IU East Claims KIAC Volleyball Tournament Championship
IU East Claims KIAC Volleyball Tournament Championship
RICHMOND, Ind. - They experienced the full range of emotions.
Moments of happiness. Moments of tension. Moments of excitement. Moments of frustration.
And in the end, the thrill of victory.
The Indiana University East volleyball team claimed its third consecutive Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament championship with a taut 28-26, 27-25, 25-19 win against Asbury University on Nov. 12 in the Richmond High School Tiernan Center.
"We played with that passion and emotion to take our game to that next level," said IU East coach Charlie Brown. "We talked about how in our two early matches (in the KIAC tournament) what we lacked in those matches was emotion, and that emotion was key."
The 29th-ranked Red Wolves (37-8) were the No. 2 seed for the KIAC tournament.
The 40th-ranked Eagles (38-7) were the No. 1 seed.
IU East advances to the NAIA Volleyball National Championship and likely will play in an Opening Round match on Nov. 19. Pairings and sites for the Opening Round will be announced Nov. 12.
"So excited. An unbelievable feeling," said sophomore middle hitter Caitlin Burroughs (Richmond, Ind./Northeastern High School), who delivered a career-high 16 kills in the championship match. "It's a great way to end the tournament on our home court."
IU East was hosting the KIAC volleyball tournament for the first time.
The championship match was filled with emotion from the warmups to the final point.
It started with Brown's impassioned pre-match talk.
"He teared up a bit, and that showed us we're not just a team, we're a family," Burroughs said. "Every girl on this team is like my sister. Going out on the court, we play like a family. If one of us is down, one of us pulls them out of it."
The Red Wolves pulled together to fight off set points for Asbury on each of the first two sets.
The Eagles had three set points in the opening set and two set points in the second set, but IU East denied each one.
"The girls played their best when it mattered most," Brown said. "They are an amazing bunch. They come through when they have to."
The third set also was close until IU East won the last six points to clinch the match and the championship.
A Burroughs kill ended it.
"We just really wanted this and wanted to send our seniors our on a good note," Burroughs said.
IU East collected plenty of awards in addition to the KIAC tournament trophy after the match.
Junior setter Lauren Crump (Indianapolis, Ind./Scecina Memorial High School) repeated as KIAC Player of the Year.
"That's an amazing feat," Brown said. "That speaks volumes to her and her work ethic, leadership and dedication to us as coaches and to the school and to the team."
Junior middle hitter Breezy Strete (Troy, Ohio/Troy High School), senior right side hitter Paige Lay (Bloomington/Normal, Ill./Parkland College), Burroughs and junior libero Kristin Waechter (Muncie, Ind./Daleville High School) joined Crump on the all-conference team.
Brown received the KIAC Coach of the Year award for the second time in three years.
"He deserved it," Burroughs said. "He showed he is a good leader for us, and we respond to him."
The Red Wolves reached the championship match with a 25-15, 25-14, 25-21 win against No. 3 seed Cincinnati Christian University in the afternoon semifinals.
Burroughs had 14 kills for IU East. Waechter made 16 digs and also served the one ace she needed to become the Red Wolves' record holder for aces in a season. Waechter now has 53 aces in 2011, two more than the old record of 51 set by Tera Brown in 2007.
Monitor www.iueredwolves.com for information about the upcoming NAIA Volleyball National Championship.
Click here for the IU East-Asbury box score
- Article courtesy of IU East