ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Barry University volleyball team (2-2) wrapped up the final day of the Concordia-St. Paul Invitational with another split to finish 2-2 on opening weekend. The Buccaneers fell 3-0 in the opening match to #6 Concordia-St. Paul Bears (30-13, 30-24, 30-28), but ended the tournament with an exciting five-game win over the Northern Michigan Wildcats (30-22, 31-29, 27-30, 26-30, 18-16). Newcomer Camilla Pagnan recorded 37 kills and 23 digs to lead the Bucs in the tournament finale.
In the first match, the Buccaneers faced their second-consecutive team ranked in the AVCA’s (American Volleyball Coaches Association) top-25 preseason poll. Barry only managed five team kills in the first set as the Bears took a one game advantage 30-13. The Buccaneers finally wiped away the early match jitters in the next two games, but Concordia overpowered the Bucs to win 30-24 and 30-28 to take the match.
Spenser Rigg led Barry with 12 kills against the Bears, while Pagnan added 10. Lauren Evans collected 13 digs, while Maria Romanowski added 28 assists in the match. Whitney Meierotto and Sadie Kessler led Concordia with 17 and 10 kills respectively. Maggie McNamara dished out 38 assists and led the Bears with 12 digs.
It took 2:25 in the Bucs’ final tournament game to finally come out with their second win of the season. Pagnan recorded a career-high 37 kills in only her fourth match of the season and added 23 digs to lead Barry.
The Buccaneers jumped out to an early two-game lead winning the first two sets 30-22 and 31-29, but the Wildcats would not go quietly. They rallied to win the next two games 30-27 and 30-26 to even the match at two games apiece. Barry had match point at 14-13, but the Wildcats scored the next two points to gain the advantage. The Bucs answered with match-point twice more before Evans served the final point to lift Barry 18-16 in the final set.
Rigg followed Pagnan’s 37 kills and 23 digs with a double-double of her own recording 14 kills and 27 digs. Evans collected a season-high 28 digs, while Romanowski added 64 assists and 16 digs. Katt Garvick led the Wildcats with 18 kills followed by Amy Goldsworthy’s 16 kills. Mandie Meyer, Caryn VanBeckum, and Katie Twardzik added 13, 11, and 10 kills respectively. Megan Elliot led NMU with 18 digs and Brittany McGowan added 61 assists and 15 digs.
The Buccaneers will return to action on Friday, Aug. 30-Sept. 1 at the Rollins Invitational. They will open with Alabama-Huntsville on Friday at 6 pm, followed by St. Mary’s (Texas) at 10 am and Michigan Tech at 6 pm on Saturday.
Match 1
Concordia-St. Paul def. Barry 30-13, 30-24, 30-28
Barry (1-2) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Spenser Rigg 12-0-0; Camilla Pagnan 10-1-1; Samara Ferreira 7-2-0; Stefanie Sveiven 3-0-1; Maria Romanowski 1-0-0; Danielle Bishop 1-0-0; Lauren Evans 0-1-0; Totals 34-4-1.0. (Assists) - Maria Romanowski 28. (Dig leaders) - Lauren Evans 13; Camilla Pagnan 9
Concordia-St. Paul (3-0) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Meierotto, Whitney 17-1-1; Kessler, Sadie 10-0-5; Palkert, Emily 9-0-6; Bennett, Kate 8-0-1; Woodcock, Kasey 5-0-1; Steinhagen, Maria 1-0-2; Erickson, Krista 1-1-0; McNamara, Maggie 1-1-2; Knutsen, Rachel 0-1-0; Slinger, Mary 0-1-0; Totals 52-5-10.0. (Assists) - McNamara, Maggie 38. (Dig leaders) - McNamara, Maggie 12; Slinger, Mary 11; Meierotto, Whitney 8
Site: St. Paul, Minn. (Gangelhoff Center)
Date: 08/25/2007 Attend: 213 Time: 1:17
Referees: Travis Karlia, Bob Stanek
Match 2
Barry def. Northern Michigan 30-22, 31-29, 27-30, 26-30, 18-16
Northern Michigan (0-4) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Katt Garvick 18-0-1; Amy And.-Goldsworthy 16-0-5; Mandie Meyer 13-3-2; Caryn VanBeckum 11-1-5; Katie Twardzik 10-0-5; Brittany McGowan 6-2-0; Callie Youngman 1-0-0; Briana Usitalo 0-1-0; Cassie Osiecki 0-3-0; Totals 75-10-10.0. (Assists) - Brittany McGowan 61. (Dig leaders) - Megan Elliott 18; Mandie Meyer 17; Breanne Zaremba 16; Brittany McGowan 15; Cassie Osiecki 10; Katt Garvick 8
Barry (2-2) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Camilla Pagnan 37-5-1; Spenser Rigg 14-2-1; Stefanie Sveiven 8-0-3; Samara Ferreira 7-2-5; Maria Romanowski 7-1-1; Caitlin Shawver 3-0-0; Meisje-Sable Burton 0-0-2; Totals 76-10-8.0. (Assists) - Maria Romanowski 64. (Dig leaders) - Lauren Evans 28; Spenser Rigg 27; Camilla Pagnan 23; Maria Romanowski 16; Julie Priester 8
Site: St. Paul, Minn. (Gangelhoff Center)
Date: 08/25/2007 Attend: 293 Time: 2:25
Referees: Ross Erickson, Jose Jones