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RICHMOND, Va. – Spurred by a raucous opening-night crowd, Virginia Commonwealth University swept past Kansas, 25-22, 27-25, 25-19, in the first day of the VCU/Third Degree Sportswear Invitational at the Alltel Pavilion at the Stuart C. Siegel Center. The victory completed a perfect opening day for the Rams, who also swept N.C. State 3-0 (25-20, 25-11, 25-14) earlier in the day. VCU used a balanced effort on the way to victory against the Jayhawks (0-1). Junior Ivana Rich (Cumberland, Va.) hit .357 with seven kills and turned in five blocks. Meanwhile, sophomore Ariel Newman (Greensboro, N.C.) provided nine kills and eight digs and sophomore Jessica Ojukwu (Sao Paulo, Brazil) contributed seven kills. The Black and Gold jumped all over Kansas in the early going and busted out to an 11-4 lead in the first set. The Rams never looked back, limiting KU to a .065 hitting percentage in the opening frame on the way to a 25-22 win. The second game was more tenuous, featuring eight ties and three lead changes. However, with the score tied at 25-25, the Jayhawks committed a service error to give the Rams a one-point edge. On the ensuing play, sophomores Mariel Frey (Lititz, Pa.) and Kelsie Clegg (Boise, Idaho) deployed a crushing double block to lock up the set, 27-25. Earlier in the day, VCU kicked off the tournament with a dominant performance to secure a 3-0 win over N.C. State. Ojukwu led the Black and gold with 11 kills and hit .474 for the match. VCU hit .360 in the match, while limiting the Wolfpack (0-2) to just an .026 mark. Ojukwu, a 2007 Colonial Athletic Association All-Rookie pick, hit a combined .400 in two matches Friday. The Rams return to action on Saturday, Aug. 30 when they wrap up play in the VCU/Third Degree Sportswear Invitational with Maryland at 7 p.m. at the Siegel Center. In all, five matches are on the slate for Saturday, the first beginning a 10 a.m. Complete details can be found at vcuathletics.com. VCU/Third Degree Sportswear Invitational |
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VCU TURNS AWAY KANSAS, N.C. STATE AT THIRD DEGREE TOURNEYAll rights reserved.
