November 7, 2007

GAFFNEY, S.C.—The Limestone volleyball team outlasted visiting St. Andrews College in a five-game nail biter to advance to the semifinals of the Conference Carolinas Tournament by scores of 30-21, 23-30, 18-30, 32-30 and 15-12.  The Saints advanced to 19-15 overall while the Knights conclude the season 12-25.

In game one the Saints, tied 3-3 after the first six plays, took control with a 7-0 run to take a 10-3 lead.  The Knights rallied back to get as close as 10-9 before Limestone’s Melissa Thomas (Easley, S.C.) and Samantha Flannery (Acworth, Ga.) both picked up a block to shift the momentum back their way. The Saints went on to win 30-21.

In game two, the Knights took off to a 9-5 lead although the Saints fought back to take the lead at 13-12. Limestone stayed within two points until the Knights took the lead at 18-17 on an ace by senior Lindsey Stansbury (Morgan City, La.). The Knights would go on to win 30-23.

Sophomore Galina Podolsky (Raleigh, N.C.) came alive for the Knights to start the third. The visitors jumped out on top with a 5-1 lead before Limestone would regroup. The Saints then cut the lead to 5-4 on an ace by Lynn Milam (Summerville, S.C.).  The Knights would then break away to a 12-6 lead behind Poldolsky’s three kills and one ace. Senior Tara Lemieux (Panama City, Fla.) would carry her team the rest of the way smashing the last two points of the game as the Knights pounded Limestone 30-18.

Thomas took over in the fourth for the Saints with 10 kills to force a decisive fifth game. After three lead changes the Saints took early control and led for the rest of the game until Podolsky would spark a comeback for the Knights with a kill to put the score at 27-23. The Knights capitalized on eight Saints errors and a kill by Stansbury to take the lead 30-29.  After a Saint time out, Ashley Hubbard (Temple, Texas) catapulted Limestone with a kill and a huge block to put the Saints back on top 31-30. The Saints would take game four 32-30 on a kill by Thomas.

Limestone finally found their groove in game five as they took a 6-0 lead and would switch sides leading 8-2. The Saints and the Knights would trade kills for errors as the Knights cut the lead to one at 11-10. The Saints would go on to win 15-12 to take the match and escape elimination from the tournament.

For St. Andrews, four hitters recorded double-digit kills as Lemieux led with 17, Podolsky spiked 16, and Stansbury and freshman Kelly Williams (Laurel, Md.) both chipped in 11. Freshman Leah Davidson (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.) and Podolsky picked up five and four total blocks, respectively.  Sophomore Jamie Hayes (Gulf Breeze, Fla.) pushed up 44 assists.  Defensively Lemieux (21), Hayes (21) and Stansbury (18) combined for 60 digs.

Thomas recorded her 11 th double-double of the season with 20 kills and 14 digs.  Five Saints recorded double-digit digs with Courtney TaoToai (Norwalk, Calif.), Anthony, and Milam all picking up 21 digs apiece.  Blackwelder would also add 11 digs for the defense.  Anthony reached a career milestone tonight surpassing 1000 digs. Flannery, Thomas and Hubbard would combine for 19 total blocks as they controlled the net for the Saints. Laura Kerrison and Milam handed out 24 and 18 assists respectively. Hubbard also added 8 kills and 2 service aces for an all around strong performance.