United States Coast Guard Academy - Department of Athletics - Volleyball - Bears Remain Unbeaten In NEWMAC; Beat Wheaton

NORTON, MASS.--(9/25/07)--Senior Corinne McCormack had a game-high 15 kills while junior Nicole Gurr added 12 kills and 10 digs as Coast Guard ran its winning streak to seven straight matches and 21 consecutive games with a 3-0 (30-22, 30-26, 32-30) win over Wheaton in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) match.

Sophomore Leanna Minton and junior Jeannie Crump collected 15 and 10 digs, respectively, freshman Ashley Bullard had 25 assists, and senior Anne Staley tallied 11 assists for defending NEWMAC champion Coast Guard (8-2, 4-0), which has now won 14 straight NEWMAC matches dating back to season.

Wheaton (11-4, 2-2) scored the first two points of game one before falling behind, 6-5, but freshman Becca Rose served during a 6-0 run that put the Lyons up, 11-6. The Blue and White led by as many as six, 13-7 on freshman Rae Bradley's kill before the Bears rallied. McCormack landed a kill to give a 16-15 edge to the visitors, who eventually built a 23-17 advantage. Wheaton freshman Sam Andreacchi's kill made it 23-18, but Coast Guard later led by as many as nine points en route to the win.

In game two, an early Andreacchi kill gave the Lyons an 8-3 edge, and an ace by Bradley made it 18-10 before the Bears cut into their deficit. After trailing by a 19-11 count, Coast Guard rattled off an 11-3 run to knot the score at 22, as McCormack tallied two kills and an ace during that time, while junior Mary Bitzer also had a pair of kills. Wheaton regained the lead and held serve at 24-22 before yielding three McCormack kills during a 6-1 Bears run that gave the visitors a 28-25 edge. A Lyon point followed a Wheaton timeout before the visitors tallied the final two points.

Coast Guard grabbed four different five-point leads early in the third game, including an 11-6 lead on a McCormack kill. The hosts slowly rallied, as Bradley's kill drew the teams even at 14-14 before her service capped a 12-4 run that gave Wheaton an 18-15 edge. The Lyons led by as many as five at 24-19, but the Bears stuck around and knotted the score at 26 on sophomore Courtney Wolf's block. An Andreacchi kill pushed Wheaton to game point with a 29-26 advantage, but Coast Guard tallied the next four points, the final one giving the Bears a 30-29 lead when McCormack and Wolf notched blocking assists. After Wheaton scored again to make it 30-all, a McCormack kill was followed by Bitzer's match-clinching kill.

Andreacchi led the Lyons with a double-double, tallying 12 kills and 11 digs, while Bradley had nine kills and eight digs. Sophomore Lauren Kraus added 10 kills, and freshman Kristen Hunt had 18 digs. Rose finished with 32 assists and seven digs.