2008 Woodie Awards
Women stage Elite comeback
Volleyball team stays alive in the NCAA tournament after win over St. Thomas
Cherome Owens
Issue date: 11/14/07 Section: Sports
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After a thrilling, hard-fought 3-2 victory over the University of St. Thomas (Minn.) Saturday, the 'Hawks moved into the final eight of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III Championship tournament.
"I feel very comfortable with how our team is playing, and believe we can go far," Head Coach Stacy Boudreau said.
Going into the match with 14 consecutive wins, the 'Hawks knew it was going to be difficult to keep the streak alive in St. Paul, Minn. The No. 8-ranked Warhawks were caught off guard by the hometown favorite Tommies, losing the first game of the match, 32-30.
Surprised by St. Thomas' early win, the 'Hawks began to play its style of volleyball, winning game two, 30-21, and coming back from a 9-0 deficit in game three to lead the series 2-1.
Unexpectedly, the Tommies jumped to another 9-0 lead in game four, and the Warhawks were unable to repeat its success, as St. Thomas tied the match 2-2.
"We all kind of looked at each other and sort of laughed about [being] down by so much right away, because we knew we weren't playing our best at that point in the game," senior oustide hitter Abby Schultz said.
The Warhawks continued to play catch-up, as the Tommies took an early 4-1 lead in the decisive fifth game. After battling back to even the game at 13-13, Carley Polk helped the 'Hawks escape with a win by nailing the last two points of the game.
"Kate [Lazotte] went to me for the 14th point, and I just saw the court and put it down," said Polk. "The adrenaline was flowing the most it had been all night. I had a feeling Kate was going to me again … on a transition she hit me quick, and I just hit it as hard as I could toward the setter.
"As I was hitting, tears were starting to come, whether the ball was going down or not. [The ball] shanked off the setters arms, and I was crying so hard because I knew our team fought with all of our hearts on the bench and off."
Schultz, a senior, did not want her volleyball career to end Saturday night, as she dominated the floor with 23 kills and a hitting percentage of .291. Lazotte and Polk also helped the team move forward in the tourney, contributing 61 assists and eight blocks, respectively.
"I just tried to do everything I could to make sure that this game wasn't my last," Schultz said. "I think all of the seniors stepped up to the plate that game, and even people that weren't seniors played great too."
Despite the match being so close, the 'Hawks never had any doubt they would win the game.
"You could see it in all of our eyes that we all wanted to win that game, and we weren't going to give up no matter what the score was," Lazotte said.
The team swept Concordia-Moorehead University and Bethel College in the opening rounds of the tournament to reach Saturday's regional final with St. Thomas.
The 'Hawks will try to move on to the final four when they match up with the University of Puget Sound in Bloomington, Ill., tomorrow at 1 p.m.
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