2008 Woodie Awards
Delaware volleyball reaches CAA Tournament final
by Matt Hoffman
Issue date: 11/16/07 Section: Sports
With a convincing victory over James Madison in the semifinal game of the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament, the Delaware volleyball team showed why it is No. 1 in the conference.
The crowd was buzzing and energy was high as the match began. The first game got off to a slow start, as both teams were exchanging points. The score was 5-5 when junior Kelly Gibson stepped up and gave the fans a reason to cheer.
She launched herself in the air and as if pulling a trigger from a bomb, drilled the ball for a kill, causing the crowd to explode in cheers. Gibson would add 18 more kills on the night, to finish with 19 kills in the victory.
The Hens never gave James Madison a chance to get back into the game. Sophomore Stephanie Barry emphatically capped off the first game by serving up winning ace, giving the Hens a 30-10 win.
However, the Dukes were able to re-group in time for the second game, showing why they deserved to be in the semifinals. Both squads showed excellent defense and blocking and long rallies became a theme.
Barry showed why she was the quickest in Delaware history to record 1,000 career digs by flying around the court, gaining 21 digs on the night.
Game two could have gone either way if it wasn't for Gibson. With the score 25-24, Gibson used her powerful spike to record three kills in a row, helping Delaware win 30-28.
With the end of the match in sight, Delaware allowed James Madison a chance to mount a comeback. Delaware was losing 13-19, their greatest deficit of the night, when head coach Bonnie Kenny called a timeout.
Kenny said the Hens were not playing up to their ability and making little mistakes allowing JMU to run away with third game.
"They were just playing better," Kenny said. "We weren't matching their intensity. We had to get harder serves and find new lanes to hit the ball."
Gibson responded to her coach's call with a slew of kills to bring Delaware back in the game making it, 25-26. However, the rally was too late and the Dukes won their first game of the night, 30-26.
The crowd was buzzing and energy was high as the match began. The first game got off to a slow start, as both teams were exchanging points. The score was 5-5 when junior Kelly Gibson stepped up and gave the fans a reason to cheer.
She launched herself in the air and as if pulling a trigger from a bomb, drilled the ball for a kill, causing the crowd to explode in cheers. Gibson would add 18 more kills on the night, to finish with 19 kills in the victory.
The Hens never gave James Madison a chance to get back into the game. Sophomore Stephanie Barry emphatically capped off the first game by serving up winning ace, giving the Hens a 30-10 win.
However, the Dukes were able to re-group in time for the second game, showing why they deserved to be in the semifinals. Both squads showed excellent defense and blocking and long rallies became a theme.
Barry showed why she was the quickest in Delaware history to record 1,000 career digs by flying around the court, gaining 21 digs on the night.
Game two could have gone either way if it wasn't for Gibson. With the score 25-24, Gibson used her powerful spike to record three kills in a row, helping Delaware win 30-28.
With the end of the match in sight, Delaware allowed James Madison a chance to mount a comeback. Delaware was losing 13-19, their greatest deficit of the night, when head coach Bonnie Kenny called a timeout.
Kenny said the Hens were not playing up to their ability and making little mistakes allowing JMU to run away with third game.
"They were just playing better," Kenny said. "We weren't matching their intensity. We had to get harder serves and find new lanes to hit the ball."
Gibson responded to her coach's call with a slew of kills to bring Delaware back in the game making it, 25-26. However, the rally was too late and the Dukes won their first game of the night, 30-26.
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