Washington State Tops Volleyball In Four
Aug. 25, 2007
PULLMAN, Wash.- The University of Northern Colorado (0-3) battled back from a 2-0 deficit but came up short in a 3-1 loss to host school Washington State (2-0) (23-30, 20-30, 30-27, 22-30) on the final day of the Baden Cougar Challenge on Saturday afternoon, Aug. 25 in Pullman, Washington.
For the Bears, senior Dulcie Stone and sophomore Kenzie Shreeve tied for the team lead with 12 kills each. Stone also picked up 18 digs for her second double-double of the season. Senior co-captain Abby Mayne led the team, for the third straight match, with 21 digs. Mayne also had a team best two service aces. Sophomore Allison Raguse tallied nine kills, five digs and four blocks (including one of the team's two solo blocks) in a steady all-around effort. NC used a two-setter approach again with freshman Lindsey McDaniel totaling 22 and junior Lauren Carter picking up 17 assists. Carter just missed out on a double-double as she also totaled nine digs and three blocks. Sophomore Breanna VanDeMost continued the strong start to her season with 10 digs.
For the game, the Bears had their trouble on the attack with a .057 hitting percentage (47-37-174). The mistakes were most obvious in the middle games as the team hit -.086 in game two and -.041 in game three.
The Cougars came out on the attack in the first game and quickly built a 6-1 lead. The Bears fought back and got to within three on Stone's put down at 13-10 but could never get closer as WSU finished the game on 17-11 run capped off by a kill from Brittany Tillman.
The second game started tightly with three tied scores by the time team's reached six. The Cougars followed with a quick 5-0 burst forcing Lyndsey Benson to call her first timeout of the game. The stoppage of play did little to stop the run though with the lead reaching seven at 20-13. WSU extended the lead to nine with a kill by Cassie Robbins on their way to a 30-20 victory.
The Bears, facing elimination and a possible sweep in the third game, rallied and after a tie score at seven went on their own 5-1 run capped off by VanDerMost's ace forcing the Cougars to stop play. After WSU closed to within three the Bears rallied and extended the lead to six on Raguse's kill. WSU finally caught up and tied the game at 26 on Adetokunbo Faleti's kill, only to see Taylor Smith and Ashley Lichtenberg put down kills on back-to-back play to give the Bears a 30-27 victory.
The Bears with momentum on their side stayed with Washington State for most of the early part of the fourth game. NC stayed within two all the way until a Faleti kill gave the Cougars a 17-14 advantage. WSU proved to be too tough to catch after that point and closed the final game on a a 13-8 run finished off by Brittany Johnson's kill to take the final game and the match.
Northern Colorado will now return home and host the UNC Hampton Inn & Suites Classic from Aug. 31-Sept. 1. The Bears open the tournament with an 11:30 a.m. match against Saint Francis (PA) on Friday, Aug. 31.
