The NCAA News - News and Features

The NCAA News -- December 6, 1999

Central (Iowa) extends match, championship winning streak

Central (Iowa) extends match, championship winning streakIn a repeat performance of last year's championship effort, Central (Iowa) claimed its second Division III Women's Volleyball Championship with a 15-8, 16-14, 15-7 decision over Trinity (Texas) December 4 at Juniata.

The victory gave the Dutch an unblemished 41-0 record for the season. The win also tied an NCAA all-divisions record, giving the Dutch 59 straight victories dating back to the 1998 season.

Central rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the first game and scored 11 of the next 12 points to go up, 11-3. Trinity came within five of the Dutch at 12-7 and 13-8, but did not score the rest of the game.

In the second game, Central and Trinity traded points until the match was tied at 14. A kill by Central's Martha Muir and a hitting error by the Tigers ended the game

Momentum shifted in the beginning of the third game and Trinity took a 5-0 lead, but Central struck for 11 unanswered points. The Tigers came within five again of the Dutch at 12-7 but fell victim to strong serving and net play by Central.

Central's tandem of Candace Wilson (19 kills, 12 digs and four blocks) and Abbie Brown (nine kills, 15 digs and six aces) paced the Dutch attack, and setter Angie Nielsen dished out 38 assists.

Trinity received nine kills from Lauren Hamilton, while Brianna Iverson posted seven kills and 10 digs, and Alisha Farley contributed six kills and a match-high 17 digs. Setter Desiree Pratt produced 31 assists.

En route to the championship match, Trinity swept Muskingum, 16-14, 15-11, 15-10, to earn its first appearance in the finals. Central defeated Juniata, 15-11, 12-15, 15-12, 15-5, in a match that took two hours and 16 minutes to complete

In the third-place match, Muskingum rallied from a two-game deficit to post a win over Juniata, 11-15, 2-15, 15-6, 16-14, 15-9. The Muskies were paced by two double-double performances. Anne Smith notched 14 kills and 13 digs, while teammate Annie Rome had 10 kills and a team-best 22 digs. Juniata's Carrie Zeller and Kristin Hershey both tallied 18 kills in the loss.

Named to the all-tournament team were Nielsen, Brown and Wilson of Central, Farley from Trinity, Kerry Gilligan from Muskingum and Juniata's Carrie Zeller.

CHAMPIONSHIP

Central (Iowa) -- 15 -- 16 -- 15

Trinity (Tex.) -- 8 -- 14 -- 7

Trinity (Tex.) -- K -- E -- TA -- Pct. -- SA -- DG -- BS

Kasey Brizendine -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- .000 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0

Alisha Farley -- 6 -- 4 -- 14 -- .143 -- 0 -- 17 -- 1

Abby Wilson -- 6 -- 5 -- 20 -- .050 -- 0 -- 5 -- 0

Karen Reese -- 3 -- 2 -- 6 -- .167 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0

Kristen Growcock -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- .000 -- 0 -- 4 -- 0

Brianna Iverson -- 7 -- 3 -- 23 -- .174 -- 0 -- 10 -- 0

Lauren Smith -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- .000 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0

Jennifer Purdy -- 6 -- 3 -- 21 -- .143 -- 0 -- 12 -- 0

Lauren Hamilton -- 9 -- 5 -- 25 -- .160 -- 0 -- 0 -- 3

Sarah Flaig -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- .000 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0

Desiree Pratt -- 1 -- 1 -- 10 -- .000 -- 2 -- 7 -- 0

Lainey Kuenhort -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- .000 -- 0 -- 1 -- 0

Totals -- 38 -- 23 -- 119 -- .126 -- 2 -- 56 -- 4

Central (Iowa) -- K -- E -- TA -- Pct. -- SA -- DG -- BS

Kim Hughes -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- .000 -- 0 -- 4 -- 0

Angie Nielsen -- 0 -- 0 -- 3 -- .000 -- 1 -- 5 -- 1

Michelle Bruns -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- .000 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0

Steph Gerdes -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- .000 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0

Jody Woods -- 7 -- 2 -- 19 -- .263 -- 0 -- 2 -- 1

Abbie Brown -- 9 -- 4 -- 23 -- .217 -- 6 -- 15 -- 1

Candace Wilson -- 19 -- 3 -- 29 -- .551 -- 0 -- 12 -- 1

Sarah Wood -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- .000 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0

Mandi Maronn -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- .000 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0

Jaymie Johnson -- 4 -- 3 -- 16 -- .063 -- 0 -- 4 -- 1

Martha Muir -- 4 -- 1 -- 15 -- .200 -- 0 -- 12 -- 1

Megan Halvorson -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- .000 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0

Ann Van Hemert -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- .000 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0

Totals -- 43 -- 13 -- 105 -- .286 -- 7 -- 54 -- 6