Nov. 9, 2007
SEARCY, Ark. - The West Florida Volleyball team opened up the Gulf South Conference Tournament, with a convincing 3-0 win over Ouachita Baptist, to move into the semifinals. The Argos will take on Henderson State tomorrow (Saturday, Nov. 10) at Noon in the first semifinal match. West Florida disposed of the Lady Tigers by a 30-15, 30-20, 30-28 score, while Henderson State defeated West Alabama in three straight games also.
In the Quarterfinal match, the Argos opened up with some strong hitting from Freshmen Chelsea Wilhoite (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Junior Luciana Rapach (Porto Alegre, Brazil). The two combined for 10 kills in the opening game. The Argos hit .471 in the first game, with 18 kills and only two errors. The first game ended with Rapach serving three consecutive aces. Madeline Gonzalez recorded 17 assists in the first game, and she would end the match with a total of 45.
In game two, the Argos got out to an early 10 point lead, but Ouachita Baptist kept hanging around, thanks to a stretch of three consecutive service errors by the Argos. However, West Florida managed to hit .302 with 19 kills, including six from Junior Kimberly Clark (St. Petersburg, Fla.). The Argos also had five blocks in game two, including three that Danielle Spitzer (Sr. / Birmingham, Ala.) was a part of, to snuff out the Lady Tigers attack.
In game three, Ouachita Baptist played a very feisty defense with 23 of their 51 total digs in the third game. The Argos still hit .250, with 17 kills, but the Tigers hung around and tied the score at 24 and 26, before falling 30-28. Breanne Garrett led Ouachita Baptist with 16 kills, including eight in the third game. Rapach, who was recently named the East Division Player of the year, had six kills including two late in the game to seal the win.
In the end, the Argos moved to 31-5 on the season, while Ouachita Baptist dropped to 14-23 in their final match of the season. Rapach led the Argos with 15 kills, while Clark added 12, and Isabela Gualberto (Sr. / Brazil) put away 11. Outside Hitter Danielle Spitzer hit an impressive .533 with 8 kills and zero errors, for the most efficient offensive display. Wilhoite added six kills, and 10 digs. Four other Argos also had double digit digs, as Clark led the team with 15, followed by Jerica Carter with 13, and Gonzalez with 12. Rapach was the other Argonaut with 10 digs. Meanwhile, Becky Cunningham led Ouachita Baptist with 22 digs.
West Florida will play their next match against the Henderson State Lady Reddies, who are now 22-9 on the season, following their 3-0 win over West Alabama. Henderson State is lead by Kenyan Edith Musebe, who recorded 33 kills in the win over West Alabama. The semifinal match is set for 12:00 Noon on Saturday with the winner moving to the conference final at 7:30 Saturday night.
