web Charlotte

Nov. 20, 2009

Box Score

Dayton, Ohio - If the opening match of the 2009 Atlantic 10 Volleyball Championships is any indicator of the quality of volleyball in store for the tournament, fans in Dayton, Ohio will be treated to an exciting weekend of action. The sixth-seeded Charlotte 49ers and third-seeded Xavier Musketeers found themselves in a dogfight, with Xavier winning 3-1 (23-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-16) to start the competition at the Frericks Center in Dayton, Ohio. The Musketeers advance to face Saint Louis Saturday at 7 p.m. in semifinal action. Xavier is 20-11 on the season. Charlotte finishes the year 15-17.

The young Niners team came out with loads of energy and captured the opening set thanks to a pair of 5-0 runs. Local Cincinnati native Abbie Rees (Mount Notre Dame HS) served the first run, which scored three times on Xavier errors. Junior Kara Raker (Woodstock, Ga. / Etowah HS) served the other, which moved the Niners from a 13-10 deficit to a 15-13 lead which Charlotte would not relinquish. The teams traded points until a 3-0 Niners run gave Charlotte the 22-18 margin.

Charlotte held the potent Musketeer offense to a .135 attack percentage in the first set.

"I told our team all week that I thought these sets would be decided by two points with the way we had prepared and they believed me at the intermission when both sets came by two-point margins," said Niners head coach Chris Redding, leading to the first A-10 Tournament in his three years at the helm. "I think this team is fantastic. We played the top teams in the league tough to the end down the stretch, which prepared us for this test."

Neither team could muster a lead larger than two as Charlotte had seven two-point runs, and XU netted a pair of three-point runs in a set with 17 ties. Xavier turned the tables in the second set, adjusting to hold the 49ers to a .147 attack percentage.

Charlotte stormed out to a 10-6 lead, extending it to a 14-9 margin in the third set, with Xavier clawing back to tie the frame at 21 each. Down by two, the Musketeers reeled off five straight points thanks to three kills from senior Hillary Otte. Xavier was able to continue to apply offensive pressure, with a match-high .414 attack percentage in the third frame.

Xavier started out to a 5-0 run to start the fourth, but the 49ers fought back to tie the set at nine. The Musketeers then went on a 14-5 run to find the match's largest lead of nine at 23-14 and close out the match, keeping the Niners from winning their first-ever A-10 Tournament result in the program's third attempt.

"The difference was that Xavier had so much tournament experience coming in to this weekend," noted Redding. "We had two freshman outsides and a sophomore setter who had never been in this environment in college. We needed our seniors, who had experienced this tournament to help us get here, and they started that journey the day that last season ended. They wanted more and they were big in helping us and we're going to have to search hard to figure out a way to replace their drive."

For the third time this season, Charlotte's pair of freshmen outside hitters tied for the team lead in kills. Bianca Rouse (Columbia, S.C. / Keenan HS) and Jenna Litoborski (Lemont, Ill.) each had ten kills for the Niners to conclude the season. The pair finished one-two for Charlotte in kills this season, with Rouse edging her first-year teammate by 13 total kills in their first campaign (268-255).

Co-captain Kaitlin Knight (Englewood, Colo. / Cherry Creek HS) added 10 digs to her fine senior campaign. Her 462 total digs are the seventh-most in a single season in team history. Sophomore setter Sheri Davis (Cape Coral, Fla. / Evangelical Christian HS) also recorded 10 digs and added 37 assists in the match.

NOTES: The 2009 seniors graduate with 62 wins in four seasons, the fourth-highest win total for a class since 1998. Charlotte is 0-2 in its previous trips to the A-10 Tournament, last dropping a 3-0 decision to Xavier in the Frericks Center in Dayton. Charlotte has been an A-10 member since the 2005 season and has qualified for three tournaments in the five-year membership in the league.