FAMU and Alabama A&M fall in NCAA Volleyball
Playoffs
December 2, 2005
Kansas State 3, Florida A&M 1
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The Florida A&M Women's Volleyball team saw its' 2005
season come to a bitter end here Thursday night, as they fell to Kansas State,
3-1, in the first round of the NCAA Division One Championships at the Stephen
C. O'Connell Center.
FAMU (22-6), was making its' sixth straight NCAA appearance against Big 12
member Kansas State (21-10), and the Lady Rattlers rallied from a 4-0 deficit
to win the first game, 30-27.
But the Wildcats won the next three games, 30-14, 30-27 and 30-28 to close
out the Lady Rattlers.
Senior Adriana Kostadinova led FAMU with 21 kills and 14 digs, leaving her
six shy of the FAMU career kills mark of 1,569 set by Kim Funchess (1985-88).
Junior Maria Andonova had 17 kills despite the flu Thursday, while senior Jayli
Jackson pounded 14 kills and senior Andreina Ruiz finished with 12 kills and
15 digs. Rosa Rojas led FAMU with 20 digs, while setter Diana Genkova finished
with 57 assists.
Rita Liliom had a match-high 23 kills for K-State, with Joy Hamilin adding
20 kills and Sandy Werner finishing the night with 17.
2005 IN BRIEF: Florida A&M posted its' seventh straight 20-win season
in 2005 and won its' fifth straight Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title,
which was its' sixth in the last seven years.
During the season, FAMU went unbeaten in league play, extending its' regular
season match win streak against MEAC foes to 81.
Head coach Tony Trifonov finished his ninth season at FAMU by reaching the
coveted 200-win plateau on Nov. 26 in a 3-1 win over #24 Long Beach State.
Nebraska 3, Alabama A&M 0
Lincoln -- Behind a school postseason record 14 service aces, No. 1 Nebraska
improved to 29-1 on the season with a 30-15, 30-7, 30-15 victory over Alabama
A&M in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Friday evening.
The Huskers, who improved to 19-1 all-time in first-round action, advance
to face Duke, a 3-0 winner over American University in Friday’s other
first-round action in Lincoln. That match is set for Saturday night at 7 p.m.
and will be carried on the Pinnacle Sports Network, including B107.3 FM in
Lincoln and KFAB 1110 AM in Omaha. In addition, the match will be shown statewide
on Nebraska Educational Television and also video-streamed for free on Huskers.com.
A limited number of tickets have become available for Saturday’s second-round
match against Duke. Those tickets will go on sale at 5:30 p.m. at the Coliseum
Ticket Office. Tickets are $15 for reserved and $12 for general admission.
Christina Houghtelling, Sarah Pavan and Jordan Larson had three aces apiece,
as NU’s 14 aces broke the school’s postseason record of 13 set
in a four-game match against Pittsburgh in 1986. Houghtelling led a balanced
offensive attack with a match-high 11 kills on .556 hitting, as Nebraska hit
.405 in the match.
All-Americans Sarah Pavan and Jennifer Saleaumua had eight and seven kills,
respectively, while All-American Melissa Elmer had six kills and two blocks,
becoming NU’s all-time leader in that category. Elmer passed Amber Holmquist,
who totaled 728 blocks between 1999 and 2002.
A total 12 players saw action for Nebraska, as the Huskers held Alabama A&M
to -.072 hitting, the second-lowest hitting percentage by a Husker opponent
this season.
The Huskers blitzed Alabama A&M with nine service aces in posting a 30-15
victory in the opener. NU used a 6-0 run, highlighted by a trio of aces by
Houghtelling, to take a 15-9 lead after the junior’s second straight
ace. Alabama A&M pulled to within 16-11, but could not get closer, as NU
ran off nine unanswered points, including eight straight points off the serve
of Larson, to take a 24-11 lead. Larson had all three of her aces in that spurt,
as NU’s nine aces in game one equaled the Huskers’ best in any
match this season.
In game two, Nebraska’s offense keyed the Huskers’ 30-7 victory.
The seven points equaled a Husker low in the rally scoring era, as NU hit a
blistering .565 and forced the visitors into 10 errors. Tracy Stalls led the
attack with four kills and a block, while seven players had at least one kill.
NU raced out to an 8-2 lead and used spurts of 7-0 and 9-1 to take a 2-0 lead
into the locker room.
In the finale, Pavan and Houghtelling had five kills apiece, as NU posted
a 15-point win. The Huskers emptied the bench, as Meghan Smith and Amanda Gates
saw extensive time and combined for six kills and four blocks. Leading 8-6,
the Huskers used a 6-1 run to build a 14-6 lead off a Bulldog attack error.
Leading 16-10, NU put the match away with a 7-2 run that gave the hosts a 11-point
lead and cruised to its 22nd sweep of the season.
All-SWAC performer Alexandria Brazelton led Alabama A&M with five kills,
as the Bulldogs saw their 12-match win streak snapped on Friday, as they dipped
to 0-6 in NCAA play.
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