United States Coast Guard Academy - Department of Athletics - Volleyball - Bears Heading to Sweet 16; Beat Endicott 3-0

CAMBRIDGE, MASS.—(11/10/06)—Sophomore Nicole Gurr had 16 kills, 11 digs and four aces while junior Kimberly Jung had 15 kills and 14 digs as top-seeded Coast Guard advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division III volleyball tournament for the first time in school history with a 3-0 win (30-17, 30-15, 30-10) win over fifth seeded Endicott in the New England regional semifinal at MIT.

Coast Guard extended its school-record winning streak to 21 straight matches. The Bears will take on second seed, host and NEWMAC rival MIT in the New England regional final on Saturday night at 7 p.m. MIT beat third seeded Amherst 3-1 in the semifinals. The regional final can be heard live at www.sportsjuice.com. The winner of the regional final will advance to the Elite Eight in Salem, Virginia which begins on Nov. 16th.

“Tonight showed these players are capable of anything they put their minds to,” said Coast Guard head coach Patty Giannattasio. “It’s nice to be the first team in Coast Guard history to advance to the Sweet 16, but it is not our ultimate goal. We want to play well and the results will take care of themselves.”

Coast Guard (25-2) had advanced to the second round in each of its three previous NCAA tournament appearances in 1995, 1996 and 1997, but were 0-3 all-time in second round games before the win tonight.

NEWMAC Player of the Year Christine Rostowfske, a senior co-captain, led the Bears with 43 assists.

”We are excited right now, but we need to say focused,” said Rostowfske. “I have to credit coach Giannattasio, who has keep us focused throughout the tournament. We are still a long way off from Virginia (Elite 8), we will see what happens, we have to keep things in perspective. We will have to beat a great team tomorrow and we look forward to the challenge.”

The Bears led 20-13 in game one before scoring six straight points to extend the lead to 26-13, before winning 30-17.

In game two, the score was tied 4-4 before Coast Guard scored 11 of the next 12 including seven straight for a 15-5 lead and went on to win 30-15.

Coast Guard used a 13-1 run in the final game turning a 10-5 lead into a 23-6 advantage before closing out the match with a 30-10 win.

Junior Corinne McCormack had 13 kills for the Bears moving into second place on Coast Guard’s all-time kills list passing Cassie Janssen (1994-1997), who was second with 1,139 career kills. McCormack now has 1,141 kills in her three seasons.