United States Coast Guard Academy - Department of Athletics - Volleyball

NEW LONDON, CONN.--(10/30/07)--Senior Corinne McCormack had 17 kills, eight digs and three aces leading defending New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) tournament champion and fourth-seeded Coast Guard to 3-0 (30-16, 30-14, 30-25) win over fifth-seeded Smith in a NEWMAC Tournament quarterfinal match. This was a matchup between the last two schools to win the NEWMAC tournament as Smith won the 2005 championship.

Coast Guard jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the first game, Smith scored six of the next eight to pull to within 10-6 before the Bears scored five straight for a 15-6 lead and cruised to the 30-16 win.

In game two, the Bears led 18-11 before scoring 12 of the next 15 points to win the game 30-14.

Smith didn’t go quietly in the third game as it was tied 15-15 before the Bears scored five straight to take control enroute to the 30-25 win.

Junior Nicole Gurr had 10 kills and 11 digs, sophomore Courtney Wolf added eight kills and four blocks while senior Anne Staley had 38 assists and three aces for Coast Guard, which advances to the semifinals for the seventh straight season.

Sophomore Bethany Weiss led Smith (15-14) with seven kills along with two aces while senior Catherine Shafer had six kills and 12 digs.

Coast Guard (21-5), which has advanced to the championship game in each of the last three seasons, will take on top-seed and host MIT in the semifinals on Friday night at 5 p.m.

Second-seeded Wellesley will take on third-seeded Springfield in the second semifinal on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. at MIT.