LIVONIA, Mich. -- On a night usually reserved for costumes and candy, the Madonna volleyball team provided a treat for fans Tuesday, securing their 10th consecutive Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference volleyball title with a 3-0 sweep of Aquinas by scores of 30-13, 30-19 and 30-14.

After honoring head coach Jerry Abraham during pre-game festivities for reaching the 800 win plateau and dispersing candy to fans in attendance, the Crusaders turned businesslike in the one hour and 20 minute match.

Wearing new orange jerseys as part of Tuesday's Voll-O-Ween promotion, the Crusaders relied on old standby's Caryn Inman (Oxford, Mich./Oxford HS) and Lubovj Tihomirova (Riga, Latvia/Rigas Gymnasia HS) who combined for 25 kills in the contest.

"It was a good night for our girls," commented Abraham after the match.  "It was a fun atmosphere with the Halloween theme, but we still had a job to do and we did it."

The Crusaders, who also got 32 assists from  Inta Grinvalds (Portage, Mich./Portage Central HS) , will host the WHAC volleyball Final Four for the ninth time in the programs history.

"It is special," said Abraham.  "It is the product of very good assistant coaches and players to set that type of mark."

But the head man has to take some credit after being recognized for his 800th win as a head coach prior to the game.  The victory came on October 12th at Siena Heights, making Abraham only the second ever to reach the mark in NAIA volleyball history and the 10th at any collegiate level.

"That was a nice moment tonight," Abraham said.  "It was definitely unexpected, but I appreciate the department doing that for me.  Again, it couldn't be done without my assistants and some great players along the way.

The latest group will finish up their regular season at home Friday when they face up-and-coming Indiana Tech at 7:00 pm in the Activities Center.  A pair of Crusaders, Inman and Heather Spooner will be recognized before the game as the lone seniors on Senior Night.

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