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The Liberty University volleyball team scored the first six points of the match Friday evening at Army’s Gillis Field House and never looked back, cruising to a 3-1 (30-16, 22-30, 30-19, 30-24) decision over Navy at the Army of One Classic.
The Lady Flames’ initial win of the 2006 campaign improves the team’s record to 1-7. The Midshipmen are now 3-7 following the setback.
As mentioned above, coach Shane Pinder’s squad roared out of the gate, providing a foreshadowing of what was to come. Liberty’s fourth point came on a service ace by Kallie Corbin (Fr., S, Beaverton, Ore.). That was the first of the Lady Flames’ 12 aces in the match. Nine of them came off the right hand of Corbin, a mark that fell just two shy of the school single-match record.
Junior right-side hitter Mary Alice Pike (Durham, N.C.) then provided a pair of kills. Those were the first of her Liberty season-high 15 kills. She also recorded five digs, four assists and the Lady Flames’ other three service aces, while tallying a .324 attack percentage.
Liberty would increase its lead to 25-9 at one point in the opening game on a kill by senior middle blocker Autum Black (Mingoville, Pa.). The Flames then went on for a 30-16 victory.
Liberty’s only lead of game two turned out to be at 1-0 after Rachel Denton (Sr., MB, Burnet, Texas) came up with one of her five kills. Navy led the rest of the way, although one of Alysson Sanders’ (R-So., OH, Bear, Del.) 10 kills cut the margin to 21-19 and necessitated a timeout by the Midshipmen.
After the timeout, Navy reeled off six straight points to put the game away. 30-22 was the final count as the Midshipmen leveled the count at one game apiece.
Game three was nip-and-tuck through the early stages, as the score was tied at two and again at six. One of Pike’s kills gave Liberty the lead, 7-6, and the Lady Flames would never relinquish the advantage. Liberty took the game by a 30-19 count, leaving it one game away from the match victory.
The Lady Flames began the fourth game the same way they had started the first, tallying six straight points. Included in that run was a quartet of aces by Corbin.
Navy did not quit and responded with a 12-3 run to take a 12-9 advantage. The Midshipmen still led by three, 18-15, before Liberty commenced upon one of two major runs.
The Lady Flames scored the next five points, retaking the lead on a kill by Stephanie Stow (Fr., MB, Murrieta, Calif.). Navy bounced back and took a 24-22 lead before Sanders stopped its mini-run with a kill.
Corbin stepped up to serve with her team trailing, 24-23, and proceeded to serve out the match. She recorded three aces during that decisive surge, including one, fittingly, on the match’s final point.
Standout performances were in abundance for Liberty as three players reached double digits in kills. Not only did Pike and Sanders have effective evenings on the attack, but Kendall Nichols (So., OH, Hoover, Ala.) added 10 kills of her own. Sanders completed her second double-double in the last three matches with 11 digs.
Corbin posted some impressive all-around numbers. In addition to her serving exploits, the freshman totaled 38 assists, nine digs and six kills. Lara Bartolomeo (Jr., S/DS, Huntington Beach, Calif.) and Black led Liberty’s defensive efforts. Bartolomeo came up with a team season-high 22 digs and Black contributed six blocks (one solo, five assists).
Nikki England was the top player for the Midshipmen, leading the squad in kills (14) and digs (18).
Liberty will wrap up its third and final weekend tournament of the regular season on Saturday with two more matches at West Point. The Lady Flames will tangle with The Citadel at noon before finishing up the tournament against Army at 6 p.m.
Led by Rachel Denton’s (Sr., MB, Burnet, Texas) career-high 14 kills and match-high four blocks, the Liberty volleyball team swept The Citadel, 3-0 (30-9, 30-17, 30-20), Saturday afternoon to record its second straight win at the Army of One Classic in West Point, N.Y. The Lady Flames also eclipsed a 17-year-old school record for single-match attack percentage, hitting .457.
The victory lifts the Lady Flames’ overall record to 2-7. The Citadel drops to 5-6 on the season.
Head coach Shane Pinder could not ask for better results than he received on the first five points of the match as Liberty recorded five consecutive kills to start play. Three of those kills were recorded by Denton.
The Citadel ended the run with a kill by Samantha Parisi, who led the Bulldogs with eight kills. Liberty was never seriously threatened in the opening game, however. The Lady Flames totaled 20 kills and a .452 attack percentage in their 30-9 game one victory.
Game two was tight in the early-going, as the two teams were tied at three. Another kill by Denton started a 4-0 surge by Liberty and put the Lady Flames ahead for good in their 30-17 triumph.
Liberty tallied a .514 attack percentage in the middle game, led by Autum Black (Sr., MB, Mingoville, Pa.). Black came up with a kill on each of her five attack attempts in the game.
The third and final game was the most competitive of the afternoon. The score was tied on four different occasions during the early stages. The Lady Flames held a slim, 11-8 advantage before Kallie Corbin (Fr., S, Beaverton, Ore.) stepped up to serve.
Corbin served for the next six points as Liberty effectively put the match away. Denton was superior during that stretch, totaling three kills and two blocks (one solo, one assist). A kill by Ashley Webber (So., MB, Lakeside, Calif.) finished up a 30-20 win for the Lady Flames.
Mary Alice Pike (Jr., RS, Durham, N.C.) continued her string of stellar performances, totaling 11 kills on a .579 attack percentage and adding a quartet of assists. Speaking of assists, Corbin totaled 36 of them to complement her four kills and 11 digs.
Kendall Nichols (So., OH, Hoover, Ala.) and Lara Bartolomeo (Jr., S/DS, Huntington Beach, Calif.) led the Lady Flames with 12 digs apiece. Bartolomeo, Alysson Sanders (R-So., OH, Bear, Del.) and Stephanie Stow (Fr., MB, Murrieta, Calif.) each recorded three aces as Liberty totaled 12 aces for the second consecutive match.
The previous school record for attack percentage was .455, set by the Lady Flames in a sweep of District of Columbia on Nov. 4, 1989. Liberty’s .457 percentage on Saturday consisted of 54 kills and just six errors on 105 total attacks.
Liberty will aim to complete a perfect tournament Saturday evening at 6 p.m. when it meets the host team, Army.
In a matchup of two teams that had yet to drop a match at the Army of One Classic, Army held off Liberty to win in five games, 30-18, 21-30, 33-31, 24-30, 15-10, Saturday evening. After the match, the Lady Flames’ Kallie Corbin (Fr., S, Beaverton, Ore.) and Mary Alice Pike (Jr., RS, Durham, N.C.) were named to the all-tournament team.
Army finished its own tournament 3-0, improving to 10-2 on the year. Liberty will return to Lynchburg with a 2-8 ledger.
The host Black Knights enjoyed a relatively easy first game, scoring the first six points of the match and leading wire-to-wire in a 30-18 triumph.
Game two was knotted up on 10 separate occasions before an Ashley Webber (So., MB, Lakeside, Calif.) kill gave the Lady Flames the lead for good, 14-13. Webber then served for the next four points, with Pike recording a pair of kills during the burst that put Liberty on its way to a 30-21 victory.
Liberty led for the better part of game three. A kill by Alysson Sanders (R-So., OH, Bear, Del.) gave the Lady Flames their largest advantage, 16-9. While Army clawed its way back into the game, Liberty would get a chance to serve for the match up, 29-28.
The Lady Flames were unable to capitalize on that opportunity and tournament MVP Elizabeth Lazzari took over. She provided kills for Army’s last three points, including the one that made it 33-31. Lazzari ended the night with 25 kills, 19 digs and four block assists.
Liberty responded well to the disappointment of game three, leading for much of the fourth game. Army kept things interesting, pulling to within two at 26-24 on a Danielle Cooper kill. However, the Lady Flames closed out the game with four straight points, including a kill by Kendall Nichols (So., OH, Hoover, Ala.) and a combined block by Nichols and Autum Black (Sr., MB, Mingoville, Pa.).
With each team winning two of the first four games, Liberty entered a decisive fifth game for the first time in the 2006 season. Army jumped out in front, 4-1, using three early Lazzari kills. Liberty came back to tie the score at nine apiece on Black’s season-high 14th kill of the match.
The Black Knights’ Briana Stremick then took control of the match, ending each of the succeeding three points with kills as Army went on to a 15-10 decision.
Corbin played the best match of her young career at Liberty, statistically speaking, setting career highs in assists (48), digs (22) and kills (8) and adding a team-best three service aces. She earned all-tournament laurels for the second straight weekend after taking the same honor at Virginia Tech.
Pike equaled a career high with 18 kills and nearly recorded a double-double, ending up with nine digs. Sanders did post a double-double for the third time in her last five appearances, contributing 10 kills and 12 digs.
Lara Bartolomeo (Jr., S/DS, Huntington Beach, Calif.) led all players with her 33 digs. That total represents a Liberty season high and is two off of her personal best total. Black led the Lady Flames with six blocks (two solo, four assists).
Army got 60 assists from Maureen Bannon and 20 digs from Eileen Cassidy.
Liberty will now prepare for a trip to James Madison on Tuesday for a non-conference affair. Match time against the Dukes is set for 7 p.m.
At least with the service academies everyone knows who they are. They may not have great volleyball programs but people can generally relate to them. I can't say that with the BSC representatives. I am trying to look at the positives here.
- By AATL
- By alabama24