CANTON, NY -- The 2012 USCAA Women's Volleyball National Championships are under way, as first serve came at 10:00 a.m. this morning. The tournaments top four seeds all played in the first match-ups of pool play to kick-off a day packed with 12 games.
Pool play is the best of three sets, as the top four teams from each pool advance to the elimination round. Please check back for updates as games continue to finish.
Pool A -- 10:00 a.m., Convention, Athletics and Recreation Center (CARC)
Daemen College def. SUNY Canton, 2-0 (25-20, 25-18)
Top seeded Daemen College held off host SUNY Canton to prevail in two sets. Daemen's Second Team All-American Ye Wang led the Wildcats balanced attack with eight kills. Three teammates added four or more kills as Daemen begins pool play 1-0. Lindsey Nowak added five kills, while All-Americans Joanna Fretthold and Jenn Karan added four kills each. Chelsea Turcer dished out 14 assists for the Wildcats, while Kaley Vazquez added nine.
Canton was led by All-American Mackenzie Mynter, who notched 19 assists and seven digs. Robyn Carroll had a game-high 14 digs to lead the Kangaroos, as Canton suffered their first defeat all season in the CARC. Honorable Mention member Jessica Reynolds led the way for the 'Roos with nine kills. Canton falls to 0-1 in pool play.
Pool B -- 10:00 a.m., Dana Hall
Florida College def. Rochester College, 2-0 (25-12, 25-21)
Pool B's top two seeds squared off to begin pool play action, with defending champion Florida College knocking off overall number two seed Rochester College in two sets.
All-American Kerri Taylor led the way for the Falcons, notching a game-high 17 kills, hitting .424 over the two sets and added nine digs. Teammate and fellow All-American Jenny Moorer added 20 assists for Florida, as the Falcons easily won the first set before coming from behind to take the second set, and the match. All-American Devyn Jackson contributed a game-high 12 digs and added three kills for Florida.
Rochester College's Keri Teschler led the Warriors with five kills, while All-American Emily Rajter picked up 10 digs. Sara Hayes dished out 10 assists for Rochester.
Florida begins pool play 1-0, while Rochester falls to 0-1.
Pool A -- 11:30 a.m., CARC
University of Cincinnati-Clermont def. Carlow University, 2-1 (16-25, 32-30, 15-11)
The University of Cincinnati-Clermont recovered from a first set setback to overcome Carlow University in the first match of the tournament to go the full three sets in pool play. Carlow jumped out to a 1-0 set lead, but the Cougars won the second set in a back and forth affair, finally closing out the set with two straight points to win the tiebreaker, 32-30. Cincinnati-Clermont's early lead in the deciding set helped the Cougars escape with a 15-11 win.
Cincinnati-Clermont was led by Heather Rowland and Kaitlyn Miller with seven kills each. Second Team All-American Rachel Hays added five kills, three digs and three blocks for the Cougars, while Rebecca Walton claimed 13 assists to help Cincinnati-Clermont begin pool play 1-0.
Carlow's Carly Bonk notched a game-high nine kills, while Amanda Knobeloch and Caitlin McCormick each distributed 14 assists for the Celtics, who fall to 0-1 in pool play. All-American Amanda McKenzie recorded a current tournament-high 21 digs.
Pool B -- 11:30 a.m., Dana Hall
Penn State Fayette def. Johnson & Wales (NC), 2-0 (25-23, 25-12)
Penn State Fayette opened up their pool play action with a straight sets win over Johnson & Wales (NC). The Penn State University Athletic Conference regular season champion held off a Wildcats comeback in the first set before cruising to a 25-12 second set win to move to 1-0 in pool play. Johnson & Wales drops their first match to fall to 0-1 in the pool play round.
Fayette was led by Samantha Helmantoler with seven kills, while Second Team All-American Emily Konter found five different teammates for a total of 21 assists. All-American Leah Ambrosini added four kills and a game-high 12 digs for the Roaring Lions.
Johnson & Wales was led by Second Team All-American Moriah Hughes, who had a team-high six kills and 3 blocks. Shanna Stewart had a game-high tying 12 digs, while Honorable Mention setter Kaitlin Kuntz had 14 assists.
Pool A -- 1:00 p.m., CARC
Daemen College def. Penn College, 2-0 (25-13, 25-10)
Daemen jumped out to a quick lead and never looked back against Penn College, easily improving to 2-0 in pool play in a match-up of Wildcats.
Daemen was once again led by their trio of All-Americans, as Joanna Fretthold had a game-high 11 kills while adding 10 digs. Ye Wang had seven kills on only eight attacks, and Jenn Karan added four kills. Katie Auge had a game-high 13 digs to go along with two service aces.
Penn College received three kills from Melissa Lake and nine digs from Gabrielle George. Penn College fell to 0-1 in pool play after playing the top seeded Wildcats.
Pool B -- 1:00 p.m., Dana Hall
Rochester College def. NHTI, 2-0 (25-16, 25-15)
Rochester College quickly recovered from an opening loss in pool play to take down NHTI, 2-0, and improve to 1-1 in Pool B. NHTI fell to 0-1 in their opening pool play match. The Warriors jumped out to early leads and didn't look back in either set as they get set for their third match at 5:00 p.m. against Penn State Fayette.
The Warriors were led by Lindsey Leppek with five kills, and capitalized on their serving opportunities with nine aces for the match. Sara Hayes added six assists and four digs for Rochester, while Emily Rajter had a game-high seven digs.
NHTI was led by Honorable Mention honoree Alesha Niswander with five kills and two digs. Amber Rodney added a game-high 11 assists for the Lynx.
Pool A -- 2:30 p.m., CARC
SUNY Canton def. Carlow University, 2-1 (23-25, 25-20, 15-9)
SUNY Canton came back from an opening round loss, and an opening set loss, to defeat Carlow in each team's second game of the opening day of pool play. Canton used a strong second set to set-up a deciding game, cruising to a win in the third set, and improving to 1-1 in pool play.
The 'Roos were led by Morgan Bills with 11 kills, and teammate Jessica Reynolds added nine kills and seven digs. Mackenzie Mynter had a current tournament-high 25 assists, including seven to Daneille Swanston, who also finished with eight digs. Robyn Carroll added a team-high nine digs for Canton.
Carlow was led by Leah Stack with nine kills. Caitlin McCormick led the way with 15 assists, and Nicole Hall added five kills for the Celtics, as they dropped to 0-2 on day one.
Pool B -- 2:30 p.m., Dana Hall
Florida College def. Penn State Fayette, 2-0 (25-9, 25-21)
Florida College ran away with set one in their second match of the day, but had to hold off a Penn State Fayette rally in set two before capturing their second win of pool play in straight sets. Florida improves to 2-0 on the day, and is one win away from guaranteeing their spot in the elimination round.
Kerri Taylor once again led the way for the Falcons, hammering home 10 kills and adding seven digs. Jenny Moorer also had a big match, dishing out 20 assists to six different teammates. Teammate Camille Cline added five kills, while Olivia Luallen had a game-high nine digs. All-American Devyn Jackson contributed seven kills and five digs for Florida.
Fayette was led by Leah Ambrosini with six kills. Emily Caldwell and Janelle Cooper each had six digs for the Roaring Lions, and Emily Konter added 14 assists. Fayette drops to 1-1 in pool play.
Pool A -- 3:45 p.m., CARC
University of Cincinnati-Clermont def. Penn College, 2-0 (25-16, 25-18)
Cincinnati-Clermont stayed perfect in pool play, sweeping Penn College in straight sets to improve to 2-0 in Pool A. Penn College drops to 0-2, and awaits Carlow and host SUNY Canton on day two.
Rachel Hays led the way for the Cougars, recording 11 kills and five digs, as well as three blocks. Alex Robb and Rebecca Walton shared setting duties, notching 12 and 11 assists, respectively in the two set win. Walton also added two service aces for Cincinnati-Clermont.
Penn College was led by Honorable Mention honoree Tara Powell with seven kills. Courtney Gernert added five kills and five digs for the Wildcats. Morgan Moberg recorded a team-high nine assists.
Pool B -- 3:45 p.m., Dana Hall
Johnson & Wales (NC) def. NHTI, 2-1 (25-23, 22-25, 15-4)
After Johnson & Wales captured set one 25-23, NHTI won a close second set at 25-22 tying up the match. Johnson & Wales was able to secure the win after opening up a big lead in the third set, finally knocking off the Lynx, 15-4. Johnson & Wales improves to 1-1 in pool play, while NHTI drops to 0-2.
Johnson & Wales was led by Moriah Hughes with nine kills, while Kaitlin Kuntz handed out 20 assists to her teammates. On the defensive side, three Wildcats players recorded double digit digs, including Chelsi Gallagher with 12, and Emily Kirchner and Kuntz with 11 apiece.
NHTI was led by Alesha Niswander with 12 kills and two service aces. Amber Rodney added 19 assists, including several to Kaitlin Taylor who ended with five kills. Victoria Spencer had a current tournament high four service aces to lead NHTI.
Pool A -- 5:00 p.m., CARC
Daemen College def. Carlow University, 2-0 (25-20, 25-16)
Daemen College capped off an impressive day, sweeping Carlow to finish the first day of pool play, 3-0. Carlow's setback drops the Celtics to 0-3, needing a win in their final game of pool play on Saturday to have a chance to advance to the elimination round.
Ye Wang led the Wildcats attack, knocking down 10 kills to lead all players. Joanna Fretthold had a team-high 11 digs to go with three kills of her own, while Kaley Vazquez had 13 assists to top teammate Chelsea Turcer, who finished with 10.
Carlow was led by Amanda McKenzie with 13 digs, as Carly Bonk led an offense that struggled to get going against Daemen. Bonk finished with a team-high five kills, as Caitlin McCormick handed out 10 assists.
Pool B -- 5:00 p.m., Dana Hall
Rochester College def. Penn State Fayette, 2-1 (13-25, 25-13, 15-12)
Rochester overcame a lackluster first set to claim the second and third sets en route to a three set win over Penn State Fayette in the final match of the day. Rochester's win improves the Warriors to 2-1 in pool play, while Fayette drops to 1-2. Both teams have one pool play game remaining, and a win for either will guarantee them a spot in the elimination round.
Sara Hayes led the Warriors with 21 assists and 15 digs, both tied for game-highs. Teammate Emily Rajter also contributed 15 digs, while Keri Teschler led the Rochester offensive attack with nine kills. Brittany Alexander added five kills, hitting .444 in the match to lead all players.
Fayette was led by Leah Ambrosini with 12 kills, while Emily Konter orchestrated the Roaring Lions attack with a game-high tying 21 assists of her own.