United States Coast Guard Academy - Department of Athletics - Volleyball - Bears Cruise to Victory in NCAA Tournament

CAMBRIDGE, MASS.—(11/9/06)—Sophomore Nicole Gurr had 16 kills and 10 digs as top-seeded Coast Guard extended its school-record winning streak to 20 straight with a 3-0 (30-18, 30-15, 30-18) win over eighth-seeded Mount Ida in the first round of the NCAA Division III volleyball tournament at MIT.

Junior co-captain Corinne McCormack had 10 kills and 14 digs for the Bears, who were playing in their first NCAA tournament since the 1997 season. Coast Guard was selected for the NCAA tournament in 1995, 1996 and 1997. The Bears won their NCAA first round game in each of those seasons before getting eliminated in the second round.

NEWMAC Player of the Year Christine Rostowfske, a senior co-captain, led the Bears with 35 assists while junior Kimberly Jung had 11 kills and a team-high four aces.

The Bears scored eight of the first nine points in game one for an 8-1 lead and they extended the lead to 19-6 before winning the opening game 30-18. In game two, the Bears jumped out to a 13-4 lead and never looked back winning 30-15. Coast Guard again jumped out to an 8-1 lead in game three and cruised to a 30-18 win to advance to the second round.

Coast Guard (24-2) will take on fifth-seeded Endicott in the second round on Friday at 4:30 p.m. Endicott beat fourth-seeded Eastern Connecticut 3-2 in the first round on Thursday.

Earlier in the day, the postseason honors continued to roll in as Rostowfske, McCormack and Gurr were all named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-New England team.

Also on Thursday, Rostowfske was selected to compete in the New England Women’s Volleyball Association (NEWVA) Senior Classic on Saturday at Clark. There will be a skills competition at 10:30 a.m. followed by the game at 1 p.m. Coast Guard head coach Patty Giannattasio will be an assistant coach in the Senior Classic.

Rostowfske was named the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Volleyball Player of the Year on Tuesday while Gurr was named to the NEWMAC first team and McCormack the All-conference second team.

Rostowfske, who earned AVCA honorable mention honors last season, leads the NEWMAC with 12.6 assists per game. She is the Coast Guard Academy all-time leader with 4,062 career assists.

Gurr, who also earned AVCA honorable mention honors last season leads the NEWMAC in kills per game (5.46), is third in aces per game(0.76), fourth in hitting percentage (.283) and fourth in blocks (.851).

McCormack, an AVCA All-New England selection and AVCA honorable mention selection last season, is third in the NEWMAC in kills per game (4.11), third in hitting percentage (.300) and second in aces per game (0.805). She is third on the Coast Guard Academy all-time kills list with 1,129 in her career.