Sept. 4, 2004

Box Score

It's like walking down the street and seeing a crisp $100 dollar bill lying on the ground only to reach down to pick it up and notice that somebody has attached a string to the end of it and snatched it away.

That's how The University of Texas-Pan American women's volleyball felt on Saturday (Sept. 4) at the UTPA Fieldhouse when the Lady Broncs held a championship victory in their grasps only to have The University of Oklahoma on the other end holding the string.

The Lady Broncs possessed a 2-0 (30-28, 30-25) lead going into the 10-minute intermission, but failed to capitalize as the Sooners won the final three sets (30-26, 30-25, 15-11) to capture the 2004 McAllen Holiday Inn UTPA Invitational championship.

Oklahoma was led by tournament Most Valuable Player Joanna Schmitt, who finished the five-set match with 15 kills and 19 digs. The Sooners had a plethora of players reach personal-highs during the contest, including setter Rachel Jackson who notched 58 assists - an OU program record.

Keri Coats had a career-high 21 kills while Jennifer Adams also added a personal-best 19 kills - both players were named to the all-tournament squad.

The Lady Broncs dominated the first two games, hitting .318 and .324 respectively, in their two victories. Senior Winker Cruz (Harlingen, TX/Harlingen South H.S.) finished with her third double-double (kills-digs) of the tournament with a 14-kill, 15-dig performance.

UTPA had two players honored with selections on the all-tournament team in junior Stephanie Redd (Seguin, TX/Seguin H.S.) and sophomore Heather Bravo (Las Vegas, NV/Durango H.S.). Against the Sooners, Redd finished the contest with 14 kills and six block assists while Bravo notched 10 kills and 19 digs. Bravo also led the Lady Broncs with 52 kills in four matches.

Sophomore Carol Marcengo (Curitiba, Brazil/SPEI H.S.) was named the Libero of the Tournament, recording three matches of 20 or more digs. In the final match, she had a team-high 21 digs and ended the tournament with a total of 80.

UTPA setter Jen Dameworth (El Paso, TX/Franklin H.S.) dished out 44 assists in the contest and quarterbacked the Lady Broncs' offense by averaging 34.0 assists per match as she finished with 136 assists for the tournament.

The Lady Broncs finished the tournament in second place with a 3-1 record while OU finished with a 4-0 mark.

UTPA reached the championship game after routing Providence College, a member of the Big East Conference, in straight sets (30-15, 30-14, 30-18) in its first match of the second day of tournament action.

The Lady Broncs' defense put forth a stifling performance, holding the Friars to a match hitting percentage of -.041, while the offense ran on all cylinders hitting .263 for the match.

Cruz led UTPA with an 11-kill, 11-dig performance, which marked her second double-double (kills-digs) of the tournament. Bravo nearly missed a double-double of her own as she finished the match with nine kills and nine digs.

Dameworth once again quarterbacked the offense as she dished out 22 assists to go along with eight digs and two service aces. Marcengo also had eight digs for the Lady Broncs.

UTPA will be back in action on Wednesday (Sept. 8) against Baylor, another member of the Big 12 Conference, in Waco, TX, with game time slated for 7 p.m.

2004 McAllen Holiday Inn UTPA Invitational Honors
Most Valuable Player
Joanna Schmitt (University of Oklahoma)

Libero of the Tournament
Carol Marcengo (University of Texas-Pan American)

McAllen Holiday Inn UTPA Invitational All-Tournament Team
Stephanie Redd (University of Texas-Pan American) Heather Bravo (University of Texas-Pan American) Keri Coates (University of Oklahoma) Jennifer Adams (University of Oklahoma) Lacey Cromier (Grambling State University) Eveta Gambrah (University of Louisiana at Monroe)

Tournament Recaps

Louisiana at Monroe 3, Grambling State 2 (30-28, 30-24, 26-30, 29-31, 15-13)
It might have taken five sets, but the University of Louisiana at Monroe pulled out its first victory of the season by defeating Grambling State, 3-2.

The Lady Indians had two players earned double-doubles (kills-digs) in Lindsey Ehlert (21 kills - 11 digs) and Megan Gloor (18 kills - 13 digs) while setter Darci Mika had a tournament-high 62 assists in the five-game contest. Ashley Williams finished with 15 kills while Eveta Gambrah contributed with 12 of her own along with five blocks.

The Lady Tigers were led by Natashia Wilmore, who finished with a team-high 13 kills, and Latasha Smith and Lacey Cromier each added 12 kills apiece. Setter Lequia Collins had 29 assists for Grambling State.

University of Oklahoma 3, Grambling State 0 (30-26, 30-22, 30-24)
Led by an offense that hit .308 for the match, the Sooners rolled past Grambling State in straight sets for their third consecutive win of the season under new head coach Santiago Restrapo.

Joanna Schmitt had a team-high 16 kills while adding five service aces and four digs. Anna Stadel finished with a hitting percentage of .556 (5-0-9) while Keri Coats hit .526 (11-1-19) in the victory.

Latasha Smith had a team-high eight kills while senior setter Lequia Collins dished out 19 assists. Krystal Credit and Marquita Waites added 19 and 10 digs, respectively.

University of Louisiana at Monroe 3, Providence 2 (34-32, 28-30, 28-30, 30-20, 16-14)
The University of Louisiana at Monroe picked up its second straight five-set match victory of the tournament over Providence College.

Lindsey Ehlert (21 kills-19 digs) and Megan Gloor (16 kills-18 digs) each added a double-double (kills-digs) to lead the Lady Indians. Setter Darci Mika finished with 60 assists, which was the second consecutive match that the ULM sophomore finished with 60 or more assists. Mika concluded with a tournament-high 173 assists for the Lady Indians.

Ayana Cadres led the Friars with a game-high 26 kills while Annie Fiorvanti dished out 48 assists and added eight digs.

The University of Louisiana at Monroe finished the tournament with a 2-2 record while Providence was 0-4.

UTPA Sports Information