For Immediate Release
Nov. 3 , 2007
Piedmont ends Maryville’s five-year reign as GSAC volleyball champions
LAGRANGE, Ga. - Piedmont College took the 2007 GSAC Championship Tournament with a 3-1 win over top-seeded and regular season Maryville College at the CEB Gym on the campus of LaGrange College on Saturday. The Lady Lions took the match by scores of 30-25, 30-23, 22-30 and 30-28.
The win gave the Lady Lions (24-8) the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III national tournament. Maryville (18-13) saw its run of five straight GSAC championships come to an end. The Lady Scots had defeated Piedmont twice during the regular season. The Lady Lions last won the conference championship in 2001.
The final game was a tense back-and-forth affair. The game was tied 18 times. Maryville had its biggest lead, 10-6, after a kill by Jesse Zabal. Piedmont came back to take a 16-13 lead after a tip from Katie Tucker. The Lady Scots led 28-27 but could not put the game away. Tucker tied the game for the last time, 28-28, when she blocked a shot. Nikki Cole put down a kill to put Piedmont up 29-28. Maryville could not return a shot by tournament MVP Sarah Lane to end the match.
Piedmont built a large lead in the first game, lost it, and closed out the game with a strong run. The Lady Lions led 16-6 after Nikki Cole put down a kill. Maryville came back with a 7-0 run to cut the Piedmont lead to 17-15. Trailing 19-17, the Lady Scots reeled off five straight points, the last on a kill by Jesse Zabal to take a 22-19 lead. Piedmont tied the game for the last time at 23 on a shot by Kalin DeMarrais. Ashley Chima put the Lady Lions ahead to stay, 26-25, with a kill. Chima ended the game with another kill for the 30-25 final.
The Lady Lions controlled the second game from the outset. They led 16-8 after Katie Tucker put down a shot. DeMarrais’ kill gave Piedmont its largest lead, 22-13, and prompted a time out from Maryville. The Lady Scots scored four straight points to force a time out by the Lady Lions. Piedmont came out of the timeout with three straight points to regain control of the game and build a 25-17 lead. The Lady Lions led by as many as eight points before taking the game 30-23.
Maryville bounced back to avoid the sweep in the third game with a 30-22 win. The Lady Scots never trailed in the game, scoring the first seven points. Piedmont closed within two, 22-20, after a service ace from DeMarrais. Maryville closed out the game by scoring eight of the last 10 points.
