DENVER, Colo. – The No. 25-ranked West Florida volleyball split day one of the 2010 Colorado Premier Volleyball Challenge, defeating Adams State in five sets, 25-18, 23-25, 24-26, 25-23, 15-8, and losing a heartbreaking match to No. 1 Concordia-St. Paul, 26-28, 26-28, 22-25. For the day, senior outside hitter Chelsea Wilhoite led the Argos with 31 kills.
MATCH #1 – NO. 25 WEST FLORIDA 3, ADAMS STATE 2
No. 25 West Florida opened the 2010 Colorado Premier Volleyball Challenge with a 25-18, 23-25, 24-26, 25-23, 15-8 victory over Adams State today at the Regis Fieldhouse in Denver, Colo.
Lindsay Homme led the Argos with 16 kills, while Katie Johnson added 14 kills, and Wilhoite and Kara Gonzalez both contributed 13 kills. Adams State’s Dominique Davis had 20 kills, two aces and seven digs in the match. For the match, UWF outhit Adams State, .261 to .157.
UWF never lost the lead in the first set, after winning the first point with an ace by freshman Molly Pearce. Adams State took a time out with UWF leading 20-13. Three straight Argo points once again gave UWF a seven-point lead, to take set one, 25-18. In set one, UWF outhit Adams State, .235 to .031.
Adams State built a four point lead in set two at 12-8. A Johnson kill tied the set, 21-21. Adams State won four of the next six points, including a kill by Tamara Fowler to win set two, 25-23. Throughout the entire third set, no team led by more than three points. Back-to-back kills by Fowler and Deprece Washington gave Adams State the set, 26-24. In set four, a Homme kill tied the set at 20-20. UWF went on to win five of the next eight points to take the set, 25-23.
In set five, the teams battled closely with a kill by Johnson tying the set 6-6. The Argos then pulled away, winning the next eight points served by Wilhoite. The Argos won three of the last five points, to take the set, 15-8. In the deciding set, the Argos held Adams State to a -.111 hitting percentage while hitting .500.
MATCH #2 – NO. 1 CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL 3, NO. 25 WEST FLORIDA 0
No. 25 West Florida lost an intense match to No. 1 Concordia-St. Paul, 26-28, 26-28, 22-25, tonight in the Argos’ second match of the 2010 Colorado Premier Volleyball Challenge.
For the Argos, Chelsea Wilhoite led the team with 18 kills and a .467 hitting percentage. Jamie Nichols added 11 kills and hit .381. Emily Palkert led the Golden Bears with 14 kills and a .440 hitting percentage for the match.
Back-to-back kills by Wilhoite and Katie Johnson put UWF up 10-5 in set one. Concordia-St. Paul took the lead, 11-10, following six straight points by the Golden Bears. A UWF kill by Kara Gonzalez tied the set at 25. Two kills by Megan Carlson gave Concordia-St. Paul the set, 28-26.
UWF scored four points in a row, including a kill by Johnson, to tie set two at 12. Concordia-St. Paul later won five of eight points to go up, 23-17. UWF tied the set at 25 with a Nichols kill. A kill by Palkert put the Golden Bears up 28-26 to end the set.
Concordia-St. Paul outhit UWF in set three, .412 to .294. A Carlson kill gave the Golden Bears their largest lead of the set at 18-14. A UWF kill by Nichols tied the set at 19. Concordia-St. Paul won five of the last eight points to take set three, 25-22.
The Argos will play in the Silver Division tomorrow to wrap up their participation in the 2010 Colorado Premier Volleyball Challenge. UWF is slated to play Regis at 12 p.m. (Mountain), while the other match in the division will be No. 14 Lewis vs. No. 12 Metro State at 9:30 a.m. The winners of these matches will face off at 5 p.m., while the losers will meet at 2:30 p.m. (Mountain). Live stats for all UWF matches will be available on www.GoArgos.com.
For information on all UWF Athletics, visit www.GoArgos.com.