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NOVEMBER 15, 2002
BOB ZIADIE
KING’S
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL ADVANCES TO SWEET 16 WITH 3-1 WIN OVER EASTERN
HUNTINGDON – The King’s College women’s volleyball team avenged
its only Loss of the season while
reaching the NCAA National Tournament “Sweet 16” as the
Lady Monarchs downed Eastern University 3-1 in the NCAA Mid-Atlantic
Regional Championships semi-finals Friday in the Kennedy Sports Convention
Center on the campus of Juniata College.
King’s, which lost to Eastern 3-2 in October, earned sweet revenge in
wining by scores of 33-31, 30-19,
22-30, 30-17. The Lady Monarchs improved their school-record
mark to 39-1, the best in NCAA Division III, while Eastern ended
its outstanding season with a 32-6 mark.
In the first game, the teams were tied 9-9 before King’s went on a
6-0 run keyed by two kills each from
Faith O’Dell and Jill Leibman to build a 16-9 lead.
The Lady Monarchs would maintain a 25-19 lead before Eastern answered
with a 8-1 run to take a 27-26 lead. With the
Eagles sitting on game points at 29-28,
Jessica McVey kept King’s alive with a kill to know the score at 29-29.
King’s then took a 31-30 lead on a kill by Annie German before O’Dell
sealed the first game with another kill.
In the second game, King’s started fast and built a 6-1 lead on two
kills and a service aces by O’Dell
and another kill by Spencer. After holding a 8-5 lead,
King’s went on a 5-0 run keyed by three kills by Annie German, a kill
by Faith O’Dell. The Lady Monarchs would
extend their lead to 25-15 on a kill
and service ace by McVey before Eastern scored three straight point to
close to within 25-18. But the Lady Monarchs
closed out the game with a 5-1 run as O’Dell
posted three kills while Leibman added a pair to give the Lady Monarchs
a 2-0 lead.
In the third game, Eastern built a 6-1 lead before the Lady Monarchs
bounced back to knot the score at
10-10. With the teams tied at 16-16, the Eagles would
go on a 9-4 spurt to take a 25-20 lead. After the Lady Monarchs closed
to within 25-22 on kills by German and O’Dell,
Eastern finished with a 5-0 spurt to
capture the third and game and close to within 2-1 in games.
In the fourth game, King’s dominated from the start, jumping out to a
13-4 lead as McVey had four aces and a
kills, while O’Dell and German also chipped in with
kills. The Lady Monarchs would extend their lead to 20-9 on kills by
Leibman. After Eastern closed to within 25-15,
the Lady Monarchs went on a 4-1 run
thanks to three kills by O’Dell and a kills by Leibman to increase
the lead to 29-17. After a point by the
Eagles, Spencer closed out the match with
a kill to give King’s its historic victory.
O’Dell topped King’s with 28 kills and 21 digs on the night while
German followed with 19 kills and five
blocks. McVey added nine kills, 21 digs, and seven
aces, while Spencer chipped in with nine kills. Katie Baffone distributed
64 assists with 10 digs; Leibman contributed seven kills and five blocks,
while Tara Holly posted a team-high 28 digs.
“I thought our team came ready to play and had a good feeling coming
in. Our blocking was outstanding and we
really shut down Eastern’s hitters and that was
the key to the match. Blocking and getting touches gave our hitters
opportunity. It is a great feeling for King’s
volleyball and I am so proud of the way
they hung in there throughout the match and it is a credit to their
character and composure. Our senior experience
of being here two years ago helped us
along. We have accomplished our goal of reaching the regional final
and hopefully we can play well and come out
with a win.
The Lady Monarchs will next face Juniata in the championship match
Saturday at 7:00 p.m. with the winner moving on to the NCAA
“Elite Eight” November 23 at a site to be determined.
National powerhouse Juniata is making its 23rd consecutive NCAA
national playoff appearance while
reaching the “Final Four” on 18 occasions.
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