Hurricane Volleyball Locks Up Championship Spot
Nov. 17, 2002
Coral Gables, Fla. (www.hurricanesports.com) – – The University of Miami volleyball team (24-4 overall, 10-3 in the BIG EAST Conference) sealed a berth in the BIG EAST Conference Championship Tournament Sunday with a 3-0 win over Syracuse (19-11, 5-7) in the Knight Sports Complex.
The Hurricanes cruised for the most part during the sweep, taking each match 30-26, 30-21, 30-24.
UM received a solid performance from senior Marcela Gamarra (Medellin, Colombia), who had a match high 16 kills and mustered a .343 hitting percentage.
As the lone senior on the Hurricanes’ roster, Gamarra was honored Sunday with a brief ceremony preceding the match.
“Marcela’s been tremendous for this program,” coach Nicole Lantagne Welch said. “She’s a great great player and such a great person as well. Everyone on this team cares for her so much and have learned so much from her as well. She’s really brought experience and dedication and has been a complete person for this program.”
Following Gamarra were Valeria Tipiana (Lima, Peru), who recorded 15 kills and nine digs. Biz Tyson (Jacksonville, Fla.) had 13 kills and 14 digs.
Lantagne Welch said that she was excited to have her team qualify for the select BIG EAST Conference Championship, especially considering the fact that the program was restored less than two years ago.
“It feels absolutely great,” the second-year coach said. “We are so excited to be going to that tournament. It’s something that we thought about for all last season and now we’re finally in the conference and (getting into the tournament had been one of our major goals. It’s exciting to have reached that goal.”
For more information on University of Miami athletics log on to its newly designed website www.hurricanesports.com, the official site for all Hurricane news, tickets and apparel. For Hurricane ticket information call 1-800-GO CANES.
