HBCUs fall in Div II Volleyball Playoffs
November 16, 2007
Albany State and Fayetteville State were eliminated in the first round of the NCAA Div II Volleyball Playoffs.
California (Pa.) 3, Fayetteville St. 0
 Senior Katie Benick posted a match-high 18 kills, hit for .412 and had two of California’s three solo blocks as the top-seeded Vulcans (33-3) defeated eighth-seeded Fayetteville State (26-12), 3-0 in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region Women’s Volleyball Tournament Thursday at California University of Pa.
Cal advanced with a 30-14, 30-13, 30-26 triumph to Friday’s 7:30 p.m. semifinal match against fifth-seeded Kutztown, which twice rallied from one-match deficits to upset fourth-seeded Shippensburg, 3-2. Friday’s first semifinal match will pit second-seeded Clarion vs. third-seeded Edinboro.
The Vulcans, who extended their school-record win streak to 32 matches, tied for the second highest single-season win total in team history. Cal’s 33 wins in 2005 were three short of the record, set in 1992 when the Vulcans finished with a 36-3 overall mark.
Sophomore Joanna Nist, who was named the Daktronics Atlantic Region Player of the Year earlier Thursday, added to the attack with 15 kills and a .367 hitting percent.
Senior Amber Santavy, who was the MVP of the PSAC Championship Match on Nov. 10, chipped in nine kills, a .471 hitting performance and had three of Cal’s seven service aces.
Sophomore Renata da Silva sparked the offense with 44 assists and added four kills and eight digs.
Fayetteville State, appearing in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in team history, was led by sophomore Chekimbrell Jefferson, who had a team-high 11 kills, a solo block and a block assist.
Freshman Achari Mainor served up 24 assists, one of the Broncos’ two aces and had five digs. Defensively, Sha’Quana Veney recorded 13 of FSU’s 50 digs.
Truman St. 3, Albany (Ga.) 0
Freshman libero Casey Bruno was the catalyst behind a school record-setting 17-0 first-game run as the No. 4 Bulldog volleyball team kicked off the 2007 postseason with style, beating the 8th-seeded Albany (Ga.) State 3-0 (-6, -18, -14) Thursday night. Truman hit .519 (50-8-81) and finished with 15 service aces en route to a second-round match with 4th-seeded Emporia State.
The first-game run, led by Bruno's serving, started off an Erin Hattey kill to make the score 7-4. Seven service aces, four Eli Medina kills and a handful of Rams hitting errors later, Truman held a 23-4 lead and a tie with a 2003 NCAA Division II record for consecutive service points.
The easy win gave Truman a chance to rest many of its starters for the second round - set to pit the Bulldogs and ESU Hornets against each other for the third straight weekend. Truman has held the advantage in both matches so far, winning each by 3-1 scores.
Freshman Allison Barker led the Bulldogs with nine kills as 11 squad members tallied at least one kill. Senior setter Amanda Holliday led sophomore Krysta Tholen and freshman Ashley Petak in the double-digit assists category, while three Truman players finished with a team-high five digs.
Albany State (21-15), placed in the tournament after securing the automatic bid from the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, hit .105 for the night and had three team blocks.
The Bulldogs (35-5) will be one of four MIAA teams in the regional semifinals tomorrow night, as 6th-seeded Central Missouri takes on 2nd-seeded Washburn in Friday's 4:30 match, before the top-seeded 'Dogs play the 4th-seeded Hornets at 7:00 p.m.
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