Boston College
Connecticut
Volleyball Blanks Connecticut
November 11, 2004 | Volleyball
Nov. 11, 2004
Chestnut Hill, Mass. - The Boston College volleyball team is one step closer to its first ever post-season berth. The Eagles shut out the University of Connecticut (16-10, 5-4) tonight at the Power Gym in the Big East matchup. Shardai Davis led the Eagles to the 3-0 victory with a match-high 18 kills.
BC (19-11, 5-4) dominated from the opening point. With a 7-6 lead, the Eagles went on a five point run to take a 12-7 advantage. Katie Andersen led the charge with five of her nine kills coming in the first game. The senior also completed 15 digs in the match. The Huskies battled back to tie up the game at 18. But the Eagles would not quit as Kelsey Johnson and Dorota Niemczewska put down two consecutive kills to give BC the two point edge. The Eagles would never trail from there as Johnson closed the game with a kill to give her team a 30-27 win.
In the second game, the Eagles' powerful attack took over. The team converted 26 kills with only seven errors for an impressive attacking percentage of .373. BC trailed 13-9 at the start, but fought back with four straight points to tie the game at 13. Johnson and Abigail Hasebroock both completed service aces to bring the Eagles closer in the tight contest.
The two teams were tied 14 more times in the game as they battled point for point. Tied at 28, Johnson slammed down one of her eight kills in the game to give the Eagles the one point advantage. BC won the final point off on an attacking error by the Huskies. The Eagles won game two 30-28.
The Eagles' defense controlled the flow of the entire match. Libero Allison Anderson led BC with a match-high 37 digs, including 14 in the final game. Leading 14-13 in game three, the Eagles went on a five point run. Niemczewska controlled from the backcourt with her serve, while Johnson and Davis contributed offensively with three kills to give BC an 18-13 lead. The Huskies snuck back up on the Eagles as they got within one at 27-26. But BC never lost momentum in the game with Andersen, Verena Rost, and Hasebroock putting down three straight kills to seal the 30-26 victory.
Rost continued to be strong force for the Eagles at setter. The junior recorded 58 assists, 11 digs, and four kills on the night.
BC will close out its regular season at home on Sunday at 2 p.m. The Eagles need to beat St. John's to advance to the Big East Championships. If the Eagles end the season tied with UCONN, BC will claim the final spot since it has the edge in head-to-head matchups. The Eagles also need some help from West Virginia this weekend when it plays Syracuse and Notre Dame. The Mountaineers need to win both games to steal the last position from BC.
