Volleyball Heads to North Dakota State Tournament
September 04, 2013 | Women's Volleyball
Sep 4, 2013
The No-17 University of Louisville volleyball team looks forward to the Fargo Doublewood Inn Classic in Fargo, N.D., hosted by North Dakota State University this weekend. The Cards will take on NDSU in its first match of the Invitational on Friday evening at 8 p.m. Two matches await the team on Saturday, the first against Northern Iowa in the morning at 11:00 a.m. and followed by Wisconsin at 5:30 p.m.
Last weekend in State College, Pa., the Cards defeated Syracuse in straight sets (25-20, 25-19, 25-17) before falling to host and then-No. 2 ranked, Penn State (25-15, 25-16, 25-13). After winning the season opener, head coach Anne Kordes is now 3-0 in the first game of the season.
Maya McClendon and Emily Juhl each had 11 kills to lead the team past Syracuse. U of L took a tough loss against a loaded Penn State team, hitting only .020 compared to PSU's .247. Juhl and Brooke Mattingly were both named to the All-Tournament team.
North Dakota State, picked to finish sixth in the Summit League, had an overall record of 13-18, and went 8-8 in conference play last year. The team brings on 11 new players and returns only four. Between 2008 and 2011, NDSU won four straight regular season titles, and have participated in three of the last five NCAA Tournaments. The Bisons fell to No. 24 ranked Wichita State in straight sets in their season opener at the La Quinta Inn & Suites Invitational hosted by Utah Valley University over the weekend. They lost a tough one to host UVU, 3-0, and went down to Arizona State (3-0) in their final game of the tournament to put them at 0-3 on the season. Senior defensive specialist Ariel Listebarger was selected to the All-Tournament team with a team-high 21 digs, averaging 2.33 per match.
Northern Iowa enters the tournament with a 1-2 record so far, competing in the Utah Classic this past weekend. Last season, Northern Iowa ended with a 25-10 overall record and a 15-3 Missouri Valley Conference record. They finished in second place after the regular season, only behind a ranked Wichita State team. After those results, the Panthers were picked to finish second again in the conference this year, just after the Shockers. This team returns two seniors in Shelby Kintzel and Macy Ubben, who was selected to the preseason All-Conference first team, after being named to the All-Conference team last year. After taking their season opener against Fairfield in straight sets, the Panthers fell to Utah State (3-1) and host, Utah, 3-1. Along with Kintzel, sophomore Kinsey Caldwell were both named to the All-Tournament team. Kintzel wound up with 42 kills and a career high 20 versus Utah State, to go along with her .446 hitting average. Caldwell collected 131 assists and had five service aces. Ubben also added a career high 22 digs against USU. The Panthers will play in-state rival Iowa State on Wednesday, before heading to Fargo.
Wisconsin will travel to North Dakota with an unblemished 3-0 record. The Badgers had a 17-16 record (5-15 Big Ten) in 2012, their most wins in a season since 2008. They will return 12 letterwinners from a season ago, including three starters and their libero. UW earned 17 votes to put them No. 37 nationally, in the preseason poll as they start their first season under head coach Kelly Sheffield, who has an overall record of 273-112 during his 12 year career. Wisconsin made the trip all the way out to Malibu, Calif., to compete in the Pepperdine Classic to begin their season. The team knocked off Iona in straight sets in their first game, followed by a sweep of Delaware. It was somewhat of an upset when the Badgers eliminated host Pepperdine, 3-1, after they received 65 votes and a spot at No. 28 in the preseason poll. Junior outside hitter, Ellen Chapman led the way with 22 kills, two service aces, and eight digs against Pepperdine to become the Tournament MVP. Fellow junior, Courtney Thomas and redshirt junior Dominique Thompson were named All-Tournament selections. Thomas had 40 blocks, 10 kills, nine digs, and five blocks. Thompson added a career best 11 kills and five blocks. This is the first time since 2010 the team has started 3-0.
