Villanova, Pa.-- In Villanova's opening game of the Charlotte Tournament they were defeated by the host Charlotte 49ers 3-0. The Wildcats played well early, but were plagued by service errors in losing 15-10, 15-5, 15-5.
In game one, after a series of side outs, Charlotte took advantage of a Wildcat hitting error and a service ace by Ersa Akgun (Istanbul, Turkey) to take an early 2-0 lead. Villanova was not phased as they recorded a series of blocks to even the score at 2-2. The teams traded the next six points to keep the score knotted at 8-8, but Charlotte again took advantage of two Wildcat attack errors and took a 10-8 lead. Just when the Wildcats looked to regain control of the match, a tip was called that reversed what looked like a Villanova side out. The play extended the 49ers lead to 12-9 and they never looked back finishing off Villanova, 15-10.
Statistically for Villanova, senior Tina Zitterich (Ames, Iowa/Gilbert) lead the way with three kills. Jennifer Edwards (Valencia, Calif./Valencia) recorded 7 assists. Akgun paced Charlotte with 5 kills.
Game two began the same as the first with each team trading points. The Wildcats took an early 5-3 lead after a kill by Ruth Ann Blankenheim (Lighthouse Point, Fla./Cardinal Gibbons) and a rotation error by Charlotte, 5-3. Charlotte head coach Lisa Morton called a timeout to refocus her team. The 49ers took advantage of the timeout and two costly Wildcat errors to even the score at 5-5. Charlotte then responded with good hitting and an ace from Courtney Burg (Houston, Texas) to take control the game 7-5. After a Villanova timeout, Charlotte continued to dominate tallying four straight points. Villanova head coach Heather Hoehn called a second timeout to try and stymie the 49ers, but to no avail. Charlotte pounded home the next four points en route to a 15-5 win and a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.
Statistically in game two, the Wildcats could only muster three kills from, Zitterich, Blankenheim, and senior Lisa Trumbull (Rockford, Ill./Keith School). For Charlotte, Christy Galvin (San Carlos, Calif.) recorded three kills.
Game three started in a poor fashion for Villanova as two hitting errors and an ace put them in an early hole, 3-0. Starting the scoring for Villanova was Breen Eddinger (Tacoma, Wash./Bellarmine Prep) and Katie Davis (North East, Md./North East) with a kill a piece. Villanova evened the score at 4-4 after a series of attack errors by Charlotte. The 49ers soon regained control of the match rattling off eleven of the next twelve points to close out the Wildcats 15-5. With the victory 3-0 over Villanova, Charlotte improves to 1-3 overall, while the Wildcats fall to 1-4.
In the day's first game, Eastern Illinois squared off against Highpoint (N.C.). EIU was victorious in three sets, 15-9, 15-8, 15-6. The Panthers of Eastern Illinois were lead by the firepower of senior Kim Blackwell (Chicago Ridge, Ill.) Blackwell tallied eight kills and three assists on the afternoon. For Highpoint freshman Kamarsha Ryan (St. Thomas, Virgin Islands) stepped to the forefront recording six kills and six digs. EIU improves to 2-2 on the season, while Highpoint falls to 0-3.
Villanova will face both teams tomorrow. The full day of action is scheduled as follows: Villanova vs. Eastern Illinois at 11:00 AM, Highpoint vs. Charlotte at 1:30 PM, Highpoint vs. Villanova at 4:30 PM, and rounding out the day is Eastern Illinois vs. Charlotte at 7:00 PM.
