UW-Whitewater Comeback Falls Short
SALEM, Va. --- The first semi-final match of
the 2006 NCAA Division III National Volleyball Championship pitted
a pair of volleyball heavyweights against each other on Friday
afternoon in Salem. With a combined 40 total NCAA tournament
appearances between the two foes, Washington University-St. Louis
and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater set the stage for a
stellar contest. Washington U. proved tops on this day,
defeating the defending champion Warhawks 3-0 (30-21, 30-18, 30-27)
and putting themselves into the national final match.
"This is reality," explained Washington U. head coach Rich
Luenemann. "We were working towards this championship."
The Bears (38-1) used an overpowering block to march through the
first two games of the match, but the third stanza was a different
story. Washington U. jumped out to an 11-1 lead that soon
grew to 20-7 before UW-Whitewater called its second timeout of the
game. The Warhawks (35-7) rebounded following the break,
using improved hitting and good net play to wrong-foot WUSTL. UWW
closed the gap to 23-13 to force the Bear bench pause play and
regroup.
The Warhawks continued to push the issue out of the timeout,
further unsettling the Bears' big lead. With its offense
untracked and the Warhawks in rhythm, Washington U. was again
forced into a stoppage with its advantage cut to 27-23. With
the scoreboard reading 29-27, Nikki Morrison put the final point
down for the Bears, securing its 3-0 victory.
Morrison led the way for the Bear attack that hit .258 for the
contest, hammering out a match-high 15 kills to go with three
blocks. Whitney Smith led the WUSTL front line with six total
blocks (five assists) as part of a Bear defense that sent back 10
Warhawk attempts. Setter Audra Janak handed out 24 assists
while Amy Bommarito and Haleigh Spencer racked up 14 and 13 digs,
respectively.
Carley Polk headed the UWW attack with 12 kills. Setter Kate
Lazotte dished out 36 assists to go with seven digs. Kristina
Conlin led the defense with 11 digs while Abby Schultz and Rebekah
Nelson collected 10 apiece.
UW-Whitewater took control early in the first game, moving out to a
10-7 advantage at one point. Washington U.'s Smith and a pair
of her frontline-mates sent back a pair Warhawk attacks to help the
Bears move out to a 12-10 timeout-inducing lead. WUSTL
carried a two-point edge for much of the middle part of the frame
before pushing its lead to 26-20 and forcing a second Warhawk
break. The Bears didn't let up following the timeout, hunting
down victory 30-21.
Game two started much the same as the first with the teams
exchanging points back and forth. UW-Whitewater seemed to be
starting a little run as it moved out to a 10-8 lead, but
Washington U. called timeout to quickly dispel the momentum.
The tactic worked as the Bears leveled the match and eventually
took a 17-13 lead midway through frame. A pair of timeouts
couldn't stop the Washington U. block from stymieing the Warhawk
offense, leading to a 30-18 Bear triumph.
"We were very motivated," said Bear senior Amy Bommarito.
"Everyone played their best."
Washington-St. Louis looks for its ninth national title on
Saturday, November 18, at 7:30 p.m. They will square off
against the winner of the second semi-final between Juniata College
and Wittenberg University.