RSC Volleyball Tournament Day 1 Recap: RSC West Division advances 3 teams to Semis
RSC Volleyball Tournament Day 1 Recap: RSC West Division advances 3 teams to Semis
COVERAGE: WATCH LIVE LIVE STATS BRACKET
CINCINNATI, Ohio -- The 2016 River States Conference Volleyball Tournament began on Friday, Nov. 11 at Cincinnati Christian University. The four quarterfinal matches were completed, and the RSC West Division was the big winner with three teams advancing on to the semifinals.
Cincinnati Christian, the tournament host, started the day by pulling the only upset of the quarterfinals. The No. 4 seed out of the RSC West Division, the Eagles (18-10) knocked off tournament No. 1 overall seed Point Park (Pa.) University, the champion of the RSC East Division, in a five-set thriller.
The rest of Friday's quarterfinal matches were all won by the higher seed, although only one team made it through from the RSC East. No. 1 seed IU Kokomo (24-7), the RSC West champ, swept through No. 4 seed WVU Tech, 3-0. Likewise, Asbury (Ky.) University (16-15), the No. 2 seed from the RSC West, beat No. 3 IU East in straight sets. University of Rio Grande (23-13), the No. 2 seed from the RSC East, closed out the day by sweeping IU Southeast, the No. 3 from the RSC West.
Saturday's semifinal round begins at 10 a.m. with Cincinnati Christian versus Asbury. The second semifinal pits IU Kokomo versus Rio Grande at 12:30 p.m. The championship round is 3:30 p.m. with the winner qualifying for the NAIA National Championship Opening Round Nov. 19 at campus sites around the country.
The following are match recaps from Friday's RSC Volleyball Tournament quarterfinals
CINCINNATI CHRISTIAN 3, POINT PARK 2
Box Score By: Josh Mann, CCU Sports Information
The RSC Volleyball Tournament tipped off with a thrilling five-setter when host Cincinnati Christian defeated the top seed Point Park,25-20, 21-25, 25-21, 24-26,15-12.
The Eagles were led in kills by Mallory Morris and Lindsey Clements with 20 and 16 kills, respectively. Clements had a .424 attacking percentage for the match, while the team hit .232. Senior setter Ellie Abel dished out 56 assists, while four different players had 10+ digs for the match, with Kayla Weber setting the pace with 20.
Point Park in the defeat was led in kills by Shiloh Simonson and Ashley Taylor with 19 and 17 kills, respectively. The Pioneers had 64 kills for the match, with a team hitting percentage of .183. Nikki Inquartano led PPU with a .455 percentage and also connected on 13 kills. Emily Meng dished out 55 assists in the defeat, and five different players collected 11+ digs for the match, led by Morgan Dangelo and Taylor with 15 apiece.
With the victory CCU improves to 18-10 while PPU drops to 20-14. CCU moves on to face Asbury in the semifinals on Saturday at 10 a.m. PPU will await its NAIA National Championship Opening Round pairing as the RSC regular-season champion.
IU KOKOMO 3, WVU TECH 0
Box Score By: Josh Mann, CCU Sports Information
The second quarterfinal match of the day had IU Kokomo defeat WVU Tech in straight sets, 25-14, 25-15, 25-14.
The Cougars were led in kills by Lindi Thomas and McKenna Lundy with 14 and 10 kills, respectively. The Cougars had a team attacking percentage of .346, with Thomas leading the way at .520. Mary Westover connected on 33 assists. Thomas and Westover were also productive on the Cougars back row with 13 defensive digs apiece.
The Golden Bears were led by Bailey Lotozo with 9 kills, and the team was limited to a hititng percentage of .069. Konstantina Pateli dished out 20 assists while Michala Dean and Ana Monteiro anchored the defense with 12 digs and 11 digs, respectively.
With the victory, IU Kokomo improves to 24-7 and will meet Rio Grande in the semifinals Saturday at 12:30 p.m.WVU Tech drops to 22-19 to end the season.
ASBURY 3, IU EAST 0
Box Score By: Josh Mann, CCU Sports Information
The first quarterfinal match of the evening session had Asbury defeat IU East in straight sets, 29-27, 25-17, 25-18.
The Eagles were led in kills by Kayla Morlan with 15 and an attacking percentage of .462. The Eagles had a team attacking percentage of .235. Laura Bird and Rachyl Miller led the passing with 23 and 14 assists, respectively. Carly Butler and Bailee Settle provided the back line defense for Asbury with 13 and 11 defensive digs.
The Red Wolves were led by Bailey Gates with 11 kills while Sydney Durham connected on 8 kills and led IU East with a .333 attacking percentage. Meg Hicks dished out 30 assists for IU East, and Madison Yoder provided 13 defensive digs.
With the victory, Asbury improves to 16-15, and IU East ends the season at 14-21. Asbury advanced to the semifinals to meet Cincinnati Christian on Saturday at 10 a.m.
RIO GRANDE 3, IU SOUTHEAST 0
Box Score By: Josh Mann, CCU Sports Information
The final quarterfinal match of the evening featured Rio Grande sweeping IU Southeast, 25-12, 25-18, 25-19.
The RedStorm were led in kills and attacking percentage by Patricia Dennis with 13 and .385. Kayla Briley led the Red Storm with 25 assists. Aleah Pelphrey and Chandler Brown anchored the defense by collecting 12 and 10 digs, respectively.
The Grenadiers were led by Monica Loftus with 7 kills, however the team as a whole hit .000 for the match. Hannah Barker passed out 22 assists in the defeat while Natalie Keene and Loftus each had 10 digs.
Rio Grande bumped its record up to 23-13 and will face IU Kokomo in the semifinals on Saturday at 12:30 p.m.IU Southeast ends the season at 23-15.