455 and Cheyenne Huskey had 17 kills and hit 419. Huskey added two assists, 10 digs and four blocks. Also in the Sun Belt, another Cheyenne, Cheynne Hayes, had 19 kills and hit .326 for Troy in a four-set win over UT Arlington.

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