Recaps of Semifinals, Friday, November 16

Juniata College (37-4) vs. Wisconsin-Whitewater (38-4)
Shirk Center, Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington, Ill.
2007 NCAA Division III National Volleyball Championships

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (Nov. 16, 2007) – In the 2005 NCAA Division III national championship match, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, under the direction of their first-year head coach Stacy Boudreau, knocked off a Juniata College team looking for their second consecutive national title.  In 2007, the same two teams tangled in the national semifinals, with Juniata once again seeking the championship crown for a second straight season.  And for the second time in three seasons, it would be Boudreau’s Warhawks ending Juniata’s bid for a repeat, as Whitewater (39-4) downed the Eagles (37-5) in three games 30-28, 30-27, 30-25.
“Juniata is a great team, and played a great game,” said Boudreau.  “We knew it was going to be a tough game.  The girls stepped up and played with confidence.  Our roster is full of seniors, and they really wanted this match.”
Whitewater, who is now 14-1 in the NCAA Tournament since Boudreau took the reigns in 2005, played a great defensive game, out-blocking the Eagles 10-3.
“They were very good and we weren’t,” said Larry Bock, Juniata head coach, who has more career wins than any other coach at any level of collegiate women’s volleyball.  “I thought Whitewater had a great game plan.  They served us short, found soft spots in the middle of the court.”
“We knew defense was going to be a big key,” noted Boudreau.  “Our setters did a great job of setting us up.”
Whitewater, serving first, jumped out to an early lead at 6-3.  Juniata took their first lead of the match at 8-7 on back-to-back Amber Thomas kills.  Whitewater quickly took the lead back, and extended it to the largest game one margin of four, at 16-12.  Juniata would go on a run of their own, as an Erin Albert service ace would re-tie the game at 17-17.  As a very evenly played first game continued, neither team would lead by more than two.  After Juniata held a steady two-point lead, Whitewater tied the match at 28-28, then took a 29-28, game point lead on a Carley Polk kill.  A net violation was called on Juniata as a Whitewater attack sailed out-of-bounds, giving the Warhawks a hard-fought, 30-28, game one win.
A similar scene started in game two as the teams traded the first 14 points, until Whitewater took a two-point lead at 9-7.  A block by the Warhawks’ Polk and Kelly Sorenson extended their advantage to 12-8, and led to a Juniata timeout.  With the score 15-10 in favor or Whitewater, Juniata would storm back with their attacking game.  Taking eight of the next 11 points, highlighted by two Thomas kills, a Megan Sollenberger service ace would tie the game at 18-18.  Neither team letting the other take control of the game, it was tied 26-26, when Whitewater used an Eagle net violation and a block by Sarah Theis and Kate LaZotte to take a two-point advantage at 28-26.  An Alyse Karls ace gave the Warhawks game point at 29-26, but her next service would fly into the net and cut the lead to two at 29-27.  But with it still game point, LaZotte found a hole in-between three diving Eagle defenders to give the Warhawks a 30-27 game two win, and a two games to none lead.
In a two-game hole, the Eagles stormed out to an early 6-2 lead in game three.  But an aggressive Whitewater team would quickly tie the game at 6-6 on another Karls ace.  In another back-and-forth game, the teams would continue to trade points until Whitewater would break an 11-11 tie and collect eight of the next 12 points to take a 19-15 lead.  When a Theis kill hit an Eagle player in the head, almost knocking her off her feet, Whitewater had a 21-16 lead, and was brimming with the confidence to close out the match.  After Thomas countered with back-to-back kills for Juniata, Whitewater responded with consecutive points of their own, going up 23-18.  Juniata would cut the Warhawk lead to three at 27-24, but out of a Whitewater timeout a Sorenson kill followed by a net error on the Eagles would make it game point at 29-24.  After a Beth Kozak kill cut the lead to 29-25, Amber Schultz’s 13th kill would send the Warhawks to the championship match with an upset over Juniata.
Schultz led the Warhawk attack with 13 kills, with Polk and Theis adding 12 apiece.  LaZotte paced the Whitewater offense with 44 assists, setting the Warhawks to a .290 attack percentage.
The Whitewater team, who had lost to Juniata twice during the regular season, appeared confident and relaxed the entire match.
“We play better when we’re loose and having fun,” said Polk.
AVCA Player of the Year Amber Thomas had 22 kills and only one error for the Eagles.  She hit .412 for the match, but Juniata only hit .191 as a team.
“Amber was great,” said Bock.  “She played like the player of the year again tonight.”
Wisconsin-Whitewater will look for their second national championship in three years, as they will face either undefeated Wittenberg University or the storied Washington University in St. Louis program in tomorrow night’s championship match.  First serve for the championship match of the NCAA Division III Volleyball Championship is set for 7:00 p.m. CT Saturday night.

Wittenberg University (38-0) vs. Washington University (31-5) * Nov 16, 2007 * 7:00 p.m. CT
Shirk Center, Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington, Ill.
2007 NCAA Division III National Volleyball Championships

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (Nov. 16, 2007) – Washington University in St. Louis, with more national titles than any other program in NCAA Division III women’s volleyball, ended the dream season of Wittenberg University, handing the Tigers their first loss of the season in the national semifinals, 25-30, 30-25, 30-28, 30-15 at the Shirk Center on the campus of Illinois Wesleyan University.
Wittenberg falls in the national semifinals for the third consecutive season, having fallen to Juniata College each of the last two years.  But their coach and players remained optimistic and positive following their loss.
“We feel real proud about what we’ve done this year,” said Tiger head coach Paco Labrador, proud of what his team had accomplished.
“Our four years have been memorable,” added senior setter Sarah Matesich.  “We’re so happy for the moments we’ve had, and we don’t regret anything.”
Washington head coach Rich Luenemann was proud of his team as well.
“This is a storybook season,” he said, smiling proudly.  “We struggled early in the season.  It’s a testament to the kids’ work ethic.  They don’t give up.  They don’t give up.  They don’t give up.  They don’t give up.”
“They beat us early in the season,” added Nikki Morrison, who led the Bears attack with 19 kills.  “We’re a whole new team now.”
Both teams played great defense throughout the match.  Washington found a hole in the Wittenberg defense in game one, exploiting the left corner of the Tiger court throughout the match.
“We took advantage of them giving us the line,” said Luenemann.  “Nobody is going to dig Nikki Morrison down the line.  Nobody.”
The first game was tight throughout, as the score was tied 9-9 early.  An Allie Alberts kill gave Washington a 13-10 advantage, causing Wittenberg to take their first timeout.  A confident Washington team scored four of the next six out of the timeout, giving the Bears a 17-12 advantage, and leading to another Wittenberg T.O.  Wittenberg would storm back, cutting the lead to one at 20-19 on a Washington service error.  Wittenberg would take back the lead and the momentum on a Jan Kehres kill, 23-22, causing Luenemann to call his second timeout.  The Wittenberg lead stretched to 27-23 on back-to-back kills by Jackie Williams and Kehres.  With the score 29-25 Wittenberg, a kill from Caitlin Augustus would cap off an 8-3 Tiger run to secure game one, 30-25.
Washington took an early 12-9 lead in game two.  The Bears would keep a steady lead until Wittenberg used two Emily Bell kills to tie the game, 18-18.  Washington would go back on the attack, however, and extend the lead back to three at 24-21.  With the score 28-25 in favor of the Bears, an Ellen Bruegge kill gave the Bears game point.  A block by Erin Albers and Nikki Morrison would seal game two for the Bears, and tie the match at one game apiece.
Wittenberg took an early 11-7 lead in game three, capped by the seventh Kehres kill of the match.  A Kehres/Augustus block stretched the lead to 14-8 Tigers, causing Washington to take a timeout.  The Bears would regain momentum, and cut the lead to two at 16-14 on a Morrison kill.  Washington would take its first lead since 5-4 early in the game, on back-to-back solo blocks by Bruegge, 21-19.  Wittenberg would even the score again at 26-26, and the teams would trade points until an Alberts service ace would set up game point for Wash U. at 29-27.  After Wittenberg cut the lead down to 29-28, a Haleigh Spencer kill would give the Bears game three, 30-27.
Facing a two-games-to-one deficit for only the second time this season, Wittenberg came out on its heels in game four, as Washington took an early 7-2 lead, and had momentum and confidence on their side as the Tigers were forced to call a timeout.  With the Bear lead up to 9-2, Bell’s 17th kill of the match briefly stopped the Washington momentum.  But the eighth Wittenberg service error of the match gave the point right back to the Bears.  A Williams hitting error would give Washington their biggest lead of the match at eleven to that point, 16-5.  As the Tigers began to completely unravel, the Washington lead grew to fourteen at 22-8.  The Bears could smell the upset with the score 27-12.  A solo block by Alberts gave the Bears game point, and after back-to-back Tiger kills, Morrison put the game away down the line, and sent the Bears back to the finals.
“The turning point was to get that win in game three,” said Labrador.  “They came out and served real tough in game four.”
The Bears hit an outstanding .630 in the deciding game four.  Setter Audra Janak paced the offense throughout with 54 assists.  To go along with Morrison’s 19 kills were Spencer’s 12 kills and 11 from Alberts.  Laura Brazeal led the defensive surge with 29 digs.
Bell led the Wittenberg attack with 20 kills, and Williams added 15.  Matesich had 33 assists, but the Tigers didn’t hit above .200 in the three games they lost.  Kehres led the way defensively for the Tigers, collecting 26 digs to go with her 11 kills.
The victorious Washington squad will play in their second straight championship match tomorrow, where they will face Wisconsin-Whitewater.  The Bears and are ready for another battle.
“We came in expecting each match of the tournament to go five games,” said Morrison.  “We know we have nothing to lose every time out.
“We’re definitely firing on all cylinders at this point in the season.”
Both teams will be ready to fire away tomorrow night at 7:00, as Washington and Whitewater battle for the championship. 

recaps written by Will Engle, American Volleyball Coaches Association