INDIANA, Pa. – The IUP women's volleyball team opened the home portion of its schedule with a pair of wins, coming against Davis & Elkins and Shepherd as part of the 2023 Crimson Hawk Classic Presented by the Hilton Garden Inn.
IUP (7-4) rolled to a sweep of Davis & Elkins to start the morning in front of Indiana Area elementary students. The Crimson Hawks closed out the opening day with a four-set victory against Shepherd at the KCAC.
Match One – Davis & Elkins
IUP cruised to a 3-0 sweep in the 2023 home opener, distancing Davis & Elkins as part of Education Day in the opening match of the 2023 Crimson Hawk Classic Presented by the Hilton Garden Inn. The Hawks hit .368 for the match and added 11 service aces in set scores of 25-6, 25-13, 25-9.
IUP received contributions from throughout the lineup in the lopsided victory, getting at least one kill from 11 players. Additionally, four Crimson Hawks placed down a pair of service aces each in a well-balanced effort.
Caroline Walsh smacked six kills on a blistering .857 hitting percentage to lead IUP offensively.
Nyla Birch added five kills on nine attacks, matching the kill output of
Simay Memisoglu.
Lauren Valentic was a force at the net, notching three solo blocks and three assisted blocks, finishing the morning with 8.5 points.
IUP raced out to a 12-1 advantage, coming out of the gate strong against the Senators.
Stefania Anagnostou and
Kat Warpinski dropped down a pair of aces each in the early surge before IUP widened its advantage to 19-5 following a Walsh kill. Five consecutive D&E attack errors eventually secured a 25-6 opening set victory for IUP.
IUP notched a 12-2 lead at the onset of set two, fueled by kills from Valentic, Birch,
Rylee Brown and
Grace Mangapora. The Hawks remained in control throughout the frame as Valentic pushed the advantage to 20-11.
Bailey Flowerdew capped the set with an ace as IUP took a 2-0 lead in the match.
Seven kills and two aces lifted IUP to a 9-1 advantage as
Hannah Simmons and
Delaney Concannon had success at the service line. A pair of Walsh kills sandwiched around a
Kylee Rubin ace carried IUP to a 19-6 lead.
Sara Boelkens and Brown each recorded kills down the stretch for a 25-9 advantage.
Gallery: (9-15-2023) Volleyball vs Davis & Elkins
Match Two – Shepherd
After dropping the initial set, IUP bounced back with three consecutive set victories to close out a pair of victories on Friday. Anagnostou delivered 19 kills on a .469 hitting percentage, just two kills shy of a career high for the senior.
Birch and Mangapora added 16 kills each, while Valentic had nine in another balanced effort. Warpinski dealt out 41 assists for IUP, which hit .322 for the match and held a 72-50 edge in kills.
In an evenly played first set, Shepherd held on long enough for a hard-fought 30-28 victory. IUP worked the score tied at 16 after consecutive kills from Birch and Anagnostou. Shepherd held off two potential set points, collecting back-to-back kills down the stretch.
After an extended opening set, IUP leveled the score at one following the second frame. A Flowerdew ace built a three-point cushion for IUP at 10-7 before Memisoglu dropped down a Torres feed for a 17-10 advantage. Despite a final push of three straight points for Shepherd, IUP secured the set following a bad set, taking the frame 25-19.
Neither side could pull away for the majority of the third set, countering back and forth with similar runs. A key four-point swing, which included a kill from Birch, solo block for Valentic and two more kills from Valentic, carried IUP to a 16-14 margin. An 8-1 scoring surge pushed IUP ahead late at 24-17, which included a block from the duo of Birch and Walsh. Walsh closed out the set with her fifth kill of the afternoon as IUP moved ahead 2-1.
The fourth set was equally as tight for much of the early stages. Mangapora evened the frame at 11 before Shepherd countered back with consecutive points to move ahead 18-16. It was part of a big final push for IUP that included four of the final five points, capped by a Mangapora kill.
Up Next
IUP finishes the busy Crimson Hawk Classic Presented by the Hilton Garden Inn on Saturday, September 16. The Crimson Hawks play two matches, facing Jefferson at 3:00 p.m. and Frostburg State at 7:00 p.m.
Follow
For up-to-date information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's volleyball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawks and @IUPVB.
