Sept. 1, 2007
Host Hilltoppers Best Bearcats
AUSTIN, Texas—St. Edward’s won a trio of tightly contested games and swept Northwest Missouri State, 3-0, to win the St. Edward’s Classic Saturday. Scores went 30-28, 30-27, 30-26.
The host Hilltoppers (6-2) tied with Nova Southeastern with a 3-1 record in the five-team, round robin format, but defeated Nova 3-2 Friday. Northwest (4-4) split its four matches and placed third.
Northwest got a third consecutive double-double from Alicia Johnson and a career-high 11 kills from Amy Bohnker, but couldn’t overcome a strong defensive effort by the home team. Brittney Brown’s 17 digs led a quartet of Hilltoppers in double-digits. Lindsey Douglas led St. Edward’s offensively with 18 kills.
The Bearcats jumped out to an 8-1 lead in the opening game on the strength of Katie Swenson’s two aces and led 10-4 after three consecutive kills by Bohnker. Northwest later led 25-20, but St. Edward’s fought back to take game one. Douglas and Lauren Munselle had five kills in the opener to rally the Hilltoppers.
The two teams went point-for-point in game two. Johnson had seven kills in the frame and used one to give the Bearcats a 21-19 lead. A 9-4 rally put the Hilltoppers back in control. Swenson and Amber Ryan assisted on back-to-back blocks to cut the lead to 28-27, but kills by Angela Vorpahl and Douglas followed for St. Edward’s.
Game three followed the same tune as the first two. Northwest outhit St. Edward’s, but outstanding defense and a couple of lucky bounces were the difference for the Hilltoppers.
Johnson pounded a ball off the forehead of St. Edward’s defender Mandy Phillips. The ball bounced over the net and landed in the back of the box for a Hilltopper point. It completed a 3-0 run for St. Edward’s and gave them a two-point lead. Northwest later tied the game, but the Hilltoppers never trailed following that rally.
Match Notes:
- First-ever meeting between the two teams.
- Bohnker’s 11 kills is one more than her previous career high.
- Johnson has five double-doubles in eight games.
- Johnson and Rachel Nisi finished with 44 kills each for the tournament.
- Northwest outhit its opponents .221-.143 for the tournament.
- Swenson averaged 10.64 assists and led Northwest with a .333 hitting percentage in four matches.
- Paige Spangenberg led Northwest with 4.43 digs per game for the tournament.
 |
|
 |