| 11.06.07 - Down
two games to one in the opening round of the MCC Tournament, the
Foresters (24-7) came back and evened the match with a win in game
four, then had to rally from a 5-1 deficit in game five to finally
pull off the victory 30-25, 28-30, 29-31, 30-25, 15-12 over the
University of St. Francis. Things
looked bleak for HU after their sluggish start in game five, but three
kills by Amanda Meyers, Natalie Villwock and Heidi Christner pulled
the Foresters within one at 7-6 and a few points later, an ace from
Alyssa Schroeder knotted the score at 9-9. St. Francis responded
with two kills to take the 11-9 lead, but then gave one back with a
service error.
Then came the play of the match.
When the Cougars' kill attempt deflected off HU's block, Stephanie
Stearns and Schroeder made back-to-back diving saves to keep the play
alive and Villwock got just enough of her fingertips on the ball to
tap it over the net away from the Cougar defense. The crowd
erupted and the momentum swung in HU's favor. A St. Francis
hitting error gave the Foresters the lead and Kayley Cervenka finished
off the Cougars with a kill for the 15-12 win.
The victory is the Foresters' first MCC
tournament win in Coach Schroeder's 12 years at the helm. "The girls
just hate to lose," said an elated Coach Schroeder. "It's
something that can't be coached or practiced. They all just have
a desire to win."
Brittney Smelser again had her way at
the net with 18 kills. She also added 15 digs and four aces.
Villwock chipped in 12 kills, four blocks and two aces.
Schroeder was all over the court with 56 assists, 13 digs, eight aces
and two blocks, and Stearns led the team with 23 digs.
With the win,
the fourth-seeded Foresters will have the opportunity to avenge an
early season loss as they travel to Upland to face top-seeded Taylor
University on Thursday, November 8 at 7:00 p.m. in an MCC semifinal
match.
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