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La Verne players react to action in the third set (Christy Germanis - ncaa.com)La Verne Falls To Emory In NCAA Title Match
The University of La Verne volleyball team were just one match away from a national championship but standing in its way was a determined Emory University squad, which rallied from an opening set loss to defeat the Leopards 3-1 in the NCAA Division III Championship at the Shirk Center in Bloomington, Illinois.
The nation's second-ranked team, the Eagles (35-6) denied the Leopards a chance for their fourth national title, and in the process claimed their very first volleyball crown in school history.
Down 2-1 in the fourth set, the Leopards were poised to force a fifth set as a service ace from Rebecca Villanueva gave La Verne a 22-21. Emory responded by scoring the final four points, culminating in a Maggie Baird kill to close the match for the Eagles.
Things looked promising for La Verne in the opening frame as the squad went on a 9-2 run to open an 18-9 lead, eventually claiming the set on a kill by Anna Calmer at 24-16 to grab a 1-0 set lead. The Leopards flourished offensively, hitting .345 while limiting the Eagles to a .115 clip.
Tied at 11-11 in the second set, Emory evened the match with a run of 6-3 to take a 17-14 advantage. La Verne would get no closer than two points as the Eagles opened a 24-20 lead, eventually finishing on a kill by Amelia McCall to knot the contest at a set apiece. Emory was bolstered by a .406 hitting percentage.
The Eagles continued their momentum by opening an early 8-2 lead in the third set. Though the Leos would close to within two at 10-8, Emory would stretch the lead to 22-13 before taking the set 25-17 for a 2-1 set advantage. The Eagles also enjoyed their best hitting percentage of the match with a .393 effort in the third frame.
La Verne's defense limited Emory to a .214 hitting percentage in the fourth set but struggled offensively with a .105 percentage in the final stanza.
For the contest, Emory hit .281 compared to .224 for the Leopards. Both teams collected 47 digs on the evening with the Eagles totaling 7 team blocks with La Verne registering 5 blocks.
The duo of Brianna Gonzales and Crista Jones combined for 34 kills in the championship match. Gonzales totaled a match-high 18 kills in her final Leopard appearance while Jones collected 16. Both Gonzales and Jones were named to the All-Tournament Team.
Emory enjoyed a balanced offensive attack led by Dani Huffman, who earned Most Outstanding Player honors of the tournament. Huffman hit .360 in tallying a team-high 13 kills.
The Leopards finish the 2008 campaign with a 27-3 overall mark. La Verne has reached at least the NCAA semifinals in five of the past eight seasons, earning the NCAA title in 2001, a runner-up finish this season along with three semifinal finishes in 2003, 2004 and 2005.
