Nov. 29, 2007

COLUMBIA, Mo. - The top two teams from Pool A advanced to the championship bracket at the 28th Annual NAIA Volleyball National Championship.

No. 1 Fresno Pacific (Calif.) cruised through its matches and posted a 3-0 pool play record.  The Sunbirds defeated Northwestern (Iowa), 3-0 (30-23, 30-19, 30-25) on Thursday and clinched a spot in the quarterfinals.  FPU will play at 3:30 p.m. on Friday in the second quarterfinal match. Three players reached double digits in kills for Fresno Pacific led by Thais Julio with 15.  Marin Canady and Brittany Pierce had 12 and 10 kills respectively.

Northwestern finished pool play at 2-1 and will also advance to the championship bracket.  The Red Raiders will play in one of the two first round matches at 10:30 a.m. on Friday.  Bobbie Jean Rich and Kaitlin Beaver each recorded 10 kills in the loss to Fresno Pacific.

Westminster (Utah) went 1-2 in the pool play with lone win coming against SUNY Canton, 30-14, 30-13, 30-17 on Thursday.  The Griffins will end their season with 25-12 overall record.

SUNY Canton posted 0-3 pool play record and dropped to 16-10 on the season.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Fresno Pacific (Calif.) def. SUNY Canton, 3-0 (30-11, 30-3, 30-16)
Fresno Pacific def. Westminster (Utah), 3-0 (30-20, 30-16, 30-14)
Northwestern (Iowa) def. Westminster, 3-2 (30-23, 28-30, 25-30, 30-24, 15-13)
Northwestern vs. SUNY Canton, 3-0 (30-12, 30-12, 30-7)

Thursday, November 29, 2007
Westminster def. SUNY Canton, 3-0 (30-14, 30-13, 30-17)
Fresno Pacific def. Northwestern, 3-0 (30-23, 30-19, 30-25)

Pool A Standings
Fresno Pacific: 3-0
Northwestern: 2-1
Westminster: 1-2
SUNY Canton: 0-3