MILWAUKEE – The #6-seeded Mount Mary University volleyball team's season was halted in the quarterfinal round of the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference volleyball tournament Friday afternoon at the Bloechl Center, as the Blue Angels fell to #3-seeded University of Mary Washington 25-14, 25-10, 25-14.
MMU, hosts of this year's C2C Tournament, finished the season with a 7-24 overall record.
MARY WASHINGTON 3, MMU 0
The Blue Angels were in scramble mode really from the beginning, as Mary Washington (19-11) recorded an incredible 18 kills and just one hitting error on .654 efficiency in the opening frame. The constant barrage of UMW attacks never let up as it hit a blistering .453 as a team in the quarterfinal sweep. Eighteen Eagles saw court action, with 10 different hitters recording at least one kill.
All but two of MMU's 17 total kills came from junior Aislinn Strusz (Aurora, Ill./West Aurora) and sophomore Brianna Ecker (Fond du Lac, Wis./Stockbridge), with eight and seven put aways respectively. Freshman Emma White (Scottsdale, Ariz./Saguaro) dished out 13 assists and had a team-high seven digs. Ecker and junior Lauren Nylund (Muskego, Wis./Muskego) added six digs apiece, while junior Emma Carufel (St. Francis, Wis./St. Francis) tallied a pair of service aces.
Friday's match marked the final volleyball matches of a trio of Blue Angels—Strusz, Nylund, and Alyssa Davis (Milwaukee, Wis./School of Languages), who also appeared in the final two sets Friday afternoon.
TOURNAMENT RESULTS
#2-seeded Christopher Newport University went on to defeat #4-seed Salisbury University in Saturday's thrilling tournament championship match, 2s-25, 29-31, 25-21, 25-19, 21-19. CNU earned the C2C's automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA Division III tournament next weekend, and will travel to Atlanta's Emory University for its first round matchup against University of Texas-Dallas Thursday.
Quarterfinals - Friday, November 5
Game 1: #4 Salisbury def. #5 Mills, 3-0 (25-7, 25-9, 25-11) - BOX SCORE
Game 2: #3 Mary Washington def. #6 Mount Mary, 3-0 (25-14, 25-10, 25-14) - BOX SCORE
Semifinals - Friday, November 5
Game 3: #4 Salisbury def. #1 UC Santa Cruz, 3-0 (26-24, 25-23, 26-28, 25-20) - BOX SCORE
Game 4: #2 Christopher Newport def. #3 Mary Washington, 3-2 (25-20, 14-25, 17-25, 25-18, 15-11) - BOX SCORE
Championship - Saturday, November 6
Game 5: #2 Christopher Newport def. #4 Salisbury (22-25, 29-31, 25-21, 25-17, 21-19) - BOX SCORE
ALL TOURNAMENT TEAM
CNU setter Sammy Carroll was named tournament MVP, headlining a trio of Captains on the C2C All-Tournament Team. Runner-up Salisbury had two nominees, while semifinalists UCSC and Mary Washington each honored one member.
Sammy Carroll, Jr., S, Christopher Newport - MVP
Maddie Carter, Sr., OH, Christopher Newport
Angelina Casserly, Jr., RS, Salisbury
Darian DiMatteo, Sr., L, Salisbury
Aidan Finegan, Sr., RS, Mary Washington
Samantha Taylor, So., OH/RS, UC Santa Cruz
Mackenzie Wright, Sr., MH, Christopher Newport
