Cougs Play Like Champs WSU Tops Notre Dame In Spikeoff

If Spikeoff Spokane at the Arena was intended to serve as a dry run for the NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championships, then the fans’ appetites officially have been whetted.

The No. 6 Cougars, a team that would love to return for a December encore, did everything to heighten the area’s excitement and enhance their postseason tournament hopes by beating No. 20 Notre Dame in convincing fashion Saturday night 15-9, 15-8, 16-14.

The two-day event, attended by 3,075, resulted in a three-match sweep for Washington State. Earlier in the day, the Cougars beat Gonzaga, 15-1, 15-2, 15-11.

The host-team Bulldogs did not fare well, also losing to Utah on Saturday night 16-14, 15-11, 15-4. After a fast start on the season, Gonzaga has dropped to 3-4.

Notre Dame, a 15-1, 15-8, 17-15 winner over Utah to begin Saturday’s four-match lineup, is 4-2. The Utes, 1-2 over the weekend, are 2-3.

By the sound of the 1,730 spectators, the WSU vs. Notre Dame headline act lived up to its billing.

One teenage girl was overheard saying after the Cougars easily won the first two games, “I hope Notre Dame wins the third game so we can see more.”

It almost happened.

After building a 14-10 lead, Washington State needed 10 match points to put away the Irish. The match ended when Shannon Wyckoff’s short hit fell between two Irish defenders.

“Norte Dame’s blocking picked up in the end,” Washington State coach Cindy Fredrick said. “And our kids started hitting tentatively.”

But there was nothing tentative about Cougar junior Jennifer Stinson, who finished with 13 kills (.162 hitting percent), second to Keren Oigman’s 15 (.464). Sophomore Jennifer Canevari, whose lively play forced former starter Elis Arias into a reserve role, contributed with 20 digs.

Stinson was named the tournament most valuable player, combining for 40 blocks, 26 digs and 18 blocks in three games.

Stinson’s assignment against the Irish was to move from her middle blocker position and to go against Norte Dame left-side hitter Jaimie Lee of Spokane.

“We got a little more than a piece of Jaimie Lee tonight,” said Fredrick, while sizing up the final stats that showed Lee hit a team-high 12 kills, but had 12 errors for .000 hitting percent.

Said Lee about the Cougars, a team her Irish lost to last season: “(Without All-American Sarah Silvernail), they seem a little more balanced this year. We had to be a little more honest with our setting.”

Utah 3, Gonzaga 0

Despite the three-game sweep, the match was in reach for the Bulldogs had it not been for costly mistakes on key points and sideouts.

“It’s coming from right here,” said first-year Gonzaga coach Eva Windlin-Jansen, pointing to her forehead. “We can’t put it away.”

In the opening game, Gonzaga tied it at 10-10 after Theresa Spink and Casy Murdock executed a perfect block. Murdock, a 6-foot outside hitter earned herself a starting job after playing well as a reserve in the morning match.

After several sideout exchanges, the Bulldogs pulled to within one point of the win (14-11) when Sharee Coed and Diane Pascua teamed for a right-side block. But Stacie Greenwalt’s kills earned the Utes a sideout and they followed by scoring four straight points on two blocks, an ace and a Gonzaga error.

Greenwalt closed out the game 16-14 when her kill sliced between three diving Gonzaga defenders.

“At 14-11, you tell them, ‘You have to play the hardest you’ve ever played. This is it,”’ said Windlin-Jansen, visibly disappointed by her team’s Spikeoff results.

Spink led Gonzaga with 11 kills (.231) and 11 digs. Brenda Barton-Whicker and Sara Shakula, the Utes’ 1-2 punch in all three games, each had 11 kills.

Notre Dame 3, Utah 0

Mary Leffers’ kill ended the tight third game that allowed the Irish to sweep past the Utes in the opening match. It was the first meeting between the Big East Conference and Western Athletic Conference teams.

After winning the first two games with relative ease, Utah fought back in the third and led by as much as 13-8. But a service error by Kalani Tonga began the slide. The third game was tied at 14-14 and 15-15.

Lee led the Irish with 14 kills (.333) and recorded a team-high nine digs.

WSU 3, Gonzaga 0

Oigman had a match-high 10 kills, eight in the first game, and nine digs as the Cougars made easy work of the Bulldogs for the second time this year. Washington State finished the match when Stinton and reserve Lucie Vratnickova blocked Erinn Kelly’s attempted kill.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

MEMO: Changed from the Idaho edition