University of St. Thomas Athletics
UW-Whitewater
Oh, so close! Warhawks edge Tommies in 5, take region VB title
11/10/2007 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Th Warhawks celebrate a 15-13 game-five win an another region title (Greg Smith photo)
Carley Polk (right) and Rebekah Nelson try to save a shot. (Greg Smith photo)
Katie Zazverskey's final college match was a memorable one in a five-game loss. (Greg Smith photo)
NCAA Division III Volleyball Regional
Nov. 8-10/at St. Thomas
Saturday's Championship
--Match 7: 7 p.m.: UW-Whitewater def. St. Thomas, 3-2
(30-32, 30-21, 30-28, 24-30, 15-13)
Box score here:
http://www.uwwsports.com/sports/wvball/2007/uww-ust.htm
The No. 8-ranked Warhawks used furious rallies all night and pulled out a 15-13 win in the deciding fifth game over No. 12-ranked St. Thomas in a thrilling championship match at UST's Schoenecker Arena.
"In crunch time, I felt confident our players would take care of the ball and finish strong," said Whitewater coach Stacy Boudreau. "And that was the difference in a very close match. St. Thomas played a very, very good match."
"Whitewater's experience is what put them over the top," said St. Thomas coach Thanh Pham. "They're a great team but we gave them everything they wanted and more. We easily could have folded after losing the lead in game three, but it was a testament to our team that we bounced right back."
Next up for the Warhawks is a trip to Bloomington, Ill., for the eight-team national finals, starting next Thursday. Their first-round opponent will be Puget Sound.
Whitewater (34-4) stretched its season win streak to 15 and capped a 3-0 sweep in NCAA regional matches for the third year in a row.
The Warhawks, ranked No. 8 nationally, boast five seniors in key roles. That senior class now has a four-year record of 143-20 and will return to the Elite Eight for the third consecutive season.
Whitewater's 19-3 postseason record since 2005 includes an 9-0 mark in NCAA regional play.
No. 12-ranked Tommies (28-5), who had an eight-match win streak halted, are tough to beat at home. St. Thomas came into the match 8-0 this season and 26-3 since 2005 on their home court.
And the home fans were excited when the Tommies led 27-22 in game three, poised to take a 2-1 edge in games in the match. But the Warhawks stormed back to take the third game, 30-28. A fourth-game comeback from an early 16-4 deficit fell short, however, and the Warhawks lost 30-24 to force game five.
The Tommies raced to a 5-1 lead. They led 8-7 and 11-10, and tied the game 13-13. But Whitewater dug deep and scored the last two points close out the victory.
Abby Schultz had 23 kills and 17 digs; Kate Lazotte had 61 assists and 22 digs; and Polk added 15 kills and eight blocks. UWW had a 25-17 edge in blocks on the match.
For the Tommies, Emily Foster had 61 assists and 17 digs; Aly McConnell had 33 digs; Katie McCaffrey had 19 kills and eight digs; Katie Zazverskey had 16 kills and 20 digs; Kristin Storrs had 17 kills; and Katie Kremer had 21 digs and five aces.
The Tommies fell just shy of reaching the Elite Eight for the first time. But they return eight players who contributed on the varsity this season, led by McCaffrey, an All-Region middle, and at setter Foster, the region's Freshman of the Year.
To view and purchase online photos by Greg Smith, click here:
Tommie players and fans cheer a five-game win over Central. (Greg Smith photo)
UST's Emily Foster had 59 assists and 13 digs. (Greg Smith photo)
Carlie Waibel one of seven freshmen on UST's tourney roster (Greg Smith photo)
UWW's Rebekah Nelson (9) and Kelly Sorenson (14) celebrate in Friday play. (Greg Smith photo)
Kelly Sorenson battles at the net In Friday's victory. (Greg Smith photo)
Rebekah Nelson is one of five Warhawk seniors. (Greg Smith photo)
Tommie Kyley Crotty attacks in Thursday's match. (Greg Smith photos)
UWEC's Abby Freiborg and UST's Emily Foster battle at the net. (Greg Smith photo)
Tommie players celebrate a point in a four-game victory. (Greg Smith photo)
Whitewater's Kelly Sorenson hits vs. Concordia (Greg Smith photo)
Whitewater's Sarah Theis (8) and Cobber Alyssa Dahl battle. (Greg Smith photos)
Bethel's Liz Glesne looks to score vs. St. Benedict. (Greg Smith photo)
BU's Jennifer Stoa looks to block against the Blazers. (Greg Smith photo)
Miranda Kouba had a big night to lead the Dutch past Carleton. (Greg Smith photo)
NCAA Division III Volleyball Regional
Nov. 8-10/at St. Thomas
Friday's Matches
--Match 5: 4:30 p.m.: UW-Whitewater def. Bethel, 3-0 (30-24, 30-28, 30-11)
Box score here:
http://www.uwwsports.com/sports/wvball/2007/uww-bu.htm
--Match 6: 7 p.m.: St. Thomas def. Central 3-2 (35-37, 30-21, 30-25, 16-30, 15-10)
Box score here:
http://www.central.edu/athletics/volleyball/statistics/cent-ust.htm
Friday Summary:
Wisconsin-Whitewater and St. Thomas advanced to Saturday's 7 p.m. NCAA regional volleyball finals with Friday night victories at UST's Schoenecker Arena. No. 8-ranked Whitewater (33-4) topped No. 23-ranked Bethel in three games, while No. 12 St. Thomas (28-4) outlasted No. 17-ranked Central (Iowa) in five games. The Tommies lost a marathon 37-35 decision in game one but took games two and three. Central won 30-16 in game four. UST trailed 6-5 in game five but scored five of the next six points en route to the match victory. It avenged a five-game loss to Central five weeks ago. The Tommies also beat Central in five games in the 2005 NCAA regional quarterfinals at home... Whitewater has won 13 in a row and is in the region finals for the third year in a row and sixth time in eight seasons. The Tommies have won eight in a row and are in the NCAA Sweet 16 for the second time in three seasons... In Whitewater's win, the Warhawks trailed 28-27 in game two but scored the last three points. In game three they used a 9-0 run to build a 16-4 lead. Christina Conlin had four aces in game three and finished the match with five aces and 16 digs. Kelly Sorenson shipped in 13 kills and 11 digs; Kate Lazotte recorded 40 assists and 12 digs; Schultz had 18 digs and 10 kills; Rebekah Nelson had 14 digs and eight kills; and Polk had seven kills and five blocks. Bethel (24-9) received 14 kills from Liz Glesne and 13 digs and 32 assists from Laura Naig... St. Thomas got 17 kills and six blocks from Katie McCaffrey; 16 kills and five blocks from DeJurnett Prioleau; 59 assists and 13 digs from Emily Foster; 15 kills from Kristin Storrs; and 30 digs from Aly McConnell... Miranda Kouba had 19 kills and 26 digs and Terri Berger had a triple double with 52 assists, 14 kills and 10 digs for the Dutch.
UST audio webcast:
http://www.mnsportsnetwork.com
Central audio webcast:
http://www.kniakrls.com/streaming.html
Thursday's Matches
--Match 1: 1 p.m.: Wisconsin-Whitewater def. Concordia-Moorhead, 3-0 (30-26, 30-23, 30-22)
Click here for box score:
http://www.uwwsports.com/sports/wvball/2007/ncaa01.htm
Summary: No. 8-ranked UWW eliminated No. 21-ranked Concordia, 3-0. Game one was tied 25-25 before Warhawks pulled away... UWW led game two 11-4, 16-6 and 20-9 before Cobs pulled within 28-23... UWW built 20-15 lead in game three en route to match victory... UWW hit 219 and had 17 blocks... Abby Schultz 14 kills and 18 digs, Carley Polk 13 kills, .346 attack%, Kelly Sorenson had 11 kills, 16 digs; Kate Lazotte had 47 assists and 17 digs; and Sarah Theis recorded seven blocks (one solo)... The Cobbers' Abby Scheel had 12 kills and hit .375... CC ended season 17-9.
--Match 2: 3:30 p.m.: Bethel def. vs. St. Benedict, 3-0 (30-19, 30-28, 30-23)
Click here for box score:
http://www.csbsju.edu/csbsports/volleyball/stats/2007/csb-bu2.htm
Summary: Bethel advances to the semifinals and will face UW-Whitewater. The Royals led just 11-10 in game one before building the lead to 23-14. In game two, BU led just 23-22 before taking a close win. In game three, BU turned a 15-13 lead into a 24-16 advantage... Lis Glesne had 12 digs and 10 kills; Stephanie Schmidt had 14 kills and hit .379; Amy Anderson had nine kills and six blocks; Laura Naig had 40 assists and 13 digs; and Joslin Geisler had 23 digs... St. Benedict (21-11) received 15 digs and 14 kills from Emma Jaynes; 21 digs from Andrea Millerbernd; and 32 assists and 12 digs from Beth Hanson.
--Match 3: 6 p.m.: Central def. Carleton, 3-0 (30-27, 30-23, 30-21)
See box score here:
http://www.central.edu/athletics/volleyball/statistics/game-35.htm
Summary: Miranda Kouba had 15 kills, hit .517 and added 19 digs for the Dutch... Terri Berger had 48 assists; Allison Ripperger had 13 kills and 14 digs; and Lindsey Jennings had 11 kills and six blocks... Central hit .294 to Carleton's .103 and had a 17-7 advantage in team blocks... The Knights (19-6) got 16 digs and 10 kills from Megan LaChappelle... Game one was tied 26-26 but the Dutch scored the last two points to win. In game two, Central took a 13-5 lead, saw that cut to 22-21, but scored eight of the last 10 points. In game three, Central broke to leads of 9-2 and 14-7.
http://www.kniakrls.com/streaming.html
Carleton stream:
http://apps.carleton.edu/athletics/assets/bcastarchive0708.html
--Match 4: 8 p.m.: St. Thomas def. Wisconsin-Eau Claire, 3-1 (30-25, 23-30, 30-26, 30-15)
See box score here:
http://www.tommiesports.com/vlbl/stats/uwec-ust.HTM
Summary: Tommies scored 13 consecutive points in game four to take 14-3 lead. UST hit .316 in game four... Blugolds score 10 in row in game two to build 18-12 lead en route to game win... In pivotal game three, UST led 12-5 and 17-10 and UWEC never got closer than four... UST now 8-0 at home this season... Blugolds (22-11) have 25 blocks but hit only .155... Katie McCaffrey had 22 kills and hit .514; Emily Foster had 51 assists and 12 digs; Aly McConnell had 23 digs; Katie Zazverskey had 11 kills, four aces... UWEC's Abby Freiborg had 14 kills, 10 digs; Emily Haese had 50 assists and nine digs; Nikki Peterson had 11 kills, six blocks; Danielle Lucia had 10 kills and six blocks; and Heather Harnell had 18 digs.
UST audio webcast:
http://www.mnsportsnetwork.com
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Tournament Preview
A record five MIAC teams will compete in this week's NCAA regional volleyball tournament hosted by St. Thomas at Schoenecker Arena.
Joining second-seed St. Thomas in St. Paul will be top-seed UW-Whitewater; UW-Eau Claire; Central (Iowa); plus fellow Minnesota teams St. Benedict, Concordia-Moorhead, Bethel and Carleton. The winner of the single-elimination tourney advances to the eight-team national finals in Bloomington, Ill., Nov. 15-17.
Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students each day, and will go on sale the day of the event. Sellouts are not expected.
Whitewater (31-4) is making its 16th consecutive NCAA playoff trip. The Warhawks shared third place in the nation last year and have four top-two finishes since 2000.
St. Thomas (26-4) is making its third consecutive NCAA playoff appearance and ninth overall. The Tommies lost to UW-Whitewater in three games in last year's NCAA playoffs after beating them in four games earlier in the season.
Central (26-8) is in the field for the 11th time, all in the last 14 seasons; Concordia (17-8) is making its fifth consecutive appearance and seventh all-time, all since 1995; St. Ben's (21-10) is making its 13th NCAA playoff trip and second since 1998; Carleton (19-5) is in the field for the third time and second time since 1985; and Bethel (23-8) is making its third NCAA playoff appearance and first since 2001. Eau Claire (22-10) is in the NCAA playoff for the third year in a row and 10th time overall.
Click here top see 61-team field and brackets:
http://www.ncaasports.com/volleyball/womens/brackets/viewable/straight64_dyn/2007/DIII
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Team Notes
Bethel Royals (23-8)
Volleyball homepage to access statistics, roster, schedule, news:
http://cas.bethel.edu/athletics/Volleyball/
Season Notes
--Bethel is in the NCAA Tournament for the third time, and first time since 2001, which was head coach Gretchen Hunt's first season with the Royals. They won their first match, but fell in their next to Hunt's alma mater, Central College.
--Senior outside hitter Liz Glesne moved into second place all-time for kills in the MIAC during Bethel's last match of the season against St. Catherine. She currently has 1,960 in her career.
--Glesne was chosen this season's conference Most Valuable Player.
--In addition to Glesne, two other Royals earned conference awards. Senior setter Laura Naig was named as an All-MIAC selection, and senior Kayla Smith was named to the first ever All-MIAC Sportsmanship team for volleyball.
--Of Bethel's 23 wins this season, 15 have been by a 3-0 margin.
--Bethel opens against St. Benedict, whom they defeated 3-1 on Sept. 12.
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Carleton Knights (19=5)
Volleyball homepage to access statistics, roster, schedule, news:
http://apps.carleton.edu/athletics/varsity_sports/volleyball/
--Carleton College is making its third trip to the NCAA tournament, having previously appeared in the 1985 and 2005 tourneys. In their first visit to the NCAA Championships, the Knights lost to national semifinalist UW-La Crosse, 3-1, in the opening round. Two years ago, Carleton beat Concordia-Moorhead in the first round before falling to eventual regional champion Washington University, 0-3. The 2005 matches were also played at Schoenecker Arena on the Univ. of St. Thomas campus.
--Carleton was ranked No. 25 in the latest AVCA/CSTV poll and has been as high as No. 18 during the season.
--Head Coach Heidi Luehmann Jaynes is in her ninth season at the helm for Carleton and was the 2003 and 2004 MIAC Coach of the Year, as well as the 2004 AVCA central region coach of the year. She is 139-97 overall, with a 126-51 mark from 2001-07, including a 49-29 record in MIAC matches. Under her direction, the Knights have posted seven consecutive winning seasons.
--Carleton and its first round opponent, Central College, met during the IIAC vs. MIAC Border Battle in early October. The Knights swept the Dutch, 3-0, by game scores of 30-24, 30-20 and 30-21.
--Senior setter Heather LaChapelle and sophomore middle hitter Annie Eckhoff were both named All-MIAC players. LaChapelle became Carleton's all-time assist leader during the season and currently has 3,664 assists for her career. Eckhoff lead the team with 299 kills, 107 blocks and a .353 attack percentage. Among MIAC players, she was second in hitting percentage, third in blocks per game (1.26) and eighth in total kills. Libero Laura Barsness was named Tri-Defensive Player of the Year. Barness was sixth in the league with 5.18 digs per game.
--Carleton is 3-4 against the seven other teams in the central region bracket, including three-game sweeps over Concordia and Central and a victory in one of three matches against Bethel.
--Players on the Knights squad hail from six different states, including Minnesota (10), California (1), Colorado (1), Michigan (1), Oregon (1) and Wisconsin (1).
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Central Dutch (26-8)
Volleyball homepage to access statistics, roster, schedule, news:
http://www.central.edu/athletics/volleyball/index.cfm
Season Notes
--The Dutch are making their 11th NCAA Division III tourney appearance and their first since 2005. Central won Division III titles in 1998, 1999 and 2000 while placing third nationally in 1997. The Dutch are 20-7 in NCAA tournament play.
--Central has won or shared 17 Iowa Conference volleyball titles, including the past 12 in a row, posting an 8-0 league mark this season. The Dutch captured their ninth league tournament title Saturday in Pella.
--Central setter Terri Berger has twice been named the Iowa Conference player of the week, including this past week when she led the Dutch to the league tournament title. Despite playing setter she was Central's kills leader in both matches and had back-to-back statistical triple-doubles. She had 13 kills, 30 assists and 11 digs Friday in a sweep of Simpson and 13 kills, 11 digs and 40 assists Saturday in a sweep overt Coe. Berger hit a red-hot .375 Friday and .429 Saturday. She has five triple-doubles on the season and ranks second on Central's career assists list with 3,800.
--Berger and middle hitter Katie Johnson were first-team all-Iowa Conference picks while outside hitter Miranda Kouba was a second-team selection and libero Maggie Nowicki received honorable mention. Berger and Johnson are both three-time all-league picks.
--Central coach Kent Clayberg was named the conference coach of the year for the third time in his five seasons. He also served as an assistant at Central for five years.
--At the IIAC-MIAC Border Battle in Indianola, Iowa Oct. 5-6, Central met three teams in this weekend's regional. The Dutch were 3-2 winners over St. Thomas but were swept by Carleton (Minn.) and dropped a 3-1 decision to Concordia-Moorhead (Minn.).
--After not being listed in the AVCA preseason rankings, Central was ranked throughout the season. The team's current No. 18 ranking is its highest of the season. The lowest was 24th on Oct. 16. Since 1997, the Dutch have been ranked for 122 weeks, the sixth-highest total in that span in Division III.
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Concordia-Moorhead Cobbers (17-8)
Volleyball homepage to access statistics, roster, schedule, news:
http://www.cord.edu/dept/sports/fall/vb/index.php
Season Notes
--Concordia is making its fifth straight NCAA Tournament appearance. It is the longest active streak of any team in the MIAC and tied for the third longest in the history of the conference.
-- The Cobbers are making their seventh overall NCAA playoff appearance. CC owns a 3-6 record in the past six trips to the national playoffs and has never advanced past the second round. Last year, Concordia beat Beloit (Ill.) in the first round of the Midwest Regional before falling to host UW-Eau Claire 3-2.
-- Concordia is currently ranked 21st in the latest AVCA National poll. The Cobbers have been ranked in the top 25 of the nation for the entire season and have been ranked in the top 25 of Division III for the past 45 consecutive weeks. That is a school, and MIAC, record for most consecutive weeks ranked in the AVCA national poll.
--The Cobbers tied for second place in the conference with an 8-3 record. CC then beat Hamline 3-0 in the first round of the MIAC playoffs before losing to St. Ben's 3-2 in the league semifinals.
--The Cobbers are 3-4 against teams in the Central Regional. Concordia went 1-4 against teams from the MIAC in the regional and was 2-0 against Central (Iowa).
--Concordia has won 10 of their 17 matches on the season in three-game sweeps. They won five matches in four games and the other two when the match went the distance of five games.
--The Cobbers are 2-2 in matches that were decided in five games. They are coming off a 3-2 defeat at the hands of St. Ben's in the MIAC semifinals.
--Concordia is led by senior Michelle Honek, who finished the season with a team-high 363 kills. She was sixth in the MIAC in kills in overall matches during the regular season. In the team's 11 conference matches this season, Honek had 134 kills and posted double-digit kill totals in eight of those matches. She had a season-high 20 kills against St. Mary's on Sept. 29. During the season Honek set the school record for digs in a career. She currently has 391 digs on the season and 1,259 for her career. She also had 174 digs during MIAC competition and had at least 10 digs in all 11 matches.
--Honek was named the MIAC Co-Hitter of the Week on Oct. 29. She was one of three Cobber players to earn conference postseason honors. Besides Honek, junior Abby Scheel was also named to the MIAC All-Conference Team, and Anna Tinkham was named the MIAC Tri-Defensive Player of the Year.
--Anna Tinkham set the school record for digs in an individual season. Tinkham has 575 digs on the season and surpassed the old mark of 458 set by Rhiannon Grimm in 2003. Tinkham finished second in the MIAC in digs and is ranked 28th in the nation in digs per game.
--Abby Scheel led the team in blocks this season. Scheel currently has 107 blocks on the year. She is ranked 35th in DIII in that category. She has recorded at least seven blocks in seven matches this season. She had a career-high 11 blocks against Central (Iowa) on Oct. 6.
--The Cobbers went 13-0 last season vs. conference opponents in a 25-2 overall finish, but graduated a 2X All-American hitter, an All-American HM right-side hitter from that squad.
--Head coach Tim Mosser, the 2006 AVCA Region Coach of the Year, has kicked the program into the national spotlight in the past five seasons by fashioning a record of 113-27, capturing three MIAC Tournament championships and landing five straight NCAA playoff berths. Mosser's 15-year record is 286-178.
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St. Benedict Blazers (21-10)
Volleyball homepage to access statistics, roster, schedule, news:
http://www.csbsju.edu/csbsports/volleyball/Default.htm
Season Notes
--For the fourth time in school history, both the volleyball and soccer teams at the College of St. Benedict advanced to their respective NCAA Division III national tournaments. The previous times the two CSB teams both advanced to the national tournaments in the same year was in 1990, 1997 and 1998.
--The Blazers' volleyball team (21-10 overall) received its 10th national tournament berth by qualifying as a Pool C (at-large) entrant in the 61-team field. Saint Benedict plays Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) rival Bethel University (23-8 overall) in Thursday's first round.
--Under eighth-year head coach Michelle Blaeser, CSB has reached the conference playoff finals in each of the last three seasons. The Blazers have a 58-33 record in MIAC matches in her era.
--Sixteen of the Blazers' 17 players are freshmen and sophomores as senior Teresa Naumann is the lone upperclassman. Their roster features 14 Minnesotans and one player each from South Dakota, Wisconsin and Colorado.
--Two sophomores, setter Beth Hanson and OH Emma Jaynes, made the 18-player all-conference team. In last week's conference playoffs, Hanson and freshman MB Laurel Heggernes were among six players honored on the all-tournament team. Heggernes and Hanson made conference Player of the Week once each this season.
--Three of the Blazers' losses have come in five games, and seven of their 10 defeats have come vs. teams which made the NCAA playoff field. They have two wins over Concordia-Moorhead, and wins over UW-Eau Claire and Carleton, plus a loss to Carleton and two defeats at St. Thomas. After a 3-4 start, they reeled off 10 consecutive wins.
--CSB moved into the AVCA top-25 poll this week at No. 24.
--Sophomore setter Beth Hanson ranked 27th nationally in assists per game (11.82 A/g). Hanson recorded 67 set-assists on Oct. 17 against Carleton; it was tied for the fourth highest single-match total by a Blazer in CSB history. Hanson has recorded 44 career double-doubles ? she is No. 2 on the all-time list in CSB history; Hanson is one (1) double-double from tying the school record of 45 double-doubles (record currently held by Malia Evjen '00).
--Sophomore libero Lindsey Grauman recorded 38 digs on Oct. 13 against UC-Santa Cruz; it was tied for the third highest single match total by a Blazer in CSB history. Grauman has compiled 588 digs this season; she is 9 digs short of moving up to No. 2 on the list of most single-season digs by a Blazer in CSB history (record held by Laura Zwach in 2006 with 726 digs; currently No. 2 on the list is also Laura Zwach from 2005 with 594 digs)
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St. Thomas Tommies (26-4)
Volleyball homepage to access statistics, roster, schedule, news:
http://www.tommiesports.com/vlbl/
Season Notes
--St. Thomas is in the NCAA playoffs for the ninth time (8-8 all-time record), and third year in row. Current assistant coach Dave Orren was the head coach in a span when UST qualified six years in a row from 1987-92, including regional final berths in 1990, 1991 and 1992.
--St. Thomas is 7-2 vs other teams in this regional this year. The Toms haven't faced Whitewater since losing to the Warhawks 3-0 last year in the regional. They split with Eau Claire (won 3-0 on neutral court, lost 3-2 on road); lost in five to Central (neutral); and are 6-0 combined (all at home) vs. MIAC qualifiers. They beat Bethel 3-0 and 3-2; beat St. Ben's 3-0 and 3-0 in the last two weeks; and beat Concordia (3-1) and Carleton (3-0), both in September.
--UST has been in the AVCA coaches' top-25 poll all season and climbed as high as No. 6 in October. The Tommies had an 18-match win streak before losing in five to Central. St. Thomas has been ranked in the AVCA top 25 for 31 consecutive polls since early in 2005.
--Against other nationally-ranked teams, UST also had a four-game win over ranked Carthage; a four-game loss at Emory; a five-game loss to Puget Sound; and a five-game win over UW-LaCrosse.
--UST is 26-2 since losing in five games to Puget Sound and in four games to Emory on Aug. 31. The Toms went 15-0 in September; 9-2 in October; and are 2-0 in November.
--UST has an 8-3 postseason record since 2005. In 2005, the Tommies went 2-0 in the conference tournament, then hosted a seven-team regional. They won in five games over Central and in three over St. Ben's, then lost in three to Washington (Mo.) in the finals. Last year, UST went 1-1 in the MIAC playoffs, then in the NCAA regional in Wisconsin topped UW-Oshkosh in five games and lost in three games to UW-Whitewater.
--St. Thomas is 14-0 this season in matches vs. conference teams (42-4 in games won). They are 6-0 vs. other four MIAC qualifiers, all at home. UST won the program's fourth conference championship in the last six seasons and took the postseason tounament title for the second time in two seasons. The Toms' 11-0 regular-season mark was just the second posted in the conference since 1997. It equaled the record of the 2005 Tommies. The Toms' three-game margin of victory in the standings was the best in the conference in 11 seasons.
--The Toms are 7-0 at home this season and 26-3 in Schoenecker Arena since 2005 (9-2 in 2006, 10-1 in 2005).
--Senior OH Kristin Storrs, junior MB Katie McCaffrey and freshman setter Emily Foster made the 18-player all-conference team announced last week. Thanh Pham was named MIAC Coach of the Year for the second time in three seasons. Foster also was chosen conference Rookie of the Year. It was the third All-MIAC honor for Storrs, who has 1,080 career kills. St. Thomas is 85-18 in McCaffrey's three-year era. McCaffrey ranks fifth in Division III in blocks per game and fifth in attack percentage and has five double-doubles in kills and blocks. Foster ranks seventh nationally in assists per game and has had 16 double-doubles in assists and digs.
--UST has had top-three conference volleyball finishes in 16 of the last 20 seasons, with nine championships. The Tommies have secured their 10th consecutive winning season and reached 20 victories for the 21st time in 25 seasons.
--The Tommies are 129-38 (.772) in five seasons under Coach Thanh Pham (pronounced TANG FAMM). That includes a 61-13 record (.824) vs. MIAC opponents. As a college student, Pham wrestled collegiately in Augsburg's powerhouse Division III program.
--Three of the Toms' four seniors have been in the program four years and helped post a 105-32 record in their era. Storrs (3.75 gpa in Management) has played in 406 games with 1,080 kills, a .306 attack % and 304 blocks. Libero Aly McConnell (3.30 gpa in Business Law) has played in 412 games and has 1,539 digs and 114 aces. Katie Zazverskey (3.40 gpa in Management) has played in 248 games with 500 digs, 67 blocks, 399 kills and 34 aces. A fourth senior, Baylee Reagan (3.45 gpa in English) played one season of soccer and the last three in volleyball.
--UST has players from seven states -- plus one in-state player from the Canadian border -- on its 26-player roster this season.
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WIsconsin-Eau Claire Blugolds (22-10)
Volleyball homepage to access statistics, roster, schedule, news:
http://www.uwec.edu/athletics/vb/0708/index.htm
Season Notes
--It's the 10th NCAA postseason appearance for the Blugolds
--It's also the 19th time the Blugolds have had 22 or more wins in a season
--It's Kim Wudi's first season as head coach after serving for two years as an assistant
--Eau Claire finished third in its conference race this year
-- Five teams from the WIAC received NCAA playoff berth (UW-Eau Claire, UW-La Crosse, UW-Oshkosh, UW-Platteville and UW-Whitewater)...only other time five conference teams appeared in an NCAA volleyball tourney was 1997 -- the same five teams participated that year, as well.
--Abby Freiborg (.69) and Jenna Weber (.51) are first and second in the WIAC in service aces per game
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--WIsconsin-Whitewater Warhawks (31-4)
Volleyball homepage to access statistics, roster, schedule, news:
http://www.uwwsports.com/index.asp?path=wvball
Season Notes
--UW-Whitewater is making its 20th NCAA playoff appearance and 16th in a row. The Warhawks won the NCAA III volleyball championship in 2002 and 2005, took second in 2000 and 2001, and tied for third last season. They have a remarkable 23-5 NCAA playoff record since 2000.
The Warhawks, who also won the 2007 WIAC championship in regular season play, will be making its sixteenth consecutive appearance in the NCAA III Championship Tournament. UW-W won national titles in 2002 and 2005, finished second in 2000 and 2001, and tied for third place last year.
--At No. 8 in the AVCA poll, Whitewater is the top ranked team in the regional. The Warhawks have played just one of the other regional teams this season and claimed a 3-2 win over UW-Eau Claire at home on Oct. 5. At the 2006 NCAA regional, they beat St. Thomas 3-0 and beat Eau Claire 3-1.
--The Warhawks have had 28 AVCA All-Ameicans in the last 19 seasons, including this year's seniors Carly Polk and Rebekah Nelson who were honored in 2006.
--Under third-year head coach Stacy Boudreau, the Warhawks swept the Wisconsin conference regula-season and playoff championships. They have won eight regular-season and eight playoff titles in the conference in the last 11 seasons.
--They are 9-3 vs. NCAA playoff qualifiers. Two of their four defeats have come vs. No. 2-ranked Juniata and they also have a loss to Carhage. They alos went 1-1 vs. Birmingham Southern, a team transitioning from Division I.
--The Warhawks have perhaps the most expereinced team in the field with five seniors and five juniors on their 16-player roster.
