United States Coast Guard Academy

WORCESTER, Mass.--

Separated by just one game in the standings, Coast Guard traveled to WPI for a key late-season conference battle in Worcester. Falling down to match point not once but twice, the Bears fought back to win a dramatic five-set thriller (25-14, 24-26, 20-25, 27-25, 15-11)

After WPI got the first point of the match, the Bears took charge, grabbing the lead at 2-1 and never looking back. They were led in the early going by their senior libero Courtney Shire (Cape May, N.J.). Up 2-1, Shire got her second dig of the evening en route to a Bear point, with that dig also giving her 700 on her career. Shire finished the day with 31 digs, tying her career high. Out of the first Engineer timeout at 13-9, the Bears cruised on to a 25-14 set one win. In the strong first set, Ava Ahokovi (Honolulu, Hawaii) recorded nine assists and six digs while both Julia Gallinger (Garrison, N.Y.) and Allie Jenkins (Dripping Springs, Tex.) had jack-of-all-trade sets, each recording at least one assist, dig, and kill. 

In the second, WPI again took the first point, this time on a lengthy rally that woke the Engineer crowd up. They took that momentum and ran with it, holding a close lead over the Bears into the first CGA timeout with the Bears trailing 12-8. Out of the timeout, the Bears fought back to tie the score at 13-13, points 12 and 13 coming on back-to-back aces by Courtney Shire. After nearly getting a third in a row, WPI was able to recover and re-take command of the lead by a small margin, forcing the final CGA timeout at 19-16.

Again, out of a Coach Thomas timeout, the Bears rallied. This time Coast Guard fought to down just 21-20 and forced an Engineer timeout call, out of which Mary Grace Delfino (Alpharetta, Ga.) tied the set with an ace. WPI would respond in a big way however, reaching set point at 24-22 but the Bears rallied back yet again to tie the score at 24 before ultimately falling 26-24. The second set was a complete turnaround for the WPI attack, hitting .344 after .068 in the first. 

The pivotal third set commenced in rough fashion for the Bears who dropped the first three points and five of the first six. 14 points into the set, WPI was hitting at a .500 clip with no reception errors. Trailing 10-5 after an Abby Schweitzer (Emmaus, Pa.) kill stopped the bleeding, Mary Grace Delfino took the line with her team needing to go on a run. She delivered that with two aces and another Bear point sandwiched between to cut the deficit to two. For Delfino, it continued a red-hot streak at the service line after 10 aces in two matches last weekend.

As the set progressed the Engineers consistently kept their foot on the gas, reaching 20 first at a score of 20-15. On their 20th point however, the Bears were given a jolt of momentum on a miraculous save by Courtney Shire who dove over teammate Mary Grace Delfino and landed harshly on the floor. At 20-15, CGA scored the next three, including an Eloise Shirley (Rock Island, Ill.) block to force a WPI timeout call. Out of the break however, the Engineers emerged, scoring the next four points to reach set point, taking the set by a final of 25-20.

The fourth started just like the second for the Bears, digging themselves into a 3-0 hole. Forced to play from behind again, the Bears had to try to chip away. Immediately after their first timeout trailing 8-4, Abby Schweitzer delivered a booming kill with the potential to be a catalyst to a comeback effort. On the next play, Addison Krajicek (Aviano, Italy) echoed Schweitzer with a kill of her own. The Engineers just proved too relentless, not allowing the Bears to get the set back to a tie.

Down 14-10 in the fourth, the Bears mounted another comeback effort. They scored the next two points, point 12 coming in dramatic fashion after a long rally culminated in a Courtney Shire sliding dig that wound up over the net and landing right on the line for a kill. After a WPI timeout, a Schweitzer kill put the Bears within one but the Engineers again answered to score three of the next four points and stop the Bears from tying. Trailing 18-15, CGA took its final timeout in crunchtime needing to strike before time ran out. A Sam Ventimiglia (Key West, Fla.) kill and Engineer attack error set up the freshman Asia Fulp (Seaside, Calif.) with a chance to tie the set for the first time since 0-0, which she delivered with an ace. The teams went back and forth from there, tying at 19, 20, 21, and 22 before WPI called timeout after a Corey Lemmer kill gave the Bears a 23-22 lead. The Engineers answered, tying the score at 23 and forcing match point at 24-23. The Bears answered right back however, with an Abby Schweitzer kill before again the Engineers got match point. Again the Bears were there to answer, this time on the first swing of the day by setter Ava Ahokovi, whose kill set up Asia Fulp at the line to give the Bears set point after an ace. Coast Guard would finally not let the set go along any further, clinching a 27-25 set four win on a Julia Gallinger kill that just barely stayed in along the back line. 

After swapping the first two points in the winner-take-all 5th, the Bears took the first advantage of more than one, forcing a WPI timeout at 4-1. Sophomore sensation Corey Lemmer was responsible for each of the first four CGA points in the 5th with three kills and a block. The second and final timeout for WPI came with the Bears still in control leading 8-3 after Asia Fulp joined the kill party and Allie Jenkins delivered back-to-back service aces. Coast Guard was the first team to 10 after Sam Ventimiglia and Asia Fulp combined for a block, winning the next point as well on a Ventimiglia kill after outstanding saves by Jenkins and Shire. From there, the Engineers woke up, mounting a comeback reminiscent of what the Bears did the two sets prior, forcing a CGA timeout with the score at 12-8. The Bears were able to halt the Engineer attack with consecutive points to force match point at 14-8. WPI fought back to 14-11 with a WPI attack error finally sending Coast Guard home as victors. 

The win improves the Bears to 13-8 (4-4 NEWMAC). They will bounce back right away with a home match vs the University of Hartford tomorrow at 7:00 PM. The Hawks of Hartford are currently 12-9.