MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The William Carey Volleyball Team punched their ticket to the Finals of the SSAC Championship after defeating Faulkner University 3-0 to wrap up pool play and then taking down Loyola 3-1 in the semi-finals, Friday night at the Multi-Plex at Cramton Bowl.
Against the Eagles, the Lady Crusaders wasted no time in the first set, building an early 11-5 lead. From there Carey took full advantage of multiple attack errors by Faulkner along with four kills and a service ace to take a 19-10 lead before going on to close the set on a 6-1 run.
WCU got off to an even better start in the second set, opening the set with eight straight points. Of those eight points, three came by way of a block, one ace, and three kills. The Lady Crusader seized control of the set behind four kills and an ace to take a commanding 16-5 lead and never looked back, cruising to a 25-13 victory.
Things were a little closer at the start of the third set, but with Carey leading 11-7, WCU made their move, as Suelen Lima, Marcella Hermont, and Barbara Guedes provided three straight points on kills. After giving up the next point Lima got another kill followed by an ace from Guedes to give WCU a 16-9 lead. From there the Lady Crusaders pulled away to take the set 25-18 and the match.
Suelen Lima finished the match with fourteen kills and eleven digs. Katarina Vulic picked up 36 assists and eleven digs while Sofia Bettini added fifteen digs of her own.
In the semi-final match against Loyola, both teams traded shots at the start. After a couple of unforced errors by Carey gave the Wofpack a 10-6 lead, the Lady Crusaders found themselves playing catch up. The WCU offense stayed the course and after falling down by as many as six, battled their way back to within one point on two different occasions before tying the set at twenty-one. After trading the next two points, Loyola picked up the next three points to take the 25-22 first set victory.
The battle continued in the second set, as neither team led by more than two points until Carey took an 11-8 lead. The Wolfpack quickly got back within one point but a service error by Loyola followed by back-to-back aces from Lima pushed the Lady Crusaders lead to 16-11. It was all WCU from there, as they cruised to a 25-16 victory to even the match.
Nothing changed in the third set, as once again the largest lead of the set at the beginning was three points. With both teams looking for that bit of magic to break the set open, it was the Lady Crusaders that found it in the form of a 5-1 run. With the score 18-15 in favor of Carey, WCU got three kills from Bettini and Guedes with the other two points coming off an ace and an error. Lima got the Lady Crusaders to set point with Elaina Anderson bringing it home with a kill to give Carey the 25-19 win and the 2-1 lead.
The fourth set saw the Wolfpack take an early 12-7 lead, but the Carey offense fought their way back behind four kills and two aces to tie the set at thirteen. Loyola quickly jumped back out in front 17-14 only to see the Lady Crusaders once again battle their way back, this time taking an 18-17 lead.
From there both teams took turns with the lead until a kill by Bettini gave WCU the lead for good at 22-21. Two errors by the Wolfpack offense proved costly, as they put Carey within one point of victory with Lima providing that point with a kill.
Suelen Lima led the way with 25 kills and 16 digs for an attacking percentage of .447 while Sofia Bettini finished with eleven kills and 16 digs. Katarina Vulic racked up 44 assists with Kayla Benedic finishing with 17 digs and Marcella Hermont having 15 digs.
Carey is back in action tomorrow, as they take on Mobile in the finals of the SSAC Championship. Play is set to begin at 2:00 PM at the Multi-Plex at Cramton Bowl.
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