Just three ranked teams played Saturday as AVCA No. 21 USC knocked off VolleyballMag Super 16 Media Poll No. 12 Minnesota in four sets and No. 23 Dayton swept at VCU.
Of course there were reverse sweeps. Kansas State did it to visiting Iowa State, Davidson did it to visiting George Mason, Eastern Michigan did it to visiting Miami and Murray State did it to visiting Evansville.
Lines of the day: There were plenty worth noting.
Speaking of Evansville, the Purple Aces lost at Murray State but Giula Cardona had 31 of her team’s 49 kills — hitting .274 after having 11 errors in 73 swings — an ace, six digs and a block. The 5-foot-11 senior from Argentina, the 2023 Missouri Valley player of the year, had 30 kills twice already this season. She had 40 in a match last season.
Jacksonville lost its Conference USA match at Liberty in five, but the Gamecocks’ Kayla Williams had 29 kills, hit .460, and added three assists, five of her team’s 11 aces and six digs. In Stony Brook’s five-set CAA win over visiting College of Charleston, Charleston’s Emily Banitt had 28 kills, hitting .303, with an assist, 17 digs and two blocks, and Stony Brook’s Kali Moore had 26 kills, an assist, eight digs and a…
