Volleyball Today: Colgate’s reverse sweep clinches Patriot; Caldwell-Cory win in China

Abby Shadwick put Colgate on her back and carried the Raiders to the Patriot League regular-season title.

The star 6-foot-2 senior outside hitter’s heroics in crunch time during a reverse sweep on the road against Bucknell stole the spotlight for her low-major school on a busy Saturday of Division-I NCAA women’s volleyball.

With Colgate trailing 11-14 in the deciding fifth set, four kills by Shadwick staved off defeat. After the Bison sided out, Shadwich’s immediate sideout kill produced another match point. Then Abby’s ace sealed the deal on a 21-25, 23-25, 25-23, 25-18, 17-15 victory in a battle of teams that came into this final regular-season match deadlocked for first place in the Patriot League.

Shadwick scored her team’s last six points at the time they were most needed.

The victorious Raiders are 17-10 overall, 14-2 in the conference. Bucknell (21-4) settled for second at 13-3. A proud program that has captured four consecutive regular-season crowns and has represented the Patriot League in the last three NCAA Tournaments, Colgate will now enjoy home-court advantage at cozy Cotterell Court in Hamilton in upstate New York throughout the upcoming conference tourney. That gives the Raiders a leg up in their quest for another automatic NCAA bid.

“I’m just so proud of the consistency our program has shown,” Coach Ryan Baker said. “To win four regular-season championships in a row speaks to our team culture, our team leadership, and my staff. We are thrilled to host the championship and have our fans in attendance. We know the Hamilton community will show up.”

Shadwick’s totals for the match were 21 kills on 60 attacks with three errors, three aces, 13 digs and eight blocks (one solo), which earned her out stat line of the night, not only for quantity but for timely quality.

Many of the usual powers also played on Saturday, including red-hot Nebraska, which stayed undefeated in the Big Ten, and Wisconsin, which won on the West Coast to remain very much a factor in the conference chase. Also, Kansas kept pace with Arizona State in the Big 12, Dayton’s streak was at 21 after closing out an unbeaten Atlantic 10 slate and Northern Iowa and UT Arlington kept winning.

Reverse sweeps transpired: The aforementioned visiting Colgate over Bucknell, visiting Utah over UCF, host North Carolina A&T over UNC-Wilmington, visiting Chicago State over St. Francis, host Cornell over Yale and host Oakland over Wright State.

Also in this edition of Volleyball Today are reports on the AVCA Beach National Championships for collegiate pairs and the international beach tour’s second-tier Challenge tournament in China.

NCAA volleyball Sunday

Just one of the six Big Ten matches involves two ranked teams when No. 11 Oregon is at No. 23 USC. Fifth-ranked Penn State goes to Maryland, No. 10 Purdue is home for Illinois (Big Ten Network, 5 p.m. Eastern), No. 16 Minnesota entertains Michigan and Northwestern is at Washington.

Six ACC matches include No. 24 Florida State at No. 9 SMU. Top-ranked Pittsburgh is home for Miami, No. 3 Louisville plays host to North Carolina, No. 16 Georgia Tech is home for Boston College, Syracuse is at Clemson and Duke is at Notre Dame.

The SEC slate shows No. 13 Texas at Alabama (ESPN, 1 p.m. Eastern), No. 14 Kentucky home for Georgia, Mississippi State at Ole Miss and Arkansas at LSU.

The only Big 12 match has Arizona at West Virginia.

Fifth-ranked Creighton is home for Georgetown as the Bluejays go for their 18th victory in a row.

The best of NCAA Saturday

BIG TEN: Before its typical capacity crowd 8,727 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center, No. 2 Nebraska (26-1, 16-0 Big Ten) stifled Indiana (12-14, 5-11) 25-12, 25-17, 25-19, holding the shell-shocked Hoosiers to .056 hitting (29 kills against 23 errors). The Cornhuskers have won 23 in a row. Andi Jackson was 8-for-11 with one error (.636), Harper Murray logged 10 kills, one ace, eight digs and two blocks, and Lexi Rodriguez chipped in with 15 digs and five assists. … No. 6 Wisconsin (20-5, 14-2 Big Ten) had too much firepower, cracking at .407 efficiency, during a 15-25, 25-15, 25-22, 25-15 victory over host UCLA (12-13, 6-10). Intimidating 6-foot-9  opposite Anna Smrek went off for 16 kills on 23 swings against two errors (.609) with four blocks, while Sarah Franklin racked up 19 kills. … Emily Londor’s 18 kills highlighted a sweep by host Ohio State over Rutgers.

BIG 12: With its 14th consecutive victory, No. 8 Arizona State (26-2, 14-1 Big 12) remained atop the conference standings. Senior middle blocker Savannah Kjolhede attacked at .500 efficiency (10-for-12 against one error) and made five blocks in a 25-16, 25-16, 25-21 triumph over host Cincinnati (13-12, 4-10), which hit 113. … No. 12 Kansas (22-3, 13-2 Big 12) stayed one game out of first while going up two games in the loss column over visiting Baylor (18-7, 10-4) with a 25-22, 26-24, 25-17 victory. The Jayhawks shrugged off a 31-18 disadvantage in attack and service errors, recording 55 kills to the Bears’ 30. A winner by Ayah Elnady (14 kills, 13 digs) and a rejection by Reese Ptacek tallied the deciding points in the overtime second set, providing Kansas significant momentum. London Davis and Caroline Bein added 11 kills each. …

Also, visiting Utah (21-5, 11-4 Big 12) turned the tables on cellar-dwelling UCF (8-15, 1-13) after dropping the first two sets, pulling out a 22-25, 18-25, 25-18, 25-10, 15-12 victory. With the count knotted at 10 in the tiebreaker, the Utes used kills by Emma Satualu and Kamryn Gibadio and a timely ace by Claranne Fetcher to open 13-10 separation. Utah’s Laurine Jardine had 16 kills, two aces and three blocks, while UCF got 20 kills from Avah Armour. … Elli Mortensen rang up 13 kills, two aces and three blocks) as BYU (16-8, 9-5 Big 12) took a contentious three-setter (25-16, 29-27, 26-24) over host Houston (11-13, 6-8). … Iowa State swept host Texas Tech.

ATLANTIC 10: No. 15 Dayton (28-1, 18-0 A-10) upped its winning streak to 21 and finished a second consecutive undefeated league campaign, gliding past host Saint Louis (11-19, 6-12) 25-11, 25-17, 25-15. The Flyers, ranked No. 15 in the latest RPI, sided out at 75% while outhitting the host Billikens .435 to .031. Redshirt senior Brooke Smith’s .833 efficiency (10-for-12) led the onslaught, aided by Lexie Almodovar’s 14 kills and Karissa Kaminski’s 17 digs. …   But Dayton isn’t the only team with momentum in the A-10. … Virginia Commonwealth (18-8, 16-2 A-10) has won its last 14 games, completing a weekend sweep at Fordham (7-20, 3-15) in four sets. The home Rams got in the first blow, but the visiting Rams landed three knockout punches in prevailing 22-25, 25-10, 25-15, 25-14. VCU got 14 kills each from Jasmine Knight (four blocks, five digs), Lara Del Cora (two aces) and Alicia Jaryszek (eight digs, two blocks).  … Loyola-Chicago (18-11, 13-5 A-10) will carry a nine-match winning streak into the league tournament after a 25-22, 25-23, 25-15 victory on the road over George Washington (19-12, 9-9). Freshman Sam Falk paced the Ramblers’ defense with 21 digs, chipping in seven assists, and seniors Esma Ajanovic (11 kills) and Olivia Lovett (10 kills, six digs) contributed to a balanced attack. … Emma Slusser (14 kills, .545) keyed a 23-25, 25-12, 25-20, 25-13 triumph by host Davidson (15-14, 11-7 A-10) over Rhode Island (9-22, 4-14). … George Mason held off visiting Duquesne in a see-saw five-setter (15-13 in the tiebreaker) despite 24 kills by Elizabeth Dreiling.

BIG EAST: UConn (22-6, 10-6 Big East) moved into a tie for third with a tight sweep (25-23, 29-27, 25-22) against visiting Xavier (10-16, 8-8). Emma Werkmeister recorded 16 kills and 10 digs. … Visiting DePaul (18-10, 10-6 Big East) joined the Huskies in third after being upset by Providence (8-19, 1-15), which put its first league “W” on the board. The Friars’ celebration in a 25-23, 21-25, 25-21, 30-28 nail-biter came when winners by Shaliyah Rohen (23 kills, eight digs), Kayla Grant and Rhoden again punctuated the overtime fourth set. Jill Pressley had 21 kills, 18 digs and six blocks in a losing cause. … Villanova swept at Butler.

WAC: UT Arlington (26-2, 16-0 WAC) concluded the regular season with a 17-match winning streak and a perfect record in the conference. Fueled by Brianna Ford’s 17 kills, 10 digs and five blocks, the visiting Mavericks trampled Utah Tech (15-11, 9-7) 25-23, 25-18, 25-21. Middle blocker Paige Reagor cracked nine kills on .444 hitting with nine blocks, one solo, while sophomore libero Samantha Glenn notched 17 digs. Coach J. T. Wenger called it an “excellent win in the final regular-season match. We played clean volleyball and executed at a high level. Reagor performed well in that third set and gave us a boost when we were down early, and Glenn had a solid defensive match keeping us in play.” The Mavericks are 49th on the RPI list. … Host Utah Valley (19-9, 10-6 WAC) limited Southern Utah (10-17, 6-10) to .069 hitting in a three-set romp.

MISSOURI VALLEY: Sizzling Northern Iowa (22-7, 17-0 MVC) extended its streak to 17 and has won 39 in a row against Valley teams. The Panthers were rude visitors to Southern Illinois (10-18, 3-14) during a 25-10, 25-13, 25-16 shellacking that saw the Salukis commit twice as many hitting errors (24) as kills 12). … Drake (20-8, 16-1 MVC) kept right on the Panthers’ tail, weathering a tense five-setter against host Missouri State (11-18, 5-12) 22-25, 25-18, 27-25, 29-31, 15-13. Macy Daufeldt was a one-woman gang for the Bulldogs with 27 kills, 19 digs, an ace and three blocks, one solo. … In other Valley matches, host Illinois-Chicago swept Indiana State, visiting Bradley beat Belmont in three and host Valparaiso won in a sweep over Evansville.

ACC: The lone match went five as North Carolina State (14-10, 9-7 ACC) won a back-and-forth affair with Wake Forest (13-14, 5-11) 20-25, 25-20, 23-25, 25-23, 15-11. Amanda Rice led the visiting Wolfpack with 20 kills, four aces and four blocks.

Around the nation

Assisting Abby Shadwick to get Colgate across the finish line in its tension-packed reverse sweep over host Bucknell that wrapped up the regular-season crown in the Patriot League were Milan Bayless (16 kills, one ace, four blocks) and Taylor Cigna (19 digs, nine assists). Cameron Lloyd filled the stat sheet for the Bison with 20 kills, one ace, 21 digs and two blocks, while libero Jordan Hardy piled up 29 digs and six assists. Colgate outblocked Bucknell 23 to 13. … Visiting Lehigh (15-12, 8-8 Patriot League) surprised American (20-8, 10-6) in a five-setter (15-9 in the tiebreaker). … Army West Point topped visiting Lafayette in three. … Host Navy swept Holy Cross.

First-place Florida Gulf Coast (24-4, 15-1 Atlantic Sun) wrapped up its regular season on an 11-match streak with a sweep of visiting Jacksonville (15-13, 10-6). Shelby Kent logged 13 kills, nine digs and two aces.  … Courtney Jones ripped 17 kills on .438 hitting as Lipscomb (17-10, 14-2 ASUN) bounced host West Georgia in three … Visiting Central Arkansas (16-11, 13-3 ASUN) won in four at Bellarmine. … Also, Eastern Kentucky swept visiting North Alabama and host Queens topped Austin Peay in three. …In the Big South, UNC Upstate defeated host UNC Asheville in four sets. …  On Friday, High Point (21-6, 13-2 Big South) clinched its fifth consecutive regular-season conference title in a road sweep over Radford.

The Coastal Athletic Association’s regular season wound up with a two-way tie at the top. Delaware (19-6 overall) and College of Charleston (23-8) did not play each other and both finished 15-3. … The Blue Hens held visiting Elon (11-18, 5-13) to .143 hitting in a 25-19, 25-19, 25-17 victory. … Tynley Smeltzer’s 18 digs highlighted a 25-12, 25-21, 25-19 triumph by host College of Charleston over Northeastern (10-16, 8-10). … A potential three-way deadlock was averted when host Towson (23-5, 14-4 CAA) stopped Hofstra (18-9, 14-4) 25-20, 25-22, 22-25, 29-27. … North Carolina A&T (17-9, 12-6 CAA) got 21 kills from Tyne Ross in a 21-25, 23-25, 25-22, 25-21, 15-13 reverse sweep over visiting UNC-Wilmington. … Stony Brook picked up a sweep at Campbell.

League-leading Northern Colorado (21-6, 12-2 Big Sky) built two-game breathing room with a 25-21, 25-22, 25-15 road blitzing of second-place Weber State (13-12, 10-4). The Bears had 53 kills to the Wildcats’ 28 and Sam Steele dug 20 balls. … Sacramento State (17-10, 10-4 Big Sky) moved into a tie for second by defeating host Montana State in four. … Idaho State (18-8, 9-5 Big Sky) lost ground with a five-set defeat (15-9 in the tiebreaker) to visiting Northern Arizona. … Host Montana State swept Portland State.

Chicago State (17-9, 13-1 Northeast Conference) pulled off a reverse sweep on the road to clinch the title in its first season in the league. The Cougars rallied for a 20-25, 15-25, 25-21, 25-21, 15-10 victory at Saint Francis (14-12, 10-4), assisted by seven hitting errors in the tiebreaker by The Red Flash. The victors got 24 kills and seven digs from Patrycja Lagida, along with 27 digs by Andrea Calderon, offsetting 27 kills by Saint Francis’ Corrin Burns. … Fairleigh Dickinson (21-8, 11-3 NEC) took second in the conference, prevailing in four at Stonehill. … Host LIU won in three over Central Connecticut State and Mercyhurst swept visiting Le Moyne.

The first- and second-place teams in the Horizon League went down to defeat on the final day of its regular season. Wright State (24-5, 16-2 Horizon) ran out of gas on the road and was stunned in a bizarre reverse sweep by Oakland (8-22, 4-14) 12-25, 14-25, 25-20, 25-22, 15-6. The Raiders hit .000 in the tiebreaker. Gentry Brown paced the host Golden Grizzlies with 17 kills and 14 digs. … Milwaukee (20-11, 15-3 Horizon) was unable to benefit, however, dropping a 25-19, 25-19, 25-20 decision on its home court to Cleveland State (20-7, 11-7). … Also, Purdue Fort Wayne won in four over visiting Youngstown State, host Northern Kentucky took a five-setter from IU Indy and Green Bay was a four-set victor over visiting Robert Morris.

Princeton (14-10 overall) pulled into a tie for first with Yale (17-5) as the Ivy League concluded its regular slate, each finishing 12-2. Yale fell victim to one of those dastardly reverse sweeps, stumbling at Cornell (14-9, 8-6) 25-27, 24-26, 25-23, 25-18, 15-11. The host Big Red were led by Eliza Konvicka (22 kills, 16 digs) and libero Jackie Baker (17 digs). … Princeton gained traction in the last two sets to handle host Harvard (10-13, 5-9) 25-16, 22-25, 25-13, 25-17. Camryn Chaney’s 20 kills, 10 digs and four blocks figured heavily. … Also, Penn eked out a five-set victory (16-14 in the tiebreaker) at Dartmouth and visiting Brown swept Columbia.

San Jose State (14-5, 12-5 Mountain West) topped Colorado State (16-10, 12-4) in five sets 27-25, 18-25, 25-17, 25-19, 15-10 to close to within half a game of the conference lead. Blaire Fleming had 24 kills, 10 digs, an ace and a solo block for the host Spartans. … Fresno State defeated visiting Wyoming in a five-setter and host Utah State bounced San Diego State in four. Both winners are 11-5 in the Mountain West.

In other highlights, Fairfield (18-11, 15-1 Metro Atlantic) kept its hold on first place in the MAAC with a five-set triumph (15-9 in the tiebreaker) over host Rider. … Bowling Green (21-8, 16-2 Mid-American) dodged a bullet against visiting Ohio, pulling out the fifth set 15-9. … Central Michigan (24-6, 15-3 MAC) kept pace with the Falcons, also winning in five (15-10 in the tiebreaker) at Akron. … South Dakota State (25-1, 14-1 Summit League) and Omaha (15-11, 13-2) held their positions in the standings, the former sweeping at North Dakota and the latter prevailing in four against visiting South Dakota. … League-leading Mercer (24-5, 14-2 SoCon) swept at Mercer. … Loyola Marymount (21-4, 13-1 West Coast) was pressed to a 30-28 third set in a sweep at Santa Clara. … In the cluster at the top in the Big West, Cal Poly (19-8 overall) and Hawaii (18-8) both were 12-4 after winning in home-court sweeps over UC Irvine and UC San Diego, respectively, each going a half game up on idle UC Davis. … Host UTEP (26-4, 16-2 Conference USA) kept its grip on second place with a four-set victory over Kennesaw State.

On the sand

Spanish Olympians Daniela Alvarez and Tania Moreno of TCU are among the final four pairs in the championship bracket of the AVCA Beach National Championships in Huntsville, Alabama. After taking a season off to qualify for and compete in the Paris Games, in which they finished fifth, Alvarez and Moreno returned to the collegiate ranks.

On Sunday morning in the semifinals of AVCA nationals, a pairs competition on the women’s side, Alvarez-Moreno will meet Brooke Rockwell and Rudy Sorra of Stanford. The other semi pits Piper Ferch and Erin Inskeep of Cal Poly against UCLA’s Maggy Boyd and Sally Perez.

The winners move on to the championship match, the losers will play for third place. VBTV will cover the action on a free live stream.

Meanwhile, two Americans pairs made memorable runs from the qualifier to the gold-medal matches in the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour’s Haikou Challenge in China.

Cody Caldwell and Evan Cory, seeded 16th, stood on the top step of the podium after grinding out a 23-21, 23-21 victory over top seeds Thomas Hodges and Zachery Schubert, who represented Australia in the Paris Olympics.

Caldwell and Evans will split the $10,000 first-place check. This was the first title by Caldwell on the world tour, and Cory’s second. He won a third-tier Futures event in Finland in 2023, teaming with Troy Field. Cody and Evan were 21-14, 21-13 victors in the semifinals over Italians Gianluca Dal Corso and Marco Viscovich.

However, Toni Rodriguez and Molly Shaw fell one short of gold when they were bounced 21-15, 21-15 by the second-seeded Chinese duo of veteran Chen Xue (a four-time Olympian and a 2008 Olympic bronze medalist) and youngster Jinjin Zeng. Seeded 19th, the silver medalists each earned $4,000. In the semifinals, Toni and Molly defeated Lezana Placette and Alexia Richard of France 21-13, 21-18.