web Charlotte

Sept. 30, 2005

Box Score

Charlotte, N.C. - The 49ers volleyball team scored a win in the first-ever Atlantic 10 match at Charlotte, downing Temple 3-2 Friday night at Halton Arena. The Niners won by scores of 30-24, 24-30, 32-30, 27-30, and 16-14.

"Obviously I'm happy with the win against a really quality team," said Charlotte head coach Lisa Marston. "Things are looking good."

The match was the first of two this season between the Atlantic 10 East Division rivals. Temple was selected first by the coaches in the preseason poll, with the 49ers chosen second in the division. The teams meet again in Philadelphia on October 29.

Both middle blocker Lisa Newell and outside hitter Alma Arroyo had new career high kill totals to lead Charlotte (8-10, 2-1 A-10).

Charlotte has won four of its last five matches and are 8-4 since starting the year winless.

Zhen Jia Liu had a team-high 19 kills for Temple, which falls to 10-8, 3-1 A-10. Ying Sun Ling collected a match-high 26 digs for the Owls.

Newell hit an outstanding .439 while collecting 24 kills against just six errors. She added three service aces and ten blocks (2 solo, 8 assist). Arroyo again extended her career record, the fourth time she has done that in the last seven matches, as she logged 29 kills.

Said coach Marston: "I told Alma I would make her a chocolate cake (her favorite) if she ever got to 30, so one match she had 28 and this one 29 ... she's getting closer. And Lisa absolutely, Lisa was phenomenal. That was our gameplan, to really go to Lisa as much as we could in transition, and she really produced. Plus, she had ten blocks. Just a great job."

Abbey Szlanfucht had 13 kills and a team-best 21 digs for the Niners. Setter Eden Ramos collected her second double-double with 68 assists and a career-high 15 digs, while libero Carly Romberg had 20 digs.

Newell and Arroyo came up big in tight spots for the 49ers all night. In the decisive fifth game, Arroyo had five kills, including the final two of the match to break a 14-all deadlock. Newell had three kills in the final nine points of the match to help set up the win.

In that fifth game, a 7-4 Temple run pulled the Owls within a point (11-10) and prompted a 49ers time out. The teams traded points to 12-12, before a pair of Newell kills gave the Niners match point at 14-12.

Temple would not go quietly, though, as Zhen Jia Liu killed a pair of balls to ensure overtime. Following a 49ers time out, Arroyo killed her 28th and 29th balls of the night to seal the crucial A-10 win.

Charlotte got the home crowd involved right from the start. After tying the opening game 10-10, Charlotte never relinquished the lead en route to a 30-24 victory. The Niners closed out the game on consecutive kills by Abbey Szlanfucht and Jessica Oldenburg.

In game two, Temple battled back to win by an identical 30-24 score. Charlotte led 18-14, but five straight Temple points would force reverse the game's flow and prompt a 49ers time out. Temple would not give up that lead, and with a 27-24 lead would benefit from three straight Charlotte attack errors that closed out the frame.

Following the 10-minute intermission, Charlotte took a tight third game. With the score knotted at 27, a kill by Newell followed by an ace by Newell put the 49ers on game point. But Temple would get back-to-back kills from their setter, Maira Mogollon, to force extra time. Tied at 30, Arroyo killed a ball, while Szlanfucht followed up with a kill of her own to give Charlotte a 2-1 advantage.

Temple won a sloppy fourth game, where the Owls hit .143 and the Niners hit .182 with nine hitting errors.

Charlotte returns to A-10 action when they host La Salle on Sunday. Match time is 2:00 p.m. The team is in the midst of a five-match homestand at Halton Arena.