Volleyball Plays Allentown at Moravian in MAC Playoffs Wed.,
Women's Cross Country Qualifies for Mideast Regionals Nov. 14
SELINSGROVE, (Pa.) The Susquehanna University women’s volleyball team will open play in the Middle Atlantic Conference Championship Tournament Wednesday, November 4, with a 5:30 p.m. match vs. Allentown at Moravian College’s Johnston Hall.
The Crusader women’s cross country team has also earned a trip to the NCAA Division III Mideast Regional at Allentown College on Saturday, November 14, by placing fifth at last Saturday’s MAC Championships over the same Allentown course. Under new co-head coaches Jim and Karen Brandt, the Crusader women were just a point out of fourth Saturday as they equaled the program’s best finish in the conference championship event — tying the fifth-place finish by the 1994 squad.
The Crusader men’s cross country season ended last week with a ninth-place finish at MACs.
THE WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL REPORT
Seeded fourth in the Commonwealth League, the Crusaders finished the regular-season at 13-14 under sixth-year head coach Bill Switala and will be making just the program’s fourth appearance in the MAC playoffs — the first since 1990. Allentown is seeded third out of the Freedom League and is 18-12 under third-year head coach Helen Deegan. The winner of Wednesday’s 5:30 match will play Commonwealth League runner-up and host Moravian at 8 p.m. Under sixth-year coach Shelley Sorensen-Bauder, Moravian is 24-5. That record includes a shutout win at Susquehanna (15-6, 15-12, 15-12) on September 29.
The winner of Wednesday’s 8 p.m. match will advance to the four-team MAC Championship Finals this Saturday, November 7, at Freedom League champion Lycoming. Joining the host Warriors (26-8) in Saturday’s final will be Commonwealth League champion and NCAA Division III top-ranked Juniata (34-1), as well as the winner from Wednesday’s other first-round matches at Scranton (23-14) with Messiah (14-11) and King’s (14-16). Juniata will be seeking its 17th-straight MAC title under head coach Larry Bock. Susquehanna is just a combined 2-6 vs. MAC playoff teams this season.
We believe we can certainly win our opener if we play well, and after that — who knows?,” said Switala,who is 95-89 and will be taking a team into the conference post-season for the first time. “While Moravian beat us earlier, we didn’t play our best and all the games were close. We’re playing pretty well right now and I think we can be competitive with anyone.”
Sophomore setter and co-captain Erin Leslie (Exton/Villa Maria Academy) led the squad as it went 2-1 last week, posting 62 assists (6.89 per game), nine service aces (1.000 per game), and 26 digs (2.89 per game) in nine games. She had a career high seven service aces in a shutout win at Marywood, also posting 19 assists and eight digs. Leslie continues to lead the team in assists (6.91 per game) and aces (0.50 per game), ranking third in digs (2.25 per game).
Senior co-captain and outside hitter Christy Herrmann (Havertown/Haverford H.S.) appears to be healed from a sprained ankle which forced her to miss a match and one other game. She had a team high seven kills and no errors in just 11 total attacks (.636) in the sweep of Wilkes last week, also posting 13 digs vs. Scranton. The school record holder in career digs with 1,244, Herrmann is second all-time in service aces with 197. She continues to leads the team in digs (3.59 per game) and kills (2.81 per game), ranking second in hitting percentage (.208) and aces (0.46 per game).
Freshman middle hitter Sarah Lauro (Collegeville/Villa Maria Academy) remains the team’s most accurate hitter (.223) and its leader in blocks with 81 (57 solo/0.85 per game). She also averages over two kills per game (2.03).
Junior outside hitter Missy Kuruzovich (Johnstown/Westmont Hilltop H.S.) also supports up front, but is one of the leaders along the back row. She is second in digs (2.73 per game) and is third in aces with 35 (0.36 per game).
THE X-COUNTRY REPORT
Freshmen Kim Owen (Hummelstown/Lower Dauphin H.S.) became the first Crusader women’s cross country runner to earn a spot on the All-MAC Team as she placed 10th out of 112 runners at the championship meet with a time of 20:32.2 over the 5,000-meter course. Owen has been the team’s top finisher in all eight meets this season.
Owen was the girls’ team captain for the Brandts last season as they coached the cross country teams at Lower Dauphin High School. It was a proud day for the Brandts as three of their former Lower Dauphin athletes earned All-MAC honors. Moravian freshman Emily Shertzer was second in the women’s race, while Lebanon Valley’s James Mentzer was seventh for the men.
It was really a special day for us to be able to see all our former athletes do so well on the collegiate level” said Karen. “We were obviously very proud of the performance of our women’s team. They had some historic firsts and made it a great day for the Susquehanna program.”
Senior captain Angela Happel (Tuckerton, N.J./Pinelands Regional H.S.) was clearly one of the keys to that performance. Easily the team’s most improved runner, she placed 15th at MACs with a time of 20:52.1.
Junior Renee Lathrop (South Portland, Maine/South Portland H.S.) was the team’s next finisher in 33rd, running 21:36.8.
While the men missed the cut for regionals, they had a solid finish behind a group of runners who will also be back next season.
Despite turning an ankle, freshman Jake Trevino (Danville/Danville H.S.) was the team’s top finisher for the seventh time in eight meets this season — placing 33rd with a time of 28:45.9 over the 8,000-meter course. Trevino was in position for a top 10 finish before turning the ankle.
Fellow freshman Michael Lehtonen (Laurens, N.Y./Morris Central H.S.) finished right behind in 34th at 28:47.7, while junior Jamie Yoder (Turbotville/Warrior Run H.S.) completed his late-season surge by finishing 47th at 29:23.8.
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