Collegio Online

Issue date: 11/19/09 Section: Sports

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The Gorillas wrapped up its season in style as they took down Southwest Baptist 3-1 last Saturday. PSU ended the season with a 24-10 (14-6 MIAA) record, which is good enough to earn a No. 5 seed in the South Central region of the NCAA DII volleyball tournament.
"Going to the tournament has become a tradition. Each year, when we set goals, this is one of the destinations the team looks forward to getting into," coach Ibraheem Suberu said.
Pitt went back and forth with the Bearcats for the first and second set. There were 24 ties and 11 lead changes in those sets, but PSU fended off SBU to win both sets (25-21, 25-23). Southwest dominated the early part of the third set, jumping out to as much as a 20-9 lead over Pitt. The Gorillas fought back valiantly and brought the match to one point, 23-24, before SBU put the match away 23-25. The fourth set belonged to PSU as the Gorillas made quick work of the Bearcats to claim victory 25-10.
"It's good to see the result of this team's hard work pay off. This is a much- improved team with strong leadership on and off the court," Suberu said.
Three Gorillas finished the match in double figures, as well as hitting above .300. Junior Molly Bergkamp led the team in kills with 16 and hit at .424 for the game. Freshman Brooke Fay had a standout night in that she completed 11-19 kill attempts, recorded three blocks and hit at .474. Sophomore Corrinne Stringer was the other player to hit above .300 as she had a .303 hit percentage to go with 14 kills. Senior Pamela Cartagena recorded a double-double with 14 kills and 16 digs. Junior Cassie Wilson led the team in digs with 22, and sophomore Tesia Lahm had double digit digs with 10.
"It's becoming better to compete because we have better balance, and as long as we continue to do that, we'll have success going into the post season," Suberu said.
PSU finished the season with a flurry - winning 10 of their last 11 matches, after losing three in a row.
"The team has been doing a great job of staying focused in training, and we're getting contributions from everyone," Suberu said.
The Gorillas made the tournament for the sixth time in Suberu's 11 seasons at PSU, as they face No. 4 seed Emporia State.
"This team played their way into the tournament, we were out looking in from the beginning of the season, but we got critical wins and found our way back," Suberu said.
Pitt has one of, if not, the toughest regions in the South Central, as seven of the eight teams are AVCA top 25 teams and four teams are ranked in the top 10. The bright side is that PSU is familiar with their opponents, as six MIAA teams are in the same region.
"It'll be quite challenging because every team will be at their best, but you don't want it any other way," Suberu said.
Pitt has played ESU twice this season and split the season with each team winning their road match. The Gorillas play at 5 p.m. this evening in Warrensburg, Mo. Should PSU win, they will play the winner of the No. 1 Central Missouri and No. 8 Dallas Baptist match at 8:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 20.
"Our team members earned their opportunity here, and I'm sure they will definitely protect it, defend it and represent Pittsburg State gallantly," Suberu said.

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