RAMS CLOSE SEASON WITH ONE UP, ONE DOWN

RICHMOND, Va. – Virginia Commonwealth University completed its 2007 season with one win and one loss Saturday at the VCU/Third Degree Sportswear Thanksgiving Invitational at the Alltel Pavilion at the Stuart C. Siegel Center.

The Rams, who finish the year with a 12-21 mark, earned a 3-2 (28-30, 30-23, 30-24, 24-30, 15-12) win over Georgetown early in the day, then dropped a 3-2 (30-26, 24-30, 30-19, 26-30, 15-7) decision to Northeast Conference Champion Long Island in the nightcap.

Here is a recap of both matches:

VCU 3, Georgetown 2 (28-30, 30-23, 30-24, 24-30, 15-12)

Junior Elisa Kuehnel (Dresden, Germany/Sportsgymnasium) led all players with a career-high 22 kills, as well as five blocks, to propel the Rams to a 3-2 win over the Hoyas for the second time this season.

VCU defeated also Georgetown, 3-2, Oct. 16 in Washington, D.C. The victory also marked the 50th career win for Rams’ Head Coach James Finley. Finley is 50-51 in three seasons and led VCU to its first Colonial Athletic Association title and NCAA berth in 2005.

Freshman Ariel Newman (Greensboro, N.C./Southern Guilford) added 18 kills and 21 digs for the Rams, who registered four players with double figure kill totals.

Kortney Robinson led the Hoyas (5-27) with 14 kills and 19 digs.

Long Island 3, VCU 2 (30-26, 24-30, 30-19, 26-30, 15-7)

VCU freshman Jessica Ojukwu (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Colegio Dourado) led the Rams with 17 kills and a .297 hitting percentage, but Long Island’s Shelby Heggie stole the show with a match-high 28 kills.

After fighting to capture a 30-26 win in game four to send the match to a fifth and deciding frame, VCU ran out of gas, and the Blackbirds took advantage.

Heggie ripped two kills to open the session, and three VCU errors dug a 5-0 hole. The lead eventually ballooned to 9-1 before the Rams could stem the tide. However, it would be too little to late.

Meanwhile, VCU junior libero Laryssa Goncalves (Curitiba, Brazil/Colegio Dom Bosco) logged 26 digs in the match, raising her season total to 673, the second most in school history. Kelly Baker holds the all-time mark with 689 digs in 1985. Goncalves’ average of 5.18 digs per game is the third-best in school history.