United States Coast Guard Academy - Department of Athletics - Volleyball

NEW LONDON, CONN.--(9/16/08)--Senior Nicole Gurr had 15 kills and six aces while junior Courtney Wolf added eight kills and four blocks as Coast Guard won its third straight beating WPI 3-0 (25-23, 25-10, 25-13) in the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) opener for both teams.

WPI (3-6, 0-1) outscored Coast Guard 9-2 breaking a 9-9 tie in the first set to take an 18-11 lead. The Bears, still trailing 20-15, scored five of the next six points to pull to within 21-20. The Bears, trailing 22-20, scored five of the next six points to win the set. Coast Guard took the lead at 24-23 on a Gurr kill, its first lead since 6-5.

Coast Guard won the second set easily 25-10 and then closed out the match in set three using a 15-4 spurt to end the match, turning a 10-9 lead into 25-13 win.

Junior Carin Sweeney led the Bears with 15 digs, senior Mary Bitzer added six kills while sophomore Heather Watka led Coast Guard with 20 assists to go with two blocks. Sophomore Ashley Bullard added 10 assist and two aces for the Bears (3-6, 0-1).

Freshman Joan Porambo led WPI with five kills and 18 digs while senior Kathryn Bomba also added 18 digs in the loss. Junior Becca Holmberg added 16 digs for the Engineers.