Sophomore Jessica Oldenburg had a career-high 23 kills in a Senior Night win against DePaul. |
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Volleyball Sends Seniors Out In Style With Win over DePaul
Nov. 13, 2004
Charlotte, NC - Sophomore Jessica Oldenburg helped to send her three senior teammates out in style, killing a career-high 23 balls and helping Charlotte to a crucial C-USA win against DePaul on Saturday night at Halton Arena. The 49ers won by scores of 27-30, 30-22, 30-25 and 30-25, pulling even with the Blue Demons in the league standings in advance of the ChevronTexaco Conference USA Tournament next weekend in Louisville.
Seniors Molly McDonald and Holly Kreyling each played well in their final home match for Charlotte (19-13, C-USA 5-8) at Halton Arena. McDonald recorded 68 assists (17.00 per game), only three off the school record for a four-game match and one off of her career high. Kreyling had a career-high 28 digs, upping her season total to 425 - the seventh-best single-season mark in school history.
Junior middle blocker Lisa Newell had 12 kills on the night, and her seventh of the match put Newell over 1,000 for her career. She is the second 49er player to reach the milestone this season, following classmate Abbey Szlanfucht (who reached 1,000 last Friday night at Cincinnati).
DePaul (12-18, C-USA 5-8) won the first game, despite being out-hit .234 to .182, on the back of 13 total Niner errors. Down 28-25, Charlotte scored two straight points to make the score 28-27. But DePaul's Denae Gibson recorded her first kill, followed by a Niner attack error, to end the comeback attempt.
Charlotte, which won 19 matches for the first time since 1994, snapped a five-match losing streak. The Niners jumped out to early leads in games two and three, and would never trail in either game. The Niners went out in front 12-3 in game two, and would lead by no less than five the rest of the way. Oldenburg recorded seven of her career-high 23 kills in the game to lead the Niners.
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In game three, Charlotte again started hot with an 11-4 lead, as DePaul committed six errors in that span. The Blue Demons would close to within three at 14-11, and then again at 27-24. However, two DePaul errors, including a service error for a foot over the end line, were followed by a Szlanfucht kill as Charlotte closed the door.
In the fourth, Oldenburg again had seven kills, amassing a third of her team's total for the game. The score was tied at 18 apiece, but two straight Niner points forced a DePaul time out. After DePaul made the score 21-20, the Niners scored three straight to gain a cushion, and would not give up the lead for the rest of the game.
For DePaul, Mandy Moorberg had 14 kills, while Janet Goreham had 12. Charlotte freshman Cori Dayton had her second straight double-double, and her third in five matches, with 13 kills and 13 digs.
Charlotte is looking forward to the ChevronTexaco Conference USA Tournament, to be held Nov. 19-22 in Louisville. The Conference will announce seeding on Sunday, and the Niners are part of a multiple-team tie with five league wins.
