BEACON SPORTS HOUSING AND FOOD SERVICES ATHLETE OF THE WEEK NAME SPORT: Women's Volleyball CLASS: Senior DATE: November 13, 2006 Karla Murray (North East/North East) has been named the Housing and Food Services Athlete of the Week. Murray worked for 35 digs in three matches in this past week end's Eastern College Athletic Conference Tournament. Behrend finished as the ECAC Runners-up going 3-1 on Friday and Saturday and won the 2006 AMCC Regular-Season Championship. Murray led the Behrend Lions Volleyball squad to a school records for wins (29) and winning percentage (.879). The Behrend Lions also earned their first postseason wins ever in the ECAC Tournament. Penn State Behrend will lose five seniors from the 2006 team, as Murray, Paige Payer, Elaine Voltz, Lisa Wagner, and Katie Ward wrap up their careers by finishing with a 55-12 record the past two seasons. Housing and Food Services Athlete of the Week is selected by the Sports Information Staff. Karla Murray San i Buns i gWIWtIWM WMI 9 •tflWtoitt innwiiiuiiiDw WW*l« }>*-«*»* f Aaoatfwm lt» Wirkmk Mall | Volleyball gets closer on season By Matt Waronker Still reeling from a heartbreaking loss in the AMCC finals, the Penn State Behrend Women’s volleyball tr ntered the ECAC Division 111 South Volleyball Championships looking to finish the season on a positive note. The tourna ment, which was hosted by New Jersey City University (NJCU), saw a second seeded Behrend team overcome the bit ter taste of a lingering loss and reach yet another tournament finals match. The Lions carried a 27-3 overall record into the tournament and defeated Lebanon Valley and Westminster before falling to host NJCU in the championship match. Behrend began the tournament sluggishly, dropping their first game to Lebanon Valley 27-30. “In our first game we were still nerv ous and a bit unsure of ourselves,’' said head coach Phil Pisano. “The Altoona game was still in our minds, but once . we got past that first game we settled down and relaxed.’’ The Lions quickly evened the score with a decisive 30-21 victory in game two and closed out the match with wins in games three and four. Senior Elaine Voltz tallied a team high 19 kills while seniors Lisa Wagner and Karla Murray con uited 24 and 18 digs respectively. “A big key for us against Lebanon Valley was for us to :lax and realize that we need to just enjoy playing,’’ said isano. The victory over Lebanon Valley moved the Lions into the :mi finals where they would face third seeded Westminster illege. In this, the second meeting of the season between the 'O teams, the Lions fought a grueling defensive ittle against a powerful Westminster team. “They’re a strong team, but we played well ifensively,” said Pisano. “We definitely out rrked them and were able to keep our rallies ive. I really feel our conditioning was the advan ce in that match.” Although it took four tough games, Behrend managed to pull out a win against a strong Titans squad. Voltz recorded yet another outstanding per formance, finishing with 25 kills and eight blocks. Leading the team’s pivotal defensive effort was sophomore Brittany Hennessy, who tallied a sea son-high 31 digs. In the championship match the Lions faced host and top seed NJCU. The Gothic Knights entered the match with an impressive 33-8 overall record and a much more impressive home winning streak of 32 matches. A key to the Knights dominance at home came from junior middle blocker Lizzelle Cintron. Cintron, the ECAC tournament MVP, tallied a tour nament high 34 kills against Behrend. Cintron also became the all-time leader in kills in the history of the league and moved into seventh place in Division 111 history in career kills with 2,248. “She was unstoppable,” Pisano said of Cintron. "She’s probably the best Division 111 player I've ever seen.” After falling a game behind early on in the match, Behrend was forced to execute a conser vative style of play. “We just hoped to keep it close," said Pisano. "We |tried to take advantage when she [Cintron] was in Superlative soccer season ends The Behrend women’s soccer team ended their season last weekend it the NCAA tournament against top ranked Messiah. The Lions clawed to the end but lost the match by a final of 6-0. Despite this loss, the women had a very successful season, winning the AMCC Championshp, eaning a spot in the NCAA tournament and posting a record of 14-6-1. Head coach Patrick O’Driscoll says the team had to work hard all year to achieve this success. “The girls played tough throughout the whole season. At the beginning of the year, the girls won some games and lost some, and then they started playing together and pulled to together to win the AMCC Championships and of course, move on to Nationals,” he said. Even though Messiah ended the women’s season, O’Driscoll says he is happy for the opportunity to face such a premier team. “This was good experience for the Behrend Lions; they are not going to see a team like this in regular season. The loss to Messiah was a disappointment for the girls, but it was a great learning experience and something they will never for get for the rest of their lives. The girls should be proud for where they made it to thus far. It was a thrill and privilege to coach these talented girls.” According to coach O’Driscoll. Whitney Putnam had a great chance to put the BL task and denied her scoring chance. Messiah played hard in the first half, putting up three goals before the break. The strong attack con tinued in the second half as Messiah doubled their lead and shutout the Lady Lions. Freshman goalie Kayla Frost made a record 11 saves for Behrend, but it just wasn’t enough in the losing effort. Behrend will only lose one senior for next year in outside midfielder Kara Struski. After four years on the Behrend squad, Struski finish es as the school’s all-time assists leader and helped lead the team to an AMCC champi onship title. The Behrend women's soccer team had six members earn All-Conference honors for their efforts during the 2006 season. Earning All- Conference First-Team honors were Nikki Frisbee and Emily Rogan. All-Conference Second-Team honors went to Beth Manganaro and Frost. Earning All-Conference Honorable- Mention’s were Putnam and Struski. Next year’s Lady Lions will benefit from returning most of this year’s lineup. The les sons of this recently ended season will help the team repeat its success next year. staff writer CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Behrend goalie Kayla Frost makes a save in a recent game. the back and score as many easy points as we could.” After fighting back to even the match at one game apiece. Behrend struggled to overcome Cintron and the aggressive Gothic Knights. The Lions were defeated 30-28 in a close third Dr te an offensive surge late in the fourth ’ game, the Lions were unable to stop the Knights. New Jersey City University defeated Behrend three games to one to claim the champi onship. Behrend was once again led offensively by Voltz who posted a team high 17 kills. Senior Lisa Wagner con tributed 11 kills while freshman Brooke Gallentine tallied an impres- to carrying their momentum over into next season. “Our spring season will be crucial." said Pisano. "It will be the first time we practice without the seniors so there will be an opportunity for others to step up and battle for the chance to make an impact”. The impact of the seniors, however, is not to be lost on Coach Pisano. “These seniors have made this a stronger team with a stronger reputation than when they had taken over," said Pisano. “They helped this team progress into something great and I can only hope the younger players have learned a lot from them.” Freshman outside hitter Lorena Babbitt goes up for a kill in a recent match at the junker center. By Heather Heenan staff writer The Behrend Beacon I 8 Friday, November 17, 2006 sive 42 assists. The Lions closed out their season with 29 wins, a Behrend school record. The team also earned their first ever postseason victory in the EC AC tour nament. Despite losing five seniors, three of whom earned postseason AMCC honors, the Lions look forward
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