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Radford University Athletics

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3
Winner Radford RAD 22-6, 12-4 Big South
1
Appalachian State APP 22-9, 13-3 Sun Belt
Winner
Radford RAD
22-6, 12-4 Big South
3
Final
1
Appalachian State APP
22-9, 13-3 Sun Belt
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Radford RAD 23 25 25 25 (3)
Appalachian State APP 25 17 20 19 (1)

Game Recap: Volleyball |

VOLLEYBALL ADVANCES TO SECOND ROUND OF NATIONAL INVITATIONAL VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP; DEFEAT APP STATE IN FOUR SETS




Box Score

Clemson, S.C. - - -The Radford women's volleyball team advanced to the second round of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) with a four-set victory over the Appalachian State Mountaineers, 23-25, 25-17, 25-20, 25-19, on Thursday afternoon at Jervey Gym. The Highlanders, who picked up their first major postseason win in program history, will next meet Clemson on Friday at 7:00 p.m.
 
Radford (22-6) hit a terrific .284 (57 kills, 13 errors, 155 attempts) for the match and held App State (22-9) to a .160 clip (53 kills, 27 errors, 163 attempts).
 
Junior middle Mallory McKnight (5 blocks) paced Radford with 16 kills as she hit an incredible .536 (1 error, 28 attempts). Classmate Stephanie Neast contributed 12 kills and senior Amaya Rousseau (9 kills, 4 blocks) was flawless as she hit .529 (0 errors, 17 attempts). Senior setter Haley Kleespies orchestrated the strong performance by dishing 46 assists to go along with two aces and four kills. Freshman Kylie Tuxford added eight kills and five blocks while senior Valerie Gonzalez contributed seven kills and 15 digs. Alyssa Carruth came up with a team-high 16 digs and added a pair of aces.
 
FIRST SET
The Highlanders fell behind 20-12 but managed to make a run down the stretch.  A kill by Kleespies cut the deficit to 22-18, capping a 6-2 spurt for Radford. The Highlanders still trailed 24-20 but App State registered three consecutive attack errors to allow Radford to close within 24-23. However, a kill by Kara Spicer put the set away for the Mountaineers. 

SECOND SET
Radford hit .242 and held App State to a .053 clip in the frame. The Highlanders trailed 5-3 but went on a 5-1 run to grab an 8-6 advantage, capped by a kill by Kleespies. The Mountaineers tied the set on the next play but Radford rattled off seven straight points to grab a commanding 15-8 lead. Gonzalez and Rousseau had kills and the Mountaineers committed three hitting errors during the key spurt. App State managed to close within 22-17 but a kill by McKnight and back-to-back aces from Kleespies evened the match at 1-1.

THIRD SET
The frame was tight throughout despite Radford hitting a sensational .417 compared to the Mountaineers mark of .323. The score was deadlocked at 7-7 but Tuxford gave Radford the lead for good with a kill. App State would close within just a single point six more times in the set but the Highlanders held them off each and every time. Radford held a 21-20 advantage but pulled away as Tuxford and Gonzalez recorded back-to-back kills. A Mountaineer ball handling error followed by an attack error gave the Highlanders the set.

FOURTH SET
Radford trailed 4-3 but scored three straight points to grab the lead for good. Neast ignited the run with consecutive kills and App State recorded an attack error. The Mountaineers closed to within 6-5 but the Highlanders scored six straight to grab a 12-5 lead. App State answered with a 7-1 run to close within 13-12, however, Kleespies and McKnight recorded back-to-back clutch kills. App State trimmed the deficit to 21-19 but that was as close as they would get. Rousseau, Tuxford and McKnight recorded kills and freshman Grace Green added an ace to put the match away.

FOLLOW VOLLEYBALL ON SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on the Radford volleyball team visit RadfordAthletics.com, follow @RadfordVB on Twitter and Instagram or Radford Volleyball on Facebook.

 
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