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 Sarha Gosselin had a double-double with 20 kills and 13 digs Wednesday against Hillsdale. |
Nov. 12, 2008
DETROIT - For the first time since 1997, the Wayne State volleyball team has advanced past the first round of the GLIAC Tournament. The Warriors (17-11) defeated the Hillsdale Chargers (19-11), 3-1, in a quarterfinal match Wednesday evening at the Matthaei.
Wayne State had been eliminated in the first round in each of its last three tournament appearances. This season marked WSU's first tournament berth since 2005 and just its second since 1999.
The Warriors won the first two sets over the Chargers, 25-21 and 25-16. After dropping the third, 25-20, Wayne State took the match with a 25-16 result in the fourth.
Sarha Gosselin (Harrison Twp., Mich./Warren Lincoln) guided Wayne State with her fifth 20-kill performance and 10th double-double of the season. She finished with 20 kills, 13 digs, two blocks and two service aces. Gosselin also led WSU with a .405 hitting percentage.
Lauren Mallast (Chesterfield, Mich./Anchor Bay) contributed 12 kills, while Kim Gear (Benton Harbor, Mich./Watervliet) chipped in nine. Both Mallast and Gear tallied four blocks in the match.
Wayne State recovered from an early 5-4 deficit in the first set and never trailed again on its way to a 25-21 victory.
The Warriors also never fell behind in the second set, taking leads of 8-3 and 14-8 and forcing Hillsdale to use both timeouts. Two straight aces by Candis Jenich (Warren, Mich./Cousino), who finished with three aces on the night as well as seven kills, closed out the set and gave WSU a 2-0 overall lead.
In the third, Wayne State took an early 4-3 advantage until an 8-3 run for Hillsdale forced a WSU timeout. The Chargers led the rest of the way and created a fourth-set situation.
A series of runs set the tone early in the set, as the Chargers went on a five-point run to grab a 9-7 lead and cause a WSU timeout. Four points later, it was an 11-9 Warrior lead and Hillsdale needed to regroup. Wayne State won 14 of the 21 ensuing points for the match.
The Warriors were led defensively by Mayssa Bazzi (Dearborn, Mich.), who collected 23 digs. Katy Westenberg (Milford, Mich.) finished with 38 assists and seven digs.
Wayne State will meet Grand Valley State in the semifinals Saturday evening. As the top remaining seed, the Lakers will host the remainder of the tournament.
NOTES
Wednesday was the first-ever meeting between Wayne State and Hillsdale in the GLIAC Tournament ... the Warriors defeated the Chargers three times this season, the first time WSU has won three straight over Hillsdale since 1997 ... the last time Wayne State won 17 matches in a season was 1998 (21-13) ... Bazzi has 1,102 digs in her career, sixth-most in school history ... with 1,033 assists, Westenberg is the first Warrior to go over 1,000 assists in a season since Amy Horgan in 1999.
