LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - Colorado College advanced to its Regional Final in Atlanta tomorrow as they will take on host Emory. Meanwhile, Trinity University eliminated fellow SCAC member Southwestern University in a classic five set match. The Tigers move on to battle Cal Lutheran on their home floor.
#2 Colorado College 3, #3 Claremont Mudd-Scripps 1
(Story courtesy of Colorado College)
ATLANTA, Ga. - Emily Philips pounded down 15 kills and added 15 digs on Saturday, as Colorado College advanced to Sunday's NCAA Division III regional championship match with a dramatic 3-1 (25-21, 31-29, 21-25, 25-23) victory over Claremont Mudd Scripps College. Box Score | Regional Website | Interactive Bracket | Postgame Interview
It was the second consecutive double-double, and 11th of the season, for the sophomore outside hitter from The Woodlands, Texas.
CC will meet host and top-seeded Emory University, 32-4, which took a 3-1 decision from Berry College in the other semifinal, on Sunday for the right to advance to the national Elite 8.
Phillips got plenty of help from her teammates, as Lauren Hahn and Courtney Birkett – also sophomores – chipped in with 13 and 10 kills, respectively. It was Hahn who ended the match, hammering down her last of 39 attempts for the day to end Claremont's season.
"We left it all on the court today," said Phillips. "We had great energy."
The Tigers improved to 35-4 overall for the season, moving into a tie with the 1983 and 2009 Colorado College teams for the second most victories in the program's history.
Freshman setter Rebecca Watson finished with 45 assists in Saturday's triumph. Junior Kristen Liberty, who led both teams with a .500 attack percentage, and freshman Keli Sherwood added eight kills apiece. Sherwood also had a hand in five blocks.
"The second set was a slugfest," said Liberty. "Claremont had set point a couple of times, but we hung in there and played each point hard."
Sophomore libero Sophie Merrifield paced CC defensively with 25 digs, while junior Julia Lawton had 17 and Birkett 10.
"Claremont has a great team and has had a great year," head coach Rick Swan said. "We were in for a battle for each and every point. They are a lot like us. We had a balanced attack today."
In the first set Claremont went on an early five-point run to take a 10-6 lead. But the Tigers chipped away and took the lead for good at 16-15.
The lead see-sawed back and forth in the marathon second set, with Birkett's service ace off the tape ending it to put Colorado College up 2-0.
In the third set the two teams again traded leads before the Athenas reeled off four straight points to take a 14-11 lead and were able to maintain the advantage the rest of the way before prevailing 25-21.
The momentum was short-lived, however, as CC jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead and led 19-14 before holding off a furious Athena rally to win the fourth and deciding set.
#2 Trinity University 3, #6 Southwestern University 2
(Story courtesy of Trinity University)
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - It was another chapter in a storied rivalry. The Trinity Tigers battled back from an 0-2 deficit, and fought off three match points to edge the Southwestern Pirates 3-2 in the semifinals of the NCAA Division III Volleyball Championship San Antonio, Texas, Regional on Saturday night. Box Score | Regional Website | Interactive Bracket
Trinity fell behind 24-26, 23-25, before rallying to win 25-20, 25-20, 21-19.
The Tigers (36-6), the tournament's No. 2 seeds, will take on top-seeded California Lutheran in the regional final at 4 p.m. Sunday. The winner of the match, the NCAA's Sweet 16 (Trinity's 11th foray to the round), will advance to the national quarterfinals November 21 at Holland, Michigan.
Cal Lutheran (32-1) was a 3-0 winner over fourth-seeded UT-Dallas in the opening semifinals matchup of the day.
Saturday's match was almost a carbon-copy of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference title tilt, played at Trinity on November 9. The Tigers won their 16th SCAC Championship with a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over the Pirates.
The nerve-wracking fifth set at the regional semifinals had the Tigers down 13-14 (match point), when Trinity evened the score on a kill shot by Maggie Emodi. Southwestern committed an attack error, helped by a block from Erin Cusenbary, as the Tigers took a 15-14 lead for match point. But the Pirates evened the score at 15-15, and the saga continued.
A bad set by Trinity gave the Pirates another match point at 16-15, when Cusenbary executed a kills shot. Emodi put the Tigers up at 17-16 match point, when the Pirates evened things up once again. Southwestern's final match point of the set occurred on a kill shot. But Emodi tied the score at 18-all with a kill of her own. The score see-sawed back and forth to 19-19. Then, Layne Hubbard added a kill, and Southwestern made an attack error as the Trinity fans erupted in a deafening roar.
Emodi had an incredible night in the statistics department, with a double-double. She pounded out a match-high 27 kills, and accounted for 26 digs. Kelsey Daniel was accurate in the hitting department, with a .474 mark. Daniel produced 11 kills, made two errors, and had 19 total attacks. Cusenbary hit .317 on the night, with 14 kills, one error, on 41 total attacks. She also blocked five shots.
Maryn Swierc posted a double-double, dishing out 36 assists, and making 17 digs. Erika Edrington joined Swierc in the double-double category, with 28 assists and 26 digs.
Shannon Courtney led the team with 31 digs, while Hubbard had 24 digs and seven kills.
