WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL: At Boiling Springs, N.C., the Wildcats team won its first pre-season tournament title since 2007 on Saturday afternoon, finishing with a 2-1 record at the Gardner-Webb University Runnin?? Bulldog Classic at Paul Porter Arena.
Weber State went 1-1 in two matches on Saturday, defeating Wofford 3-1 (25-14, 28-26, 14-25, 25-20) in a morning match, before falling 3-1 (25-21, 12-25, 25-19, 25-19) to host Gardner-Webb in tournament??s final match.
Weber State, Gardner-Webb and Kennesaw State each finished 2-1 in the tournament, with the Wildcats claiming the title via tiebreaker by sets won during the tournament.
Sophomore middle blocker Carissa Noble and sophomore right side hitter Emily Jones were named to the All-Tournament Team. Noble had 23 kills, hitting a team-best .333 on 48 attacks during the tournament. She also had eight solo blocks and 11 total blocks over the three matches. Jones had 32 kills, averaging 2.91 per set, with 20 digs.
Against the host Bulldogs, the Wildcats split the first two sets, before falling in the final two.
Sophomore right side hitter Bethany Wray had a career-high 17 kills against Gardner-Webb, along with nine digs. Sophomore middle blocker Carissa Noble had a career-high five solo blocks, along with five kills and a service ace. Sophomore right side Emily Jones added nine kills and six digs for Weber State (2-9).
In the early match on Saturday, the Wildcats won their second straight match by topping Wofford 3-1 (25-14, 28-26, 14-25, 25-20). Redshirt freshman left side hitter Shanae Langston had a team-high 16 kills, hitting .412 on 34 attempts in that match.
Jones had 12 kills and seven digs, while Noble had 11 kills. Wray had 10 kills and 11 digs, along with a trio of service aces. Senior setter Kim Lissinna had a season-high 49 assists and 11 digs as Weber State had a season-high 60 kills.
Junior Nina Blake had a career-high 27 digs for the Wildcats.
Saturday's matches wrapped up Weber State's pre-conference action, with the Wildcats set to host Northern Colorado on Friday in their Big Sky Conference opener at Swenson Gym.