Women's Volleyball 11/3/2012 12:00:00 AM

Gallaudet cruises in fast Lane en route to third straight NEAC championship

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Gallaudet University women's volleyball team won its third straight North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) title in perfect fashion Saturday as the Bison downed Lancaster Bible College and Keuka College in straight sets in the NEAC tournament at the Field House. The Bison (31-6) entered the tournament having not dropped a set in conference play and continued that streak today with the back-to-back 3-0 victories.

The championship gives the Bison an automatic berth into the 2012 NCAA Division III tournament and marks the ninth time in history the team has advanced this far.

As regular-season NEAC champions, the Bison hosted the tournament and received a first-round bye. The team defeated Lancaster Bible College (17-19) in the semifinals, 25-11, 25-19, 25-9, before taking on second-seeded Keuka (24-8) in the championship. After dropping the first two points in the championship round to the Storm, the Bison found their groove and took home the first set in a tightly contested 25-19 victory. The team never looked back as they cruised through the second and third sets 25-8 and 25-13, respectively, to put the exclamation point on their dominant three-year NEAC run.

The Bison were led by tournament MVP Lane Peters (Phoenix, Ariz.) who finished the tournament with 14 kills, 42 total attacks, four digs and seven total blocks (one solo, six assisted). Peters, in her first season at Gallaudet, was relentless at the net all season long and continued her intimidating play in her first taste of NEAC tournament action. Opponents were forced to account for the junior opposite hitter's aggressive play with each rally as her presence up front caused a number of attacks to sail off the mark.

NEAC Player of the Year Ann Whited (Fishers, Ind.) finished the tournament with 12 kills, 38 total attacks and 14 digs in six sets. The senior outside hitter also finished with a team-high seven service aces and did not commit any attack errors in a highly efficient effort. Sophomore outside hitter Kali Frowick (Norfolk, Neb.), last year's NEAC tournament MVP, contributed 15 kills, 40 attacks and 35 digs while sophomore setter Sarah Tubert (Burbank, Calif.) set the table for the Bison's dominant front line with 58 assists in the tournament.

Keuka defeated Penn St.-Berks (19-10) in a hard fought match in the other NEAC semifinal by the score of 18-25, 15-25, 25-16, 29-27, 16-14.

GU holds a 3-8 record in the NCAA tournament, including a 3-1 loss to nationally-ranked Salisbury University in the first round of last year's tournament. Tournament pairings and matchup locations will be revealed at 11 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 5, by the NCAA's online selection show that can be viewed at www.ncaa.com.

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