On to Iowa! Volleyball Claims First NAIA Opening Round Win
November 18, 2018
By Mike DeVader, Reinhardt Director of Athletic Communications & Media
Photo Courtesy of Greg Spell/G-RoxPhotos.com
WALESKA, Ga. – For the first time in the history of the Reinhardt volleyball program, the Eagles are headed to Iowa to compete in the Final Site competition of the NAIA Volleyball National Championship after sweeping a highly-contested match with Coastal Georgia (25-22, 25-23, 25-16) Saturday night in a packed Brown Athletic Center.
The next step in the event takes place inside the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa, beginning on Nov. 27.
With the win, Reinhardt takes another historic step as a team and also adds to its school-record victory total – which is now at 34-6 after the triumph over the Mariners.
"First, let me start by congratulating Coastal Georgia on a great season," head coach Brian Goodhind said. "They had a great year, peaking at the right time. They ended their season beating the No. 1 team in their conference and then went into the conference tournament and upset the No. 2 seed and beat the No. 1 again – this time in their Championship to get the auto bid to the National Championship. I have tremendous amount of respect for their coaching staff and program.
"Due to the respect we have for their program, my assistant and I must have watched their video 30 times each dissecting each rotation and breaking down our game plans. All the hard work payed off as our players executed the things we asked of them very well. I can be known to be tough to satisfy and tonight I'm incredibly happy and proud of this team. They have accomplished another first here at Reinhardt within the program, and to be honest, I'm overwhelmed with emotion. Thank you so much to our Reinhardt family, all of them, for being there to support us and cheer us on. Thank you to the Phoenix Rising Volleyball Club for coming out and supporting us and thank you to the local communities that came out to cheer us on. It was an amazing atmosphere that everyone made so special and I know our players truly enjoyed playing in it. They wanted to play hard for everyone and make RU proud. To God goes all the glory!"
The Eagles' winning streak is now eight matches, and they wrapped up the home slate at a perfect 11-0 on the year thanks to a third-consecutive outing of hitting over .300 as a team (.356). Emily Charbonneau – who earned match point for Reinhardt to end the clash – shared the mark for most kills in the match with Tessa Colden with 10.
Colden notched a double-double with club-high 15 digs.
Carlee Baxter led the hometown team's offensive attack by setting up here teammates 36 times, but also tallied seven scores on the offensive end to go along with an ace.
The intensity of the opening moments of the competition was higher than any time during the regular season, as both groups played levels above their normal pace. Coastal Georgia used that to its advantage to lead, 7-3, early on, but multiple runs by the Eagles put them ahead by nine and eventually 10 points at 21-11 in set one.
Both teams would score a couple more times before a service error gave Goodhind's bunch the 1-0 lead.
The second stanza saw much of the same as the teams went back-and-forth throughout the set before Reinhardt blew the game open with a 5-0 run to go ahead, 20-12. The Mariners would find their second wind and storm back from a 22-14 hole to get within one at 24-23, but Colden stopped the bleeding with the set's final point.
The last gasp for Coastal Georgia came and went in the third set as it again opened a 7-3 lead before running out of gas. A tied stanza of 9-9 turned into 17-9 after the Eagles netted eight tallies in-a-row, and the Mariners would only score three more times before the hosts hit 23 and within arm's reach of the promised land.
From that point on, Charbonneau got two more kills and punched her club's ticket to be a part of the 32 remaining squads competing for it all after Thanksgiving.
Match times and opponents for pool play will be announced when the details become available.
For up-to-the-minute Eagles sports news, follow Reinhardt Athletics on Facebook, @RU_Eagles on Twitter and @ru_eagles on Instagram.
For more information on Reinhardt Volleyball, please click here.
Photo Courtesy of Greg Spell/G-RoxPhotos.com
WALESKA, Ga. – For the first time in the history of the Reinhardt volleyball program, the Eagles are headed to Iowa to compete in the Final Site competition of the NAIA Volleyball National Championship after sweeping a highly-contested match with Coastal Georgia (25-22, 25-23, 25-16) Saturday night in a packed Brown Athletic Center.
The next step in the event takes place inside the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa, beginning on Nov. 27.
With the win, Reinhardt takes another historic step as a team and also adds to its school-record victory total – which is now at 34-6 after the triumph over the Mariners.
"First, let me start by congratulating Coastal Georgia on a great season," head coach Brian Goodhind said. "They had a great year, peaking at the right time. They ended their season beating the No. 1 team in their conference and then went into the conference tournament and upset the No. 2 seed and beat the No. 1 again – this time in their Championship to get the auto bid to the National Championship. I have tremendous amount of respect for their coaching staff and program.
"Due to the respect we have for their program, my assistant and I must have watched their video 30 times each dissecting each rotation and breaking down our game plans. All the hard work payed off as our players executed the things we asked of them very well. I can be known to be tough to satisfy and tonight I'm incredibly happy and proud of this team. They have accomplished another first here at Reinhardt within the program, and to be honest, I'm overwhelmed with emotion. Thank you so much to our Reinhardt family, all of them, for being there to support us and cheer us on. Thank you to the Phoenix Rising Volleyball Club for coming out and supporting us and thank you to the local communities that came out to cheer us on. It was an amazing atmosphere that everyone made so special and I know our players truly enjoyed playing in it. They wanted to play hard for everyone and make RU proud. To God goes all the glory!"
The Eagles' winning streak is now eight matches, and they wrapped up the home slate at a perfect 11-0 on the year thanks to a third-consecutive outing of hitting over .300 as a team (.356). Emily Charbonneau – who earned match point for Reinhardt to end the clash – shared the mark for most kills in the match with Tessa Colden with 10.
Colden notched a double-double with club-high 15 digs.
Carlee Baxter led the hometown team's offensive attack by setting up here teammates 36 times, but also tallied seven scores on the offensive end to go along with an ace.
The intensity of the opening moments of the competition was higher than any time during the regular season, as both groups played levels above their normal pace. Coastal Georgia used that to its advantage to lead, 7-3, early on, but multiple runs by the Eagles put them ahead by nine and eventually 10 points at 21-11 in set one.
Both teams would score a couple more times before a service error gave Goodhind's bunch the 1-0 lead.
The second stanza saw much of the same as the teams went back-and-forth throughout the set before Reinhardt blew the game open with a 5-0 run to go ahead, 20-12. The Mariners would find their second wind and storm back from a 22-14 hole to get within one at 24-23, but Colden stopped the bleeding with the set's final point.
The last gasp for Coastal Georgia came and went in the third set as it again opened a 7-3 lead before running out of gas. A tied stanza of 9-9 turned into 17-9 after the Eagles netted eight tallies in-a-row, and the Mariners would only score three more times before the hosts hit 23 and within arm's reach of the promised land.
From that point on, Charbonneau got two more kills and punched her club's ticket to be a part of the 32 remaining squads competing for it all after Thanksgiving.
Match times and opponents for pool play will be announced when the details become available.
For up-to-the-minute Eagles sports news, follow Reinhardt Athletics on Facebook, @RU_Eagles on Twitter and @ru_eagles on Instagram.
For more information on Reinhardt Volleyball, please click here.