Coastal Carolina University
Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech Recap
12/4/1996 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Coastal ends season by falling to Georgia Tech in the NCAA Tournament!
It was almost 7:00pm Sunday night when official word got through that Coastal would be playing Georgia Tech. This would be the first time that these two teams have met since 1993.
The facilities at Georgia Tech are nice but very intimidating for any visiting team who might wander in. The gym is constructed of brick and has a solid metal ceiling that arches across the top. Thundering echoes of prejudiced fans bounced around the gym every time the band stopped playing long enough for the cheers to be heard. During every time-out cheerleaders jumped around 10 feet from the visitors bench to the sounds of the drums and horn section. The ability to read lips was a requirement!
The first set began with Georgia Tech flexing their muscle. Coastal was not able to get in a rhythm and looked overwhelmed by the atmosphere in the gym. Georgia Tech took a 12-3 lead and was beginning to wonder how Coastal had gotten this far. With the feeling of total control on their side Georgia Tech relaxed for a moment - long enough for Coastal to pull together and get in a groove. Roberta Croteau let loose from the service line. Croteau, Pawlyk, and Pulchinski took control in the backcourt and dug up every ball that came there way. Prowse, Bambenek, and Kutz did a nice job of blocking and channeling the ball. Before Georgia Tech knew what hit them Coastal had climbed back into the match. After numerous digs by coastal, several mistakes and two time-outs by Georgia Tech the score was tied up. When Croteau finally served the ball long in was 13-12 in favor of Coastal. Georgia Tech countered with several key blocks and 3 minutes later they had captured the first game 15-13. In breaking down the game two statistics stand out - hitting percentage and blocks. Although Georgia Tech was not able to stop Coastal's top two hitters (Croteau hit .375 % and Prowse hit .333 %) they kept the team % very low by posting 6 blocks for kills compared to Coastal's 1. Coastal scored most of their points off good defensive plays and tough serving led by Croteau (7 digs and 1 ace) and Pawlyk (3 digs and 1 ace). Coastal was able to stop the outside attack of Georgia Tech but they could not shut down Rochelle Komula who had 10 of the teams 17 kills (.444 hitting %).
Georgia Tech came out strong in game two. The biggest difference was their serving. They used a deep floater to the back line. The noise in the gym made it almost impossible for Coastal to communicate as Georgia Tech jumped out to a quick lead. Coastal came back and the game stalled for a while but once again Georgia Tech used their size to outblock the lady chants and claim the second game. Georgia Tech outblocked Coastal 7 to 2.
In Game 3 Coastal played better but they still were not able to return to the level of game one. Autumn Staub came alive in this game getting 5 kills on 7 attempts with 0 errors and Emma Prowse also showed her abilities with 2 block solos and 1 assist. Once again the blocking of Georgia Tech was the most prominent statistic (6 to 3).
The team was led in kills by Emma Prowse (10), Amy Bambenek and Autumn Staub (8 each), and Roberta Croteau (6). Emma Prowse led all blockers with 5 and Roberta Croteau had 2. The top two players for aces and digs were Croteau (1 and 16) and Colette Pawlyk (3 and 10).
Coach Lee on the match. "My biggest concern coming into this match was keeping all of our players healthy and focused…. Roberta Croteau has had a lot of injuries this season I was hoping she would be able to make it. She injured her neck and right shoulder the week before the Big South Tournament. It was questionable as to what extent she would be able to play against UTC last week and Georgia Tech this week. We felt that if we did not tell anyone our players would be more confident and that the opposing teams would hopefully set up their defense to key on Roberta as most of the teams have this season. Roberta had trouble serving the ball and she was not able to hit well either - of course this hurt our team!… We were very lucky this season. None of our key players were forced to miss a match because of an injury…. I am very proud of the toughness that this team displayed throughout the season. Against Georgia Tech we made too many mistakes. It was a very difficult match and the home court advantage was enormous. If we played the way we played at the Big South Tournament the results would have been very different. I hope we remember this experience and use it to help us grow for next season."
