UC wins 2007 WVIAC Tournament

UC Edges WJU For WVIAC VB Tournament Crown

CHARLESTON University of Charleston (28-11) turned the tables on Wheeling Jesuit (31-12) to claim a five-game victory in the WVIAC Volleyball Tournament title match.

The Golden Eagles had previously dropped five-game thrillers to WJU last month during the regular season and in the semifinals of last season's conference tournament semifinals.

Back-to-back Becca LaBrake kills wrapped up the match for the Golden Eagles as they prevailed 15-12 in the decisive fifth game.  UC moved out to a 10-7 lead, but the Cards rallied to knot the game at 12-12.  A hitting error gave UC a 13-12 edge before LaBrake's decisive scores.

Charleston roared out to a quick 2-0 lead in the match.  The Golden Eagles ended up on top in game one 30-28 following a back-and-forth affair that saw 14 lead changes and as many ties.  UC broke away from a 25-25 tie in game two to grab a 30-26 win.

Wheeling Jesuit tied the match with 30-24 and 30-27 wins in game three and four.

"I was hoping that it wouldn't be deja vu again," said Charleston head coach Bren Stevens about the match entering a fifth game.  "You know Wheeling is going to play well and come back.  It was such a high level of volleyball today."

The Golden Eagles struggled down the stretch in the regular season, dropping three of their final five matches.  Stevens credited some lineup changes for making a difference.

"We made some major changes in the lineup in our last regular season match versus West Liberty State.  Jami Turrill moved to the middle and Amy Jane (Dill) moved outside.  It gave us a little quicker attack and made us bigger outside on the blocks."

UC was led by tournament MVP Katy Skelley's 22 kills.  LaBrake added 14 kills and 13 digs, while Turrill also notched 14 kills.  Megan Geiger compiled a team-high 24 digs.

Wheeling Jesuit, the conference's regular season champion, got 20 kills and 30 digs from Catie Halberstadt.  Emily Borchers racked up 17 kills.  Vanessa Lepore recorded a match-best 31 digs.

Charleston earns an automatic bid into next week's NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional.  The site and the Golden Eagles' first round foe will announced late Sunday.

2007 All-WVIAC Tournament Team
Becca LaBrake (Charleston)
Jami Turrill (Charleston)
Vanessa Lepore (Wheeling Jesuit)
Emily Ray (Wheeling Jesuit)
Jessica Castmore (Wheeling Jesuit)
Maria Broslawsky (West Virginia Wesleyan)
Staci Skinner (Fairmont State)
Camai Roberson (Glenville State)
Sara Collins (West Virginia Wesleyan)
Christina Wichrowski (West Virginia State)
Julie Baltimore (West Virginia State)
Sarah Neikirk (Alderson-Broaddus)
MVP-Katy Skelley (Charleston)