NOVEMBER 1, 2006
KING'S VOLLEYBALL DROPS A 3-2 HEARTBREAKER TO
TOP-SEEDED SCRANTON IN THE FREEDOM CONFERENCE SEMI-FINALS
SCRANTON -- The top-seeded host University of
Scranton overcame a 2-1 deficit to win the final two games, rallying to
defeat fourth-seeded King's College 3-2 in the Freedom Conference
Tournament semi-finals Wednesday in Scranton.
Scranton won by scores of 27-30, 30-28, 26-30, 30-20, 15-10.
With the win, Scranton advances to Saturday's Freedom Conference
championship game while improving to 27-7 on the year. Youthful
King's, meanwhile, finished the season at 19-12 but proved it will be a
force to reckon with in future years.
King's, which dropped a 3-0 verdict to Scranton in the team's
regular-season meeting, came out of the blocks determined to pull off
the upset. Scranton would hold a 21-20 lead, but King's would respond to
take a 24-23 lead on a kill from freshman Kaitlyn Malshefski. The game
would remain close and a kill from fellow rookie Kat Clerici gave the
Lady Monarchs a 29-27 lead. A Lady Royal hitting error would
result in King's capturing the first contest.
In the second game, King's would go out to a 15-12 lead, but Scranton
would eventually knot the score at 15-15. The Lady Royals would later
take a 17-16 lead stretched the advantage to 27-23. King's would
close to within 27-26 and 29-28, but Scranton would win the final point
to even the match at 1-1.
In game three, Scranton appeared to be in control, building a 21-12
advantage. But King's responded with a 12-3 surge to take a 24-23 led
thanks to three straight kills from first-year sophomore Amanda Breese.
After a point from Scranton tied the match, King's used a 6-2 surge to
close out the game on a pair of kills from Malshefski.
In game four, King's held a 7-6 lead after an ace by freshman Danielle
Belfanti, but Scranton responded with a 13-3 run to take a commanding
19-9 lead, en route to knotting the match at 2-2.
In the final game, King's took the early advantage, building an 8-6 lead
on an ace from Belfanti and kills by Breese and Malshefski.
Scranton, however, would answer and took advantage of King's mistakes to
close out the match with a 9-2 surge to win the deciding game 15-10.
Malshefski led the way with 23 kills and 15 digs while Clerici added 11
kills and four solo blocks. Belfanti distributed 42 assists with 23 digs
and 12 service points while freshman Samantha Page contributed seven
kills. Senior Jessica Luedeman posted 10 assists and 20 digs in her
final collegiate match while Shannon Ellis registered 18 digs.
With just one senior player, four freshmen starters and four additional
sophomores on the roster, King's concluded a fine season and exceeded
many expectations. The Lady Monarchs figure to raise the bar next
season and challenge for the conference title.
