WISCONSIN SINKS USC IN SEMIS SIMI VALLEY'S LIVINGSTON LEADS SWEEP WISCONSIN 3, USC 0.Byline: John Packett Special to the Daily News RICHMOND, Va. - For USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. , the dream of winning another NCAA women's volleyball championship The NCAA has contested team championships in women's volleyball since 1981. The following is a list of the champions of each division with their record for the year in which they won the championship. is over. It came to a quick and sudden conclusion in the national semifinals Thursday night against the University of Wisconsin. Unable to get untracked offensively, the youthful Trojans lost to the Badgers 15-10, 15-9, 15-9 before a crowd of 7,783 at the Richmond Coliseum The Richmond Coliseum is also the former home of the American Basketball Association (1967-1976) Virginia Squires. The Squires played there (in addition to the Roanoke Civic Center, Norfolk Scope and Hampton Coliseum; all within the state of Virginia) from 1971 to 1976. . Behind the acrobatics acrobatics Art of jumping, tumbling, and balancing. The art is of ancient origin; acrobats performed leaps, somersaults, and vaults at Egyptian and Greek events. Acrobatic feats were featured in the commedia dell'arte theatre in Europe and in jingxi (“Peking of All-American middle blocker Sherisa Livingston and outside hitter Jenny Maastricht, Wisconsin took control of the match midway through the opening game and never really allowed the Trojans to get back in it. ``They did an excellent job of executing their system,'' said USC interim head coach Jerritt Elliott. ``We weren't able to pass the ball the way we like.'' Livingston, from Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. , finished with 21 kills and six blocks. Maastricht delivered 20 kills, nine digs and seven blocks. ``We knew we were the better team,'' said Maastricht, one of nine players from Wisconsin on the squad.'' We just had to go out and prove it.'' The Badgers (33-3) will meet top-ranked Nebraska (33-0) in the final. The Trojans, who started three freshmen and have a team full of underclassmen, finished the season with a 29-3 record. ``At this point, teams that execute and are crisp in what they're doing are going to do well,'' said Elliott, whose club accomplished neither of those goals Thursday and had a winning streak Noun 1. winning streak - a streak of wins streak, run - an unbroken series of events; "had a streak of bad luck"; "Nicklaus had a run of birdies" ended at 10 matches. In a see-saw opening game, the Badgers reeled off five straight points from 10-all to take the early lead. But they also lost the services of right-side hitter Claudia Rodriguez, who aggravated ag·gra·vate tr.v. ag·gra·vat·ed, ag·gra·vat·ing, ag·gra·vates 1. To make worse or more troublesome. 2. To rouse to exasperation or anger; provoke. See Synonyms at annoy. the right-shoulder dislocation she suffered diving for a ball in warmups Friday. ``I thought the match started good,'' said Elliott. ``We went through subs quick. Our system is based on executing and we never found our rhythm. Wisconsin did a good job of shutting us down, too.'' Behind four kills from Maastricht, the Badgers jumped to a 10-2 lead in the second game. The Trojans rallied and got as close as 11-9, but Maastricht took over again and Wisconsin hung on to assume a formidable advantage. It didn't get any better for USC in the third game as the Badgers streaked to a 10-0 bulge and were never threatened. Fittingly, Livingston delivered the coup de grace coup de grâce n. pl. coups de grâce 1. A deathblow delivered to end the misery of a mortally wounded victim. 2. A finishing stroke or decisive event. with a block, her sixth of the match. ``We shut down their offense,'' said Wisconsin coach Pete Waite. ``They have a very high-powered offense. In the first game, there was a lot of sideout ball, which I thought was beneficial to us. They weren't successful at first and I think they started losing confidence in themselves.'' Senior outside hitter Janae Henry led the Trojans with 15 kills and 11 digs, and freshman outside hitter April Ross had 13 kills and 11 digs. Freshman setter setter: see sporting dog. setter Any of three breeds derived from a medieval hunting dog that would set (lie down) when it found birds so that it and the birds could be covered with a net. Setters have long hair on the ears, chest, legs, and tail. Toni Anderson contributed 32 assists for USC, and senior outside hitter Antoinette Polk added 14 digs. ``It's frustrating and difficult, but we weren't the same team we've been the past couple weeks,'' Henry said. ``My hat's off to Wisconsin. They played an awesome match.'' In the first semifinal, Nebraska survived a midmatch lapse and remained unbeaten with a 15-3, 15-12, 9-15, 15-10 victory over Hawaii (31-2). Middle blocker Jenny Kropp led the Cornhuskers with 16 kills and 10 blocks, and outside hitter Laura Pilakowski contributed 13 kills and 11 digs. Middle blocker Amber Holmquist added 11 kills and 10 blocks, with setup specialist Cepero Greichaly getting 52 assists. For Hawaii, left-side specialist Lily Kahumoku had 18 kills and setter Jennifer Carey contributed 54 assists. In addition to making their first NCAA NCAA abbr. National Collegiate Athletic Association Final Four appearance, the Badgers had ended a four-year run by Penn State in the Big Ten. Wisconsin didn't clinch the Big Ten crown until the final day of the regular season, when Ohio State upset Minnesota after the Badgers beat Michigan State. The Badgers had come close to making the Final Four in 1997 and '98. Wisconsin was edged by Nebraska in the regional final two years ago and by Florida three years ago. This was the Badgers' ninth overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament NCAA Tournament can mean: Men's Sports
Livingston was a first-team All-America. Fitzgerald was honored with a second-team spot. |
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