Norfolk State Volleyball vs. Howard Lady Bison -- Highlights

LADY BISON CAPTURE FIRST CONFERENCE GAME

NORFOLK, Virginia  – The Howard University Lady Bison (2-17, 1-2 MEAC) defeated fourth-place, Norfolk State (5-10, 1-2 MEAC) in five sets on Sunday night.

"This was a great win for us," said head coach Dawn Barnes. "It was a group effort and well deserved. Norfolk State did a great job offensively and defensively and did not make this easy at all. You had two teams that really played hard."

Howard started the game with a 25-21 victory in set one. Sets two and three were tough for the Lady Bison coming up short 21-25 and 24-26. The Spartans put up a tough crowd and technique, but the Lady Bison put up some solid points that gained momentum. Assistant Coach Russ held down the strategy for the Lady Bison. "We watched film and studied these girls, technically we were ready, all we had to do was go out there and shut them down," says Russ.



The Lady Bison highlighted on the Spartans' weaknesses and it showed in the match taking sets four and five 26-24 and 15-12 to win the match. Freshman Stephanie Shultis had a major solo block to win the fourth set making it harder for the Spartans to capture the Lady Bison.

Set five was rolling for Howard as they kept the ball away from the Spartans the first six points. The Spartans showed signs of aggression as they tried to make a come back, but HU held on strong to their lead finishing the match with a win. Spartan fans left empty handed as the Lady Bison cheered and showed school spirit.

Outside hitter Tosin Elebute finished with a game high of 25 kills and 16 digs charting a double-double. Freshman, middle blocker Assata Conway put down seven balls for the Lady Bison. Heather Long had a game high of five kills hitting a perfect game. Both setters, Jasmine King and Stephanie Shultis had 21 assists a piece. Riana Cain picked up 20 balls.

Defensively, both teams had 66 digs, but the Spartans out blocked the Lady bison 13 to 9. On the other hand, the Lady Bison finished with better hitting percentages after each set than the Spartans. "I knew [Norfolk State] were all waiting to block me, but I wasn't having it," says Elebute, "I was going to play my game for my team because I realize I play a major role."

For NSU, Charlotte Armstead put down 17 balls. Adriana Ramos had 11 kills and 14 digs finishing with a double-double. Beatriz Ferreira had 12 kills followed by Jasmine Frazier with ten kills. Setter Kristen Burt finished with 44 assists.

The Lady Bison split the weekend and will look to carry the momentum as they head to face Coppin State on Fri. Oct. 14.

By Jasmine King, Volleyball, Public Relations 2013
VISIT: HOWARDBISON
VISIT: HOWARD UNIVERSITY

NCCU Volleyball prepares for success as on team on one mission

DURHAM, N.C. – In their first season as a full Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) program, North Carolina Central University will tackle a challenging 31-match slate against nine NCAA tournament teams (three Atlantic Sun, one Atlantic 10, four Big South, one Colonial Athletic Association, one PAC 10, three SoCon and one SWAC opponent), including 12 league matches.

In her fifth season as the NCCU head women’s volleyball coach, Georgette Crawford-Crooks releases the 2011 volleyball schedule on Friday, June 29.

“As we continue to strive for Division I excellence, our schedule has to remain competitive and challenging,” said Crawford-Crooks.

2011 NCCU Women's Volleyball Schedule

NCCU begins the season with three consecutive tournaments, beginning with the fifth annual NCCU Hilton/RTP Invitational on Aug. 26-27 in the McDougald-McLendon Gym. The mighty maroon and gray will host volleyball programs from Campbell, Elon and Florida Gulf Coast.

The Eagles will travel to the nation’s capital for their first appearance at the Georgetown Tournament on Sept. 2-3 in Washington, D.C. NCCU will face Central Connecticut on Sept. 2, and George Washington and UNC Wilmington on Sept. 3.

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Harrison's new destiny is Division I athlete at Howard University

Seoul American's Destinee Harrison blasts a spike kill past the block
 of Osan American's Alina Hauter during Saturday's Korean-American
 Interscholastic Activities Conference girls volleyball match.

Destinee Harrison is taking her volleyball game to a new level.

Seoul American’s two-time All-Far East Division I Tournament middle blocker on Thursday signed a national letter of intent and accepted a full volleyball scholarship at Howard University in Washington starting next fall.

“I think I made the right choice,” Harrison said. “It’s a prestigious school and when I went there, everybody was so welcoming and (coach Dawn Barnes) was a really nice lady and made the process very easy.”

Playing Division I volleyball is a lifelong dream come true, Harrison said. “People are always going to be nervous about change, but more than nervous, I’m excited about playing at the Division I level.

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VISIT: HOWARD UNIVERSITY
VISIT: HOWARDBISON

Texas Southern University hires Adams as volleyball coach

Coach Jocelyn Adams

Texas Southern on Wednesday announced Eisenhower High volleyball coach Jocelyn Adams as its new head coach.

Adams was the 2009 District 19-5A Co-Coach of the Year and the 2008 District 19-5A Coach of the Year while at Eisenhower. She also was the head coach at Prairie View A&M from 1990-1999, being named Southwestern Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 1990 and leading the Panthers to the SWAC tournament title in 1992.

Adams, a Prairie View alumnus, replaces Dwalah Fisher, who went 145-357 in 17 seasons before retiring. The Tigers went 5-20 overall and 3-5 in SWAC play in 2010, going 0-2 at the conference.


Videographer: TGS265; Lead Band: Texas Southern University "Ocean of Soul" Marching Band in the Battle of Flowers Fiesta Parade @ San Antonio, Texas, 4/15/2011.

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VISIT: TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY
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Howard Volleyball Inks Four

Alexis Skinner

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Howard Volleyball Head Coach, Dawn Barnes has announced the signing of four student-athletes during early signing period. Alexis Skinner, Meagan Lagerlef, Assata Conway, and Stephanie “Teppi” Shultis will join the Lady Bison in the fall of 2011.

“I look for them to make our gym more competitive and bringing back the rich tradition Howard Volleyball once had,” said Barnes.

Skinner is a 5-7 outside hitter from Thomas Johnson High School. The Frederick, MD native led her team to the Maryland 4A State finals with a record of 15-4 this past season. She is a two-time first team All-Gazette selection, and a Washington Post All-Met Honorable Mention. Skinner led her team in offense – boasting 163 kills, 104 digs and 32 aces as the team captain. She is also a leader in the classroom, maintaining a 3.25 GPA.

“Skinner is a competitor whose natural athleticism and versatility will allow her to play a couple of positions for us,” commented Barnes. “I am excited to see her future development in our program.”

Meagan Lagerlef

Lagerlef is a 5-10 outside hitter and defensive specialist from James Hubert Blake High School in Silver Spring, MD. She is a four-time letter winner, a two-time first team All-Gazette selection, and a 2010 All-Met Honorable Mention. The Montgomery County Senior All-Star is a member of the nationally ranked Metro-American 18U Travel Team. Lagerlef maintains a 3.64 GPA and is a recipient of the Motion Scholar Athlete award.

“Lagerlef will bring a fierce and competitive edge into our gym. She is very athletic and explosive, and her tough mentality and work ethic will be a great addition to our program,” said Barnes.

Assata Conway

Conway is a 6-2 middle blocker from Westside High School in Missouri City, TX. She is a two-time first team All-District selection. She has also lettered in basketball and track, and maintains a 3.2 GPA.

“Conway has a huge upside and I am looking for her to make great strides as she prepares to play at this level,” commented Barnes. “Her natural athleticism and blocking ability will definitely add depth to our middle blocker position.”

Shultis is a 6-2 right side hitter and setter from Richmond High School. The Annadale, VA native served as team captain and received team MVP and Coach’s Award following her senior season. She is also a 2010 second-team All-District selection.

“I am expecting great things out of Teppi right away in the setter position,” said Barnes. “She is going to help us on the right side with her blocking abilities. Teppi will add a great deal of poise, intensity, and game savvy to this program. She has the opportunity to become one of the more poised setters to ever play at Howard.”

by Jamilah Corbitt
Assistant Director of Sports Information
Howard University


Videographer: meazteam1; Howard Athletics Volleyball Finale Home Game Fall 2010

S.C. State Bulldogs follow the lead of top player

Jarne Gleaton’s never-give-up attitude seems to have rubbed off on her South Carolina State teammates. Gleaton, a former two-sport standout at Airport High, has overcome two knee surgeries to take her volleyball career at South Carolina State to new heights in her senior year. The Bulldogs also have overcome adversity this season to become a contender in the MEAC race.

“We’re finally finding our identity,” Gleaton said of the Bulldogs, who have won five of their past six matches and are tied for second in the MEAC Southern Division with a 4-2 record. “We were battling the entire season trying to find it. Now, I really have confidence in everybody. I feel we all have that confidence in each other now.”

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FAMU's Hollinghead making an impact on the defensive line

Saturday: Oct. 16 - Florida A&M Rattlers vs. Savannah State Tigers
Where: Bragg Memorial Stadium, Tallahassee, FL
Time: 3:00 p.m.
3 PM Game Broadcast - Internet TV: http://www.famu.edu/famcast/

For awhile last season, defensive line coach George Small wondered about nose guard Nicolas Hollinghead's desire. Small wanted to see a little more energy from the 6-foot-4, 284-pound redshirt junior. "I don't know how much he was committed to it," Small said. "I don't know if it was because of those older guys who were in front of him, but he just didn't really press it like I thought he would."

This past spring, the light came on for Hollinghead, who played just two seasons at Cocoa High School before coming for FAMU. He recommitted to putting in the hours in the weight room and worked on his technique to the point that he was unbeatable for the starting nose guard position coming out of spring camp.

FAMU volleyball rolls past North Carolina Central

Near the end of the match, Belinda Hehncke-Biney reminded her North Carolina Central teammates that they have to "watch 35 coming in." That was Lorrin Rucker, who was punishing on the front line for Florida A&M to help the Rattlers defeat the Eagles 3-0 Sunday afternoon at the Lawson Center. It was FAMU's fourth straight win.

Rocker had 10 of her 13 kills through the first two sets. She watched most of the third set from the sideline, but as soon as she returned to the floor she delivered a kill to put FAMU within four points of completing the sweep.

FAMU scaling back on passing

When coach Joe Taylor adjusts the offense of his Florida A&M football team with a two-back set in an attempt to jump start the Rattlers' offense, the receiving corps can expect to see fewer opportunities for catches while they'll have to do more blocking.

The change is coming at a time when FAMU's receivers are already shorter on the number of catches they had through the first five games last season. They'd like to have more chances for catches, the team's two leading receivers said, but they're prepared to make the adjustment.

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NCCU Eagles ready for MEAC leader Hampton, after week off

DURHAM, N.C. -- After N.C. Central coach Mose Rison enjoyed a rare weekend without football, he and his team have turned their attention to the matchup with Hampton on Saturday. Hampton played Delaware State on Thursday night, but Rison, who was on the recruiting trail in Charlotte, said he watched the game on television.

That turned out to be a fortunate coincidence since the teams were not able to trade their latest films. "It was in a driving rainstorm," Rison said. "They ran the ball extremely well in the rain. Give Hampton credit for being resilient and not getting away from their game plan. "

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Division I dream comes true for GSU recruit McIver

Killen High School (Texas) Volleyball star Tiara McIver selected the GSU Lady Tigers over offers from Tarleton State, Texas Southern and Prairie View A&M. The 5-10/145 left-handed spiker plans to major in English/Language Arts Teacher Education.

After two months of waiting for a response — any response — Tiara McIver would've given Grambling State "another week or two weeks or so," the Killeen High senior, affectionately known as "Tree," said. McIver got the response she was looking for from Lady Tigers coach Kim Young. Then, the Lady Roos outside hitter received her invitation to visit the Grambling, La., campus and was finally offered her opportunity to play Division I volleyball, which she accepted Friday in the Killeen High School gymnasium by signing her national letter of intent.

"I thought she was going to e-mail the next day. I really did ... but she didn't," McIver said. "I would check my e-mail all the time, I asked my mom to check my e-mail all the time when I was in school. I thought she was going to contact me back right then. "As soon as I heard from her, it was just a sigh of relief," said McIver, who posted 198 kills, 22 aces, 254 digs and 87 blocks as a senior and Killeen's only all-district first team selection.

McIver assumed the delayed response was because of the Lady Tigers' Southwest Athletic Conference (SWAC) tournament finals appearance and other end-of-season requirements. Whatever the reason, McIver said she never gave up on earning a Division I scholarship, despite receiving numerous offers from smaller schools. That goal was made all the more difficult by the Lady Roos' struggles. Killeen hasn't made the playoffs since 2004 and has a combined six district wins (of 30) and one winning season in the last three years. So McIver created a profile on the website berecruited.com and contacted Young via e-mail shortly after her final prep season at Killeen, where she finished as a three-year starter and the District 16-4A MVP blocker as a sophomore.

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FAMU Volleyball gets set for NCAA's and UF Gators

TALLAHASSEE, FL - The Florida A&M University Women's Volleyball team will make their eighth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division One Championships this weekend, as they take on the University of Florida in the first round of play on Friday, December 5 at the Stephen O'Connell Center. Match time will be 7:30 p.m. Florida A&M (14-12), recipient of an automatic tournament bid by winning the 2008 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship, will make their fourth straight appearance in Gainesville, and it will be the third time in five years that the Lady Rattlers will draw the University of Florida as an opening round opponent (2004, 2005, 2008).

Florida (25-3), ranked 14/12 in national polls, were winners of the Southeastern Conference title for the 18th straight year. They will be hosting opening round NCAA play for the 17th time in the last 18 years in Gainesville. Colorado State will face Florida International in Friday's 5 p.m. bout on Friday, prior to the FAMU-UF clash.
Friday's winners will play at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, with the winner of that second round match set to advance to regional play at Colorado State University.
























Lady Rattler Jovana Blazeski #4 battles Florida State in FAMU season opener.

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Florida A&M returns, beats UMES

HAMPTON, Va. ---- The University of Maryland Eastern Shore volleyball team was three points away from their first Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship Sunday afternoon at Hampton University. The Hawks were up 2-1 in sets on Florida A&M, and held a 22-19 lead in the fourth set. Three points and UMES was on to its first NCAA Tournament appearance. The Rattlers battled back to win a long fourth set, 31-29 setting up the deciding fifth set. The fifth was tied 10-10, but a Florida A&M kill and pair of UMES attack errors gave the Rattlers a 13-10 lead on their way to a 15-10 win in the set as they won their eighth straight MEAC title (17-25, 25-15, 23-25, 31-29, 15-10).

"Coming into the match, we knew that we would be up against the number one team in the south and it's a match that everyone would expect to go five sets, which it did," UMES coach Don Metil said. "I thought that the third set that we regrouped very well after we lost the second set by a large margin and we put ourselves in a position in set four to have numerous match points and unfortunately we ran out of subs."

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FAMU volleyball's 98-game MEAC winning streak ends

FAMU Coach Tony Trifonov provides instructions to Maria Gomez, as the Lady Rattlers historic 98 game MEAC winning streak is ended by the Lady Bulldogs.





ORANGEBURG, S.C — The South Carolina State volleyball team did what no other team in the conference could do in 98 regular season matches over a 10-year period: they defeated the seven-time defending Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champion Lady Rattlers of Florida A&M, 3-1, (25-23, 25-19, 18-25, 25-19), and thus ended what has been a dominant streak.

This was FAMU's first conference loss in seven seasons. The Lady Bulldogs (9-18, 2-2 MEAC) controlled the match from the first point and with each point thereafter, S.C. State's confidence increased. Despite dropping the third set, the Lady Bulldogs remained poised to close out FAMU (6-10, 3-1 MEAC). The Lady Bulldogs won in a team effort led by freshman middle blocker Shabree Roberson had a big game as she put down 14 kills with nine assists.

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UConn Women's Volleyball Swings Back with 3-0 Win Over Florida A&M

FAMU Lady Rattler Jovana Blazeski.

Florida A&M vs Connecticut Box Stats (Sep 13, 2008)

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The University of Connecticut women's volleyball team defeated Florida A&M 3-0 (25-13, 25-14, 25-17) on Saturday morning at the MSU Showcase in East Lansing, Mich. With the win, the Huskies improve to 6-2 on the season as the Rattlers' drop to 2-6. Annie Luhrsen (Wheaton, Ill.) led the Huskies with 28 assists, five kills, seven digs and five block assists. Luhrsen added five service aces for a team-leading 24 on the year. Freshman Jordan Kirk (Plano, Texas) had 10 kills for UConn as she moves her season's mark to a team-high 81 kills.

UConn put up impressive hitting numbers against the Rattlers, as they hit over .300 percent in all three sets. Florida A&M finished the match with a -.035 hitting mark. Chauntay Mickens (Germantown, Md.) had a stellar outing for the Huskies with 13 kills in 24 attempts, a .500 hitting percentage. Teammate Lauren Lamberti (Cary, Ill.) contributed with four kills and four digs in the Huskies' win.

Florida A&M was led by Maria Gomez with eight kills and three digs while Jovana Blazeski had 10 digs and two solo blocks.

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MSU Spartans top FAMU 3-0

Rattlers Coach Tony Trifonov talks with Maria Gomez during break in action.













Next Up: Connecticut vs. Florida A&M (MSU Showcase) - Saturday, 11 a.m.

Box Score
Detailed Box

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The 2008 Michigan State volleyball team earned a chance to play for the MSU Showcase title tomorrow night as it topped Florida A&M, 3-0 (25-14, 25-20, 25-19) Friday night at Jenison Field House. With the win, the Spartans move to 5-3 on the season. Both Jenilee Rathje (Mount Pleasant, Mich.) and Vineece Verdun (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) paced the Spartans with seven kills apiece.

After topping Wisconsin-Milwaukee in their first match of the day, the Spartans looked to pick up where they left off. Jumping out to a 14-5 lead, they did just that, against the Rattlers. Taking advantage of their size and athleticism at middle blocker, both Vanessa King (Spring Lake, Mich.) and Verdun both got off to hot starts with two kills apiece. The Spartans would extend their lead behind the play of Rathje. Tallying four kills and two digs while hitting .429 in the first set, Rathje helped the green and white to a 25-14 win in the first set.

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Royster-Crockett continues career

Courtesy, Latasha Edwards, The FAMUAN

Student travels overseas to pursue professional dream in league

After being kicked off the Florida A&M University's volleyball team, Marrita Royster-Crocket could have wasted her talents, but instead she decided to take them overseas to Switzerland to pursue her dreams. Royster-Crockett was dismissed by the athletic department after being classified as academically ineligible last year.

"They told us we have to declare a major after August of our junior year to be academically eligible," said Royster-Crockett, a 20 year old, senior broadcast student from Tallahassee. "My transcript read pre-journalism instead of broadcast journalism. It was a technical error." That error cost Royster-Crockett both academically and athletically. She lost her scholarship because she was not allowed to practice and she was still unable to be a part of the team. She missed the whole season.

According to Alvin Hollins, assistant athletic director of media relations, the Athletic Department could not comment because the information is confidential. In October 2007, she was told her ineligibility was a mistake but she already missed half of the season. Royster-Crockett asked to be red shirted following the mix-up. A red shirt is when a player has five academic years, but skips a year of play without losing a year of eligibility.

Marrita Royster-Crockett was a sophomore Florida State University transfer student-athlete who earned First Team All-MEAC honors in her first season with the Lady Rattlers and made an appearance in the 2006 NCAA Championship at Florida. The 6-0/outside hitter averaged averaged 4.72 kills per game while hitting .270 and averaging 1.96 digs per game in her last season with the Lady Rattlers.

"They ended up giving me my red shirt and my coach stop contacting me," Royster-Crockett said. "They told me not to practice with the team and wait until next fall."

With a burning desire to continue her career on the court, Royster-Crockett turned to her mother Rita Buck-Crockett, a volleyball agent and two-time Olympian. Buck-Crockett decided to contact Techlaser in Cheseaux, a national team in Switzerland to prevent her daughter from ending her volleyball career.

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FAMU Lady Rattlers Nip Stetson In Tough Match

Courtesy: Stetson University

FAMU vs. Stetson Box Score

Tallahassee, FL – The Stetson volleyball team (0-2) battled hard Saturday morning against Florida A&M (1-1) but fell to the Rattlers in four sets. FAMU edged the Hatters three times by two points en route to a 26-24, 17-25, 25-23, 26-24 victory in the FSU Invitational at Tully Gymnasium.

The Hatters came back from a seven-point deficit midway through the first set to tie the score 24-24 on a kill from senior outside hitter Rebecca Orzechowicz (Miami, Fla.) but couldn’t get over the hump as Florida A&M scored the next two points for the win.

Set Two went much better for Stetson. Orzechowicz started the set with a kill and the Hatters never trailed en route to a 25-17 victory, finishing with a 7-2 run and a punctuating kill from junior right side Sarah Sears (Ashburn, Va.)
























FAMU Lady Rattlers Maria Gomez, OH 6-2 Jr. Guayaquil, Eucador/Nuevo Mundo.

Just as in the first set, the third and fourth stanzas saw the Rattlers just manage to hold off the Hatters. Down 8-3 early in Set Three, Stetson went on a 7-1 run to take the lead. Later, Stetson would go ahead 22-21 on an Orzechowicz kill and seemed poised to go ahead in the match, but FAMU once again snuck back ahead and won 26-24.

Set Four was a see-saw affair in which neither team had a lead of more than three points. Once again, the Hatters had a 22-21 lead they could not hold as FAMU’s Joanna Blazeski tallied kills for three of her team’s final four points and the Rattlers walked off the court with the victory.

Orzechowicz finished the match with a team-high 13 kills while freshman outside hitter Kaylee Ream (Venice, Fla.) had seven kills and just one error, hitting .273 in the process. Senior libero Melanie Boyer (New Holland, Ill.) recorded 19 digs while freshman setter Jennica Hagberg (Niceville, Fla.) gave the Hatters 33 assists and eight digs. Sears and junior middle blocker Laura Boyd (La Crescenta, Calif.) contributed six block assists each.

Blazeski had 23 kills and 18 digs to lead the Rattlers. Samara Ferraz had 19 kills while Maria Gomez (11 kills, 11 digs) joined Blazeski in the double-double category.

FAMU's Sept. 1st game with Tulane University was cancelled due to Hurricane Gustav landfall on the Louisiana Coast today.

Attendance: 136 (Capacity: 2,500) Lucy McDaniel Court at Tully Gym, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL

Florida State Volleyball Sweeps Florida A&M On Opening Day

The Seminoles are now 20-0 all-time against the Rattlers.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The Seminoles opened the 2008 season with a win over the Florida A&M Rattlers on day one of the Florida State Invitational Friday, August 29. FSU swept its cross-town rival in three sets (25-13, 25-15, 25-16) to lengthen the all-time winning streak to 20-0.

"It is always good to get an early match like that out of the way like that," FSU head coach Chris Poole said. "I felt like the girls for the most part played really well. The biggest thing I want them to focus on is not making as many mistakes on our side of the net and I think we did a pretty good job eliminating that for the most part." Leading the way for the Seminoles was junior Jordana Price (Mountain Home, Idaho) who had an impressive nine kills for a .818 attack percentage. Price also led the team with four assisted blocks and 12 points.

Final Stats

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The Tulane University volleyball home opener against Florida A&M on Monday, Sept. 1., has been cancelled due to evacuation of its student-athletes, coaches and staff out of New Orleans with the impending weather threat from Tropical Storm Gustav. The Tulane volleyball team flew out of New Orleans on Thursday for their season opener at the BYU Molten Classic in Provo, Utah, and will remain on a West Coast road trip and travel directly to their next tournament, the Paso Robles Marriott Invitational, Sept. 5-6, at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, Calif.

FAMU volleyball makes switch at setter

FAMU Coach Tony Trifonov will be working against formidable odds to win the MEAC crown and a NCAA berth with a team composed of only five returning players and three walk-ons.

Defensive star Egoavil tries to give Trifonov 100th MEAC win in a row

All the great expectations that volleyball coach Tony Trifonov had for the coming season took a spike when two of his overseas recruits couldn't gain admission to FAMU. Instead of sulking, Trifonov has done a little shuffling with his undermanned team. With any luck, he might still have a team good enough to get him to the 100-win plateau in the MEAC.

"Whatever happens, happens," said Trifonov, who needs one more MEAC victory to extend his consecutive win streak in the league and reach the milestone. "I'm not worried too much about the streak."

One of the more pressing matters Trifonov has to address is molding 5-foot-5 Susan Egoavil into a setter. She was moved from libero on the back row to the front-court position after Zaira Monzo decided not to struggle with homesickness and left FAMU. Egoavil has proven defensive skills that earned her a spot on the 2007 All-MEAC preseason first team. But she now has to find ways to be effective despite her lack of height.

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Beast of the East: UMES, Great Expectations

After last season's 24-4 record, Hawks feeling confident

PRINCESS ANNE, MD -- With a new coach and numerous new players in the mix in 2007, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore volleyball team came out and surprised a number of people with a 24-4 season, which included 22 consecutive match victories and a trip to the MEAC tournament title match against Florida A&M. This season, the Hawks were selected as the preseason pick to repeat as the conference's Northern Division champion, and they return nearly every starter from last year, leading to optimism heading into the '08 campaign.

"The first year I got hired, I knew I had a couple good recruits, but I didn't have any expectations," UMES second-year coach Don Metil said. "But going 10-and-oh in the conference last year, and having my five, six returners and being first in the preseason poll, there's a lot of expectations, not only intrasquad, but outside the UMES community. And I think that's why I've been really, really hard on the girls, because now we do have expectations and I think they're playing well, but I think there are still a lot of errors that need to be cleaned up."

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UMES 2008-2009 VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE

VT Hokie Invite
08/29/08 at Virginia Tech Blacksburg, Va. 7:00 p.m. ET
08/30/08 vs. Coastal Carolina Blacksburg, Va. 10:00 a.m. ET
vs. Winston-Salem State Blacksburg, Va. 4:00 p.m. ET

UMBC Tournament
09/05/08 at UMBC Baltimore, Md. 10:00 a.m. ET
09/06/08 vs. Duquesne Baltimore, Md. 10:00 a.m. ET
vs. Niagara Baltimore, Md. 2:00 p.m. ET

Ramada Invitational
09/12/08 vs. Butler Buffalo, N.Y. 12:00 p.m. ET
at Buffalo Buffalo, N.Y. 7:00 p.m. ET
09/13/08 vs. Maine Buffalo, N.Y. 1:00 p.m. ET

09/16/08 at Norfolk State Norfolk, Va. 7:00 p.m. ET

Colonial Challenge
09/19/08 at William & Mary Williamsburg, Va. 7:00 p.m. ET
09/20/08 vs. Elon Williamsburg, Va. 10:30 a.m. ET
vs. Radford Williamsburg, Va. 4:30 p.m. ET

NCA&T Tournament
09/26/08 at North Carolina A&T Greensboro, N.C. TBA
09/27/08 vs. Alabama State Greensboro, N.C. TBA
vs. Kentucky State Greensboro, N.C. TBA

09/28/08 at North Carolina Central Durham, N.C. 11:00 a.m. ET
10/03/08 vs. Morgan State * Princess Anne, Md. 7:00 p.m. ET
10/05/08 vs. Delaware State * Princess Anne, Md. 3:00 p.m. ET
10/08/08 at Delaware Newark, Del. 7:00 p.m. ET
10/10/08 at Hampton University * Hampton, Va. 7:00 p.m. ET
10/12/08 vs. Coppin State * Princess Anne, Md. 3:00 p.m. ET
10/15/08 at American Washington, D.C. 7:00 p.m. ET
10/17/08 vs. Howard * Princess Anne, Md. 6:00 p.m. ET
10/19/08 at Morgan State * Baltimore, Md. 3:00 p.m. ET
10/24/08 at Delaware State * Dover, Del. 6:00 p.m. ET
10/26/08 vs. Hampton University * Princess Anne, Md. 3:00 p.m. ET
10/31/08 at Coppin State * Baltimore, Md. 7:00 p.m. ET
11/02/08 at Howard * Washington, D.C. 2:00 p.m. ET

MEAC Championships
11/14/08 MEAC Championships Hampton, Va. TBA
11/15/08 MEAC Championships Hampton, Va. TBA
11/16/08 MEAC Championships Hampton, Va. TBA

*Conference Event

MEAC volleyball kicks off

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- The 2008 MEAC volleyball season will kick off Labor Day weekend with a flurry of nonconference games. The defending champions Florida A&M, will begin its season at the Florida State Invitational against Bowling Green and Stetson.

UMES will start at the Virginia Tech Hokie Invite at 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 30. They will face Virginia Tech, Coastal Carolina and Winston-Salem State. Conference play will begin Oct. 3 when the northern and southern teams will face each other.

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