Sept. 14, 2007
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - The UWF Volleyball team defeated Armstrong Atlantic 30-20, 30-19, 30-20, to win their first match in the UAH Country Inn & Suites Invitational in Huntsville, Alabama, on Friday. The victory was the Argos ninth 3-0 sweep this season as they improved to 10-2 overall on the season. Setter Madeline Gonzalez (Sr. / Puerto Rico) paced the Argos with 38 assists, and spread the offense around to 11 different Argos that recorded kills.
Senior Outside Hitter Isabela Gualberto (Sr. / Brazil) led the Argo offense with 11 kills in 19 attempts, while Luciana Rapach (Jr. / Brazil) chipped in 10 kills in 16 attempts. The Argos made the most of their opportunities, as they connected on 50 kills in only 116 attempts. Meanwhile, Armstrong Atlantic (3-11) recorded only 32 kills in 113 attempts.
The Argos were minus Freshmen starting Outside Hitter Chelsea Wilhoite (Jacksonville, Fla.), who sustained an injury in practice this week and may miss the next couple of weeks. However, Senior Danielle Spitzer (Birmingham, Ala.) stepped up and made the most of her opportunities by connecting on 7 kills in only 10 attempts and recording three blocks.
"We did a great job with our personnel switches and didn't lose any momentum" Coach Melissa Wolter stated in response to the fact that 11 different players had kills for her team. "Luciana (Rapach) is playing real well for us right now, and Danielle (Spitzer) had a very efficient match, as she did the right thing and executed very well on all her opportunities, and Madi (Madeline Gonzalez) again had a good match setting up our hitters nicely," explained Wolter after the match.
Defensively, the Argos stopped the Armstrong Atlantic attack with 5 blocks and 55 digs. Rapach led the defense with 13 digs, to go along with her attack percentage of .625. The Argos as a team hit .302 while Armstrong Atlantic hit only .106.
West Florida plays again Friday evening in the tournament against Francis Marion. On Saturday, the Argos will play against UNC-Pembroke at 9:00 AM, and finish out the tournament against Arkansas Tech at 1:00 PM Saturday. All matches are being played at Spragins Hall in Huntsville, Ala.
