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WCUMVB 2003 Game Summary Archives:
WCU vs. MACVC Mar 29, 2003
WCU started off pool play extremely strong against #16 ranked Rowan College. After getting up big in the first game Rowan was forced to play catch up for the rest of the Match. WCU didn't let up and ultimately dominated Rowan.. They were an athletic team with very little vb expertise. They do have potential to improve in the league standings. W 2-0 (25-23, 25-17) Our next match was against the #9 Ranked Lehigh Carbon Community College. Being from my home town, I hoped they would give a strong showing. As it turned out, they were somewhat inexperienced, and although coached well, they didn't quite have the talent to challenge WCU. At this point the WCU Golden Rams were playing at such a high level, no one in the MACVC would have beaten us. We had contributions from all positions, and our serving was exceptional. W 2-0 (25-17, 25-15) Then, things got exciting. With WCU dominating all sides of the game. A great test was#1 ranked Millersville. This team is ranked #11 in the NIRSA division II club standings in the country. But, even the western perennial powerhouse, Millersville, could not Challenge WCU's impeccable pool play. WCU was blocking Millersville's strong attack well, but our serving was what gave us the edge. Ville had passing problems against the pinpoint serving of Senior Greg Jansen, and the powerful jump-serving of Josh Diller. Even a power outage in the middle of the match could not phase WCU. We took the match easily in two games, sending Millersville to second place in the pool and forcing a classic Millersville vs. Messiah first round playoff. W 2-0 (25-20, 25-23) After Princeton gave Messiah all they could handle in pool play WCU was hoping they had tired a bit. Princeton, ranked # 15 were a much stronger team that we all thought. They lost a game to 15 by a score of 26-28 to Messiah that decided their 2nd place pool ranking. That forced the match-up with WCU. Lately WCU has been deadly in quarter-final games and we didn't waiver from that this year. Again our serving threw Princeton off its precision Middle attack, but this time it was our resident high school state champion Keith Maurer that had his way with the decent Princeton blockers. Keith has never met a blocker he didn't like, and he proved that all day long. WCU was just a bit better in all areas than Princeton, but they were a great team that the league needs in the east division. Quarterfinal W 2-0 (25-20, 26-24) Well, WCU comes full circle in the semi-final facing #4 ranked Central Division rival, Villanova. Villanova came into the tournament with only one loss on the entire year. That loss was to the WCU Golden Rams, 4 days ago. WCU and Nova fought a tough battle and beat the eventual MACVC Champion 3-2. But, things went differently this time. WCU's level of play came back to earth and we made some basic mistakes. Poor passing and soft hitting gave Nova the window of opportunity in the match. They took that window, and ran with it. WCU was able to make runs in both games, but Nova had an answer for every run we made. This time it was Nova's jump-serving that WCU had problems with. Their passing was excellent which allowed their middle attack to flourish against the inexperienced WCU middles. Nova took us in two games ending WCU's season at 3rd place. WCU played our best ball in this tournament and we should be proud of that as we look forward to next year. L 0-2 (23-25, 20-25) As a final chapter, I will mention Lock Haven as a big surprise in the North. They beat a huge Messiah team in 2 games in their semi-final, and fought Nova all the way to the end, before Nova's size took over the match. Lock Haven 2nd, adds another great dimension to the MACVC, and we all hope they continue to play well up there. As for WCU, we are looking forward to a great summer of volleyball........see you on the sand. -Coach Dave
2.22.2003
2.24.2003
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