(Posted November 10, 2005)

Huntingdon, PA - Gallaudet University held off a late run in game three to earn a 3-0 sweep over the College of Notre Dame in NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional action in Huntingdon, Pa. Thursday afternoon. The fourth-seed Bison (23-11) will move on to play top-seed Juniata College in the regional semifinal Friday night. Notre Dame closes its season with a record of 28-12.
The victory was the first-ever NCAA Tournament win for Gallaudett as they claimed the match by game scores of 30-23, 30-27 and 33-31.
The Bison used a strong serving run by Pia Marie Palone to turn a 10-12 deficit into a 16-13 lead midway through game one, and then scored six of the last seven points in the game to claim the win.

A close game two was again turned late in the contest as a kill from Charity Sanders gave the Bisons a 19-14 advantage. The Gators battled back, cutting the lead to one following at 27-26 following a kill from Kellie Krouse. But Gallaudet hung on, getting a kill from Stacy Segeberg to seal the victory in game two.

Game three was tight throughout, with neither team holding a lead of more than four points. Trailing 29-27 late, Notre Dame fought off a pair of game points after a Gallaudet attack error and a kill from Krouse. Sanders answered with a finish for Bison, earning a third game point. The Gators were again resilient, scoring two consecutive points, the last one on a kill from Kimberly Myers to earn a game point of their own. But back-to-back kills from Sanders made it 32-31 Gallaudet and the match ended on an attack error for Notre Dame.

The Bison's Valerie Trofimenkoff led all players with 17 kills in the match, while Kristina Burke and Sanders added 14 and 13 kills respectively. Paulone passed out 50 assists for Gallaudet helping the team hit .344 on the match. The Bison also had three players finish in double figures in digs, as Segeberg and Burke both had 14. Trofimenkoff also led the team with five blocks.

Krouse was tops for the Gators with 13 finishes in the match, while adding a team-best two blocks. Katie Gwiazdowski led all players with 19 digs in the contest.



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