Sept. 10, 2005

Box Score

CORAL GABLES, Fla. - In the championship game of the Hurricane Invitational, Xavier and Miami squared off for a classic five-game match that saw the Musketeers come up just short 23-30, 30-27, 21-30, 30-22 and 10-15. With the loss, XU claims runner-up honors for the tournament after ending the weekend 1-1.

XU started out leading the first half of game one but Miami tied the score at 14-14 and then took the lead for good one point later. Two ties ensued after the lead change but a 5-0 run put the Hurricanes up 22-18 and took the game out of reach for the Musketeers. Kate Duchek paced Xavier with six kills in the game on a .357 hitting percentage, while Miami as a team collected 19 kills on a .405 percentage.

The Musketeers would rebound right away in game two as XU jumped out to the early 7-1 lead after two aces by Jenn Welsh and Duchek. Miami would climb back into the game and pull within two at 13-11. UM closed the gap to one with the score 25-24 and would tie the game at 25-25 before XU claimed the next three points to pull away. Duchek again had six kills in the game to go along with three aces and a .308 hitting percentage.

Game three found two quick UM runs turn into its biggest lead of the match. With the score tied at 11-5 in favor of the home team, the Canes mounted a 5-0 run to push the lead to nine at 16-7. Miami would again rally with a 7-3 run to mark its largest lead of 12 at 25-13. Xavier would pull within seven off two Carley Horvath kills but it would be to no avail as Miami answered to take the game.

A quick start by Miami was countered by the Musketeers in the fourth game. XU tied the game at 16-16 and followed by taking its first lead on the next point. Back to back kills by Jill Quayle and Duchek sparked a 6-2 XU run and put the Musketeers ahead for good at 26-20. Danielle Skrajewski rose to the challenge in the game as the junior notched seven kills in the crucial game.

The final stanza found Miami in front first with the early 3-1. A 4-0 run by Xavier put the Musketeers out in front 7-4. Three ties and three lead changes later found the Hurricanes come out on top. Astyn Bjorklund and Skrajewski each had two kills in the final game.

Duchek led the Musketeers for the second time this weekend. The senior totaled 19 kills on a .277 hitting percentage and added three aces. Skrajewski ended the match with a season-high 17 kills, while Bjorklund, Quayle and Horvath each totaled double-digit kills with 11 apiece. Jordan Brightwell ended with a match-high 18 digs with Horvath and Jenn Welsh also reaching double-digits with 10 and 11, respectively. Welsh also finished with 68 assists.

Xavier, now 6-2 on the season, will be back in action next weekend as the Musketeers travel to West Lafayette, Ind. to take part in the Mortar Board Premiere. XU will take on three team that made it to the NCAA tournament last season in Tennessee, Ohio and the host Boilermakers. As of last week's AVCA Coach's Top 25 Poll last week, Tennessee is currently No. 16, while both Purdue and Ohio are receiving votes.

Miami now stands at 5-0 and will host the Orange and Green Challenge next weekend. The Hurricanes will welcome Sacramento State, Michigan State and future XU opponent Louisville who is currently No. 11 in the AVCA Coaches Top 25 Poll.

As always, log on to the new home of Xavier athletics at www.GOXAVIER.com for all the latest news on Xavier volleyball. Live stats during next week's tournament at Purdue will be available through Gametracker so tune in to watch all of the action.