Blue Hens down Rams to earn CCA title – Volleyball News
Women’s volleyball team from the Delaware University captured the Colonial Athletic Association Championship by winning the final match on Sunday, November 20. The exciting thriller took place at Bob Carpenter Building in Newark, Delaware. Blue Hens were
challenged by visiting Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and the hosts performed exquisitely well and rallied for a 3-2 (24-26, 25-17, 15-25, 25-18, 15-9) victory in the match. Rams put up a valiant effort but could not overcome the Blue Hens.
Previously, Rams have given four CAA Championship Match appearances in seven years and they were trying to become the first Number 6 seed to get hold of the CAA crown. However, Blue Hens of Delaware crushed their dreams and overcame a 2-1 deficit to earn
their fourth CAA crown in five years.
Senior middle blocker Courtney Hott (Fredericksburg, Va.) of VCU and freshman Cecilia Aragao (Recife, Brazil) performed well and paved their way to the CAA All-Tournament Team. Hott was credited with 12 kills and seven blocks in the match, while Aragao contributed
41 assists, 19 digs and three blocks in the championship.
First set of the match was closely contested. Both teams displayed good action on the net and jumped on every little opportunity to score points. Courtney Hott and Aragao formed a good combination and led VCU to first-set win at 26-24. Hott and Aragao pitched
out three kills apiece in the opening set.
After dropping the first set with narrow gap of two points, the Blue Hens hit back aggressively. They produced powerful serves and rallied a 6-0 run, while Rams were yet to be on board. Better combination of attack defence tactics enabled Delaware to stay
ahead of Rams. Setter Renee Tomko did exceptionally well in second frame and led the Blue Hens to superb 25-17 victory.
It was obvious that Rams would react in a hostile way. They opened the third set with hard-hitting from Hott. Delware score only three points, while VCU jumped to 11 points on the score chart. However, Blue Hens resisted in full force and tied the score
at 9-all. Afterwards, VCU picked up pace and added quick points to close third set at 25-15.
The Blue Hens did not allow Rams to go far with the lead. They took a good start in fourth set and pushed the opponent behind. Game score tied at the crucial stage as Blue Hens pulled off success in fourth set, 25-18.
Behind an energized home crowd, Delaware opened the final set with a 6-1 lead and totally dominated the scene. Rams tried claw their way back to 12-9 on a kill by Ojukwu, but a Blue Hen kill and two Ram attack errors ended the match in Delaware’s favour,
15-9.
The mentor of the Delaware squad, Bonnie Kenny, said: "I thought VCU had a great weekend. We just had to find a way to be a little bit better and fortunately tonight we were." On the other hand, VCU Head Coach James Finley appreciated his team's effort.
He commented: "These girls played like warriors."
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