September 16, 2006
WC Goes 2-2 at Maryland Div. III Tournament
Shorewomen Best Hood & Goucher

ST. MARY'S CITY, MD -- The Washington College volleyball team went 2-2 at the Maryland Division III Tournament, hosted by St. Mary's (MD), on Friday and Saturday. On Friday, the Shorewomen (3-9) fell to Eastern Shore rival Salisbury, 3-0 (30-19, 30-19, 30-18), but bounced back to defeat Hood, 3-0 (30-28, 30-23, 30-18). On Saturday, Washington lost to Frostburg State, 3-0 (30-27, 30-28, 30-27), but then rebounded to sweep Goucher, 3-0 (30-18, 30-20, 30-24).

Match Scores
Salisbury 3, Washington 0 (30-19, 30-19, 30-18) STATS
Washington 3, Hood 0 (30-28, 30-23, 30-18) STATS
Frostburg State 3, Washington 0 (30-27, 30-28, 30-27) STATS
Washington 3, Goucher (30-18, 30-20, 30-24) STATS

Washington opened the tournament against Salisbury. The first game was tied 15-15 before the Sea Gulls went on a 15-4 run to end the game. The second game was tied at 12-12, but Salisbury went on an 11-0 run to take control. Senior middle hitter Nanna Kozemchak (Falls Church, VA/St. Stephen's & St. Agnes) tallied a team-high eight kills in the match, while freshman setter Caitlin Ward (Wantagh, NY/Holy Trinity) added 23 assists.

In the win over Hood, Washington trailed the first game, 21-15, before finishing the game on a 15-7 run. The Shorewomen opened up games two and three in the early going. O'Brien tallied 12 kills and 13 digs against Hood, while Ward tallied 25 assists and six digs. Kozemchak finished with 10 kills, four digs, one solo block, and one assisted block, while junior defensive specialist Mallory Kurtz (Willow Grove, PA/St. Basil Academy) contributed seven digs and a pair of service aces.

Washington opened Saturday by dropping three close games to Frostburg State. Frostburg finished game one on a 6-2 run to earn a 30-27 win. In game two, Washington thrice cut the lead to one point, but fell, 30-28 and in game three, Frostburg jumped out to an 8-0 lead and held off a late Washington rally to clinch the match with a 30-27 win. Kozemchak put up 13 kills against only one error in 17 attempts to go along with six digs in the loss, while O'Brien added 12 kills and five digs. Freshman middle hitter Kelli Canada (Midlothian, VA/James River) contributed seven kills, while sophomore outside hitter Chelsea Crum (Newark, DE/Charter School of Wilmington) tallied six kills and five digs. Ward finished with 35 assists and sophomore setter Arielle Brown (Merion, PA/Lower Merion) added seven digs.

The Shorewomen swept Goucher in their final match of the tournament. Washington survived a challenge from the Gophers in game three. The Shorewomen jumped out to a 9-1 lead in the third game, but later trailed, 24-21. After a Goucher service error, Kurtz served eight straight points to give Washington the game and the match. O'Brien finished with 13 kills and 10 digs, while Kozemchak contributed 10 kills and nine digs in the win. Brown added 13 digs, while Ward recorded 24 assists.

The Shorewomen return to action Tuesday with a 7:00 p.m. Centennial Conference home match against Swarthmore.