Saturday, September 30, 2000

ETOWN FALLS TO SUSQUEHANNA IN BLUE JAY CLASSIC TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP, VILLA JULIE FINISHES THIRD OVER RUTGERS-NEWARK

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. --- Susquehanna University won the Blue Jay Classic volleyball tournament at Elizabethtown Saturday, defeating host Elizabethtown in the tournament championship 3-0.

Earlier in the day, Susquehanna defeated Villa Julie 3-0 and Etown won over Rutgers-Newark 3-1 to advance to the championship. Villa Julie went on to defeat Rutgers-Newark 3-1 in the third place match.

In Etown's first match of the day against Rutgers-Newark, the Blue Jays blasted the Scarlet Raiders 15-3, 15-3 in the first two games. Rutgers-Newark came back to take the third game, 15-8, but Elizabethtown responded with a fourth game 15-0 shutout to win the match.

The Blue Jays needed only four turns serving to win the final game. Emily Morris (Canton, PA/Canton) totaled six services aces against the Scarlet Raiders, the greatest single match amount by a Blue Jay this season. Dawn Johns (Baltimore, MD/Lansdowne) led Etown with 12 kills.

In the other early match, Susquehanna defeated Villa Julie 15-6, 15-5, 15-8. In all three games, Villa Julie stayed close through the first full rotation of players only to lose control of the game afterward.

The Mustangs were tied with Susquehanna 5-5 through the first full rotation in the first game, were down only 5-4 through the first full rotation in the second game, and were behind Susquehanna 7-6 after the first full rotation of the final game.

In the tournament championship, Etown fell to Susquehanna 15-8, 15-8, 15-1.

The Blue Jays stayed close to Susquehanna throughout much of the first game and were down only 9-7 at one point. Susquehanna won the game with four unanswered points after extending its lead to 11-8.

Etown and Susquehanna were tied 8-8 in the second game before the Crusaders rattled off seven consecutive points to win the game behind the serving of Robin Clarke (Huntingdon, PA).

Etown began the final game with a 1-0 lead only to see Susquehanna take complete control and win 15-1.

Villa Julie defeated Rutgers-Newark 15-8, 15-10, 7-15, 15-10 to win the third place match. After being down 6-5 in the first game, the Mustangs went on a 10-2 run including five consecutive points at the end to win.

Villa Julie took an early 10-1 lead in the second game, but saw it almost slip away as the Scarlet Raiders, behind the serving of Beisieliz Vera (West New York, NJ), scored five unanswered points to make the score 10-6.

After another Villa Julie point, Rutgers-Newark added four more to make the score 11-10 before the Mustangs finally pulled away for good. Villa Julie lost the third game after building up a 7-6 lead.

Rutgers-Newark scored nine unanswered points, all behind the serving of Biky Fernandez (West New York, NJ), to take its only game of the match. After falling behind 5-2 early, Villa Julie took control of the final game to win 15-10.

With the tournament championship, Susquehanna's overall record improves to 12-5, Elizabethown's record now stands at 6-10, Villa Julie stands at 5-9 and Rutgers-Newark falls to 4-8 overall.

Although Etown and Susquehanna are both Commonwealth Conference schools, the results of Saturday's championship match do not count in the conference standings because it is part of a tournament.

Etown and Susquehanna will face each other for their next match Wednesday, October 4 at Elizabethtown, the one that will count in the conference standings. Match time is 7:00 p.m.

Blue Jay Classic Tournament
At Elizabethtown, PA
Round One
Elizabethtown 3, Rutgers-Newark 1
Rutgers-Newark (4-7)   3   3  15   0
Elizabethtown (6-9)   15  15   8  15

Blue Jay Leaders:
Kills: Dawn Johns 11, Gabriella Clarke 12
Digs: Emily Morris 15, Casey Miller 14
Assists: Beth Dodson 37
Service Aces: Morris 6
Blocks: Clarke 3

Round One
Susquehanna 3, Villa Julie 0
Susquehanna (11-5)   15   15   15
Villa Julie (4-9)     6    5    8

Third Place Match
Villa Julie 3, Rutgers-Newark 1
Rutgers-Newark (4-8)    8   10   15   10
Villa Julie (5-9)      15   15    7   15

Championship Match
Susquehanna 3, Elizabethtown 0
Susquehanna (12-5)   15   15   15
Elizabethtown (6-10)  8    8    1

Blue Jay Leaders:
Kills: Emily Morris 9, Dawn Johns 8
Digs: Morris 13
Assists: Beth Dodson 18
Blocks: Gabriella Clarke 4, Erin Malone 2