TOURNAMENT HOST WINS IT ALL AT THE BADEN COUGAR CHALLENGE VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT
[Sep-4-2006]
The WSU volleyball team improved to 7-1 Saturday after winning all three matches in the home-opening Baden Cougar Challenge at Bohler Gym.
The Cougars finished the tournament in just 10 games, defeating UNLV 3-1 on Friday and sweeping both Boise State and U.C. Davis on Saturday.
WSU Outside hitters Kelly Rosin and Adetokunbo Faleti made the all-tournament team, and WSU sophomore outside hitter Brittany Johnson was named the tournament's most valuable player.
“Winning these first three games at home showed our fans, our boosters and our teammates that we can really do this,†Johnson said. “We're proving to everybody that this is a new team."
The Cougars opened the tournament in front of 990 fans Friday night against UNLV, a team WSU had never beaten in regular season play.
The teams fought to an early 10-10 tie in Game 1, but the Cougars turned the contest into a blowout with an 11-1 mid-game run and finished with a 30-16 victory.
A WSU run also proved pivotal in Game 2 as the Cougars, led by Faleti’s game-high four kills, turned another 10-10 tie into a 16-10 advantage. The 6-point run eventually provided the difference in a 30-24 WSU win.
“We displayed how we were capable of playing,†WSU head coach Brian Heffernan said, “then UNLV came back and made some adjustments on us.â€
Those adjustments resulted in the only Cougar defeat of the tournament, a 31-29, back-and-forth loss that saw 16 ties and six lead changes.
However, UNLV could not prevent another Cougar mid-game run in Game 4, as the team turned a 16-16 nail-biter into a comfortable 25-17 lead. The 9-1 run highlighted the Cougars' 30-25 win and 3-1 match victory.
Heffernan was pleased with the win, but experienced mixed emotions after the match.
“I'm happy with the victory, but I'm not happy with how we played,†Heffernan said. “We need to come with a more-businesslike attitude. We owe it to ourselves to play better than we played. If playing our best means we can go out and absolutely destroy a team, then we should be going out on the floor to do that.â€
Heffernan and the Cougars returned to the floor Saturday afternoon for a match with Boise State.
Led by Brittany Johnson’s match-high 14 kills, the Cougars edged the Broncos 30-28 in Game 1 before adding two 30-24 victories in Games 2 and 3. The sweep was the fourth of the season for the Cougars.
The Cougars brought their brooms back to Bohler Gym Saturday night in a match against UC-Davis, but scarcely avoided losing in an epic game-one clash that saw 20 ties and 10 lead changes.
