Cinel on fire! Yardimci recorded her first double-double! Ucar for the all-tournament team!
What a strong start for Yagmur Cinel! From the very first game, the young sophomore not only led her team with 16 kills, but also broke her personal record, had her first double-double of the year with 16 kills and 10 digs, and was also named the MVP of the match! Peyman Yardimci, in her first collegiate game ever, had a double-double with 10 kills and 12 digs and UM is more than happy to have her! Freshman Irem Ucar was selected as the setter for the all-tournament team after leading her team in assists!
Yagmur Cinel - Damla Tokman
Hofstra won the season opener game in 5 sets with a great comeback from 0-2. It was Hofstra's first comeback from an 0-2 deficit since September 7, 2019 against Stetson. The 35 points scored in the third set marked a rally-scoring era record for points scored in a set (since 2008). Hofstra is 7-1 all-time against Central Connecticut State. This marked the first meeting since the 1997 season. Sophomore Yagmur Cinel recorded 16 kills,10 digs, 2 blocks, 1 assist, and an ace. She broke her career high record with 16 kills, led her team with the most kills, posted double figures with 16 kills and 10 digs, and was also named the key player of the match. Sophomore middle blocker Damla Tokman recorded 2 digs and 2 blocks. In the second game of the tournament, Hofstra dropped the match by set scores of 16-25, 14-25, and 22-25 against Virginia. Sophomore Yagmur Cinel posted 9 kills in the match to lead the Pride and she also recorded 3 aces, 4 digs, and 2 blocks. Sophomore Damla Tokman finished the game with 2 blocks and 1 kill. Hofstra is 7-3 all-time against Virginia. This was the first meeting between the teams since 2017. Additionally, this match marked Hofstra's first against a current member of the Atlantic Coast Conference since facing Duke on September 21, 2019. It is also the Pride's 66th all-time match against a current member of the ACC. Last game of the tournament, Hofstra fell to Maryland in 3 sets (18-25, 15-25, 19-25). Hofstra is now 4-7 all-time against Maryland. Today marked the first meeting since 2015. Yagmur Cinel recorded 5 kills and 1 assist while Damla Tokman recorded 2 kills and 1 block.
Next obligations:
31/8 vs St. Francis Brooklyn
3/9 vs Kent State and Seton Hall
9/4 vs Fairfield
Peyman Yardimci
3 for 3 for University of Miami in the FIU Invitational tournament. They first faced Tarleton State and won 3-0 (25-23, 25-18, 25-23). Freshman outside hitter Peyman Yardimci had a dominant role with 10 kills, 12 digs, 2 blocks, and 1 ace. For their second game, Miami played against the FIU Panthers with the score 3-0 (25-10, 25-14, 25-22) and while the statistics are not available from that game, the official website article from this match says that Peyman had a great performance with 6 kills and excellent blocking. Last, Miami won over UMBC in 3 (25-8, 25-17, 25-11) and for one more time the Turkish outside played a great game and managed to help her team with 6 kills, 9 digs, 4 aces, and 2 blocks. Dominant performance from Peyman’s Greek sister at Miami, Aristea Tontai (with family and roots in Istanbul) who had an impressive 5 kills in 6 swings for 83% efficiency, to go along with a block, an ace, and a couple of digs.
Next obligations:
3/9 vs South Florida
5/9 vs South Florida
Irem Ucar
Rattlers drop their season opener at South Alabama (20-25, 19-25, 23-25). Freshman Irem Ucar dished out 29 of the 32 team assists and added six digs. The Rattlers found the victory in the third match of the season, sweeping Charleston Southern U, with set scores of (25-13, 25-21, 25-23). Freshman setter Irem Ucar helped her team to the win with 2 kills, 25 assists and 5 digs. She was an assist machine as she had 25 of the 33 team assists. Second game of the day FAMU faced Jacksonville. FAMU picked up where they left off earlier and swept Jacksonville (25-22, 25-12, 25-20). Freshman Irem Ucar continued to set up her teammates as she recorded 23 of the team's 32 assists. After the 3 matches, Irem Ucar was selected to the all tournament team. Her head coach Yilmaz said “Irem is a very experienced setter who can involve all of our hitters, and she has run a clean offense for us. We are expecting her to get more comfortable with time and be one of the best setters not only in the SWAC but also in our region." Today's victories put the Rattlers at 2-1, their best start since '97 when the Rattlers started 3-0. Florida A&M volleyball returns to action next weekend in Ft. Myers for the FGCU Classic.
Next obligations:
3/9 vs Florida International University
3/9 vs University of South Carolina - Upstate
4/9 vs Florida Gulf Coast University
Hande Yetis
The UTEP team had a great start to the season with 4 wins in 4 matches! In the preseason exhibition match, UTEP Volleyball managed a 3-2 win against Grand Canyon. Before this game, these two teams came across each other 4 times and finished with a 2-2 series. With this victory of UTEP, they gained a 3-2 advantage in the winning streak. UTEP’s sophomore setter Hande Yetis helped her team with 22 assists, 1 ace and 7 digs. First game of the Idaho State Tournament, UTEP Volleyball defeated UC Irvine, 3-2, for a season-opening win (25-23, 25-23, 21-25, 21-25, 15-10). Sophomore Hande Yetis recorded 24 assists and 8 digs. On the second day of the tournament, UTEP swept Seattle and Idaho State. Yetis helped with 8 assists and 2 digs.
Next obligations:
3/9 vs Arizona and vs Northwestern
5/9 vs NM State
Cansu Gunaydin
Scarlet Knights earning their first season-opening win since 2013 in a 3-0 victory (25-23, 25-16, 25-14). Sophomore Cansu Gunaydin helped her team with 3 kills and 1 dig. Rutgers volleyball overcame a two-set deficit to rally for a 3-2 (28-26, 25-21, 25-17, 25-21, 15-6) victory over UMBC, a 2021 NCAA Tournament Team and America East Champions, on the final day of the Homewood Suites FGCU Invitational. Cansu Gunaydin recorded her first match in double-digit kills with her career-high 14 kills. She also recorded 2 digs and 1 block.
Next obligations:
3/9 vs Central Connecticut State and vs Lafayette
4/9 vs UConn
Doga Topcicek
Bradley falls to SEMO in four (25-18, 25-17, 24-26, 25-14) on a Saturday afternoon at Renaissance Coliseum during the final day of the CEFCU Invitational. Doga Topcicek finished the game with 2 digs and 1 assist. Last game of the CEFCU Invitational Tournament, Bradley faced DePaul. Bradley's efforts were not enough and lost 3-0 (5-22, 25-20, 25-21) but sophomore Doga Topcicek helped her team with 10 digs at key times in the game.
Next obligations:
3/9 vs Oakland
4/9 vs Eastern Michigan
Melisa Nur Temiz and Melisa Tore
MTSU started the season with a win! This is also the first season-opener MT has won since the 2016 season, with final set scores of 25-17, 25-14, and 25-6. Melisa Nur Temiz recorded 5 kills, 5 aces and 1 dig. Melisa Tore also recorded a kill. After starting the Gamecock Classic off with a 3-0 win over Alabama State, the last day of the tournament was different for the Blue Raiders, dropping matches to both Gardner-Webb (2-3) and Jacksonville State (0-3). Melisa Nur Temiz recorded 3 kills and 3 digs in the first game, she also recorded 4 kills and 2 digs in the last game of the tournament.
Next obligations:
3/9 vs North Alabama
4/9 vs Alcorn State
Cagla Bengi and Tsvetelina Ilieva
Seton Hall volleyball was defeated by Weber State, 3-0 (20-25, 17-25, 20-25), in the 2021 season opener on Friday. Sophomore Tsvetelina Ilieva led the team with 9 kills and 7 digs. Sophomore Cagla Bengi finished with a team-best 18 assists and five digs. The Pirates fell to North Dakota in 4 sets (21-25, 25-22, 18-25, 18-25) on Friday night. Sophomore Tsvetelina Ilieva finished with 7 kills, 3 aces, and 5 digs while sophomore setter Cagla Bengi finished with 19 assists and seven digs. The Pirates faced Host Utah State in the finale and Pirates falling to Utah State in 3 (11-25, 24-26, 19-25), on Saturday. Sophomore Tsvetelina Ilieva had a team-high 7 kills with only 2 attack errors. Sophomore setter Cagla Bengi had 9 assists and 2 digs. The Pirates had 27 kills, while the Aggies recorded 49.
Next obligations:
3/9 vs Fairfield and Hofstra
4/9 vs Kent State
Selin Isik
North Alabama volleyball was defeated in the UNCW Seahawk Classic tournament on both Friday August 27th and Saturday 28th. While they faced Furman (L, 1-3) on Friday and then UNC-Wilmington (L, 1-3) and Wake Forest (L, 0-3) the next day, freshman Selin Isik received the baptism of fire in her debut performance and experienced her first taste of NCAA D1 volleyball.
Next obligations:
31/8 vs Tennessee State
2/9 vs Alcorn State
3/9 vs Middle Tennessee
4/9 vs Belmont
Irem Elmas
St. Francis College volleyball started its season fighting against Bucknell on Friday, August 27, but they were defeated with a score 3-2 (18-25, 25-14, 25-19, 21-25, 15-12). Sophomore Irem Elmas helped her team with 5 kills and 5 digs. The next day, her team managed to win against St. Peters with a score 3-1 (25-19, 21-25, 25-21, 25-21) while the same afternoon they lost against Delaware State 0-3 (23-25, 19-25, 17-25). Irem had a great performance against Delaware State with 9 kills, 7 digs, 2 assists and 1 block.
Next obligations:
31/8 vs Hofstra
3/9 vs Lehigh
4/9 vs Binghamton and Saint Peter’s
Ece Emrullah
Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi played their first 2021 season tournament on August 27th and 28th at Arizona State. They didn’t manage to win any of the three games, falling in straight sets against Arizona State, Louisville, and Cal Poly. However, freshman middle blocker Ece Emrullah, only arriving at TAMUCC a few days earlier, was able to play and scored her first points as a college student-athlete in the states, helping her team with 7 kills and 4 solo blocks during the tournament.
Next obligations:
3/9 vs UL-Lafayette and Northern Arizona
9/4 vs Stephen F. Austin
Beste Ayhan & Mila Ilieva
University of Maryland- Baltimore County volleyball was defeated by FGCU on Friday 27th in 3 sets (25-14, 25-16, 25-14). Sophomore middle blocker Beste Ayhan had 2 kills, 2 digs and 5 blocks while freshman Mila Ilieva had 2 kills, 1 dig and 1 block for this season opener. On Saturday, August 28th, UMBC had 2 loses, one against South Florida and one against Rutgers. Both games ended up with scores 2-3 (26-28, 25-15, 22-25, 25-23, 4-15 vs South Florida & 28-26, 25-21, 17-25, 21-25, 6-15 vs Rutgers). Beste and Mila tried their best on those games and helped their team. Beste had 10 kills, 4 digs, 7 blocks and 6 aces for both games while Mila had 12 kills, 6 digs and 13 blocks. UMBC had a 4th game for this first-season week against Miami (Fla.) and they lost in 3 (8-25, 17-25, 11-25). Beste ended up with 4 more kills, 1 ace and 3 more blocks. Last, Mila added 1 kill and 2 blocks in her stats.
Next obligations:
2/9 vs UT Rio Grande Valley
3/9 vs Nicholls St.
Ozge Yavuz & Karya Suvarioglu
What an incredible start for New Mexico Military Institute and Karya Suvarioglu! The Broncos hold an incredible 7-0 starting their season with 7 dubs! On the 20th and the 21st, they hosted the annual NMMI Classic and encountered Seward County Community College, Yavapai College, Eastern Arizona College and Navarro College. On the 20th, Suvarioglou recorded 16 assists, 4 digs and 1 block assist at the sweep against SCC (25-18,25-18,25-13) and 14 assists, 2 digs and 2 block assists at the sweep against YC (22-25,25-14,25-17,25-21). On the 21st, the young setter had 20 assists, 1 kill, 2 digs and 1 block assist in the upset against EAC that ended in favor of the Broncos (25-23, 25-19, 23-25, 19-25,15-10) and 16 assists, 3 digs and 5 blocks in the 2nd match-thriller of the day against Navarro (23-25,25-21,26-24,18-25,15-
Next Obligations:
3/9 vs Central Wyoming College and Western Nebraska Community College
4/9 vs Casper College and Northeastern Junior College
Elif Yasar & Işıl Naz Yilmaz
With a very busy schedule and full of energy started off their season the Odessa Wranglers! On the 27th, OC had their first home match against Trinidad State College where they recorded their first win. Yilmaz had her first appearance in a collegiate game where she recorded 10 digs. The same day, the Wranglers welcomed Navarro College in their gym, but lost 3-0. The freshman libero recorded 5 more digs in that match. On the 28th, they continued the home matches series with a sweep against Hill College. Yilmaz took part in one set and had 7 digs, while Yasar had her first game in the United States and recorded 1 kill, 19 assists, 2 digs and 4 block assists. The Odessa Wranglers ended the Odessa Tournament with another win, this time against Cisco College. Yasar and Yilmaz helped their team get this dub by participating in the whole match. Yilmaz had 5 digs and Yasar had 1 kill, 27 assists, 1 ace, 1 block assist and 3 digs.
Next obligations:
10/9 vs Colby Community College, Otero Junior College
Elif Su Yavuz
Middle Blocker Elif Su Yavuz started her senior year as an Auburn Tiger on Friday, August 27th with a 0-3 win against Tennessee Tech (17-25, 12-25, 19-25) and she had 2 blocks. The next day, Auburn University volleyball faced Jackson St. and managed to win again in 3 (9-25, 13-25, 11-25). Elif Su played an excellent game, scoring 4 kills and 8 blocks.
Next obligations:
3/9 vs Southern University and vs Southeastern Louisiana
9/4 vs Cal State Fullerton
Ada Bulgur
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley volleyball started with 2 wins on Friday, August 27th. One vs Alcorn State with score 3-0 (25-10, 25-13, 25-18) and one vs New Orleans with 3-1 (25-17, 21-25, 25-23, 25-21). Freshman All-WAC, now sophomore outside hitter Ada Bulgur had playing time and managed to add her first kill, block and 2 digs in her stats.
Next obligations:
2/9 vs UMBC and TCU
9/3 vs Nicholls