TOP FOUR SEEDS REACH ODAC VOLLEYBALL SEMIFINALS

Greensboro, NC (11/05/04) -- The top four seeds advanced to the semifinals of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Volleyball Tournament after Friday's four quarterfinal tilts in Guilford College's Ragan-Brown Field House. Top-seeded Washington and Lee and number-two Randolph-Macon each posted straight set wins, while third-seeded Roanoke and number-four Virginia Wesleyan both needed five games to move on.
 

Washington and Lee meets Virginia Wesleyan Saturday (11/06) in one 10:30 a.m. semifinal. Randolph-Macon plays Roanoke at the same time on a different court. The semifinal winners will meet at 3:00 p.m. to determine the ODAC champion and the recipient of the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament.

#1 Washington and Lee 3, #8 Randolph-Macon Woman’s College 0 - stats
Washington and Lee advanced with a 30-13, 30-14, 30-19 quarterfinal victory over Randolph-Macon Woman’s College. Washington and Lee, the three-time defending ODAC Tournament champion, improves to 25-7 with its 10th straight ODAC Tournament victory. Randolph-Macon Woman’s College ends its season with an 11-19 mark. The contest marked the Wildcats' first ODAC Tourney appearance since 1997.

Senior defensive specialist Jennifer Lux (Virginia Beach, VA/Cox) served up eight straight points to help the Generals open a 12-3 lead in the first game. A 16-5 run that included six service points apiece by Lauren Edmonson (Crystal Lake, IL/Prairie Ridge) and 2004 ODAC Player of the Year Christine Gladysz (Palm Harbor, FL/Berkeley Prep) highlighted Washington and Lee’s game-two win.

The Wildcats’ best effort came in the third game as they grabbed a 6-3 edge before junior middle blocker Taylor Gibson (San Diego, CA/Point Loma) rallied the Generals. Washington and Lee ended the match with an 11-2 run.

Gibson led the Generals’ balanced effort with nine kills in two games, including six in the third game. She hit .571 for the match and added a match-high four blocks (3 solo). Senior outside hitter Emily Wolfing (Mt. Airy, MD/South Carroll) added eight kills and five digs. Sophomore outside hitter Ashley Hurt (Altamonte Springs, FL/Trinity Prep) chipped in with eight kills on .311 hitting. Lux finished with five service aces and 16 digs, both match highs. Gladysz totaled 36 assists and had four digs.

Sophomore outside hitter Kelly Chapman’s (Salt Lake City, UT/Waterford) four kills and nine digs paced the Wildcats.

#4 Virginia Wesleyan 3, #5 Emory & Henry 2 - stats
Virginia Wesleyan gained its first trip to the ODAC Tournament semifinals with a stirring comeback win over Emory & Henry, 18-30, 27-30, 30-23, 30-22, 15-6. The Marlins, in their second varsity season, improve to 19-7, while Emory & Henry concludes the campaign with a 14-15 record.

The fifth-seeded Wasps came out strong and captured the first two games before the favored Marlins awoke. Emory & Henry led the third game, 7-5, but the Marlins reeled off 15 of the next 18 points behind the serving of sophomores Candice Doloresco (Williamsburg, VA/Jamestown) and Ashley Halicki (Boca Raton, FL/Pope John Paul II). Junior middle blocker Lauren Heltsley (Chesapeake, VA/Hickory) had four kills and eight digs in the game and the Marlins served up five aces. The fourth game featured five ties before Virginia Wesleyan pulled away. The last tie was at 18-18. Sophomore right side hitter Jennifer Perkinson (Chesapeake, VA/Western Branch) and Heltsley combined for 15 kills and the Marlins hit .404 as a team in the fourth game.
 

Virginia Wesleyan rode the momentum and three Caitlin Haggerty (West Caldwell, NJ/James Caldwell) service aces to open a 7-1 lead in the decisive fifth game. The Wasps never drew closer than 8-4 and hit -.071 as a team in the game. The Marlins had six aces in the final set, four by Haggerty.

Perkinson finished with a match-high 21 kills on .298 hitting with 12 digs for the Marlins. Heltsley added 20 putaways, three aces and hit .383. Setter Erika Ludolph (Wilmington, DE/Concord) had 29 assists and Whitney Fust (Stuarts Draft, VA/Stuarts Draft) added 23 assists and three aces.
 

Rookie middle blocker Amanda Hartline (Bolivar, OH/Tuscarwas Valley) led Emory & Henry's hitters with 20 kills on .367 hitting and eight digs. Junior setter Emily Meyers (Chesapeake, VA/Indian River) chipped in with 57 assists and eight digs. Senior outside hitter Sarah Beth Blackwell (Abingdon, VA/Abingdon) had 16 kills and senior defensive specialist Kathi Boatright (Bristol, TN/Sullivan East) scooped a match-best 30 digs.

#2 Randolph-Macon 3, #7 Lynchburg 0 - stats
Randolph-Macon (20-14) advanced to the ODAC semifinals with a 30-28, 30-20, 30-19 win over Lynchburg (16-13). Freshman middle hitter Janessa Morusma (Bronx, NY/Fairfield (PA)) put away 17 kills and hit .607 to lead an aggressive Yellow Jackets' frontcourt. Sophomore hitter Maggie McDearmon (Amherst, VA/Amherst County) added 10 kills, eight digs and two blocks and ODAC Rookie of the Year Elizabeth Kite (Goodview, VA/Glenvar) had 40 assists.
The Hornets stayed with Randolph-Macon for most of the first game. Neither team led by more than four points and there were five ties, the last one at 28-28. Consecutive kills by sophomore middle hitter Mollee Farrell (Virginia Beach, VA/First Colonial) and McDearmon put the opening game away for the Yellow Jackets. A 9-2 run midway through the second game opened up a comfortable lead for Randolph-Macon. Lynchburg never pulled closer than four points the rest of the way as Morusma piled up eight kills in the game. Junior Veronica Briggs (Phoenix, MD/Dulaney) had six of her seven kills in the third set as the Yellow Jackets slowly pulled away for the win.

While Randolph-Macon made only four team blocks, their aggressive play up front contributed to Lynchburg hitting just .032 for the match. Junior Shannon Burton's (Jessup, MD/Hammond) seven kills, 16 assists and two blocks led the Hornets. First Team All-ODAC libero Corie Pfister (Richmond, VA/Godwin) had a match-high 27 digs.

# 3 Roanoke 3, #6 Bridgewater 2 - stats
Senior middle blocker Heather Cook (Dublin, VA/Pulaski) made six of her match-high 18 kills in the decisive fifth set to send Roanoke (19-15) past Bridgewater, 30-24, 30-25, 9-30, 15-30, 16-14. The lead changed three times in the deciding game before junior outside hitter Ashlei Tripp's (New Castle, VA/Craig County) kill gave Roanoke the win.

Roanoke appeared to have the match well in hand through two games before Bridgewater's (22-9) rally. Junior defensive specialist Angela Runkle (Red Lion, PA/Red Lion) served 15 straight points and Bridgewater held Roanoke to a -.211 hitting percentage to take game three. Roanoke's hitting woes continued into the fourth set as Bridgewater jumped out to a 12-4 lead and never looked back. Junior setter Katherine Heath (Roanoke, VA/Northside) had 17 of her match-high 51 assists, plus three kills, as the Eagles forced a fifth game.

The Maroons recovered and led the fifth set, 5-2, but Bridgewater came back and took an 11-10 lead after an attack error by Cook. The Eagles led 13-11 before a Fallon Fant (Salem, VA/Salem) service error and another kill by Tripp knotted the game. Roanoke served for the match at 14-13, but sophomore middle blocker Meghan Snead (Bristol, VA/John Battle) misfired on the serve, which tied the game for the fifth and final time. Freshman middle blocker Jenna Burnop's (Blacksburg, VA/Blacksburg) kill ended the next point for Roanoke and set up Tripp's winning putaway.

Tripp finished with 12 kills and Burnop had 10 putaways for the Maroons. Senior defensive specialist Jenn West (Wytheville, VA/George Wythe) had a nice night on the back row with 46 digs and freshman setter Torrie Bridge (Stuarts Draft, VA/Stuarts Draft) had 32 assists, including one on the match's final play.

Fant led four Eagles in double-figure kills with 17. She also had 17 digs and four service aces. Runkle also had four aces, plus a team-high 31 digs. Freshman hitter Marsha Hermes (Warrenton, VA/Liberty) had 14 kills and her senior sister Krystal Hermes (Warrenton, VA/Liberty) added 11.