‘Dons Split Day Two Action at Gates Center

Saturday, August 25

Fort Wayne, Ind.

1 p.m.

Purdue Fort Wayne

1-1

Cleveland State

2-0

Cleveland State

IPFW

Photo by: Lucas Carter

8/25/2012 9:37:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

CLEVELAND STATE BOX SCORE | CLEVELAND STATE PHOTO GALLERY
KENT STATE BOX SCORE

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The IPFW women's volleyball team finished second in the 2012 Hyatt Place Fort Wayne / IPFW Invitational this weekend. The Don's took a 3-0 loss to Cleveland State in game one of Saturday's action, but bounced back to record a 3-0 win over Kent State in the nightcap.

Cleveland State won the tournament with a perfect 3-0 record as the Mastodons took second with a mark of 2-1. Kent State (1-2) lost to both IPFW and Cleveland State placing them in third. The Murray State Racers (0-3) rounded out the tournament field with a fourth place finish.

The Vikings put three players on the All-Tournament Team. Highlighting the trio was the Tournament MVP Kara Koch. Annie Djukic and Jackie Dabbelt were also honored with All-Tournament accolades. IPFW placed two on the team as Tessa McGill and Jessie Manwaring were recognized by their peers for their high level of play. Rounding out the All-Tournament team was Kelly Hutchinson of Kent State and Emily Schmahl of Murray State.

IPFW (2-1) never led against Cleveland State (3-0) dropping three straight sets 23-25, 22-25, 17-25. Emily Spencer led the team with 11 kills and 10 digs however her attack percentage was only .043. Haley Emenhiser and Kendall Wienkes were also active for the 'Dons recording eight and seven kills respectively.

Megan Steenhuysen once again paced the IPFW offense against Cleveland State ending the match with 33 assists. She picked up her first double-double of the season by also recording 10 digs. Tessa McGill recorded a match-high 21 digs against the Vikings.

Cleveland State was led by the one-two punch of Kara Koch and Kerry Winchester. Koch, the 2012 Horizon League Offensive Preseason Player of the Year, recorded 11 kills and 15 digs against the Mastodons. Winchester tied Koch's mark with 11 kills of her own.

Annie Djukic was on pace with Steenhuysen collecting 33 assists on the afternoon for Cleveland State. She added nine digs for a Viking team that ended the match with 68. Dayna Roberts led the team with 16 digs while Amanda Medvetz chipped in with 15.

Cleveland State recorded 10 blocks compared to just three for IPFW. Attack percentages also had a big outcome in the match as the Vikings posted a .246 percentage to IPFW's 0.92.

The Mastodons got off to a slow start in set one, trailing CSU 3-12 early forcing Head Coach Kelley Hartley Hutton to call a timeout. The 'Dons battled back and cut the lead to 16-20 and eventually put the game at 23-24 after an Erica Dryden serve, but the Vikings were able to hold off the rally taking set one 25-23.

Set two was more of the same as IPFW came out flat trailing 3-8 before the first timeout. The lead was once again trimmed midway through the set and IPFW climbed back in the game making the score 22-23 which forced Cleveland State to take a timeout. The Vikings once again remained calm during crunch time scoring the next two points which gave them the 25-22 win.

IPFW took two early timeouts in the third set trailing 0-4 and 5-12. A kill by Haley Emenhiser made the score 12-14, but the turning point in the match came soon after as a service error gave the momentum back to the Vikings who then went on a four-point run taking control of the set. The Vikings improved to 2-0 early in the 2012 season by winning the third set 25-17.

The Mastodons ended the weekend on a high note defeating the Kent State Golden Flashes in three sets. The contest was back and forth the entire way as IPFW earned 25-23, 27-25, and 28-26 victories to earn their second win of the season.

Emily Spencer and Jessie Manwaring played great up front for IPFW each ending the night with a double figure kill total. Spencer led the team with 18, while Manwaring was close behind with 12. Spencer ended Saturday with back-to-back double doubles by adding 10 digs against Kent State.

Megan Steenhuysen impacted the game as usual with a match-high 45 assists. She added five digs and a kill for IPFW. Tessa McGill led the defensive charge for the 'Dons with a team-high 19 digs. Kendall Wienkes also impacted the game in a big way with seven kills and eight digs.

Kelly Hutchinson led Kent State with 14 kills on the night while Aleksandra Nowak was the assist leader with 34.

All three sets were close between the Mastodons and the Golden Flashes. Set one heated up near the 20 point mark as each team took a timeout down the stretch to regain their composure. The Golden Flashes burned their timeout facing a 21-20 deficit. IPFW capitalized on the break pulling out the 25-23 win.

Set two was also down to the wire as the game knotted up at 20-20 and 22-22. IPFW called a timeout, but the score would stay tied all the way up to 24-24. Manwaring came up huge in set two hitting the game-winning spike pushing IPFW over the top 27-25.

Set three started just as set two ended as these two teams battled back and forth to a 10-10 tie. It was no surprise to find the scored tied at 20-20 down the stretch. A big turning point in the third set came off an IPFW block as Hailie Ripley met Haley Emenhiser to stuff a spike that put the 'Dons up 24-23. Neither team would go out quietly as the score remained close, but IPFW held on to win the match as a Kent State shot sailed out of bounds.

The Mastodons will return to action on Tuesday, August 28 with a game against the rival Ball State Cardinals. There is a special schedule magnet giveaway for the match beginning at 7 p.m.

~ Feel the Rumble ~