Recaps of Quarterfinals, Thursday, November 15

Quartertfinal #1 - Wis.-Whitewater def. Puget Sound [Wash.], 30-17, 30-23, 30-25
A balanced hitting attack, led by the near quadruple-double of AVCA All-American Kate LaZotte, led the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (35-4) to a win over the University of Puget Sound (20-9) 3-0 (30-17, 30-23, 30-25) in the first quarterfinal match of the 2007 NCAA Division III National Volleyball Championships.  The match was played at the Shirk Center on the campus of Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Ill.
LaZotte, who earlier in the week was named to the AVCA All-America Second-Team, collected 38 assists, 10 digs and added six aces and six kills, leading the Warhawks to the national semifinals for the third consecutive year.  Whitewater, who is now 13-1 in the NCAA Division III Tournament since head coach Stacy Boudreau took over the team in 2005, will face the winner of the quarterfinal match between Juniata College and Amherst College.
Kelly Sorenson led the Warhawk balanced attack with 10 kills, while Rebekah Nelson added nine kills on 18 attempts with zero errors (.500 hitting percentage).  Carley Polk, a 2007 AVCA First-Team All-American, and Sarah Theis added eight kills apiece.
“We did a great job of being smart and seeing the whole court,” said Boudreau.  The Warhawks tallied 14 service aces, and landed a total of 48 kills.
“They served tough the whole match,” said Mark Massey, Puget Sound head coach.
Whitewater served to begin the match, but it was Puget Sound who scored the first point on a Lindsey Denman kill.  A Sorenson kill for Whitewater tied it at 1-1, then Abby Schultz put one away to give the Warhawks their first lead at 2-1.  Whitewater went up 6-2 on a service ace by Schultz, but another Denman kill cut the Whitewater lead to 6-3.  Another Sorenson kill gave Whitewater a 9-4 lead, but a Monica Groves kill for Puget Sound made it 9-5.  With the score 12-7, another Schultz kill and a Puget Sound attack error gave the Warhawks a 14-7 advantage.  Three straight Warhawk errors, and the Loggers brought the score within four at 14-10.  After trading two points apiece, back-to-back kills by Polk and LaZotte, with the help of a UPS hitting error, stretched the Warhawk lead to 19-12.  With the score 21-14, a UPS hitting error gave Whitewater their largest lead of the game at eight.  After a LaZotte service ace and a Nelson kill, the Warhawks’ lead had ballooned to 10 at 24-14.  After a LaZotte service error, Nelson’s third kill of the game made the score 25-15.  At 27-16, kills by Nelson and Schultz gave Whitewater game point at 29-16.  After a Warhawk attack error, a Monica Groves service error gave the first game to Whitewater 30-17.
“We knew Whitewater is an outstanding team,” said Massey.  “We were a little nervous in the first game, but started playing better in game two.”
Nelson led the way in the first game with four kills for Whitewater, but it was the All-American LaZotte whose three kills and 12 assists led the Warhawks to a one game to none lead.
Puget Sound had first serve in game two, but Molly Hunsinger’s try went sailing into the net for a Whitewater 1-0 lead.  With the score 1-1, a Groves service ace and Warhawk ball-handling error gave UPS a 3-1 lead early.  At 3-2, Denman’s fourth kill of the match gave the Loggers a 4-2 lead, but Whitewater turned to the All-American Polk for another kill to cut the lead to 4-3.  With the score 6-4, another service ace, this time by Rachel Gross, extended the Logger advantage to 7-4.  A Sorenson kill and Warhawk block cut the lead to 7-6.  With the Logger lead 8-6, another UPS service error, followed by a Schultz kill, and the score was knotted at 8-apiece.  Polk followed that up with a kill, knocking over the UPS defender in the process, giving Whitewater their first lead of the second game at 9-8.  The teams traded service errors, the third of the game for UPS, and it was 10-9 Warhawks.  With the score 16-13 in favor of Whitewater, a Theis kill stretch the lead to 17-13.  After a ball-handling error, a Theis and Sorenson block, followed by service ace, the Warhawks had a 20-13 advantage.  Puget Sound would not go quietly, however.  Following a Whitewater service error and UPS service ace, the Loggers cut the score to 20-15.  Two Warhawk attack errors later, and their lead was down to three at 20-17.  LaZotte stepped up again with a kill to make the score 21-17.  With LaZotte serving, the Warhawks rolled off three straight points, capped by a Theis kill, making their lead 24-17.  After a UPS timeout, a Sorenson kill and consecutive LaZotte service aces extended the Whitewater lead to 10 at 27-17.  A Groves kill capped off four straight Logger points, cutting into the Whitewater lead at 27-21.  A Sorenson attack error cut the Whitewater lead in half at 27-22, and it was the Warhawks’ turn to call a timeout.  Out of the TO, Whitewater turned back to Sorenson to put away a kill and stop the Logger run.  A Theis kill made the score 29-22.  Following a Kayla Matsunga kill for the Loggers, Nelson put the second game away for the Warhawks at 30-23.
A Polk attack error gave UPS a 1-0 lead to start game three, but a Nelson kill and service ace gave Whitewater a 2-1 early lead.  After a Warhawk error, a solo block by Denman gave UPS the lead back at 3-2.  With the score tied at 5-5, UPS rolled off four straight points, capped by a Kalli Kamphaus kill, to give them their largest lead of the game at 9-5.  A Warhawk attack error stretched the Logger lead to 10-5, but a LaZotte kill once again stopped a UPS run, cutting the lead to 10-6.  Kills by Nelson and Theis, plus a LaZotte ace, cut the Logger lead to 10-9.  With the score once again knotted at 10-10, a hitting error stopped the Whitewater run and gave UPS the lead back at 11-10.  Four consecutive Warhawk points, topped off by a Sorenson service ace, stretched the Whitewater lead to 14-11.  With the count 15-12, a Nelson kill, followed by a Polk kill, widened the Warhawk lead to five at 17-12.  Coming out of a Logger timeout, another Polk kill made it 18-12, but UPS’s Denman put away a kill of her own to cut into the Warhawk lead at 18-13.  Following a Logger double-hit error, Denman put away another kill to make the score 19-14.  The Loggers would continue to fight; three consecutive points by Puget Sound, capped off by a Jamee Fred service ace that rolled off the top of the net, cut the lead to two at 19-17.  After the teams traded points, another UPS service ace, this time by Leigh Sumida, and a Warhawk hitting error equaled the score at 20-20.  Out of a Whitewater timeout, two more Logger points brought the score to 22-20.  After a Warhawk kill, an Emma Bryant kill gave UPS a two point lead again at 23-21.  Back-and-forth it went, and with the score tied again at 23-23, a Nelson kill, set by LaZotte, gave Whitewater the lead again, this time for good, at 24-23.  With the Warhawk lead extended to three at 26-23, LaZotte’s two service aces stretched the lead to 28-23.  Trying to hang on and send the match to game four, UPS rolled off two to make the score 28-25.  But, the Warhawk attack was too much, as a Sorenson kill and subsequent service ace gave Whitewater a 30-25 game three victory, and a 3-0 quarterfinal win.
Whitewater’s experience played a factor in their win.  Their five seniors are playing in their third consecutive national quarterfinals.
“It definitely helps having the experience in this match,” said LaZotte.
Bryant led the Puget Sound attack with 10 kills.  Denman added eight kills, and Groves was held to just six.  Fred tallied 24 assists for the Loggers and added 11 digs.  Gross, the All-West Region libero, had 11 digs.
Wisconsin-Whitewater will take a 14-match win streak into the semifinals.  They square off with the Juniata/Amherst winner at 4:30 tomorrow in Bloomington.

Quartertfinal #2 - Juniata def. Amherst, 30-8, 30-22, 30-21
The defending champion Juniata Eagles are headed back to the national semifinals, as they downed Amherst Thursday afternoon at the Shirk Center in Bloomington, Ill.  The Eagles (37-4), making their 27th appearance in the national quarterfinals, defeated Amherst (30-5) 3-0 (30-8, 30-22, 30-21).  The Lord Jeffs, who tied a school record with the 30 wins this season, were making their first appearance in the round of eight.
Juniata, who has only four losses to Division III teams dating back to the beginning of the 2005 season, started the match on fire, using their experience as a weapon.
“I thought the team played well,” said Eagle head coach Larry Bock.  “I think our experience helped.  It’s not a unique situation for Juniata.  But Amherst settled in well.”
The Eagles were led by newly-minted 2007 AVCA Division III Player of the Year, Amber Thomas, who tallied 18 kills, while hitting .432.  Erin Albert, an AVCA All-America Honorable Mention, added 15 kills and hit .560.  She added four blocks.
Amherst began serving game one, but Thomas got started early with a kill and a block to start 2-0 out of the gate. A hitting error by Paige Johnston gave Amherst their first points at 4-1.  A Jaclyn DeMais kill for Amherst cut the lead to 4-2.  After Amherst cut the score to 4-3, a Johnston kill gave Juniata the serve back at 5-3.  With the score 7-4 Eagles, Albert’s block extended the score to 8-4. Two Lord Jeffs hitting errors with a Johnston kill sandwiched in-between, and the Juniata lead was out to seven at 11-4.  Coming out of an Amherst timeout, an Albert kill, then solo block, followed by a Lord Jeff net error, extended the lead to 10 at 14-4.  A DeMais kill got the serve back for Amherst, but another Albert kill stretched it back to a 10-point lead.  With the score 20-6, Albert’s fourth and fifth kills of the first game extended the lead to 22-6.  With the score 29-8 and Juniata serving for game point, a Johnston kill put away the first game for the Eagles 30-8.
AVCA Alll-American setter Beth Kozak set the Eagles hit an incredible .539 in the first game, highlighted by Albert’s six kills, and four kills apiece for Johnston and Thomas.
After struggling through the first game, Amherst fought neck-and-neck with Juniata for the remainder of the match.  But Juniata’s experience and talent were just too much for the Lord Jeffs.
“We got a couple of key kills from Albert and Thomas was, well, Thomas,” Bock said.
Amherst jumped out to a 2-1 lead to begin game two, but a Megan Lamens kill tied the score at 2-2.  A Brittany Carr kill gave the Eagles their first game two lead at 3-2.  Another Lamens kill at 4-2 extended the Juniata lead to three.  Back-and-forth went game two, as the Eagle lead hovered at three all the way to a 10-7 Juniata lead.  But back-to-back kills by Thomas and Johnston expanded the Juniata lead to 12-7.  Amherst would not quit in this game, however.  A Jackie Berkley kill and two Juniata errors cut the lead to 12-10.  Juniata would answer with another Thomas kill.  Amherst would continue to hang tough, taking the lead 15-14 after a Whitney Kouvaris kill and three Juniata attack errors.  A DeMais service ace extended the lead to two at 16-14.  Two more Johnston kills for Juniata tied the score again at 16-16.  Albert followed that up with a kill, but Berkley answered for the Lord Jeffs.  With the score 18-17, Juniata back-to-back kills by Kozak and Albert stretched the Eagle lead to 20-17.  Coming out of an Amherst timeout, Juniata again turned to Thomas for a kill.  Brittany Carr and Albert notched back-to-back kills to make the score 23-17.  Amherst would not quit, cutting the score to 24-21 on a DeMais kill, but kills by Albert and Thomas stretched the Juniata lead back to five at 26-21.  With a game two win in sight, Juniata extended the lead to 28-21 with Kristin Noetzel kill.  Amherst cut the lead to 28-22 on a Hannah Wirth kill, but back-to-back kills by the National Player of the Year, Thomas, finished off game two in favor of the Eagles 30-22.
Juniata started off game three with a Johnston kill, but Amherst tied the score with a Wirth kill.  A DeMais kill and an attack error by Juniata gave Amherst an early 3-1 lead in game three.  After Juniata tied the game at 3-3, Amherst collected their largest lead to date at 7-3 on another DeMais kill.  The Lord Jeffs took a 9-5 lead on a Berkley kill, but Albert answered for the Eagles to cut the lead to 9-6.  Back-to-back Thomas kills cut further into the lead at 9-8.  After Juniata tied the game at 10-10, a Noetzel kill gave Juniata their first lead since 1-0.  With the score 13-12 in favor of the Eagles, another Noetzel kill made it 14-12 Eagles.  After the teams traded points, an Albert kill and Carr kill extended the Juniata lead to 17-13.  Consecutive points for Amherst cut the lead to 17-15, but Albert’s 15th kill of the match and an Amherst attack error extended the Juniata lead to 19-15.  The team traded points, preceding Thomas’ 17th kill, and Juniata had a 21-16 lead.  Amherst reeled off two consecutive points, capped by a Claire Holton-Basaldua kill, but Thomas answered once again, with a fierce attack and kill for the Eagles.  With the score 25-20 Juniata, a penalty on the Lord Jeffs extended the lead to 26-20.  After Amherst scored on a DeMais kill, back-to-back Johnston kills for Juniata extended the lead to 28-21.  An Albert block sent it to match point, and a Megan Sollenberger service ace sealed the win for the Eagles.
Johnston finished with 13 kills.  Kozak led the Eagle passing with 49 assists, as her team finished with a .371 hitting percentage.  Sollenberger, a Third-Team AVCA All-American, dug 21 balls for the Eagles.
DeMais led the Amherst attack with 13 kills.
“We kept the pressure on,” said Bock.  “Amherst did a good job coming back.  When they served tough, it was pretty even.”
Juniata will continue its quest for their third national championship in four years tomorrow, as they square off with Wisconsin-Whitewater.  The semifinal match will begin at 4:30 p.m. CT.

Quartertfinal #3 - Washington U. [Mo.] def. Emory, 30-19, 21-30, 30-27, 30-18
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (Nov. 15, 2007) - In a rematch of the University Athletic Association championship played just 12 days ago in which Emory University came away conference champions, Washington University in St. Louis (31-5) defeated Emory (33-7) 30-19, 21-30, 30-27 and 30-18 in Bloomington, Ill., in the quarterfinals of the 2007 NCAA Division III Volleyball Championship.
After the first two matches this season between these two teams went five games, and they split the first two games of this match, there was no reason to believe that this one would not go five as well.  But Washington took control in games three and four, and won the match 3-1.
“No matter how complex the game becomes, it’s still a game of passing and serving,” said Washington head coach Rich Luenemann.  “I thought we improved those two areas over the last two weeks (since loss to Emory).”
Emory head coach Jenny McDowell was in agreement.
“Wash U. played great,” said McDowell.  “They came out fired up and served really well.  It was the Wash U. we knew; they executed really well.  We didn’t win the serving/passing game tonight.”
Washington, who has the most national championships of any women’s volleyball program in NCAA Division III with eight, is enjoying their 21st consecutive trip to the postseason, and their eighth consecutive trip to the quarterfinals.
But even a team with that much history can improve throughout the year.
“We passed like a third grade team at the beginning of the season,” said Luenemann.  “We lost a few players, but people started finding their roles and the system started working.”
In game one, Emory got the scoring started with an Alysse Meyer kill.  A kill, then service ace by Haleigh Spencer got Washington on the board, and made the score 2-1 in favor of the Bears.  A Meyer attack error gave the Bears a 3-1 early advantage.  Another Meyer kill made the score 3-2, but then Washington went on a run.  A kill by Alli Alberts kill, followed by an Emory ball-handling error, a Nikki Morrison kill and an Ellen Bruegge service ace, the lead was 6-3 Bears.  With the score 9-6 Washington, AVCA All-American setter Audra Janak landed a kill.  A Bruegge kill made it 11-6, but Emory would get the serve back with a Janet Bunning kill.  Consecutive kills by Bruegge, Morrison and Bruegge again, and the Bears had the Eagles doubled up at 14-7.  Following an Emory timeout, Madison Robelen landed a kill, but Bruegge would answer again for the Bears.  The teams continued to trade points until an Erin Albers kill for the Bears made it 18-10 in favor of Wash U.  With the Bear lead 20-12, a Washington hitting error wasted a couple of stellar defensive plays, and made the score 20-13.  Both teams continued to trade points, as the Washington lead held steady at eight at 22-14.  An Eagle kill by Kaitlin Westfall cut the lead to 22-15, but Laura Brazeal notched a kill for the Bears that went straight up in the air and just landed as three Emory players watched it fall.  Another Morrison kill extended the Bear lead to 24-15, their largest lead of the game.  After Emory cut the lead to seven, on kills by Bunning and Dani Huffman, Morrison landed another kill to give Washington a 25-18 lead.  A well-placed kill by Lindsay Schuessler made the score 26-19.  With the score 28-19 and the Bears looking to close out game one, two consecutive blocks Spencer and then Albers did just that, with game one ending 30-19 in favor of Washington.
After Washington dominated the first game, it was Emory’s turn to take control of the match, if only for one game.
A Meyer kill once again got things started in game two, but Washington came right back with a Bruegge kill to knot the score at 1-1.  After Emory jumped out to an early 4-2 advantage, another Washington attack error gave the Eagles a 5-2 lead.  With the Eagles’ lead up to 8-3, a Robelen kill extended the Emory advantage to six.  Emory continued their momentum, collecting the next three points, but Washington was able to finally stop the Eagle streak with an Albers block.  A Meyer kill sent Emory back on track.  After the Eagles extended the lead to 10 at 14-4, a Janak kill and Bruegge block cut the lead to eight.  After the teams traded points, a kill by Alberts narrowed the lead to seven at 15-8.  A Huffman kill for Emory, followed by a Morrison attack error made the Emory lead nine again at 17-8.  Washington would continue to fight back, though.  A Bruegge kill and service ace cut the lead to 17-10, then an Alberts kill would make it 17-11.  After the teams traded points, a Bunning block gave the Eagles a 19-12 lead.  With the score cut to 19-14, Bunning and Meyer landed kills to stretch the lead back to seven at 21-14.  With Emory’s lead still seven at 23-16, an Emory hitting error made the score 23-17.  But a Vicki Blood service error gave the point and the serve back to Emory.  With the count 26-19, a Bruegge service error, followed by a Maggie Baird kill put the Eagles firmly in control at 28-19.  Back-to-back Wash U. points would cut the lead to 28-21, but another Baird kill brought up game point.  A Bears’ attack error would finish up game two, and tie the match at one game apiece.
Washington started game three where they left off in game one, jumping out to a 5-1 lead.  Emory fought back with a Westfall kill and a Kelsey Krzyston service ace to cut the lead to 5-3.  Washington would hold a steady lead of two until back-to-back points by the Eagles would tie the score at 7-7.  Emory would take their first lead of game three at 8-7, but a Spencer kill followed by an Eagle attack error would give the lead back to the Bears at 9-8.  Emory would reel off three straight points, highlighted by Bunning and Huffman kills, to re-take the lead at 11-9.  The Eagles would continue their streak with three more points, with two kills by Huffman and one by Meyer, and extend their lead to 14-9.  Washington would storm back with a run of their own.  Three straight Wash U. points cut the lead to 14-12 before a Meyer kill would make it 15-12.  Consecutive Bear points would cut the lead to 15-14, before a Huffman kill extended the lead back to two.  Back-to-back Bears points, and they had climbed back to a tie at 16-16.  After the teams traded points, an Alberts kill would give the Bears back the lead.  Coming out of an Emory timeout, Alberts landed another kill to extend the Bear lead to two.  After a great back-and-forth rally, a Bunning kill would cut the lead to one.  But there was Alberts again to land her 11th kill of the game and stretch the lead to three.  With the score 23-19 Washington, the teams would trade points to until a Baird kill, followed by a Morrison attack error, made the score 25-23.  The Bears would regain momentum in the waning moments of game three, as consecutive points gave the Bears a 27-23 lead, and led to an Emory timeout.  A Morrison and Albers block gave the Bears game point at 29-24.  Emory would not go quietly – a Baird kill and a Vista Murphy service ace would cut the Bear lead to 29-26, but it was still game point.  Bunning’s 14th kill of the match cut the lead to two at 29-27, but she hit her next set out of bounds, giving Washington a game three win, 30-27.
Game four was back-and-forth, with Washington taking a 3-2 lead early on an Albers block.  Baird’s 12th kill of the game tied the game at 3-3.  A Janak kill capped off three straight points for Washington, as the Bears took a 6-3 lead.  Out of an Emory timeout, Albers notched her eighth kill of the match to extend the lead to 7-3.  Back-to-back kills by Meyer would cut the Bear lead to 8-7, but her next attempt would sail wide, giving Washington a 9-7 advantage.  Washington then went on a run.  After the Bears collected the next five points to go ahead 14-7, a Meyer kill slowed the Bear momentum – but only temporarily.  With the score 16-9, another Bruegge kill gave the Bears an eight point lead, and led to another Eagle timeout.   A Schuessler ace stretched the Washington lead to 20-11, when Bunning answered with a kill.  Consecutive Ali Crouch aces gave Washington their largest lead at 23-12, and Washington appeared ready to close out the match.  A Bunning kill stopped the momentum again temporarily, but the Bears were on a roll.  Two more Washington points extended the lead to 25-13.  With the score 26-14 and momentum and adrenaline clearly on the Bears’ half of the court, Emory continued to find a way to fight back.  Consecutive kills by Baird following a Huffman kill cut the Bear lead to 26-17.  A Bruegge kill gave Washington a 28-18 lead, and an Alberts kill sent it to match point.  A Hoffman attempt that flew out of bounds sealed the match for Washington, and sending the Bears back to the national semifinals.
The Washington attack was led by the AVCA First-Team All-American Morrison’s 14 kills.  She hit an astounding .370.  Alberts and Spencer turned in double-doubles with 13 kill/15 dig and 10 kill/23 dig performances, respectively.  Bruegge chipped in 11 kills and three service aces.  Jankak turned in a 45-assist performance. 
“All five of their hitters were on tonight,” said McDowell.  “They were in system the whole time.”
Emory was led by the AVCA First-Team All-American Bunning’s 17 kills.  Meyer added 14 kills, and Baird 16.  A lot of kills, but a lot of errors, too.  Those three players had 24 attack errors between the three of them.
“We had a few too many errors,” said McDowell.  “We just weren’t passing well enough, and their blockers were getting set too easily.”
The win gave Washington the season series win 2-1.  These two familiar foes have a lot of respect for one another.
“We played a fine team tonight,” said Luenemann.  “They have the best middle blocker tandem in America in Division III.  And they have a phenomenal coach.”
The Bears continue their search for their ninth championship, as they will play in tomorrow night’s semifinals against the winner of the quarterfinal match between Wittenberg University and Stevens Institute of Technology.  The match will begin at 7:00 p.m. CT.

Quartertfinal #4 - Wittenberg [Ohio] def. Stevens Institute of Technology [N.J.], 30-14, 30-26, 30-19
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (Nov. 15, 2007) – Wittenberg University, undefeated and unanimous No. 1 in the CSTV/AVCA Division III Coaches Top 25 poll, showed their dominance tonight, as they swept the Stevens Ducks in tonight’s national quarterfinal by scores of 30-18, 30-26 and 30-19.  The Tigers, who have gone to five games only once this season (Hope College on Sept. 14), will face Washington University in St. Louis in tomorrow’s semifinals, the third consecutive trip to the semis for coach Paco Labrador’s Tigers.  They have fallen to Juniata College each of the last two seasons in the semifinal round.
“We’re going to have to improve on tonight to win tomorrow,” said Labrador.  “We need to play steadier as a serve-receive unit.  If we pass like we did tonight, it’s going to be a long road.”
After Wittenberg came out firing in the first game, they looked a little sluggish in games two and three.
“We’ve been playing at home for the last three or four weekends,” said Labrador.  “It showed tonight playing in a new gym and getting acclimated.”
Wittenberg took control early, taking a 6-2 lead to start the match, highlighted by two Jackie Williams kills.  Another Williams kill, followed by a kill by Emily Bell, and Stevens was calling a timeout down 9-2.  With the lead at 17-7, Wittenberg was in control of game one.  Stevens would continue to fight.  A Dawn Herring kill cut the lead to 17-8, and a kill by Maggie Majcher cut the lead to eight.  At 19-10, a Kaitlyn Taylor kill cut it back to eight at 19-11.  Emily Bell landed a kill for Wittenberg, but Melanie Volk answered with one of her own.  A Williams kill knocked over the defender, and gave the Tigers a 21-12 advantage.  With the Tigers in firm control leading 24-13, a Ducks service error extended the lead to 25-13.  A Jan Kehres kill extended the lead to 13, and a Ducks attack error made it 27-13.  Jessica Kimble put away her first kill of the night, but it was answered by a kill from Stevens’ Jessica Gardner.  Another Bell kill for Wittenberg gave the Tigers game point, and they won the first game 30-14 on an attack error by Stevens.
The Ducks started serve in game two, but Wittenberg got on the board first with a solo block by Williams.  After the Ducks took a 2-1 lead on kills by Taylor and Gardner, Wittenberg tied the game at 2-2 on a Kehres kill.  The Ducks took the next four points and a 6-2 lead.  A Kehres kill gave the Tigers the serve back, but they couldn’t hold it, as Stevens made it 7-3 on a Tigers attack error.  After the Ducks extended their lead to 11-5, the surprised Wittenberg team called a timeout.  Wittenberg would storm back.  A Jehres kill would cut the lead to 12-10, but the Ducks would get the serve back on a Tigers service error.  After the teams traded two points apiece, a Herring kill put Stevens up 15-12.  Stevens led 17-14 when a Kate Snead kill pulled the Tigers within two.  A Volk error followed by a Caitlin Augustus kill would knot the score at 17-17.  Coming out of a Stevens timeout, Wittenberg would continue their run with another Augustus kill and a Augustus/Bell block, giving the Tigers a 19-17 lead.  The Tiger run was extended to seven straight on an Augustus block, and to eight on a Ducks attack error.  After calling another timeout, Stevens temporarily stopped the Wittenberg momentum by forcing an attack error.  With the Wittenberg lead extended to six at 25-19, a Volk kill cut it back to five.  A vicious Williams kill made the score 26-20, but Stevens would counter.  A Tiger service error, followed by a Gardner kill and Wittenberg net violation, would cut the Tiger lead to 26-23.  After another Stevens service error, Wittenberg called a timeout up 26-24.  A Kehres kill stopped the Ducks’ run, and a double-hit put Wittenberg within two points of winning the second game.  Stevens fought to within two points at 28-26, but an attack error by Herring set up game point, and a Brittany Steinbrecher kill sealed game two, 30-26.
Wittenberg started strong in game three, taking a 4-1 lead off a Williams kill.  After a Bell kill made it 5-1 Tigers, the Ducks’ Gardner countered with a kill of her own.  With the score 6-4, Jessica Kimble put away her second kill of the match.  A Taylor kill tied the game for the Ducks at 7-7, then a long rally was ended by a Wittenberg attack error.  With the Stevens lead at 9-7, Bell countered with a Wittenberg kill.  With the lead back in Wittenberg’s hands at 12-11, they turned to the AVCA All-American Williams, who landed two consecutive kills to extend the Tiger lead to 14-11.  With the Tiger lead now at 19-14, a Majcher kill cut the lead to 19-15.  But Bell’s eleventh kill for Wittenberg extended the lead back to five, the Ducks would not get closer.  A Kehres kill extended the Wittenberg lead to 26-17.  With the score 28-19 Wittenberg, another Kehres kill made it game point.  Augustus landed her eighth kill of the match, sending the Tigers to a date with Rich Luenemann’s Washington University Bears in the semifinals.
Kehres led the Wittenberg attack with 14 kills and 15 digs.  AVCA All-Americans Bell and Williams added 12 and eight kills, respectively.  Wittenberg as a team hit .299.
Herring and Volk had eight kills apiece for the Ducks, and Herring added 14 digs.  Stevens only hit .076 as a team.
Wittenberg will attempt to close out a historic season for the team, trying to win their first national championship, and do it in grand, undefeated fashion.  The Washington team that stands in their way next, they defeated earlier in the year on the Bears’ home court 3-1.
“Wash U. is a completely different team than the one we beat earlier in the season,” said Labrador.  “They’re playing as well as I’ve ever seen them play.  We’re going to have to get geared up for a battle.”
The battle will be the second semifinal match tomorrow, and is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. CT.  The winner will play in Saturday’s championship match.

recaps written by Will Engle, American Volleyball Coaches Association