Senior Lynae Mulder led the Niners in kills for her finals collegiate match. |
|
|
Charlotte Volleyball Has Season Ended at A-10 Tournament at the Hands of Xavier
Nov. 17, 2006
Dayton, Ohio - The Xavier Musketeers eliminated the Charlotte 49ers 3-0 (30-26, 30-28, 30-23) in the second match of the 2006 Atlantic 10 Volleyball Tournament at the Frericks Center at the University of Dayton Friday night.
Xavier continues on with a record of 18-11, while Charlotte ends its season at 20-12. The Niners finish with a win total not matched since 1994 and their second straight trip to the A-10 tournament.
Charlotte took the opening point, but Xavier took the next two and did not give up the lead for the remainder of the game, making the Niners play catch-up after getting three points behind at 12-9. Xavier enjoyed a somewhat comfortable three to five point margin through the middle of the game, until Charlotte caught the Musketeers at 24-23. Xavier called a timeout and after a service error by Charlotte, the Niners never got back in the opening game.
Charlotte committed seven attack errors and hit just a .200 attack percentage in the first game. Alma Arroyo led the offensive charge with six kills for Charlotte. Jill Quayle and Astyn Bjorklund each had five kills for Xavier in game one.
Game two saw Charlotte grab the seven-point edge, at 17-10, but Xavier was equal to the task of playing from behind or with a lead. The Musketeers surged to close the game to three at 18-15 and close in on the Niners at 25-all. The teams traded points and the game was tied at 27 and 28 points down the stretch. Xavier called another late and heady timeout before scoring the final two points of the game to take the 2-0 lead. Charlotte outhit the Musketeers .273 to .244 in the second frame, but Xavier came up with the big play when it had to in a tight game two. Senior Lynae Mulder led all players with nine kills in game two, while junior setter Eden Ramos connected on 17 assists in game two. Xavier's Danielle Skrajewski put down eight kills in the second game.
|
|
 |
Game three was all Xavier early, as XU went up 3-0 and led by five points on two different occasions. Charlotte fought back to a one-point margin at 24-23, but Xavier scored the final six points to close out the match. The final game saw Xavier outshine the Niners in the hitting column again, with a .429 to .219 margin for the final frame, for a final margin of .306 to .233. Senior Jessica Oldenburg paced Charlotte with five game-three kills. Skrajewski added six kills for Xavier. Mulder led Charlotte's trio of double-figure kills leaders. Mulder had 13 to go with Arroyo's 11 and Oldenburg's 10 in the defeat. Ramos had 39 assists, to extend her school single-season record total to 1,590 for the year. Sophomore Carly Romberg led all players with 19 digs and Arroyo added 13 to secure her 11th double-double of the season.
Skrajewski led Xavier with 16 kills, with Quayle and Bjorklund adding 11 each.
"We're obviously disappointed with the result but I am happy with how hard we played," said head coach Lisa Marston.
"To build a 20-win season and go out like this is disappointing. But, we're building a tradition here and we have to see the big picture. With two outstanding recruits coming in and a huge senior class next year, the future is bright. Hopefully, we'll be tougher next year and we'll remember this match and use it as fuel next season."
As for Charlotte's two seniors, Mulder and Oldenburg, Marston summed up their careers.
"Their leadership was amazing this year. From where this program was when they were freshman to where it is now and with both of them making second team All-Atlantic 10, they will surely be missed next season."
Xavier advances to take on host and top-seeded Dayton Saturday night at 7:30 in the second of two semifinal matches scheduled. The third-seeded Saint Louis team advanced earlier in the day to the first semifinal against second-seeded Temple, which will see first service at 5 p.m.
