Concordia St. Paul vs. Tampa: No. 2 vs. No. 3
Conor Nicholl
Jessica Lucia vs. Ericka Womack II.
On Sept. 3, in a 3-2 thriller won by Concordia, both players had terrific showings in a matchup of two of the nation’s best. Lucia had an efficient 18 kills, a .364 hitting percentage and 12 digs, her all-around game overshadowing Womack’s 22 kills and .400 average.
Saturday, with a spot in the Final Four riding on the outcome, would pose as the second test. Act II was just as good, as Tampa won 3-2 (15-11 in the fifth), but this time Womack won the battle of the two First Team All-Americans.
Entering today’s Elite Eight match, Lucia, Concordia’s all-around junior outside hitter, was my pick for National Player of the Year. She led CSP in kills per game (4.98), while averaging 3.24 digs per game and 0.77 blocks per game. The crackerjack hitter isn’t very tall – she stands only 5 foot 7 inches – but like the Bulldogs’ Sarah Shearman, she is very quick laterally and can jump extremely high.
She also is one of the nicest players on the volleyball court, constantly keeping a smile on her face between points. In the Concordia media guide, she said the one thing her coach accuses her of is being too nice in practice.
She hasn’t been especially nice to anyone throughout the year – least of all against Concordia’s 11 ranked opponents. She was just as electric in those matches, helping Concordia compile a 9-2 mark against teams in the Top 25, the second hardest schedule among teams in the Elite Eight.
In 10 of those (one of the matches against Minnesota State-Moorhead had inaccessible statistics), Lucia nearly identical or better numbers than she did throughout the rest of her campaign.
In other words, like all great athletes, she played her best against the top competition in the country.
This included Truman, as she had her only triple-double of the season in the preseason tournament against the then-No.2 ranked Bulldogs. Her numbers against ranked opponents included 4.56 kills, 2.87 digs, 1.08 blocks and a .271 hitting percentage.
These were the all-around best numbers against ranked teams by any player in the national tournament.
“I wish you all could have seen her play the entire season,” Concordia St. Paul head coach Brady Starkey said. “She’s an incredibly dynamic and fun player.”
She also meant more to her team than another player in the nation, evidenced by total points – a compilation of kills, service aces and blocks. Lucia had 27.3 percent of Concordia’ points, while the AVCA National Player of the Year, Kearney’s outside hitter Erin Gudmundson had only 24.8 percent of the Lopers’ points. By contrast, Womack delivered 17.5 of Tampa’s points.
Gudmundson hit for a higher season average than Lucia (.403-.326), but Lucia had nearly three times as many digs as UNK’s six foot senior.
And Lucia delivered against far tougher competition, as UNK only faced three ranked teams.
On the other hand, Womack, the Ichiro Suzuki of the national tournament, consistently maintained an incredible hitting percentage throughout the entire campaign. Her .458 average was third-best in the country, but nearly 30 points better than the Elite Eight’s second-best hitter – Lock Haven’s Yizhi Li.
Womack’s not especially tall (only 5-9), but she has springs for legs and a vicious arm swing. Her arm swing is one of the fastest I have ever seen – and that includes the Bulldogs’ 2004 First Team All-American outside hitter Jessica Sears.
Along with Lucia, she hasn’t slipped a notch against Tampa’s five ranked opponents this year – including Elite Eight participant Lock Haven, one of the best blocking teams in the country – averaging 3.41 kills per game and hitting an astronomical .449.
Womack outplayed her counterpart in the first set, belting four kills and a .500 hitting percentage in the opening frame, while Lucia contributed only two kills and a .000 average. Still, one of Lucia’s kills tied the game at 26 and paved the way for a 30-27 first set victory by the Golden Bears.
Lucia continued an average effort in the second game, garnering just two kills. Womack had two more kills, but was often dug by Concordia’s strong defense. Womack had only six kills and a .333 average (over 100 points below her usual number), but still provided enough offense – with help from sophomore outside hitter Katelen Dixon, that Tampa took the second game 30-23.
In the third frame, Lucia had two critical kills that led to a 30-28 CSP win. The first, at 20-19, gave the Golden Bears a two point lead and helped stop Tampa’s momentum, while the second broke a 23-23 tie.
Overall, though, Lucia was held in check, as Tampa took the fourth set 30-27. Lucia had another two kills in that frame, the first down the right line at 21-13 and the second from the middle top of the net that spilt the Tampa defense that pulled the Golden Bears within one at 26-25. She wasn’t committing a lot of errors, but the Spartans kept digging her attacks.
“The first time we saw her, we didn’t know what we doing,” Tampa head coach Chris Catanach said. “All we had was a lot of film that we broke down rotation-by-rotation for our players.
“I don’t make a lot of in-match rotations, because I am not a smart coach,” he said laughing, “but this time, [we were prepared]. We wanted our left sides to start at the pin [at the edge of the net] and then move in. Lucia’s a very outside-in hitter who moves well laterally across the line. We didn’t want her hitting the ball at an open net.”
Womack provided metronomic consistency in those two sets, including two early kills in the fourth frame that helped the Spartans build a 20-12 lead.
In the fifth set, both players enjoyed one kill, but it was Womack’s that helped turn the tide.
The teams switched sides with Concordia leading 8-6 and her attack on the very next point brought the deciding match to within one. They would never be further from the lead after that, taking an 11-10 advantage and holding on for a 15-11 victory.
Overall, Lucia had her poorest offensive output of the year against a ranked team, only garnering 10 kills and hitting .056, but contributing a strong defensive effort with 15 digs.
“I thought we could manage her, but I never thought it was going to be like this,” Catanch said.
Cailin Terhaar, Concordia’s First Team All-American setter, said Lucia’s offense wasn’t her fault.
“We have a lot of different options on offense, and sometimes not everyone is clicking,” she said. “It was Jessica’s fault tonight that we lost. The defense just played poorly.”
Starkey echoed similar sentiments.
“She just wasn’t clicking tonight,” he said.
She did finish second on the team with 15 digs. Womack, though, tied for second on the Tampa squad with 13 kills and hit .333 – the best hitting percentage by any player in the first two Elite Eight matches.
And her team one of the six teams left in the hunt for the billing as the best team in the country.
Jessica Lucia vs. Ericka Womack II.
On Sept. 3, in a 3-2 thriller won by Concordia, both players had terrific showings in a matchup of two of the nation’s best. Lucia had an efficient 18 kills, a .364 hitting percentage and 12 digs, her all-around game overshadowing Womack’s 22 kills and .400 average.
Saturday, with a spot in the Final Four riding on the outcome, would pose as the second test. Act II was just as good, as Tampa won 3-2 (15-11 in the fifth), but this time Womack won the battle of the two First Team All-Americans.
Entering today’s Elite Eight match, Lucia, Concordia’s all-around junior outside hitter, was my pick for National Player of the Year. She led CSP in kills per game (4.98), while averaging 3.24 digs per game and 0.77 blocks per game. The crackerjack hitter isn’t very tall – she stands only 5 foot 7 inches – but like the Bulldogs’ Sarah Shearman, she is very quick laterally and can jump extremely high.
She also is one of the nicest players on the volleyball court, constantly keeping a smile on her face between points. In the Concordia media guide, she said the one thing her coach accuses her of is being too nice in practice.
She hasn’t been especially nice to anyone throughout the year – least of all against Concordia’s 11 ranked opponents. She was just as electric in those matches, helping Concordia compile a 9-2 mark against teams in the Top 25, the second hardest schedule among teams in the Elite Eight.
In 10 of those (one of the matches against Minnesota State-Moorhead had inaccessible statistics), Lucia nearly identical or better numbers than she did throughout the rest of her campaign.
In other words, like all great athletes, she played her best against the top competition in the country.
This included Truman, as she had her only triple-double of the season in the preseason tournament against the then-No.2 ranked Bulldogs. Her numbers against ranked opponents included 4.56 kills, 2.87 digs, 1.08 blocks and a .271 hitting percentage.
These were the all-around best numbers against ranked teams by any player in the national tournament.
“I wish you all could have seen her play the entire season,” Concordia St. Paul head coach Brady Starkey said. “She’s an incredibly dynamic and fun player.”
She also meant more to her team than another player in the nation, evidenced by total points – a compilation of kills, service aces and blocks. Lucia had 27.3 percent of Concordia’ points, while the AVCA National Player of the Year, Kearney’s outside hitter Erin Gudmundson had only 24.8 percent of the Lopers’ points. By contrast, Womack delivered 17.5 of Tampa’s points.
Gudmundson hit for a higher season average than Lucia (.403-.326), but Lucia had nearly three times as many digs as UNK’s six foot senior.
And Lucia delivered against far tougher competition, as UNK only faced three ranked teams.
On the other hand, Womack, the Ichiro Suzuki of the national tournament, consistently maintained an incredible hitting percentage throughout the entire campaign. Her .458 average was third-best in the country, but nearly 30 points better than the Elite Eight’s second-best hitter – Lock Haven’s Yizhi Li.
Womack’s not especially tall (only 5-9), but she has springs for legs and a vicious arm swing. Her arm swing is one of the fastest I have ever seen – and that includes the Bulldogs’ 2004 First Team All-American outside hitter Jessica Sears.
Along with Lucia, she hasn’t slipped a notch against Tampa’s five ranked opponents this year – including Elite Eight participant Lock Haven, one of the best blocking teams in the country – averaging 3.41 kills per game and hitting an astronomical .449.
Womack outplayed her counterpart in the first set, belting four kills and a .500 hitting percentage in the opening frame, while Lucia contributed only two kills and a .000 average. Still, one of Lucia’s kills tied the game at 26 and paved the way for a 30-27 first set victory by the Golden Bears.
Lucia continued an average effort in the second game, garnering just two kills. Womack had two more kills, but was often dug by Concordia’s strong defense. Womack had only six kills and a .333 average (over 100 points below her usual number), but still provided enough offense – with help from sophomore outside hitter Katelen Dixon, that Tampa took the second game 30-23.
In the third frame, Lucia had two critical kills that led to a 30-28 CSP win. The first, at 20-19, gave the Golden Bears a two point lead and helped stop Tampa’s momentum, while the second broke a 23-23 tie.
Overall, though, Lucia was held in check, as Tampa took the fourth set 30-27. Lucia had another two kills in that frame, the first down the right line at 21-13 and the second from the middle top of the net that spilt the Tampa defense that pulled the Golden Bears within one at 26-25. She wasn’t committing a lot of errors, but the Spartans kept digging her attacks.
“The first time we saw her, we didn’t know what we doing,” Tampa head coach Chris Catanach said. “All we had was a lot of film that we broke down rotation-by-rotation for our players.
“I don’t make a lot of in-match rotations, because I am not a smart coach,” he said laughing, “but this time, [we were prepared]. We wanted our left sides to start at the pin [at the edge of the net] and then move in. Lucia’s a very outside-in hitter who moves well laterally across the line. We didn’t want her hitting the ball at an open net.”
Womack provided metronomic consistency in those two sets, including two early kills in the fourth frame that helped the Spartans build a 20-12 lead.
In the fifth set, both players enjoyed one kill, but it was Womack’s that helped turn the tide.
The teams switched sides with Concordia leading 8-6 and her attack on the very next point brought the deciding match to within one. They would never be further from the lead after that, taking an 11-10 advantage and holding on for a 15-11 victory.
Overall, Lucia had her poorest offensive output of the year against a ranked team, only garnering 10 kills and hitting .056, but contributing a strong defensive effort with 15 digs.
“I thought we could manage her, but I never thought it was going to be like this,” Catanch said.
Cailin Terhaar, Concordia’s First Team All-American setter, said Lucia’s offense wasn’t her fault.
“We have a lot of different options on offense, and sometimes not everyone is clicking,” she said. “It was Jessica’s fault tonight that we lost. The defense just played poorly.”
Starkey echoed similar sentiments.
“She just wasn’t clicking tonight,” he said.
She did finish second on the team with 15 digs. Womack, though, tied for second on the Tampa squad with 13 kills and hit .333 – the best hitting percentage by any player in the first two Elite Eight matches.
And her team one of the six teams left in the hunt for the billing as the best team in the country.
posted by Anonymous at Thursday, December 01, 2005
2 Comments:
If you like Golf, I have your website!
Was that third set as intense as it sounded on the radio? Geez...that was a close one for Truman. Potential momentum shift? Keep me updated. I'm jealous.
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