PHOENIX—Host Grand Canyon edged visiting NJIT in women's volleyball, 3-2, Saturday, as the Lopes held off the Highlanders in the fifth, and deciding set, 15-13, at the Grand Canyon Tournament in the season finale for NJIT.
The five-team invitational included: Grand Canyon, Nebraska at Omaha, Incarnate Word, UMass Lowell, and NJIT.
The Highlanders, who went 2-2 in the tournament with wins over Incarnate Word and UMass Lowell, close out the 2014 campaign with a 13-22 overall mark under first-year head coach
Peter Volkert. The Lopes improve to 20-11 with one match remaining against Omaha.
Victorious Grand Canyon was led on the attack by four players— Shannon Dugan (16 kills), Natalie Tardy, Hayleigh Friemoth, and Megan Byrnes, all with 11 kills.
NJIT had two players in double-figure kills, led by senior outside hitter
Fran Edmondson, who combined for her fifth double-double of the season, notching 21 kills and 24 digs (one shy her career-high) in her final match as a Highlander. NJIT junior
Danica Vukotic had 15 kills, followed by twin sister
Nina Vukotic (8) and senior middle
Valerie Carroll (7). Carroll, also playing in her final collegiate match as a Highlander, hit .350 on 20 swings from the middle.
Freshman setter
Alyssa Armada posted a team-best 50 assists for NJIT, while Grand Canyon setter Michelle Steagall finished with 52 assists.
NJIT had a 9-5 in service aces, paced by four from
Nina Vukotic and three from the senior from New Zealand, Edmondson.
On defense, Grand Canyon had four players with double-figure totals in digs. Mackenzie Phelps led the match with 25 digs, followed closely by Dugan (20) and Emily Vitel (10). Edmondson topped the Highlanders with 24 digs, while senior libero
Camilla Tinari combined for 20 digs. Armada and Nina Vukoitc each contributed 9 digs apiece.
NJIT had a 14.5-to-8 lead in total team blocks, with Leacock, Carrol and Edmondson getting 5 assists (all assists) and Armada with 5 block assists. Grand Canyon's Hannah Hankins led the Lopes with 5 block assists.
Nina Vukotic and Edmondson each collected 4 kills in NJIT 25-20 opening-set win. Grand Canyon started out the set with a 4-2 lead and later pushed the Lopes advantage to 5, 8-3, on block assists by Byrnes and Hankins. The Highlanders rallied back, down 5-11, on a 5-2 spurt pulling within three of the home team, 10-13. The Lopes scored the next point, but NJIT exploded on a 9-2 run, for the Highlanders first lead of the set, 19-15, resulting in a Lopes timeout. Grand Canyon would cut the Highlander lead to three, 20-23, as the visitors scored the final two points of the set for a 25-20 advantage.
The second set, which went into extra points, saw 11 ties and four lead changes. Neither team led by more than three points with the final tie at 26. The Lopes scored the final two points of the set taking a 28-26 victory.
The third set was tight, with 16 ties and 7 lead changes. In a see-saw match, NJIT held a 24-22 advantage after a kill by Edmondson. However, the Lopes scored the next point but a kill by
Nina Vukotic gave the Highlanders a 25-23 victory.
In the fourth frame, Grand Canyon hit .275 with 16 kills, five errors on 40 attempts. The set saw seven lead changes and three ties. After breaking a 17-17 tie, the Lopes finished off the frame on an 8-1 spurt closing out the frame with a 25-18 victory.
After three ties early in the deciding set, NJIT broke a 4-4 tie on a service ace by
Nina Vukotic and a Lope attacking error for a 6-4 lead. Grand Canyon took the upper hand on a 9-2 run for a 13-8 advantage. The Highlanders trimmed the lead two, 14-12, on a block solo by
Nina Vukotic and then to one after a Lopes attacking error for a 14-13 score. With match point in sight, Grand Canyon's Byrnes closed out the frame with a kill 11
th kill of the night for a 15-13 advantage.
For NJIT, seniors Carroll, Edmondson, Tinari, and
Katie Goswick all played their final college match.
Carroll, one of seven players named to the all-tournament team, combined for 38 kills on 74 attempts with just six errors for a .432 hitting percentage She added 10 total blocks (all assists) and 8 digs.
GCU Invitational All-Tournament TeamAngelique Vidaurri – UIW
Anisa Smith – UML
Valerie Carroll – NJIT
Megan Schmale – UMO
Kelley Wollak – UNO
Mackenzie Phelps – GCU
Shannon Dugan – GCU (MVP)
