ASU Wins their 7th Consecutive SIAC Volleyball Championship
Frankfort, KY – Albany State University took the long road to their 7th Consecutive SIAC Volleyball Championship, having to come from the Loser’s Bracket and defeat a tough Benedict College Team. In the end; however, ASU proved to be to resilient as they defeated BC in 5 games in both championship games to take the title. Benedict College defeated Albany State in the Semi finals the night before setting up an opportunity for a rematch match/redemption match for the title. Albany State; however, was poised for the title winning 3-2 in both championship games.
The Championship game was filled with rallies and an almost new SIAC Champion; HOWEVER, ASU wasn’t giving up the crown that easy as they defeated
BC 3-2. Benedict won the first game 30-24 but Albany State bounced back and took the second game 30-22. Coach Rouse of Benedict would rally her troupes and they answered the call of the bell as they took the third game 30-24. With the championship within their grasp the pressure began to mount to win just one more game but ASU would take the wind out of the sails of BC taking the next game 30-20 and the final game 15-11. Melinda Bastian of Benedict had another spectacular game and during game 3 she sealed the victory for BC on 4 straight kills. Bastian had 21 kills in the game and 3 digs. Natasha Gray (BC) also had a stellar game with 19 kills and 4 digs. Albany State’s Latrice Lewis led her team to victory with 17 points and 10 digs. Rachell Anderson and Shawanna Hill both contributed to the victory with 14 kills each and Anderson added 10 digs as well. Since this was Benedict’s 1st loss of the tournament another classic game will have to be played to determine the champion of the tournament.
In the second Championship game, ASU took home the first game 30-25 but Benedict would bounce back and win game #2 30-27. Albany State would bounce back in the next game and win 30-21 before nearly putting the tournament in the forth. In the fourth game ASU was leading 21-16 before Benedict went on a run and defeated ASU 30-25. In the final game all tied at 12-12 ASU would pull out the game 15-13 to take home the championship for the 7th Consecutive time under Coach Robert Skinner. The victory gives Albany State their 7th consecutive title and 8th under Coach Robert Skinner. With another title under Skinner’s belt he stated “We really appreciate the SIAC for being a sponsor of such a great tournament. I am pleased with the performance of my team and I look forward to seeing what the upcoming weeks will bring as we move on to the NCAA Regional Championship. Our team is excited about winning this championship and also this is a great accomplishment to be able to coach for a school that can achieve such greatness as seven straight Volleyball Championships. I look forward to representing the SIAC in the NCAA tournament and I know the SIAC will be happy with our performance.”
Melinda Bastain of Benedict , stepped up big with 24 kills in the match, 4 digs, and 4 serving aces. Bastain was named the Tournament MVP. Latrice Lewis, Rachell Anderson and Chanel Wilson were all named to the All Tournament team leading their team to their 7th Consecutive SIAC Championship.
Albany State will await the NCAA Selection to see who they will play next. Selections will be made at 9:00 am on November 12, 2007. Please refer to www.ncaasports.com for bracket information and regional location.
2007 SIAC ALL-TOURNAMENT VOLLEYBALL TEAM
Melinda Bastian Benedict College
Latrice Lewis Albany State University
Jennifer Holman Clark Atlanta University
Rachell Anderson Albany StateUniversity
Natasha Gray Benedict College
Setter: Chanel Wilson Albany State University
Tournament MVP: Melinda Bastian Benedict College
Champions: Albany State University
2nd: Benedict College
3rd: Clark Atlanta University