SPARTANBURG,S.C.?The Presbyterian College volleyball team ended its 2008 season with a second place finish at the Provisional Invitational held at USC Upstate Nov. 21 and 22. After defeating USC Upstate in the semifinals, the Blue Hose lost in the championship match to Central Arkansas.
Lisa Shelley (Columbia, S.C./Blythewood) and Amanda Kettles (Canton, Ga./Cherokee) both received All-Tournament team honors, as Shelley led PC with 53 kills and 45 digs on the weekend and Kettles recorded 52 kills and eight blocks. The Blue Hose finished the tournament with a 3-1 record to end the season with a final standing of 13-21.
PC advanced to the championship match by defeated USC Upstate 3-1 (25-15, 25-17, 18-25, 25-21) in the semifinal round. The Blue Hose jumped out to a 17-10 lead off of back-to-back kills from Kettles in the first set on their way to a 25-15 victory. In the second set, PC took a 9-8 lead that turned into a 20-15 advantage after a Heather Swain (Woodruff, S.C./Southside Christian) kill. The second set ended on a Shelley kill to put PC up two sets to none.
USC Upstate rebounded in the third set and went up 21-16 before taking the set 25-18. The Blue Hose trailed early in the fourth set but regained the momentum, taking a 14-11 advantage after a service ace by Ashley Dunlap (Greenville, S.C./Greenville). The Spartans, however, mounted a rally and regained the lead at 18-16. PC answered by outscoring Upstate 9-3, and closed out the match with kills from Kettles and Swain to win 25-21.
PC had three players record double-digit kills against the Spartans, led by Kettles' 18 kills, Kelsey McKee's (Greenville, S.C./Eastside) 16 and Shelley's 14 kills. Rachel Lewis (Bloomington, Ill./Tri-Valley) tallied 48 assists while Dunlap collected 17 digs.
In the championship match PC faced a tough Central Arkansas team and fell behind two sets to one. To start the third set both teams traded points early, but the Blue Hose were unable to shut down Central Arkansas and lost the match 13-25, 22-25, 17-25. Shelley paced PC with nine kills and eight digs, and Kettles tallied eight kills and two blocks.
The Blue Hose end the year with a 13-21 overall record, a 6-10 standing in Big South conference action, and a second place finish in the Provisional Invitational.
