The Lees-McRae College Lady Bobcats volleyball team successfully
defended their Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference tournament
championship for the seventh time, giving the Lady Bobcats their
eighth consecutive title.
The Lady Bobcats entered the tournament as the number 2 seed and
improved to 27-10 overall with a three game sweep of number one
seed Mount Olive College Trojans (30-23, 30-27, 30-24). With the
CVAC title, the Lady Bobcats earned an automatic berth to the
Atlantic Regional of the 2005 NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball
Championship.
The Lady Bobcats defeated a feisty Limestone Saints squad,
(30-23, 22-30, 30-22, 30-22) in quarterfinal action before taking
on Coker College Cobras in the semifinals. Recently named Freshman
of the Year Valia Petrova (Sofia, Bulgaria) dished out a match high
45 assists distributing the ball equally to all of her hitters as
she has done consistently all season. Second team All-CVAC junior
Amanda Huffaker (Maryville, TN) pounded the Saints with a match
high 17 kills while classmate and first team All-CVAC member Lacie
Smith (Knoxville, TN) added 12 kills of her own. Senior Bridget
Thornton (Owings Mill, MD) led the Lady Bobcats on the defensive
side of the ball with 19 digs while junior Dani Usedom (Geneva, IL)
added 17 digs respectively.
A couple of hours after the victory over the Saints, the Lady
Bobcats prepared to take on the Cobras picking up right where they
left off. The Cobras would fight back however as the teams traded
games (30-22, 26-30, 30-26, 21-30, 15-12) until the Lady Bobcats
ended the Cobras season in the fifth and deciding game of the CVAC
semifinal, allowing the Lady Bobcats a shot at revenge against
number one seed Mount Olive, the only CVAC team to sweep the Lady
Bobcats in a season series since 1999. Petrova again dished the
ball to her teammates calmly and consistently allowing Huffaker and
Smith to capitalize with 18 and 19 kills against the Cobras.
Olivia Luce (Orlando, FL) was a force in all aspects of the game as
well adding 6 kills, 3 digs and 2 solo blocks. Thornton, not
wanting to end her senior season without one more championship
sparked the Lady Bobcat defense with a match high 20 digs while
Smith also chipped in defensively with 18 digs herself.
The Lady Bobcats had been eagerly waiting one week for this
game, after losing a November 5th home game to the Trojans giving
them the season series 2-0. Overcoming obstacles in the form of
the Saints and Cobras the Lady Bobcats were hungry for an eighth
consecutive crown and a return trip to the NCAA regionals. As
seven time defending champion, every team is looking to knock you
off of the top, no team more than the Trojans. With a pro Trojan
crowd in attendance the Lady Bobcats focused on their goal as a
team sweeping the number one seed in fashion, winning games one and
three by seven and six points respectively. Anyone in attendance
could sense in the air the Lady Bobcats unity, desire, and
confidence within themselves and each other after the first seven
points of each game, jumping out to early 5 and 6 point leads. The
Lady Bobcats were again led by juniors Huffaker, Smith and Luce
pounding 8, 12, and 11 kills in the CVAC final respectively while
Petrova and Thornton could not have played their respective setting
and defensive roles any better each adding 9 digs while Petrova was
again masterful dishing 34 assists.
At the conclusion of the tournament, Smith was named as the
Tournament MVP and also joined teammates Petrova and Huffaker on
the All Tournament Team. The Lady Bobcats will now take their
27-10 record and their record eighth consecutive CVAC title to Lock
Haven, PA to take on California, PA (33-2) in first round action of
the NCAA tournament.
