December 4, 2003
Lady Eagles Fall To North Alabama, 3-2, In Elite Eight

( San Bernardino , Calif. ) – The Lock Haven University volleyball team saw its season draw to a close, falling in five games, 30-23, 25-30, 30-24, 29-31, 7-15, to No. 11-ranked University of North Alabama (31-7) in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Division II National Volleyball Championships being held in Coussoulis Arena on the campus of Cal-State San Bernardino.  
            Lock Haven took game one, inching up to a 24-23 lead nearing the close of what shaped up to be a back-and-forth battle.  A kill by Cherry Li (Shanghai, China) jump-started a six-point run by the Lady Eagles, who wrapped up the game with a service ace by Li for 28-23 and two kills by Allison Wade (Duncansville/Hollidaysburg) to move on to the second game and the 30-23 victory for the one-game lead.
            A late spurt by the Lions of North Alabama in game two brought the match back to even, as three straight points after a 24-24 tie stretched out the game enough as they held on to take the 30-25 win.  Two unforced Lock Haven errors had brought the score to game point, and a kill by the Lions’ Yana Ninova sealed the Lady Eagles’ fate.
            Lock Haven rebounded and took an early lead in game three, moving out into a 10-5 lead.  The Lions continued to fight back, chipping away at LHU’s lead until it was down to one at 20-19.  Cherry Li put down another kill following a Haven timeout to make the score 21-19 and put an end to the UNA comeback attempt.  The Haven’s offense did the rest of the work, with Allison Wade adding a kill, Amanda Snyder (Portsmouth, Va./Churchland) hitting two for kills, and Kristi Kauffman (York/Central York) giving the Lady Eagles the 2-1 lead with a kill on game-point for the 30-24 win.

The Lady Eagles, the 2003 PSAC and Atlantic Region Champions, ended their season in the Elite Eight in a 
3-2 loss to North Alabama this afternoon in 
San Bernardino, Calif.

            The fourth game was tight the entire way, battling through seven ties from 22-22 until it reached 29-29.  Two kills by UNA forced the fifth game, as Ninova and Ashley Moffitt each got attacks past the Haven defense for the 31-29 win.
            The momentum had shifted to North Alabama by the fifth game, as the Lions recorded seven straight points following a 6-6 tie and Haven timeout and rolled to the 15-7 win to advance to the Final Four.
            In a post-match press conference, Lock Haven head coach Tom Justice commented on the match.  “We did a lot of things very, very well. We were attacking well, we were digging well and we were passing well. We were doing the things we wanted to do. We just let the last game get away from us. We came real close. In retrospect, and it’s always easy to look back, we had a great opportunity to win game four and let that slip away.”
            Lock Haven’s Cherry Li paced the squad with 20 kills, hitting .425 on the match. Defensively, Li added 14 digs and seven blocks.  Outside hitter Allison Wade totaled 15 kills and seven digs, while Kristi Kauffman added 10 kills and a team-best 19 digs.  Right-side hitter Amanda Snyder had seven kills and eight digs along with four blocks. At the net, middle Lillian Bortoto ( Sao Paulo , Brazil / Campos Salles) registered six kills and seven blocks. Haven setter Allison Furry (Guys Mills/Maplewood) had 43 assists, seven digs and five blocks.
            North Alabama had three hitters with double-figure kill totals led by Yana Ninova’s 26 kills.  Vanessa Ferretti added 18 kills and 20 digs, while Traci Venable had 12 kills and six blocks.  Libero Amy Moffitt led the Lions with 23 digs, and setter Ashley Moffitt had 60 assists with 15 digs.

For more information on the NCAA Division II Elite Eight, view coverage at www.ncaasports.com or at the host site’s website at http://athletics.csusb.edu/volleyball-03national/tourneycentral-home.htm  

###LHU###