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Fairfield, CT – After a three-year build up, the Sacred Heart Pioneers assumed the role they had been priming for since coach Rob Machan took them to the postseason in 2007: NEC Women’s Volleyball Tournament Champions. The wait was well worth it for the top-seeded regular season champions from Fairfield, CT. They held nothing back, eliminating any mystery in a swift sweep of #2 Robert Morris 3-0 (25-9, 25-18, 25-12). The squad will advance to the first round of the 2010 NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championship. The selection show is slated for Sunday, Nov. 28 at 3:00 p.m. on ESPNews.
Impeccable offense was the key for the Pioneers as they dwarfed the Colonials attack percentage of .091 with a stunning season-high .470 for the match. Sophomore Elise Sage (Greenwood Village, CO/Cherry Creek) made major contributions at net, firing 12 kills and only committing a single error for a .786 clip. Up until the middle of the third set the outside hitter ran up a perfect 1.000 ledger by finishing off eight kills on eight attempts. The NEC Tournament MVP Courtney Kidd-Kadlubek (Santa Barbara, CA/Santa Barbara) was equally productive in her passing. She fed 44 of the Pioneers' 48 assists.
Sacred Heart came out firing on all cylinders in the first stanza. They put up the first tally behind Sage’s kill, who coincidentally blasted the final match point two sets later. After jumping to a 14-5 lead, the Pioneers launched a six-point run. It began with a kill and a service ace by Ashlyn Trimble (Temecula, CA/Temecula Valley) and ended with two kills by Sage and one by Dianis Mercado (Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, Calegio Marista). By that juncture the Colonials were down 20-5 and would never recover. Trimble and Mercado went on to notch nine and seven total kills, respectively.
The Colonials tried to stall the Pioneers in the second set by relying on the forceful duo of Hannah Veith (Columbus, OH/Worthington) and Amanda Graham (Melbourne, FL/Eau Gallie), but came up unsuccessful. Veith finished the day with three kills and a block while Graham was held to five kills and a block. Sacred Heart’s Johanna Osvenek (London, Ontario/Saunders School), who posted a match-high 16 kills, had a big second set with five kills. The Pioneers began their eventual 25-18 triumph by smacking four unanswered points to tip the scales 10-5. Osvenek hit two while Mercado and Trimble put down one a piece in succession.
In the third and deciding set, the Colonials were able to keep it close in the beginning, trailing 9-7 at one point. However the Red and White couldn’t be stifled at the net. Osvenek took matters into her own hands, hitting down four in only five plays. Her efforts and an error by RMU slid the score from 14-9 to 19-9 in SHU favor. With victory in sight, the Sacred Heart squad stormed home using double, back-to-back kills by Trimble followed by Sage. The final set ended in decisive 25-12 fashion.
Northeast Conference All-Tournament Team
Kaitlin Petrella – CCSU
Hanna Gibeau – Long Island
Amanda Graham – Robert Morris
Hannah Veith – Robert Morris
Courtney Colberg – Sacred Heart
Courtney Kidd-Kadlubek – Sacred Heart*
*Denotes Tournament MVP
2010 NEC Women's Volleyball Championship