2008 Woodie Awards
Three games to go, volleyball seeks redemption
Mike Barrett
Issue date: 3/30/06 Section: Sports
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Sacred Heart was led by senior opposite hitter Alex Catani, a native of Larkspur Calif., who recorded 15 kills and eight digs. The Pioneers fall to a record of 1-16, with only three games remaining in the season.
The Pioneers squared off against the Warriors, who are one of the conference's top teams this season, sporting a 11-7 record overall. They are led by middle hitter Keith Eckenrode, a junior from Tunkhannock Pa., who recorded 20 kills and had a game high .567 hitting percentage Monday.
The Pioneers started the match off strong, winning the first game 30-25 on the wings of an 11- 0 run to end the game. The Pioneers were carried to victory in the first game by Barry Smith, a freshman from Shelton, who recorded three kills, a block and a dig to record five points in the game.
After the first game, neither team gained much momentum to put the other team away for good. Eventually, the match turned in ESU's favor.
Sacred Heart stayed competitive, but were pushed back anytime they got close to evening the score. The Warriors swept the next three games by scores of 30-25, 31-29 and 30-25.
"We can compete as we showed here tonight and in some of our games, but we make a mistake here or there and it costs us," John Breen, a junior middle and opposite hitter from North Andover, Mass., said. Breen finished the match by tallying 13 winners and seven digs.
"We played well-just the ball didn't bounce our way," Pioneer coach C.J. Emanuelson said.
Sacred Heart's strength throughout the season has been its mixture of youth and experienced veterans. Out of the 11 players on the team, only two are seniors.
"We are a young, brand new team with a makeup of mostly new guys and some old ones," Emanuelson said. "We are going through this season just gaining some experience that will benefit us now and in future seasons."
The team will take a week off and will return to the court to square off against Vasser.
"We are going to go into the game with a high energy and play big, and just aim to play some strong volleyball," Emanuelson said.
The game is also Senior Night and the Pioneers will honor seniors Catani and Mike Ivers, a native of Philadelphia, Pa. The game is scheduled for April 4 at 7:00 p.m. in the Pitt Center.