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(Lock
Haven, Pa.) - The
Lock
Haven
University
of
Pennsylvania
volleyball team (31-5) will head to
San Bernardino,
California, for the 2003 NCAA Division II National
Championships, where it will test its skills against the No. 11-ranked
University of North
Alabama
(30-7) in the Elite Eight round on Thursday,
December 4, at
12 p.m.
The
Pacific Region champion,
Cal
State
,
San Bernardino
, will serve as the host.
The fourth trip to the Elite Eight for a Lady Eagle team, Lock Haven
earned its ticket by capturing the Atlantic Region title last weekend.
LHU scored a four-game win over
Lees-McRae
College
(30-27, 31-29, 27-30, 30-27) in the semifinals
before recording a 3-1 mark over the defending champion
Edinboro
University
(19-30, 30-28, 30-27, 30-9).
The
Teams: Lock Haven’s quarterfinal
opponent,
North Alabama
, was the South Central Region champion.
Also matching up will be the Great Lakes Region winner, No. 13 Grand
Valley State University (29-7) and the Southwest Region’s No. 4 University of
Nebraska-Kearney (31-6). The North Central Region’s No. 7 Concordia-St. Paul
(30-3) faces the Northeast’s Queens (N.Y.) (28-4). Host and top-ranked
Cal
State
,
San Bernardino
won the Pacific Region and will match up with the South Region’s No.
2 University of Tampa (31-3).
National
Championships Schedule: The winners
of each of the eight regions converge on James and Aerianthi Coussoulis Arena
on the campus of
Cal
State
,
San Bernardino
for action that opens with the quarterfinals on Thursday, Dec. 4., at
12 p.m. through 7:30 p.m. The
semifinals are slated for 5 p.m . and
7:30 p.m.
on Friday, December 5, while the championship match will be played on
Saturday, December 6, at
7 p.m.
Lock
Haven in the Elite Eight: This is the
fourth trip to the Elite Eight in the past seven years for 13th year
head coach Tom Justice, who has coached the Lady Eagles since the program’s
inception in 1991. Advancing for the first time in 1997 then returning in 1999
and 2001, Lock Haven has gone 0-3 in matches played in national quarterfinal
action. In 1997, LHU drew
Barry
University
, the eventual runner-up, and lost in three
games. Lock Haven squared off
versus West Texas A&M in 1999 and fell in four games.
In 2001, a four game loss to UC-San Diego in the quarterfinal round
ended another successful season of Lady Eagle volleyball.
Team
Accomplishments: Lock Haven’s
current 31-5 overall record currently yields the best win-loss percentage
(.861) in program history. The 31
wins match the total earned in 1997, ranking this year’s squad as having the
second-best wins total in program history.
All of this comes just one season following an 11-19 performance.
While it is the fourth regional title for Lock Haven, this season marked
only the second time that the Lady Eagles have captured at least a share of the
PSAC West regular season title, the PSAC post-season tournament and the
Atlantic Region title all in one year. Lock Haven also posted the trifecta in
1999.
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Coach
Justice on Winning the Regional Title: “It
was a great tournament for our team, and I’m really happy for our players.
They came together as a team when Cherry [Li] was hurt and had to beat
Lees-McRae without her. We all felt that this team had a sense of destiny about
us from that point on, so they were just determined to win no matter what
obstacle.”
Coach
Justice on
North
Alabama
: “Obviously
we are in a position of being the underdog. That’s OK, since we’ve been in
that position so frequently. I’m
looking forward to playing
North Alabama
. I
know Matt Peck, their coach. He runs a great program down there and has another
outstanding team. I think
North Alabama
may have an edge at the outside hitter position
and maybe a little bit better balance at middle. They’re a strong defensive
team, but we are as well, so those things should be even. The one critical
thing will be the ability of both teams to score points at the outside hitter
position.”
A
Li-surely Pace: Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West Rookie of the Year
and NCAA Atlantic Region All-Tournament team member Cherry Li (Shanghai,
China) has
been a spark to the Lady Eagles’ all-around game. Li is the Division II
attack percentage leader, making good on .473 of her swings. The freshman
middle needs just five kills to take over the single season record at LHU,
currently posting 518 kills. She is
also second in single season digs with a team-best 452 defensive saves, and
rates eighth in Lady Eagle season history with 129 blocks.
In the regional semifinal, Li had two kills before going down early with
an injury and did not play the remainder of the match. In the championship
match the next day, an injured Li was still able to register 18 kills and 12
digs to help lead the Lady Eagles to victory.
Balanced
Outside Attack: The Lady Eagles can
boast of five hitters with 200 or more kills, including two outside attackers
in junior Kristi Kauffman (York/Central
York
) and
sophomore Allison Wade
(Duncansville/Hollidaysburg). Kauffman
was named to the regional all-tournament team after putting down 20 kills and
22 digs in the regional semifinal and another 10 kills, 10 digs and three aces
in the championship match. Kauffman has 228 kills on the season and has hit at
a .216 clip. She is second to Li
with 318 total digs and has 35 service aces.
Wade has been an essential element in the outside attack this season,
posting 228 kills (.179 attack pct.), 231 digs, 31 blocks and 20 aces. She
added seven kills in the championship match and had nine versus Lees-McRae in
the semifinals.
Junior opposite hitter Amanda Snyder (Portsmouth,
Va.
/Churchland)
had 12 kills and 18 digs in the
semifinal and seven kills and 11 digs versus Edinboro in the championship
match. On the season, Snyder has 216 kills and a .218 attack percentage. She
shares the team lead with 41 service aces and is third on the team with 283
digs and 56 total blocks.
Sophomore Michelle Deehan (Upper
Marlboro,
Md./Gwynn
Park)
adds 2.32 kills per game and recorded 10 in the semifinal match of the regional
championships. Others who have cycled into the lineup include Jen
Thompson (N.
Ridgeville,
Ohio/Elyria Catholic) (86 kills/95
digs) and Maggie Borden (Hanover/Delone Catholic) (100 kills/74 digs/18
blocks).
Wengerter
Solid At Libero: Junior defensive
specialist Kelly Wengerter (Emerson, N.J./Emerson) snared 34 opponent attack
attempts in the regional tournament by recording the dig, posting 21 against
Lees-McRae and 13 versus Edinboro. On the season, Wengerter has 264 (2.32/gm)
digs.
The Lady Eagles can utilize defensive specialists Theresa
Stoeckel (Binghamton
,
N.Y./Chenango Forks) and
Jena
Crabb
(Elizabethville/Upper Dauphin) as
alternates to fill in either serving or in the back row when needed.
Sophomore
Setters: The Lady Eagles turn to setter Allison
Furry (Guys Mills/Maplewood) to distribute the ball and she has posted 1068
over the season for a 10.47/gm average. A
58-assist/13-dig/6-block match against Lees-McRae was followed up with the
Edinboro performance of 46 assists. With
1,068 assists, Furry is only the third Lady Eagle to ever surpass the
1,000-assist season mark. Another
sophomore setter, Kelly Kostelich
(Venetia/Peters Township), has also seen regular duty and has posted 453
assists on the season.
Talented
Middles Add to Overall Attack: In
addition to Cherry Li, the Haven middle attack has been tough with the addition
of junior Lillian Bortoto (Sao Paulo,
Brazil/Campos
Salles).
One of only two players 6’0” or taller, the 6’4” middle is
second on the team with 229 kills (.310 attack pct.) and 123 blocks, including
45 solo stuffs.
Back-up middles include Kelly Bebee (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown) and
Meghan Hayes (Manahawkin, N.J./Southern Regional). Bebee, who currently
averages 0.93 kills per game, posted three kills and six digs versus Lees-McRae
in the semifinals and played in one game versus Edinboro in the finals. Hayes
has played in 16 games this season, averaging 1.06 kills per game.
North
Alabama: The
No. 11-ranked University of North Alabama (29-7) captured its fourth South
Central Region title by edging out Central Missouri in five games, 27-30,
30-23, 30-25, 23-30, 15-12. The
fourth-seeded team in the region, the Lions defeated the fifth seed Harding in
three games in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals,
North Alabama
knocked off the top-seeded and No. 8-ranked
Truman
State
in three straight.
A powerful Lion offense is directed by senior setter and two-time
All-American Ashley Moffitt. Moffitt, a regional All-Tournament Team selection,
leads Division II with 1,703 assists for an average of 14.31 per game.
Ranked eighth in the nation in team attack percentage at .298, the Lions
have five players with 150 or more kills and three of those with 300 or more.
Senior outside hitter Yana Ninova, also a region All-Tournament Team pick, has
recorded 741 kills and is among the national leaders with 6.02 kills per game
(3rd) and a .412 attack percentage (14th).
Sophomore middle Vanessa Ferretti has 452 kills (3.67/gm) this season
and has also added 298 digs and 53 blocks to the lineup.
Senior middle blocker Te’Jaye Redd is 16th in the nation,
hitting .390 with 345 kills (2.88/gm). The
third
North Alabama
selection to the regional All-Tournament team,
Redd leads the Lions with 110 blocks.
Junior opposite Traci Venable has posted 257 kills (2.09/gm) along with
93 digs and a team-leading 61 aces from behind the service line.
Junior middle Myshara High adds 151 kills (1.94/gm) to the attack.
Defensively, junior libero Amy Moffitt paces the Lions with 411 digs on
the season.
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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
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