Purdue Fort Wayne
20-11
North Dakota State
23-4
`Dons Go Dancing: IPFW Wins Summit Tournament Title
11/22/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 22, 2009
Fargo, ND - A service ace by freshman Megan Steenhuysen secured IPFW's first NCAA Tournament berth since becoming a Division I member in 2001, as the `Dons held off a stellar North Dakota State squad in front of 1,615 noisy Bison fans in the championship match of the 2009 Summit League Tournament, winning 3-2 (28-26, 25-19, 20-25, 20-25, 15-9).
"We played awesome," said Head Coach Kelley Hartley Hutton. "It was a complete team awesome effort."
The Mastodons secure the league's NCAA Tournament berth, and will find out where their seeding and who their opponent is in the tournament on November 29 at 3:00 PM EST on ESPNews. The tournament berth is the first for the program since 1998 when IPFW was a NCAA Division II member, and made the tournament before bowing out in the first round to then-conference foe Northern Kentucky 3-0. The victory also snaps a 20-match home win streak for the Bison at Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse.
"I am proud to be in that special category already established at IPFW before us," said Hartley Hutton. "The men's team started the tradition, but this one is also very special to us, our program's first Division I NCAA Tournament."
Senior Rebekah Roehm was named the Tournament Most Valuable Player, as Jamie Schwartz and Maya Schlindwein were both also named to the All-Tournament Team. Roehm led a trio of IPFW players in double figure kills with 16, as Stephanie Lamberti had 14, and Maya Schlindwein 11. Steenhuysen, in addition to her match-winning service ace, dished out 43 assists and had 17 digs.
"What a competitor Rebekah is," said the head coach. "She does a little bit of everything for us, she plays back row, she plays front row, and she takes so many swings it seems like her arm is going to fall off. Big competitors step up in big matches, and that is exactly what she did."
Schwartz had 27 digs, tied for the match-high, leading four others in double figures, including Schlindwein (20), Roehm (17), Steenhuysen (17), and Tessa McGill (13). Sophomore middle hitter Alli Hook had five blocks to pace the 'Dons, with Schlindwein adding four, and Taryn Parker three.
"One reason we played so well out here is because we weren't just happy to get in," said Hartley Hutton. "We felt happy to be in a couple of weeks ago when I was trying to figure out the tiebreaker scenarios. Once we got here we didn't have the attitude of that we were just happy to be a part of this - we came on this trip to win. We didn't just want to win the first match; we wanted to win the whole thing. We had a couple of practices before we played, and we practiced hard. We had a few things we wanted to accomplish. We didn't just go through the motions. We got after it."
The first set was everything that would be expected from a league championship match, as the opening frame was a knock-down, drag-out battle between the teams picked first and second in the coaches' preseason poll. NDSU took control early in the set, as an early 5-0 run gave the hosts a 6-3 lead.
The Bison kept their foot on the gas pedal, increasing their lead to as many as six at 14-8 halfway through the opening period. The Mastodons quickly responded with four straight points on a service error, a kill by Roehm and back-to-back Schlindwein kills, quickly cutting the deficit to two at 14-12. Despite not taking the lead, IPFW put themselves in position for a late rally.
Trailing by two at 19-17, IPFW used four straight points, capped by a Bison attack error, to give the visitors the one-point, 20-19 lead. NDSU rallied, scoring five of the next six points to serve for the set at 24-21. The Mastodons responded by using another 4-0 run, on a service error, a pair of blocks, and an attack error, to gain the lead at 25-24.
The teams traded points until they were both tied at 26. A Lamberti kill, and a Lauren McLaughlin attack error, gave the 'Dons the thrilling 28-26 opening set win.
The second set was one of runs by both teams, as NDSU led 4-2 before IPFW ran off three straight points to lead 5-4. The Bison countered with a 3-0 run of their own, which was answered by another trio of points by the Mastodons. North Dakota State proceeded to score the match's next four points, to lead by three at 11-8.
A pair of 3-0 runs sandwiched a Jocelyn VerVelde kill, pushing IPFW to a 14-12 lead, as IPFW would not trail again in the set, scoring eight of the final 11 points to take the second set 25-19. In the second set, Tournament MVP Roehm reached a very prestigious milestone, as she became just the seventh player in IPFW women's volleyball history to become a member of the 1,000-kill, 1,000-dig club, joining Fabiana Souza, Laura Douglas, Heather Teagarden, Julie Parrot, Cynara Martins, and Joni Smith as members of the exclusive club.
The third set started as a back-and-forth effort, as the teams were tied as late in the set as 15, before the hosts ended the third set on a 10-5 run, cruising to the third set win, which was also the final set score in the fourth set, setting up a fifth and final set for the Summit League Championship, and a berth into the NCAA Tournament.
Despite having the momentum on the other bench, IPFW jumped out, using a 6-0 run to lead 6-1. The Bison put pressure on IPFW, cutting the deficit to two at 11-9, before four straight points on a Roehm kill, a NDSU attack error, a Schlindwein kill, and finally the deciding Steenhuysen ace.
"Even though North Dakota State was heating up through the third and fourth sets, it wasn't the time for us to take our foot off the gas pedal," said Hartley Hutton. "We had to keep serving tough, keep attacking, and stay with our strategy. Just because it wasn't working at that moment, it had worked - we had to stay the course and keep aggressive. Going into game five, our team still had a lot of composure and confidence, and in this environment is pretty tough to do."
Chrissy Knuth pounded down a match-high 26 kills in the losing effort, and was the only Bison player in double figure kills in the loss. Kelly Lopez had 27 digs, as her sister Jennifer Lopez had 14 kills and a match-high 50 assists. Brooke VandenBergh had six blocks to go along with seven kills, with Brynn Joki missing double-figure kills by just one. VandenBergh also added 18 digs, with the teams combining for 206 digs in the five-set match.
"Both teams played great defense," noted Hartley Hutton. "It was a defensive war. Both teams had to work really hard to put the ball away. Our good defense may have frustrated them, and we have that done to us. It is tough when a team doesn't let anything hit the ground without a lot of effort, and it make a team impatient, and makes you commit errors."
With the win, IPFW also recorded their 25th 20-win season in the 33 years of the Mastodon volleyball program. North Dakota State falls to 23-4 on the season, after running through the conference regular season undefeated for the second consecutive year.
"I hope North Dakota State gets into the NCAA Tournament too," said the IPFW head coach. "They deserve it. What a season they had. They are a classy team, and they have an amazing environment for the student-athletes to play in. The fans here were really into the match, but nice at the same time - they appreciated the effort, and they even came up, and sincerely congratulated us on the win."
Check back to GoMastodons.com for more information on the NCAA Tournament when it becomes available.
~Dons~
