Crusaders Upset Mavericks In Four
Madonna goes 2-0 to open Crusader Classic in grand fashion

Oct. 26, 2007

		Lubovj Tihomirova led MU with 20 kills in the Crusaders' 3-1 upset win over #5 National American.

MEDIA: WALSH BOX SCORE |
NATIONAL AMERICAN BOX SCORE

DEARBORN, Mich. – The Madonna volleyball team used key hitting and a balanced defensive attack to close out day one of the Crusader Classic with a 3-1 win over 5^th-ranked and reigning national champion National American on Friday in Dearborn.

Lubovj Tihomirova led the Crusaders with 20 kills, and Mary McGinnis and Whitney Fuelling added 12 and nine kills, respectively, to send National American back to its hotel with a 3-1 loss.

MU found itself in hole to begin the match, falling behind 14-10 in the opening game. But a strong performance by Tihomirova, who had six kills in the game to lead Madonna, helped the Crusaders get back on track. MU used a 9-5 run to tie the score at 19-19 and tied the score again at 20-all before taking its first lead of the game at 21-20 after Martie Mazur sent a ball to the floor off an Inta Grinvalds set to give the home team the lead. MU extended the lead to 24-22 when Amanda Silva was whistled for a lift and NAU called a time out.

Coming out of the break, the Mavericks made it 24-23 but Tihomirova made it 25-23 with a thundering kill. The two sides battled point-for-point until the Crusaders took the opening game 30-28 after a NAU attack went long to seal the game.

In the second game, it was all Madonna as the Crusaders never trailed, leading the game 1-0 and then extending that lead to 12-5 and forcing the Mavericks to call a time out. The break did little to stem the tide as MU then used two kills from Tihomirova and two more from Fuelling along with one from McGinnis to cruise to the game two win 30-23, ending the game with a combo block by Stephanie Parslow and Mazur.

Game three was even to start as the two sides traded points with neither team holding a lead bigger than three, when MU went up 17-14. A 16-5 run by NAU to close the match gave the Mavericks a 30-22 win in the third game and kept the Crusaders from completing the sweep.

Game four was much like game two, as the Crusaders stepped out to an early lead but saw the Mavericks creep back in. MU held a 14-8 lead before NAU called a time out. Madonna made it 15-8 on an attack error by National American. The Mavericks threatened, cutting the Crusader lead to as few as four at 24-20 after a Silva service ace, but the home team had a response, and it came in the form of a thundering left handed shot from Tihomirova to make it 25-20.  A Fuelling kill got the Crusaders to match point at 29-23, but NAU managed to stave off elimination for three points, making it 29-26 before McGinnis ended the Mavericks’ night with a kill into the middle of the court off a Grinvalds set for the 30-26 game four win and a 3-1 win in the match for Madonna.

Thais Batistella led three NAU players in double-figure kills with 24, while Silva added 65 assists in the losing effort. MU out-hit NAU .200 to .167 and won the battle at the net, posting 10.5 blocks to just eight for the Mavericks. Three different MU players - Jacqui Gatt, Brynn Kerr and Amy Szymanski posted 12 digs in the win.

Earlier in the day, Tihirova posted 28 kills to go along with 19 from McGinnis as MU had to hang on for a 3-2 win over Walsh in the opening match of the tournament. The Crusaders held a 2-0 lead in the match before seeing the Cavs come back and tie the match at 2-2. MU needed a little bit extra and found it,, taking the fifth and final game 17-15 for the win. Gatt posted 28 digs, while Kerr added nine of her own and Grinvalds posted 63 assists in the five-game thriller.

Madonna has little time to celebrate the wins, as number four Biola, who also swept its two games on Friday comes calling on Saturday. Saturday’s matches change sites, moving to Livonia Stevenson HS. First serve between MU and BU is set for 10am.

Contact:
Patrick Moore - Sports Information Director
(734) 432-5834