Week Thirteen Selected Match Highlights:
At this late point in the season, good teams have one of two challenges: either they are jockeying for a better NCAA tourney seed and home-court advantage in the first two rounds if in a major power conference, or they are trying to avoid upsets in conference tourneys and thus possibly be shut out of the big dance if in a non-Big Six conference.
In the Big Ten, host Penn State beat Purdue, 3-1, after losing the first set (22-25, 25-18, 25-15, 25-18), thanks to outhitting (.285 to .169), outblocking (10 to 4), and outservice-acing (6 to 4) the Boilermakers. Elsewhere, host Michigan State stunned Illinois, 3-1 (25-14, 23-25, 25-21, 25-22), in an upset to make the Spartans' season.
It was a big week in the Pac-12, with Oregon and USC faring the best. On the road, Oregon beat both Stanford and Cal by identical 3-2 scores, outhitting the host schools .292 to .234 and .245 to .231, respectively. Meanwhile, host USC crushed both Arizona and Arizona State without losing a set. Conference upsets included Oregon State knocking off Cal, 3-2 (17-15 in the fifth set decider), and Arizona once again upending UCLA, this time on the road, 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-20), outhitting (.259 to .189) and outblocking (7 to 4) the bigger Bruins.
In the SEC, host Kentucky came from behind to defeat a stubborn Arkansas team, 3-2 (18-25, 26-28, 25-23, 25-21, 15-13). In the Big 12, and in another epic contest, Iowa State got by host Baylor, 3-2 (22-25, 25-12, 25-15, 4-26, 15-12).
In the Big East tournament, Cincinnati emerged triumphant, including a 3-2 (21-25, 21-25, 25-22, 25-17, 15-13) championship match win over Notre Dame. In the MAC tournament, Central Michigan was crowned champion, thanks to an upset championship match win over Northern Illinois, 3-2 (25-21, 25-22, 21-25, 23-25, 15-11). CMU outhit (.321 to .216), outblocked (13 to 4), and outaced (4 to 3) NIU. At 27-5, Northern Illinois should still receive an at-large bid from the committee, but nothing is guaranteed--especially when the committee unimaginatively prefers 6 or 7 teams from each of the power conferences. Zzzzzzz.
In the ACC, Miami struggled on the road at Georgia Tech (3-2) and Clemson (2-3) in five-set marathons. An average Virginia Tech squad upset 21-7 North Carolina, 3-1. In the WCC, visiting Pepperdine made quick work out of San Diego, 3-0 (25-21, 26-24, 25-18), and captured the conference crown.
There was a noble loser of the week. A mediocre Northwestern team put up valiant fights against both Michigan and Michigan State on the road, losing in five sets each time (11-15 and 12-15 in the fifth sets, respectively). The peskiness was even more admirable when considering the Wildcats' hitting inaccuracy (.137 against Michigan and .160 against Michigan State). Quality losses.
Week Thirteen Selected Individual Highlights:
Oregon showed tenacity and perseverance (not to mention improvement) in out-duelling both Cal and Stanford on the road in epic five-set matches, as Liz Brenner (44 kills, 7 blocks), future Miss Oregon USA Alaina Bergsma (30 kills, 3 ace, 15 digs, 7 blocks), Ariana Williams (27 kills, 4 blocks), Lauren Plum (9 kills, 117 assists, 4 aces, 25 digs, 4 blocks), Katherine Fischer (24 kills, 2 aces, 31 digs, 6 assists, 1 block), and Haley Jacob (56 digs, 5 assists) excelled on the court.
Also in the Pac-12, USC, displaying team hitting percentages of .488 and .336, lost only one set in hosting Arizona and Arizona State last weekend, thanks primarily to the efforts of Alex Jupiter (35 kills, 3 aces, 14 digs, 7 blocks), Lauren Williams (21 kills, 6 blocks), Alexis Olgard (20 kills, 5 blocks), Katie Fuller (18 kills, 3 blocks, 11 digs), Sara Shaw (13 kills, 1 ace, 20 digs), and superstar setter Kendall Bateman (93 assists, 13 digs, 4 blocks, 2 kills).
Pepperdine displayed stifling defense in smothering San Francisco and San Diego, illustrated by the 27 digs of their best hitter, Kim Hill, who also had 30 kills, 4 aces, and 4 blocks. Other major contributors included Lilla Frederick (20 kills, 4 aces, 30 digs, 3 blocks), Samantha Cash (16 kills, 12 blocks, 4 digs), Katie Messing (13 kills, 6 blocks, 4 digs), Kellie Woolever (80 assists, 23 digs, 6 blocks, 6 kills), and Stevi Robinson (29 digs).
Colorado State rolled through the Mountain West Conference tournament without losing a set against Air Force, Wyoming, and UNLV thanks to Katelyn Steffan (34 kills, 1 ace, 18 digs, 9 blocks), Megan Plourde (28 kills, 1 ace, 13 blocks, 4 digs), Dana Cranston (24 kills, 6 aces, 18 digs, 4 blocks), Brieon Paige (17 kills, 16 blocks), Deedra Foss (99 assists, 27 digs, 8 blocks, 1 ace), and Izzy Gaulia (3 aces, 1 kill, 50 digs).
North Dakota claimed the Great West championship with victories over Houston Baptist and Utah Valley at home due in large part to the efforts of Devin Trefz (28 kills, 1 ace, 8 blocks, 5 digs), Annika Smed (27 kills, 1 ace, 25 digs, 3 blocks), Lisa Parlich (15 kills, 9 blocks), Ronni Munkeby (15 kills, 6 blocks), Nikki Husfeldt (62 assists, 15 digs, 2 kills, 2 blocks, 1 ace), and Erica Turner (43 digs, 6 assists, 2 aces).
In the Midwest, Michigan State surprised Illinois in four sets and got by Northwestern in five sets at home, as Jenilee Rathje (33 kills, 9 blocks, 25 digs, 5 assists), Kyndra Abron (35 kills, 7 blocks, 5 digs), Becca Zialis (21 kills, 33 digs, 5 blocks, 2 aces, 5 assists), Alexis Mathews (20 kills, 14 blocks), Natalie Emro (10 kills, 55 assists, 9 blocks, 4 digs), Kristen Kelsay (40 assists, 5 kills, 18 digs), and Kori Moster (5 aces, 43 digs, 10 assists) played near-perfect team ball.
Finally using their superior size to their advantage, Central Michigan earned a spot in the NCAA tournament by knocking off the top three seeds (Western Michigan, Ohio U., and Northern Illinois) in succession in the Mid-American Conference tourney. Kaitlyn Schultz (44 kills, 9 blocks, 4 aces, 4 digs), Kaitlyn McIntyre (36 kills, 10 digs), Lindsey Dulude (30 kills, 6 aces, 22 digs, 5 blocks), Danielle Gotham (21 kills, 13 blocks), Kelly Maxwell (131 assists, 4 aces, 20 digs, 6 kills, 6 blocks), and Jenna Coates (54 digs, 1 ace, 6 assists, 2 kills) all overachieved at the right time.
Dayton slammed Duquesne and Xavier in winning the Atlantic-10 tournament thanks principally to Rachel Krabacher (29 kills, 15 digs, 2 blocks, 1 ace), Yvonne Marten (27 kills, 23 digs, 7 blocks, 2 aces), Megan Campbell (22 kills, 2 aces, 11 blocks, 4 digs), Samantha Selsky (83 assists, 18 digs, 6 blocks, 6 kills), and Paige Vargas (29 digs, 2 assists).
Cincinnati got through the Big East tourney unscathed, not losing a set to Villanova and Notre Dame but going five sets against Marquette, due primarily to the efforts of Jordanne Scott (39 kills, 11 digs, 10 blocks, 1 ace), Missy Harpenau (39 kills, 35 digs, 8 blocks, 2 aces), Megan Turner (26 kills, 2 aces, 11 digs, 4 blocks), Emily Hayden (26 kills, 13 blocks), Caylin Mahoney (126 assists, 28 digs, 12 kills, 9 blocks), and Emily MacIntyre (53 digs, 9 assists, 2 aces).
Milwaukee aced the Horizon League tournament, shutting out Valparaiso and Cleveland State, thanks primarily to Elizabeth Egerer (27 kills, 4 blocks, 4 digs), Julie Kolinske (21 kills, 2 blocks), Rachel Neuberger (15 kills, 7 blocks), Kerri Schuh (13 kills, 6 blocks, 19 digs, 9 assists, 1 ace), Kayla Price (6 kills, 65 assists, 22 digs, 4 blocks), and Morgan Potter (34 digs, 1 ace).
In the South, four schools had great weeks on the court. Tennessee shut out Arkansas and LSU at home due to the excellence of Kelsey Robinson (33 kills, 2 aces, 2 blocks, 18 digs), Leslie Cikra (19 kills, 5 blocks), Tiffany Baker (18 kills, 9 blocks, 11 digs), DeeDee Harrison (14 kills, 11 blocks), Mary Pollmiller (78 assists, 11 digs, 3 kills, 1 block), and Ellen Mullins (19 digs, 2 aces, 6 assists).
Florida State clinched the ACC title with wins over Clemson and Georgia Tech on the road by identical 3-1 scores. Spelling bees could be created using the Seminole roster names alone! Jekaterina Stepanova (38 kills, 20 digs, 2 blocks, 1 ace, 5 assists), Visnja Djurdjevic (20 kills, 33 digs, 4 blocks), Sareea Freeman (16 kills, 14 blocks), Elise Walch (16 kills, 4 blocks), Rachael Morgan (11 kills, 10 blocks, 9 digs, 1 ace), Sarah Wickstrom (45 assists, 11 digs, 1 ace, 1 kill), and Duyqu Duzceler (47 assists, 2 aces, 2 kills, 16 digs) played well in both matches.
Elsewhere in the ACC, Duke's talent is peaking at the right time, with emphatic 3-1 wins over Maryland and Boston College on the road. Sophia Dunworth (27 kills, 31 digs, 6 blocks, 1 ace, 4 assists), Christiana Gray (28 kills, 15 blocks), Amanda Robertson (24 kills, 10 blocks, 1 ace, 21 digs), Jeme Obeime (25 kills, 13 digs, 2 blocks), Kellie Catanach (96 assists, 23 digs, 6 blocks, 7 kills), and Ali McCurdy (46 digs, 2 aces, 7 assists) all excelled in preparation for the Big Dance.
Finally, Samford won its first two Southern Conference tournament matches, beating Davidson and Furman, thanks in large part to the efforts of Lauren Hutchinson (25 kills, 8 blocks, 1 ace, 4 digs), Elizabeth Neisler (31 kills, 11 digs, 2 blocks), Katie Murphy (25 kills, 5 blocks), Michaela Reeser (15 kills, 21 digs, 6 blocks), Casey Garvey (96 assists, 7 kills, 2 aces, 1 block, 4 digs), and Alexis Bauer (41 digs, 5 assists). They will play College of Charleston for the conference title on Monday.
Week Fourteen Selected Match Previews:
The final week of the regular season is dotted with big rivalry games and two more conference tournaments of note. Potential trap games are also noted.
The Missouri Valley Conference, featuring Wichita State, Missouri State, and powerhouse Northern Iowa, has its tourney in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Advantage, NIU. The Western Athletic Conference, featuring New Mexico State and Hawaii, has its tourney in neutral Las Vegas before Thanksgiving.
Big rivalry games of consequence include USC at UCLA, Cal at Stanford, Texas at Texas A&M, Oklahoma at Texas, Kentucky at Tennessee, and Florida State at Miami FL.
Potential trap games for NCAA shoe-ins include Penn State at Michigan State, Purdue at Wisconsin, New Mexico at Long Beach State, and Colorado State at New Mexico State.
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