George Washington University Athletics
George Washington University
Loyola (Md)
Volleyball Wins GW Invitational, Downs Pesky Loyola, 3-1
9/3/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 3, 2006
WASHINGTON, DC -- Senior Abba Greenleaf slammed her career-high 17 kills to lead GW past a fired-up Loyola squad, 30-14, 18-30, 30-23, 30-27, Sunday afternoon in the sixth match of the 2006 GW Volleyball Invitational. Greenleaf hit .433 with just four errors in 30 attacks to earn tournament MVP honors. GW won the tournament with a 3-0 record ahead of second-place Fairleigh Dickinson which posted a 2-1 record in the tournament. Loyola placed third at 1-2 while Coppin State was 0-3 for the weekend.
Sunday's match began with the Colonials breezing to a 30-14 victory in game one. GW thoroughly dominated the game hitting .519 as a team compared to -.067 for Loyola. The Greyhounds turned the table in game two to take a surprisingly easy 30-18 game from GW. Loyola out-hit GW in game two, .486 to .174.
GW took control late in game three to capture a 30-23 triumph setting the stage for a tense game four which saw the teams battle through nine ties and three lead changes. Each time GW managed to build a lead, Loyola came right back and tied the game. With the game tied at 25-25, Loyola committed consecutive attack errors to give the Colonials a 27-25 lead. A kill by LU's Karlee Woodward and subsequent block by Woodward and Chrissy Cruz knotted tha game at 27-27. GW then got a kill from senior co-captain Juliene McLaughlin followed by a Loyola attack error for a 29-27 lead. The match ended when GW's Stephanie Sharp served an ace that glanced off the hands of a Loyola player. McLaughlin led all players with 22 digs on the afternoon.
Loyola's Blair Snyder led four Greyhounds in double-figure kills with 18 and had 18 digs as well. She was named to the all-tournament team by the coaches. Woodward, Rachel Schillinger and Maddie Fuller each contributed 11 kills for the Greyhounds.
As a team, GW combined to hit .256 (62 kills, 22 errors, 156 attempts) for the match compared to LU's .206 (54-22-155). For the second straight match, the Colonials had more service aces (10) than service errors (4). GW ran its record to a perfect 6-0 on the season, its best start since 2003 when the Colonials won their first 10 matches.
Final Standings (match record, games record):
1-George Washington (3-0, 9-1)
2-Fairleigh Dickinson (2-1, 6-5)
3-Loyola (1-2, 4-6)
4-Coppin State (0-3, 2-9)
2006 GW Volleyball Invitational All-Tournament Team:
Abba Greenleaf, GW (MVP)
Kelly Kabbes, GW
Juliene McLaughlin, GW
Elena Schmidt, Fairleigh Dickinson
Lauren Boothby, Fairleigh Dickinson
Blair Snyder, Loyola
Kanisha Sheppard, Coppin State
Saturday's Results:
Fairleigh Dickinson def. Loyola, 30-19, 30-19, 30-24
George Washington def. Coppin State, 30-24, 30-25, 30-22
Loyola vs. Coppin State, 30-26, 30-26, 30-26
George Washington def. Fairleigh Dickinson, 30-22, 30-20, 30-23
Sunday's Results:
Fairleigh Dickinson def. Coppin State, 26-30, 30-22, 25-30, 30-19, 15-7
George Washington def. Loyola, 30-14, 18-30, 30-23, 30-27
GW (6-0) next travels to Virginia Tech Friday for the Hokie Invitational. GW will face Virginia Tech Friday at 7 p.m. followed by matches against Appalachian State and Liberty on Saturday in Blacksburg, VA.
