Cottey College loses in first round

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

ST. LOUIS--The Cottey College volleyball Comets late-season woes carried over into the postseason.

The fourth-seeded Comets dropped their first match of the District/Region XVI tournament to the fifth-seeded St. Louis Community College-Meramec Magic 30-15, 30-19, 30-27 on Friday night.

The Comets started out well enough; they played a strong game and made very few errors to begin the match in Game 1.

However, the Meramec team was able to step it up and took a lead after about halfway through the first game. They had a very consistent hard middle hitter who they went to for their strength.

"In between the games the Meramec coach told me that his team was playing out of their heads," Comets head coach Marla Kannady Foreman said. "He was as shocked as I was. Nonetheless, they continued to be very successful in scoring the rally points, despite the fact that my players were doing their very best."

It was do-or-die in Game 3 for the Comets, and they realized that their season was about to end if they couldn't turn it around.

"It was nip-and-tuck early, with strong comebacks from us late in the game," said Foreman.

In the end, however, it was errors that sank the Comets as they committed three more errors than Meramec in the deciding game.

Statistical leaders for the Comets were: Carmen Kintz with three aces and 22 digs, Jesse Jargowsky with 23 assists, Michelle Schulte with nine kills, and Anna Cruse with three blocks.

Although the Comets would have loved to grab that tournament win, the victor in this matchhad to turn around and face the powerhouse Longview Community College team on Saturday.

Longview ended up easily defeating both Meramec and East Central College to claim the Region XVI title once again.

The loss gave the Comets a final record of 12-11 in 2007, their third consecutive winning season.

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