Dec. 2, 2005

Madonna, National American Emerge from Pool C at NAIA Volleyball

SAN DIEGO, Calif. -Third-seeded Madonna University (Mich.) and sixth-seeded National American University (S.D.) both finished with 3-1 records in Pool C to advance to the quarterfinals of the 26^th Annual NAIA Volleyball National Championship.  The tournament is hosted by Point Loma Nazarene University and is being played on campus in Golden Gymnasium November 30 - December 3.

National American started the competition with a loss to Savannah College of Art & Design (Ga.) on the opening day.  The Mavericks responded with three straight victories, including the win against Madonna, to take the top pool spot.  No stranger to post season competition, NAU (40-2) has advanced from pool play four of its six previous times in the tournament.

Madonna entered Friday's play in the driver's seat at 3-0 with National American already having lost a match, but couldn't seal the deal, losing in four games to the Mavericks to force the 3-1 identical match records.  The loss put Madonna as the second-place team from the pool and ended the Crusaders quest for an undefeated season as the loss dropped the team to 30-1 for the season. 

Azusa Pacific University (Calif.), at 2-2, needed a win by Madonna against NAU to help its hopes alive for advancement, but ended up disappointed and a third-place pool finish.  The Cougars posted victories against Indiana University Southeast and Savannah College of Art and Design (Ga.), but could not overcome the top two teams. APU finished its fifth trip to nationals with a 26-11 overall record.

Indiana Southeast started its sixth tournament with three losses, before striking gold in its final match against SCAD.  Junior Jennifer Mobbs led the Grenadiers, averaging 3.92 kills per game as IU Southeast ended the season with a 33-8 records.

In its seventh appearance, Savannah Art and Design looked forward to pool play after starting with a 3-2 victory against National American.  Unfortunately the Bees could never hit their stride in the remaining three matches, winning just two more games to finish the year at 23-9.

POOL C Final Standings

National American 3-1; Madonna 3-1; Azusa Pacific 2-2; Indiana Southeast 1-3; SCAD 1-3.

POOL C Results
Madonna (Mich.) def. Indiana Southeast, 3-0 (30-18, 34-32, 30-25)

Azusa Pacific (Calif.) def. Indiana Southeast, 3-0 (30-16, 30-15, 30-27)
Savannah Art and Design (Ga.) def. National American (N.D.), 3-2 (30-23, 30-26, 26-30, 23-30, 15-12)

Madonna def. Savannah Art and Design (Ga.), 3-0 (30-12, 30-26, 30-20)

National American def. Indiana Southeast, 3-0 (30-20, 30-27, 30-27)

Madonna def. Azusa Pacific, 3-1 (30-28, 26-30, 30-27, 30-24)

Indiana Southeast def. Savannah Art and Design, 3-1 (30-23, 21-30, 30-24, 30-28)

National American def. Azusa Pacific, 3-0 (30-25, 30-26, 30-19)

National American def. Madonna, 3-1 (20-30, 30-16, 30-28, 30-21)

Azusa Pacific def. SCAD, 3-1 (30-27, 30-18, 24-30, 30-16)