Lady Cougars Fall in NCCAA East Region Semifinal


	Lady Cougar Volleyball Recaps Lady Cougars Fall in NCCAA East Region Semifinal written by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director Match #1 Boxscore \| Match #2 Boxscore MOUNT VERNON, Ohio (10-29-2011) - The Mount Vernon Nazarene University women's volleyball team finished a 2-2 showing in the National Christian College Athletic Association East Region Tournament showing by downing Houghton (N.Y.) College in the quarterfinals before falling to Geneva (Pa.) College in the semifinals on Saturday in the Physical Education Center. In the first match of the day, the Lady Cougars (13-21) downed Houghton (6-20) 25-16, 25-19, 22-25, 25-20 as junior middle hitter Gina Porto led the way with 17 kills and three blocks. Junior outside hitter Erika Votaw *(left)* added a career-high 13 kills, and junior outside hitter Haley Nofziger pounded 10 kills to go with three blocks. Freshman right-side hitter Molly Gerber also recorded nine kills, while junior setter Lauren Percival handed out 42 assists to go with 15 digs. Junior libero Kaylee Hewitt and junior defensive specialist Paige Hagans contributed 20 and 15 digs respectively. The win moved MVNU into the semifinals to face Geneva (25-7) where the Lady Cougars fell in straight sets 25-19, 25-22, 25-18. Nofziger led the way with nine kills and two aces, while Percival handed out 24 assists and had 11 digs. Hewitt also posted 16 digs, and Porto finished with seven kills and two blocks. "We played tough and with great effort the whole weekend," said MVNU coach Paul Swanson. "We played teams well, but we just need to execute better in crunch time." Geneva advanced to face Malone University in the championship match with Malone winning in five sets by the scores of 15-25, 25-19, 25-16, 23-25, 15-8 to claim the NCCAA East Region title and earn an automatic berth into the NCCAA National Tournament in Kissimmee, Fla. The Lady Cougars will close out their regular season next Thursday with a non-conference home match against Cedarville University that will start at 7 p.m.

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