Volleyball Advances to Round Two of NCAA Championship
By Teodor Handarov
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University of Miami volleyball team advanced to the second round of the 2017 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship Thursday after fighting off the College of Charleston, 3-1, at Exactech Arena in the Stephen O’Connell Center.
The Hurricanes (22-5) were dominant on the attacking front after the 10-minute intermission and combined for a .519 hitting efficiency after the break for the 25-21, 21-25, 25-20, 25-15. Miami achieved its fifth-ever NCAA tournament win and first since 2014, when the Canes prevailed over UCF in five sets. The victory against the Cougars (27-6), came exactly five years after Charleston eliminated the Canes in Gainesville at the same stage of the competition.
“College of Charleston is a good team, well-coached, and they were ready to play tonight. We appreciate the opportunity to play them tonight in this environment,” Miami head coach Jose “Keno” Gandara said. “The players were excited and were able to manage their emotions, so we did enough to win. Obviously, we have some things we need to fix before our next match, but I am excited about the way they approached the match – they kept their composure and we kept getting better as the match went on. We made too many hitting errors in games one and two. In games three and four we were a lot better at taking care of the ball.”
Miami was led by three postseason veterans in senior outside hitter Olga Strantzali (match-high 14 kills), redshirt junior setter Haley Templeton (match-high 47 assists) and senior libero Sylvia Hernandez (match-high 15 digs).
“It’s always exciting to be in the tournament and I had a lot of fun today,” Strantzali said. “I’m excited for the next game because we get to play against one of the best teams in the country. And I hope we do a good job tomorrow.”
“It means so much to be able to come back [to the NCAA tournament] and to come back to Florida,” said Templeton, who missed most of last season due to injury. “It brings back so many good memories. Winning again at Florida means a lot. Now, we just have to prepare for tomorrow.”
Redshirt freshman outside hitter Elizaveta Lukianova made a dream debut on the national stage, tallying 14 kills on a .435 hitting percentage. She also contributed two blocks on the defensive end.
“Liza is learning and growing by the day,” Gandara said. “She’s so connected here today and I’m encouraged how she continues to develop. She is a very mature redshirt freshman. She is coming along.”
Templeton posted career-high six blocks, a feat that was matched by junior middle blocker Lucia Pampana contributed a team-best six blocks apiece as Miami outblocked Charleston, 12-10. Pampana finished the night with eight kills, as did the Canes’ other starting middle blocker, sophomore Madison Dill.
Miami took the opening set, 25-21, without ever trailing in it. By the time Miami entered double digits in the opening set, it had already doubled up Charleston after a kill by Templeton for 10-5. Charleston got within three at 16-13, but a kill by Bird and a block by Templeton and Pampana restored the Canes’ five-point advantage at 18-13. The Hurricanes had to call a timeout at 22-20 after strong minutes by Charleston led to a 4-1 run by the Cougars, but Miami won three of the final four points, including Lukianova’s cross-court kill, her fourth of the frame. The Hurricanes outblocked Charleston 4-1 in the opening frame.
The second set went to Charleston, 25-21, after the Cougars went on a 8-2 run coming out of the media timeout, which the Canes led 15-14 thanks to a kill from Dill. A service ace by Hannah Sorensen culminated a late 4-1 run for Miami to make it a two-point set at 23-21, but Charleston’s eighth block of the set tied the match at a set a piece. The Hurricanes went into the locker room with a 24-22 kill advantage, but were less effective than the Cougars offensively, hitting .086 through the first two sets.
Miami regained the lead in the match after remaining composed under pressure and orchestrating a set-closing 5-0 run. Three kills by Strantzali, a block by Templeton and Dill, as well as Sorensen’s third ace of the match, responded to a 4-0 Charleston rally that tied the frame at 20-20. The Canes had a strong offensive showing, producing 18 kills on a .419 hitting in the set, with Strantzali and Lukianova reaching double-digits in the process.
The Canes carried the momentum into the fourth set to win eight of the first 11 points, which forced an early timeout by Charleston. Miami kept their foot on the gas pedal and won the set by a double-digit margin. Lukianova (4 kills), Pampana (3) and Dill (2) all hit 1.000 in the set, as the Hurricanes committed only one error to hit .684 in the final set.
Miami will face the winner of Thursday’s match between No. 2 University of Florida and Alabama State in the second round on Friday. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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