GU splits on first day of Worthington Classic

WASHINGTON – The Gallaudet University women's volleyball team kicked off the 10th annual Worthington Classic here Friday with a win against Rutgers-Newark, 3-1, before falling to Salisbury University in straight sets in the nightcap.

The Bison won their first set against Rutgers-Newark 25-21. The Scarlet Raiders (5-5) responded with a 25-16 second set win to knot the match at one. Gallaudet answered with a 25-20 third set victory before closing out the match in the fourth set, 25-14.

Freshman middle hitter Adele Daniels (Frederick, Md.) recorded a career-high 20 kills to set the Bison offensive tempo. Junior outside hitter Darriyan Thomas (Vallejo, Calif.) recorded a double-double with 18 kills and 16 digs while fellow junior setter Jasmine Jeter (Noblesville, Ind.) led the team with 46 assists.

Gallaudet (5-9) played Salisbury (9-5) tight in the first set as the Bison lost an early lead and could only tie the match five times down the stretch but never took the lead. The Sea Gulls won the set, 25-20, and followed with 25-17 and 25-14 victories.

Daniels (13 kills, 10 digs) and Thomas (12 kills, 10 digs) recorded double-doubles in the loss. Sophomore libero Raelyn Fuechtmann (South St. Paul, Minn.) led the defense with 13 digs.

BISON TRACKS

• Sophomore middle hitter Shua Clay (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) led the Bison with four blocks (two solo)
  
• The Bison had nine services aces on Friday
• Fuechtmann had 27 total digs in two matches
• The loss to Salisbury snapped a three-game winning streak for the Bison

UP NEXT
The Bison continue play in the Worthington Classic tomorrow (Saturday, Sept. 24) against Misericordia University at 10 a.m. and DeSales University at 4 p.m..

The second day of the Worthington Classic features eight matches on two courts and begins with two matches at 10 a.m. If you cannot attend you can follow along with live video and live stats by clicking on the official tournament page: http://gallaudetathletics.com/sports/wvball/2016-17/worthingtonclassic.

Also see:

• Worthington Classic Tournament Page
• Worthington Classic Digital Game Program

U.S. Women Remain Undefeated in Win over Italy

By Bill Kauffman (bill.kauffman@usav.org)

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – The U.S. Olympic Women’s Volleyball Team, ranked No. 1 the world, was energized by its bench play Friday after as it defeated Italy 25-22, 25-22, 23-25, 25-20 during the Olympic Games Pool B being staged at Maracanazinho Arena in Rio de Janeiero, Brazil.

The Americans, now 4-0 in Pool B with 11 points and in first place, conclude pool play against the world’s No. 3 China on Sunday at 4:05 p.m. ET. Team USA, though already qualified for the Aug. 16 quarterfinals following its victory over Serbia on Wednesday, is aiming to grab the top seed from Pool B.

Earlier today China lost to Serbia 25-19, 25-19, 25-22 to fall to 2-2 with seven points. Serbia is now in second place with a 3-1 record and nine points. Serbia challenges fourth-place Netherlands on the final day of pool play prior to the USA’s match against China. A Team USA win will secure the top spot in the Pool B heading into the quarterfinals. However, an American loss to China means Serbia can slip into the top seed with a win over Netherlands despite having lost to the U.S. earlier this week.

The top four teams from the two six-team pools advance to the quarterfinals with the top seeds

GU picks up three more NEAC wins over the weekend

Williamsport, Pa. – The Gallaudet University women's volleyball team came out victorious in a North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) crossover weekend at Penn College, winning all three of their matches; 3-2, 3-0, 3-0.

The Bison (17-8, 8-1 NEAC) faced Lancaster Bible College (12-11, 7-4 NEAC) on Friday night (Oct. 16) battling through 5 sets; 9-25, 28-26, 25-9, 29-31, 15-12, to dominate the Chargers. Sophomore Darriyan Thomas (Vallejo, Calif.) lead both teams in kills (25), tallied 11 digs and three services aces for the night. Freshman Raelyn Fuechtmann (South St. Paul, Minn.) led the team with 15 digs, followed by senior Danielle Morris (St. Louis, Mich.) with 13 digs.

GU was undefeated on Saturday, Oct. 17, as the crossover weekend continued. The Bison were able to defeat rivals Penn St.-Berks (15-9, 9-3 NEAC), and Penn College (1-22, 0-11 NEAC) in six straight sets. The Bison outplayed Berks in nearly every aspect of the game, winning the sets 25-18, 25-16, 25-15, and more than tripling the Nittany Lions in kills (46-14). GU tallied eight service aces, 41 assists, and 43 digs. Three Bison players earned 10 kills, including Thomas, senior outside hitter Molly Perkins (Apple Valley, Minn.), and freshman Tessa Lewis (Frederick, Md.). Senior setter TraciAnn Hoglind (Fishers, Ind.) led the Bison with four service aces and 36 assists in the game against Berks.

The Bison won their final match of the weekend against Penn College, winning each set by at least a 13 point margin; 25-9, 25-12, 25-12. Gallaudet dominated the court with an incredible 22 service aces, led by sophomore Kylene Etkie (Austin, Texas) with eight, Morris added five, and Hoglind tallied four more aces in the game against the Wildcats. The Bison totaled 31 digs and 35 kills in the game.

BISON TRACKS

• Thomas led the Bison with an impressive 42 total kills, followed by Lewis (29), Perkins (20) and Morris (17)
• Thomas and Fuechtmann each totaled 33 digs while Morris was behind them with 32 digs
• Etkie led the Bison with 11 total service aces, followed by Hoglind (10), Morris (five), and Thomas, Fuechtmann, and senior Kate Fetzer (Noblesville Ind.) each had three
• The Bison totaled 138 digs, 133 kills, and 37 service aces for the weekend

  

UP NEXT
The women’s volleyball team will return home on Tuesday, Oct. 20 to host Christopher Newport University at 7 p.m.

Morris, Thomas honored with NEAC Women's Volleyball Player of the Week honors

GANSEVOORT, N.Y. – The North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) announced its weekly conference student-athlete of the week awards for Oct. 12 and for the third time this season Gallaudet University swept the NEAC Women's Volleyball Players of the Week honors. Senior middle hitter Danielle Morris (St. Louis, Mich.) was named Women's Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week and sophomore outside hitter Darriyan Thomas (Vallejo, Calif.) was named NEAC Women's Volleyball Co-Player of the Week along with Wells College senior Vashti Nettles.

This is Morris's second NEAC honor this season after being named Player of the Week on Sept. 28. Morris continued to be a force for the Bison as they went 3-2 last week, she tallied 54 digs and eight blocks (three solo). The Bison swept Notre Dame of Maryland University, 3-0, where Morris recorded two solo blocks, an assisted block, and five digs. She also recorded double-digits digs in three of the four matches during the 9th annual Worthington Classic hosted at Gallaudet University, including a season best 19 digs to go with two blocks in a 3-1 win over FDU-Florham last Saturday. She also just missed a fourth such outing after tallying nine digs while assisting on two blocks in a 3-2 win over Illinois Tech this past Friday. Morris also notched 35 kills on the week and now has the second-best hitting percentage in the conference (.308).

Thomas was named to the all-tournament team this past weekend at the 9th annual Worthington Classic. For the week, she finished with 72 kills, 72 digs, and 12 service aces in five matches. She had three double-doubles during the week, including 18 kills and 16 digs in a 3-2 victory over Illinois Tech before setting career-high marks for kills (24) and digs (18) in a 3-1 win over FDU-Florham. She also recorded double digit digs and at least two aces in all five matches, including 11 digs and two aces to go with eight kills in a 3-0 sweep over Notre Dame of Maryland University last Wednesday. Thomas is now second in the conference in both kills (227) and points (266).

GU HONORS
This is Gallaudet's sixth NEAC Women's Volleyball Player of the Week honors this season

• Oct. 12: Darriyan Thomas, Danielle Morris (Defense)
• Sept. 28: Danielle Morris, Giuletta Maucere (Defense)
• Sept. 08: TraciAnn Hoglind, Giuletta Maucere (Defense)

QUOTABLE
"I am so much happy with what I saw in Darriyan's performance in the last five matches. She has displayed the most improvement in understanding where to attack with her athletic ability. I expected to see Danielle's consistency in defensive positioning where she could play her best in defense. With their team's support, congrats on their recognition." Lynn Ray Boren, Gallaudet's women's volleyball head coach

UP NEXT
The Bison (14-7) will travel to Owings Mills, Md., on Wednesday (Oct. 14) to face Stevenson University (18-7) at 7 p.m.

Bison storm past Wolfpack in straight set win

AURORA, New York - A day after losing a third set that went to the 35th point the Gallaudet University women's volleyball team was on the winning side of a long third set. The Bison defeated North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) rival Keuka College, 3-0, here Friday evening at the Farenthold Athletic Wing on the campus of Wells College. Gallaudet won the straight set match, 25-14, 25-16, 34-32.

Gallaudet (10-4, 4-0 NEAC) remains perfect in conference play as it enters a pivotal NEAC Crossover Weekend hosted by Wells. The Bison are one of three NEAC teams still undefeated in conference play.

Sophomore Darriyan Thomas (Vallejo, Calif.) recorded a double-double with 12 kills and 17 digs while senior Molly Perkins (Apple Valley, Minn.) added 11 kills in the win. Senior setter TraciAnn Hoglind (Fishers, Ind.) passed out a match-high 41 assists and made eight digs.

Keuka (3-11, 1-3 NEAC) was led by Kaitlin Burke's 15 digs and Alyssa Rex passed out 10 assists, made four digs and served up two aces in the loss.

BISON TRACKS

• Junior Giuletta Maucere (Fishers, Ind.) added seven kills and four blocks (one solo)
• Sophomore Kylene Etkie (Austin, Texas) led the team with two service aces
• Freshman Raelyn Fuechtmann (South St. Paul, Minn.) made a team-high 15 digs
• These two teams met in the NEAC semifinals last year with Gallaudet winning 3-0 en route to its fifth straight NEAC championship

UP NEXT
GU will face one of those undefeated conference teams today (Saturday, Oct. 3) as the Bison go up against the Wells Express (8-7, 4-0 NEAC) at 10 a.m. The Bison will close out the weekend with a match against Cazenovia College (4-8, 0-3 NEAC) at noon.

Gallaudet stung in straight set sweep at Shenandoah

WINCHESTER, Va. - Gallaudet University shrugged off a slow start Thursday night on the road at Shenandoah University and battled through a tough third set that the host Hornets won, 35-33. The third-set win capped a straight set sweep, 3-0, for Shenandoah (9-7) over Gallaudet (9-4) in the non-conference match at Shingleton Gymnasium.

Shenandoah jumped out with a 25-12 first-set win and backed it up with a 25-13 second-set win. Kaitlyn Kelly and Allie Pieper led the Hornets with 10 kills each.

Senior Molly Perkins (Apple Valley, Minn.) led the Bison with 10 kills on 26 attack attempts to go with three digs and two assists. Senior setter TraciAnn Hoglind (Fishers, Ind.) passed out 23 assists and added five digs, two block assists, one service ace and a kill.

BISON TRACKS

• Senior Danielle Morris (St. Louis, Mich.) was second on the team with eight kills, six digs, two block assists
• Senior Kate Fetzer (Noblesville, Ind.) added two service aces and six digs
• Both teams had seven service aces

UP NEXT
GU hits the road to New York for three North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) matches against Wells College, Keuka College and Cazenovia College. The Bison are a perfect 3-0 in conference play this season.