Aug. 26, 2006

Box Score

Muncie, Ind. - In the final game of the Ball State Nike/Active Ankle Weekend at Worthen Arena, Xavier swept IPFW in three games to finish the weekend with a 2-1 record. Freshman Lauren Kaminsky enjoyed a successful homecoming as the rookie recorded three matches with 10 or more kills and notched a double double in her first collegiate match. With the win, the Musketeers are now 2-1 on the season, while IPFW drops to 0-3 overall.

After a 1-1 tie to start game one, Xavier would not look back and cruised to a 30-15 win in the opener. The Musketeers posted a 15-5 run to take the lead after the 1-1 tie and would claim their largest lead at 26-13. Senior Danielle Skrajewski led the way with seven of XU's 22 kills in the game and helped the squad to a .514 hitting percentage on the game. Sophomore Jenn Welsh dished out 17 assists, while Jenni Horvath added four digs in the frame.

The Mastodons would not go away easy as there were six ties and two lead changes early on in the game. XU would claim its largest lead at the 28-21 mark after IPFW battled point for point with the Blue and White. The Mastodons would continue to hang around at the end and cut the lead to 28-23 before Xavier pulled away for the game two win 30-23. Senior Astyn Bjorklund tallied seven of XU's 21 kills in the game and Welsh added six digs en route to the win.

The final game saw some new faces to the court for both squads and some career milestones for a few Musketeers. It was even early on before XU pushed its lead to seven at 17-10 but a little surge by IPFW brought them back within three at 17-14. The Mastodons would close it to two at 20-18 before two kills by freshman Kelly Ruth gave XU the three point advantage at 23-20. The Blue and White would hang on to take the final game by earning seven of the final 12 points for the 30-25 win. Freshman Kelly Sherman would see her first action of her career and make it count as the rookie tallied her first collegiate kill and dig. Sophomore Vanessa Romano also notched her first collegiate dig in the game and ended with two for the game.

Bjorklund again led the Xavier offensive as the senior posted 16 kills and a .483 hitting percentage. Sophomore Jenn Welsh dished out 42 assists to go along with a team-high 15 digs and Kaminsky ended with another solid game of 10 kills, a .389 hitting percentage, one assist and five digs. Skrajewski ended with nine kills and a .600 hitting percentage with no errors.

On the weekend, Bjorklund ended with 42 kills followed by Kaminsky with 32 in her first action as a Musketeer. She also added a team-high five aces and 23 digs. Defensively, Jenn Welsh and Megan Hellman each recorded 26 digs.

The Musketeers will return to the court this Wednesday for its home opener at Cintas Center. XU will welcome the Thundering Herd of Marshall to Cintas for a 7:00 pm match. This will be the 14th time the two teams have squared off, with Xavier holding the 9-4 advantage in the series. The last time these two teams met was in 2004 when the Musketeers traveled to Huntington, W. Va. and were defeated 3-0. However, the last time these two squads matched up at Cintas Center was in 2003 as Xavier took the match 3-1.