Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Roundup: Nebraska holds off Michigan St. in five set thriller

No. 24 Ohio State (12-4 overall, 2-1 Big Ten) rolled to a 3-0 sweep of No. 10 Minnesota (8-4, 1-2) on Friday night in front of 1,575 fans in St. John Arena. The Buckeyes downed the Golden Gophers by a 25-23, 25-20, 28-26 count in their Big Ten home opener.

Mari Hole led the Ohio State's offensive charge by posting a team-high 17 points with 16 kills (.467) and one ace. Emily Danks added 10.5 points with seven kills (.300), three aces and one assist block while Mariah Booth contributed 10 points with nine kills (.500) and two assist blocks. Minnesota's Ashley Wittman recorded a match-high 18.5 points with 18 kills (.295) and one assist block. Katherine Harms added 12 points with 10 kills (.231) and four assist blocks and 10 from Ariana Filho with four kills (.333), two ace serves, two solo blocks and four assist blocks.

For the match, Ohio State hit .312 to .269 for Minnesota. The Buckeyes had a 50-47 edge in kills while the Gophers had a 46-44 advantage in assists. Mia Tabberson posted a match-high 45 assists for the Gophers with OSU's Peterson recording 41. Ohio State had a 6-2 advantage in ace serves. OSU's Danks posted a match-high three aces. The Gophers gave up seven service errors to three for OSU.

Defensively, Ohio State had a 46-40 margin in digs with OSU's Mignin and Minnesota's Jessica Granquist sharing match-high honors with 14 each. OSU's Host added 11 digs for a double-double with her 16 kills. At the net, the Gophers had an eight to six margin in team blocks. Minnesota's Filho produced a match-high six total blocks with two solos and four assists. OSU's Barhorst and Peterson shared team-high honors with four assist each.

No. 1 Illinois 3, Indiana 1
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Illinois struggled offensively, but used aggressive serving and a strong defensive effort to overcome visiting Indiana in four sets, 25-15, 21-25, 25-19, 25-14 on Friday night. The victory keeps Illinois undefeated at 14-0, 3-0 in the Big Ten.

Junior Michelle Bartsch reflected the Illini effort on the night, hitting .333 with six kills in the opening set; serving eight consecutive points, including five on aces in the second set, and coming up with the play of the night, a diving dig that caught the Hoosiers by surprise, landing safely on the Indiana side for an Illinois point. That gave Illinois a 15-11 advantage in set three. However, the reigning Big Ten Player of the Week also had 11 hitting errors to go along with her 14 digs and team-high 16 kills.

Illinois executed well in the first set and picked up steam as the frame went on, out-scoring Indiana 9-3 to win it going away. The second set was a different story as the Illini hit -.091 with six kills and nine hitting errors. The set itself was one of streaks. The Hoosiers darted to a 9-4 lead, saw the Illini off the arm of Bartsch score nine straight, then the Hoosiers rattle off six straight and 11 of 14 overall, to take set two.

No. 2 UCLA 3, Utah 0
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah -- Senior Lauren Van Orden had a double-double with 39 assists and 10 digs and juniors Rachael Kidder (18) and Bojana Todorovic (10) each had double figures in kills and just missed out on double-doubles, as the second-ranked Bruins swept Utah on Friday at Crimson Court. Set scores were 25-12, 25-20, 25-17.

The Bruins improve to 12-2 overall and 5-1 in Pac-12 play, while the Utes fall to 6-9 and 1-5 in league action.

Van Orden added four blocks and three kills, as she posted her team-best sixth double-double of the season. Todorovic and Kidder almost got double-doubles too, but settled for nine and eight digs, respectively. Junior Tabi Love added eight kills, sophomore Mariana Aquino was a perfect 7-for-7 on kill attempts and senior Sara Sage posted five kills and five blocks. Senior Lainey Gera (13) and sophomore Meg Norton (10) were each in double figures in digs. The Bruins hit .352 for the match.

No. 5 USC 3, Colorado 0
BOULDER, Colo. -- Senior All-America outside hitter Alex Jupiter had 14 kills with nine digs and two solo blocks while hitting .344 as USC earned a 3-0 Pac-12 Conference sweep against Colorado 25-21, 25-21, 25-18 on Friday night. It was USC's fifth consecutive sweep as the Trojans are now in a first-place tie in the conference with UCLA. USC is 10-3 overall and 5-1 in conference with Colorado dropping to 5-9 overall, 0-6 in conference.

Freshman middle blocker Hannah Schraer added a season-high 11 kills for the Women of Troy while hitting .529 (11-2-17). Senior All-America setter Kendall Bateman had 33 assists and a career-high 12 digs while sophomore Sara Shaw also recorded a career-high with 12 digs.

The Women of Troy hit .271 in the match, including a match-high .364 in the third set (16-4-33) while holding Colorado to a .195 night.

No. 7 Nebraska 3, Michigan State 2
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- No. 7 Nebraska outlasted Michigan State by a 3-2 count (27-25, 16-25, 21-25, 25-17, 16-14) on Friday night in front of 2,024 fans at Jenison Fieldhouse. The Huskers rallied to win the final two sets in a 27-25, 16-25, 21-25, 25-17, 16-14 victory against the Spartans.

Morgan Broekhuis led Nebraska on the night with a career-high 22 kills on 33 attacks for a .545 hitting percentage. Hannah Werth tabbed 13 kills on 27 attacks, while Gina Mancuso had 12 kills of her own. Mancuso tabbed the sixth double-double of her career with an additional 10 digs. The Huskers hit .279 on the match, while Michigan State hit .296. Lauren Cook notched 50 assists for Nebraska, while Lara Dykstra had 16 digs on the night.

The Huskers improved to 10-1 on the season, including 3-0 in conference play, while the Spartans fell to 12-3 and 1-2 in Big Ten action.

No. 9 Penn State 3, Wisconsin 0
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- No. 9 Penn State (9-4, 2-1 Big Ten) swept past conference foe Wisconsin (9-6, 1-2 Big Ten) on Friday night. The Nittany Lions made quick work of the Badgers winning by scores of 25-18, 25-20, 25-22.

Sophomore Ariel Scott led the Nittany Lions with a match-high 12 kills. Sophomore Katie Slay posted eight kills on .778 hitting, while sophomore Deja McClendon also tallied eight. Freshman Micha Hancock dished out 29 assists and had a match-high four aces. Sophomore libero Ali Longo recorded nine digs, while Slay had a team-best five total blocks.

The Nittany Lions hit .202 against the Badgers and totaled 39 kills, 10 aces, 34 digs and 11.5 total team blocks. Wisconsin registered a .105 hitting percentage and finished the match with 32 kills, four aces, 42 digs and 7.5 team blocks.

Roundup: Nebraska holds off Michigan St. in five set thriller

The Bruins improve to 12-2 overall and 5-1 in Pac-12 play, while the Utes fall to 6-9 and 1-5 in league action.

The Women of Troy hit .271 in the match, including a match-high .364 in the third set (16-4-33) while holding Colorado to a .195 night.

The Huskers improved to 10-1 on the season, including 3-0 in conference play, while the Spartans fell to 12-3 and 1-2 in Big Ten action.

Roundup: Nebraska holds off Michigan St. in five set thriller

The Bruins improve to 12-2 overall and 5-1 in Pac-12 play, while the Utes fall to 6-9 and 1-5 in league action.

The Women of Troy hit .271 in the match, including a match-high .364 in the third set (16-4-33) while holding Colorado to a .195 night.

The Huskers improved to 10-1 on the season, including 3-0 in conference play, while the Spartans fell to 12-3 and 1-2 in Big Ten action.

Trojans in four to advance to national title match

The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos relish the underdog role so much they’ve proclaimed themselves the Cinderella team of the men’s volleyball postseason.
After another upset of top-ranked Southern California, the upstart Gauchos are one more win away from taking on another moniker: NCAA champions.
Cullen Irons and Dylan Davis each had 15 kills and UCSB split a rough-and-tumble first two sets with the powerhouse Trojans before pulling away in relatively easy fashion, 29-27, 24-26, 25-15 and 25-18.
“Whatever seed you give us is fine. Because we know what we are and we’re OK with it,” UCSB coach Rick McLaughlin said about his team’s underdog mentality. “We’re just going to keep proving it.”
The Gauchos (18-14) move on to face Ohio State in the national championship match.
First though, UCSB will savor a second postseason upset of USC in six days after getting swept by the Trojans in six sets in the teams’ two regular season meetings.

“We knew that we could pretty much kill them if we played like we did in the regular season,” Bourne said. “It’s just hard to keep the mindset that they’re getting (hyped) for the game and they’re not the same team we played in the regular season.”
No two teams had as divergent resumes entering postseason play as USC and UCSB.
The Trojans were a preseason favorite, ranked No. 1 from wire-to-wire. The Gauchos limped into the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament having lost two in a row and four of its last five to fall to 14-14.
They haven’t lost since. A five-set victory against USC in the conference final clinched what was once an unlikely berth to the NCAAs.
“They’re a tough group of guys. They won’t let this season end,” McLaughlin said.
Then, UCSB drew a No. 4 seed in the tournament to set up a rematch with top seed USC.
It turned out to be an even easier win for the Gauchos, aided by the Trojans’ mistakes on the serve and Davis’ frontcourt play. The 6-foot-9 senior hit 88 percent on the attack.

Trojans in four to advance to national title match

FAMBROUGH: High-five

There are reasons why numerous high school football teams in the Baton Rouge metro area should be exchanging high fives and collecting congratulations.

In just five weeks, this season has provided more plot twists than a mystery novel and enough big plays to fill up a highlight show.

These factors have already made 2011 one of the best in recent memory. Here’s why: Everybody loves a Cinderella story. But why settle on just one when there are several to consider.

It starts with Scotlandville (5-0). The Hornets have never had a start like this, especially in Class 5A.
In 1A, there’s East Iberville (5-0). Of course, in between you have Port Allen (5-0) in 3A and 4A St. Michael (5-0).

Skeptics can point out all these teams have played less than challenging schedules, though Scotlandville has a win over 3A power Parkview Baptist.

But to be in the conversation with top teams, first you have to win. At the least, these teams have given us something to talk about.

Once you get past the Cinderellas, there’s a group of teams I’ll call ranked and ready. It starts with second-ranked Dutchtown (5-0) in Class 5A and also includes No. 3 University (5-0) and No. 7 Episcopal (5-0), both of 2A. These teams deserve their rankings until someone comes along and beats them to prove otherwise.

I know John Curtis and Evangel Christian seemingly make their reservations to play in the 2A title game months in advance. It’s the yearly high school equivalent to the running of the bulls. You don’t want your team in their path.

You’ve got to admit that the Cubs and Knights squaring off in 7-2A this week brings a new excitement.

How about a group of resurgent 5A programs riding the wave of success? St. Amant (4-1), winner of three straight, and East Ascension (4-1) are in this group along with Zachary (4-1).

There’s also a group of teams I refer to as down, but not out. Parkview Baptist (2-3) and East Feliciana (2-3) of 3A belong here. I’ll throw Woodlawn (2-3) of 5A in the group, too.

All three started the season with high expectations and have taken some lumps. The good news: There is time left for these teams and others to make their mark.

For some the biggest shocker is two of the area’s most successful programs, 5A Catholic High (0-5) and 2A Redemptorist (1-4), are a combined 1-9. Add defending 1A state champion White Castle (1-4) and the mark is 2-14.
Just as the surprising unbeatens have something to prove, so do these teams.

There have been plenty of outstanding performances, but I think there is no doubt who the top local player is.
Dutchtown’s Landon Collins entered the season as one of the nation’s top senior prospects as a linebacker-safety. What many did not know until now is that Collins is just as dangerous an offensive weapon.

Going into a Week 5 game at Destrehan, Collins was averaging 19 yards a carry and has made some of the most electrifying runs I’ve seen since the heyday of two Catholic High stars from the 1990s, Warrick Dunn and Travis Minor.

FAMBROUGH: High-five

Ginobili’s denies Italy

With the first two weeks of NBA regular-season games likely to be canceled come Monday, speculation continues to build about players heading overseas, including two of the Spurs’ “Big Three.”

It appears likely that as soon as the cancellations become official, All-Star point guard Tony Parker will sign with Asvel, the team in Lyon-Villeurbanne, France, in which he has an ownership stake.

An Internet report out of Italy on Tuesday indicated Spurs All-Star guard Manu Ginobili, who played several seasons in Bologna, Italy, had agreed to sign with Italian League power Virtus Bologna if Lakers star Kobe Bryant turned down a lucrative deal Virtus has offered him.

Ginobili’s agent, Herb Rudoy, on Tuesday emphatically refuted that report, writing in a text message, “Not true!” when asked if Ginobili had made any such agreement.

Bryant, who attended Tuesday’s negotiating session in New York between the NBA’s owners and players, was non-committal about his offer from Virtus Bologna. The negotiating impasse that likely will wipe out the first two weeks of the regular season frees him to play there, but doesn’t necessarily mean he will.

“I don’t think there’s anything stopping it or pushing on it,” he said. “I think it’s its own separate structure. The developments that it has to what’s going on here is that I have time to be able to play overseas. In terms of what’s holding up the deal is the same as any other deal.”

Ginobili’s denies Italy

With the first two weeks of NBA regular-season games likely to be canceled come Monday, speculation continues to build about players heading overseas, including two of the Spurs’ “Big Three.”

It appears likely that as soon as the cancellations become official, All-Star point guard Tony Parker will sign with Asvel, the team in Lyon-Villeurbanne, France, in which he has an ownership stake.

Ginobili’s agent, Herb Rudoy, on Tuesday emphatically refuted that report, writing in a text message, “Not true!” when asked if Ginobili had made any such agreement.

Ginobili’s denies Italy

With the first two weeks of NBA regular-season games likely to be canceled come Monday, speculation continues to build about players heading overseas, including two of the Spurs’ “Big Three.”

It appears likely that as soon as the cancellations become official, All-Star point guard Tony Parker will sign with Asvel, the team in Lyon-Villeurbanne, France, in which he has an ownership stake.

Ginobili’s agent, Herb Rudoy, on Tuesday emphatically refuted that report, writing in a text message, “Not true!” when asked if Ginobili had made any such agreement.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Volleyball stays perfect in Ivies

“I was really proud of a young squad being able to [bounce back],” head coach Erin Appleman said. “All the momentum was going Columbia’s way, and we were able to push hard in that fifth game and play like we can.”
The Elis (9–4, 3–0 Ivy) began the weekend against Cornell (2–12, 0–3), a team that has struggled early this season and came into New Haven riding a five-match losing streak.
The Big Red managed to keep up with Yale early in the first set. But Yale went on a 5–0 run to take an 18–10 lead, culminating with a block for a point by captain Taylor Cramm ’12 and Allie Frappier ’15. The Bulldogs did not look back, capturing the set 25–18.
The Elis continued their dominance in the second set, jumping out to a 9–1 lead. The run included a well-placed service ace from Mollie Rogers ’15 and was topped with a kill from Frappier. Yale went on to take the second set 25–15.
“I think we did a good job serving and passing which allowed us to use our offense against Cornell,” Frappier said.
Despite a stronger showing in the third set, the Big Red wasn’t able to break through against the Bulldogs. Yale took control in the middle of the set with a 6–0 run, building a 17–11 lead and keeping Cornell at bay en route to a 25–22 victory.
Maddie Rudnick ’15 recorded an impressive 30 digs to lead the Elis defensively while Kendall Polan ’14 added 37 assists and 14 digs.
After sweeping Brown and Cornell, the Bulldogs had not dropped a set in Ivy League play entering their match with Columbia on Saturday evening. Yale would extend this streak following 25–19 and 25–22 victories in the first two sets.
Following a visit to the locker room, however, the Lions came out and challenged the Bulldogs, winning the third set 25–20 in spite of a late 7–2 Yale run.
“I think we weren’t playing at the best [level] that we can play at,” Appleman said. “We weren’t really being as aggressive defensively as we normally are.”
It got even worse for the Bulldogs in the fourth set as the Lions took an early 10–5 lead that they would not relinquish all set. Led by dominant hitting from Monique Roberts, Columbia had completely captured the match’s momentum. They clinched the victory 25–13, finishing a set that featured poor play from Yale with the Elis committing five errors.
“Columbia played flawless volleyball in game four,” Appleman said. “When you have a team that’s that good in one set, you kind of have to look and say ‘how can we win three out of five instead of this one?’”
The Bulldogs answered this question in the fifth set as they traded points with Columbia to a 10–10 score. With the score tied, Rogers captured the momentum for the Bulldogs with a kill off the Columbia block to take an 11–10 lead. Frappier recorded three of the next four points as they held off the Columbia comeback with a match-clinching 15–11 victory.
“When I am playing well I feel like I have the ability to be more aggressive in every aspect of my game,” Frappier said.

Volleyball stays perfect in Ivies

Manu catches a bat to celebrate Halloween

Manu Ginobili’s career has been dotted by many memorable plays and moments.

He’s been a part of three NBA championship teams, becoming arguably the most popular player in the history of the franchise. Since his arrival in 2002, Spurs Nation has become captivated by the gritty Ginobili’s work ethic and basketball ability.

But arguably his top memory as a Spur came for an instinctive act that happened during a break in play during the game on Halloween night in 2009.

Late in the first period of a game against Sacramento, a Mexican freetail bat swooped into the AT&T Center and descended onto the court. Players from both teams scattered and game officials halted play. The bat circled the arena and left before returning to dive-bomb the action on the court again.

Ginobili didn’t need a clove of garlic or a crucifix to take care of the menacing creature. With a looping lunge on his left hand, he knocked the beast out of the air.

He then carried the bat off the court in his palm to thunderous cheers from the AT&T Center crowd of 16,966.

As the theme to “Batman” blared across the arena, players on both the Spurs and Kings applauded Ginobili. After receiving treatment from Spurs trainer Will Sevening, Ginobili reurned to the court and the game continued.

The game on the court was actually secondary to Ginobili’s early bat snatching. Tony Parker notched 24 points and aeven assists, Richard Jefferson added 21 and Ginobili scored 13 points off the bench to lead the Spurs’ 113-94 victory. Kevin Martin scored a game-high 29 points for the Kings.

Manu catches a bat to celebrate Halloween

Manu Ginobili’s career has been dotted by many memorable plays and moments.

But arguably his top memory as a Spur came for an instinctive act that happened during a break in play during the game on Halloween night in 2009.

Ginobili didn’t need a clove of garlic or a crucifix to take care of the menacing creature. With a looping lunge on his left hand, he knocked the beast out of the air.

He then carried the bat off the court in his palm to thunderous cheers from the AT&T Center crowd of 16,966.

Manu catches a bat to celebrate Halloween

Manu Ginobili’s career has been dotted by many memorable plays and moments.

But arguably his top memory as a Spur came for an instinctive act that happened during a break in play during the game on Halloween night in 2009.

Ginobili didn’t need a clove of garlic or a crucifix to take care of the menacing creature. With a looping lunge on his left hand, he knocked the beast out of the air.

He then carried the bat off the court in his palm to thunderous cheers from the AT&T Center crowd of 16,966.

High School Volleyball Rankings

Johnson’s Ayssa Garcia had 32 digs in the Jaguars’ first victory against Reagan and served up six aces against Lee as her team improved to 6-0 in District 26-5A.

RANKINGS
Team — W-L — Dist. — Prev.
1. Johnson — 33-5 — 26-5A — 1
2. New Braunfels — 32-6 — 25-5A — 2
3. Poth — 30-8 — 30-2A — 3
4. N.B. Canyon — 32-9 — 27-4A — 4
5. Incarnate Word — 25-11 — TAPPS — 5
6. Antonian — 29-10 — TAPPS — 6
7. Brandeis — 24-10 — 27-5A — 8
8. Warren — 24-12 — 27-5A — 7
9. Madison — 23-6 — 26-5A — NR
10. MacArthur — 24-12 — 26-5A — 9

High School Volleyball Rankings

MIL Girls Volleyball

Hot pot vollyball Sheduel

MIL Girls Volleyball Oct. 4, 2011

Tue, October 4, 2011 @ 4:30PM

Baldwin vs. King Kekaulike at Baldwin, Junior Varsity, 4:30 p.m.
Baldwin vs. King Kekaulike at Baldwin, Varsity, 6 p.m.
Lahainaluna vs. Kamehameha at Lahainaluna, Junior Varsity, 4:30 p.m.
Lahainaluna vs. Kamehameha at Lahainaluna, Varsity, 6 p.m.