St. Norbert Spikers Advance to NCAA Tournament

From Sports Information Director, November 8, 2008 | Women's Volleyball
by Dan Lukes, dan.lukes@snc.edu, (920) 403-4077

DE PERE - The St. Norbert College women's volleyball team clinched their fifth NCAA Division III Tournament appearance with a 3-1 triumph over Beloit College in the championship match of the Midwest Conference Tournament at Schuldes Sports Center.

The Green Knights topped Beloit 26-28, 25-21, 25-19, 25-20 to earn their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2005. St. Norbert also played in the NCAA Tournament in 1993, 2002 and 2004. The Green Knights will carry a 30-3 record into the NCAA Tournament.

Beloit claimed the first game in a tight affair before the Green Knights rallied to close out the match with three-straight set wins.

St. Norbert hit .209 for the match, getting 14 kills from Katie Casebolt and 10 each from Joanna Mamayek, Sam Jungbluth and Sarah Sulentic. The Green Knights totaled 55 kills against 16 errors in 187 attempts for a hitting percentage of .209.

Laura Ayello had 46 assists for the Green Knights, who had 107 digs. Kim Angst posted a team-high 31 digs, while Amy Perszyk had 19 digs. Mamayek had six blocks while Jungbluth had four blocks.

Beloit had 50 kills with 26 errors in 209 attempts for a hitting percentage of .115. Mary Parker had 14 kills, while Christine Brown had 11. Caitlin O'Leary had 38 assists, while Esther Chiu had 31 digs. Emma Kozera had four blocks for the Buccaneers, who finished the season 18-13.