2008 Woodie Awards
Volleyball: VCU drops TU in CAA Tournament
Rams end Tigers' season for second consecutive year
Darnay Tripp
Sports | 11/19/06
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HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. - Two of the Tigers' 22 wins this year came against defending CAA Champion Virginia Commonwealth. Their third meeting came on Friday at Hofstra in the quarterfinals of the CAA Tournament, and for the second consecutive year, the Rams put an end to Towson's season.
As Ana Luiza De Borja led with 22 kills, VCU fought its way to a 30-26, 28-30, 31-29, 30-26 win.
"I think, to an extent, as well as we played this year, we always came back to the fact that we still are a bit young and I think that showed tonight a little bit," Towson head coach Paul Koncir said. "We were a little tentative, at times very conservative. They wanted to win, we wanted to win, but I think some of our youth showed through and we really didn't play all that well."
The loss ended Towson's sixth consecutive 20-win season.
"For a new coach coming in a week and a half before preseason starts and really coming in to make a tournament run, there was no rebuilding or getting used to each other or any of that," Koncir said. "To go 22-9 is as strong a season as they've had here. It's a couple of matches won and lost different from being one of the best seasons."
The Tigers held just one lead in game one, and were at one point down 28-22 in game two. Towson spent the better part of the four-game match trailing the Rams, who hit .260, and over .300 in the first two frames.
"I think we were always nervous because we were losing a lot, but we were always close," senior Christina Grempler said. "Even when we were winning, we were playing like we were losing."
After dropping the opener, the Tigers went on an 8-0 run on the serve of freshman Claudia Schneider to win the game, 30-28, and even the match at one game each.
"I think it was our wakeup call," Koncir said. "We went through the first game unsure and unsteady and pulling that out really woke us up. And it showed in the third game which was close all the way through and then in the fourth game we came out early and got ahead, but just didn't quite have it in us."
As Ana Luiza De Borja led with 22 kills, VCU fought its way to a 30-26, 28-30, 31-29, 30-26 win.
"I think, to an extent, as well as we played this year, we always came back to the fact that we still are a bit young and I think that showed tonight a little bit," Towson head coach Paul Koncir said. "We were a little tentative, at times very conservative. They wanted to win, we wanted to win, but I think some of our youth showed through and we really didn't play all that well."
The loss ended Towson's sixth consecutive 20-win season.
"For a new coach coming in a week and a half before preseason starts and really coming in to make a tournament run, there was no rebuilding or getting used to each other or any of that," Koncir said. "To go 22-9 is as strong a season as they've had here. It's a couple of matches won and lost different from being one of the best seasons."
The Tigers held just one lead in game one, and were at one point down 28-22 in game two. Towson spent the better part of the four-game match trailing the Rams, who hit .260, and over .300 in the first two frames.
"I think we were always nervous because we were losing a lot, but we were always close," senior Christina Grempler said. "Even when we were winning, we were playing like we were losing."
After dropping the opener, the Tigers went on an 8-0 run on the serve of freshman Claudia Schneider to win the game, 30-28, and even the match at one game each.
"I think it was our wakeup call," Koncir said. "We went through the first game unsure and unsteady and pulling that out really woke us up. And it showed in the third game which was close all the way through and then in the fourth game we came out early and got ahead, but just didn't quite have it in us."
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