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Carter's The Word In Lady Buffs' Win Over Incarnate Word Saturday
Aug. 28, 2004
The West Texas A&M University Lady Buff volleyball team rode the shoulders of junior middle blocker Cynthia Carter's MVP performance to victory over the University of Incarnate Word, 3-1 (27-30, 30-17, 30-22, 30-19) Saturday night in the final match of the First General Services Lady Buff Classic at The Box.
With the 2004 WTAMU Hall of Champions inductees in attendance for a pre-match ceremony, including former Lady Buff volleyball player Eve (Posey) Gerber, Carter staked a claim for a reservation in the Hall, with a Tournament MVP performance, recording 37 kills while hitting .427 and registering 14 blocks in WTAMU's four matches. Carter was joined on the All-Tournament team by teammates sophomore outside hitter Jessica Scherr, who tallied 44 kills (2.93 kpg) and 61 digs (4.07 dpg) for the tournament, and freshman setter Erin Houlihan, who had a major debut weekend in a Lady Buffs' uniform, dishing out 190 assists (12.67 apg), including a high of 54 in WTAMU's 3-2 win over New Mexico Highlands Saturday afternoon.
WTAMU is listed at No. 26 in the AVCA Preseason Poll, but should move into the Top 25 Poll this week, after opening 4-0 for the third-straight season. The Lady Buffs also improve to a dominant 236-6 (.975) record at The Box since 1989, the best record over that time in the NCAA on any level.
Saturday night WTAMU jumped out to an 11-4 lead, taking advantage of back-to-back UIW attack errors. The Cardinals came back to tie it at 21-all and again at 26-all, before closing out the first game, 30-27.
The Lady Buffs charged out to a 22-13 lead after another UIW attack error, after a lengthy rally that included Carter sprawling on the floor making an acrobatic dig and getting the ball over the net.
From there, WTAMU scored eight of the next 13 points, again capitalizing on UIW miscues, to take game two, 30-18.
The third stanza was tightly contested, as the lead traded hands several times, the last after sophomore middle blocker/outside hitter Ambra Clark smacked a kill to give the Lady Buffs a 21-20 lead that they never relinquished, going up 27-20 on a Carter kill and winning the game, 30-22.
The fourth game was WTAMU's from beginning to end, as the Lady Buffs opened a 12-7 lead after a kill by sophomore middle blocker Megan Spivey. WTAMU extended the lead to 23-16 on another Spivey dagger, and closed out the game and the match on a kill from MVP Carter at 30-19.
Clark tied Incarnate Word's Kari Chapman for match-high kills honors with 15, while Spivey pounded 12 kills (hitting .579), followed by Carter with 11 kills and Scherr with 10 kills.
Houlihan doled out 49 assists and had 18 digs, second on the team to junior Libero Brittani Bell's 19 digs. Cater tied a match-high with four blocks, while Clark added three denials and Spivey posted two.
WTAMU opens a three-weekend road trip by traveling to Head Coach Tony Graystone's old stomping grounds of Allendale, Mich., to compete in the Grand Valley State Tournament Sept. 3-4. Graystone is a 1992 GVSU graduate and this will be his first return trip to Allendale as a head coach.
After opening against Lake Superior State, WTAMU will face three-straight preseason Top 25 Teams in Allendale, including host GVSU, ranked No. 10 in the preseason AVCA poll and a national semifinalist last season. WTAMU will also tangle with No. 8 Truman State, who was national runner-up in the 2002 Elite Eight hosted by WTAMU at the Event Center. The Lady Buffs will wrap up "Murderer's Row" with Wheeling Jesuit, preseason ranked No. 23 and a regional semifinalist last season, where they were eliminated by Grand Valley State.
WTAMU returns home to The Box on Sept. 21, hosting Lubbock Christian, the team that snapped the Lady Buffs' 40-match home winning streak last season.
Friday First General Services Lady Buff Classic Results
Saturday First General Services Lady Buff Classic Results
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