Nov. 20, 2009

XAVIER PREVAILS OVER CHARLOTTE 3-1 TO ADVANCE TO SEMIFINALS

DAYTON, Ohio -- Twenty kills from Atlantic 10 Student-Athlete of the Year Kelly Ruth helped the Xavier Musketeers defeat the Charlotte 49ers 3-1 at the Frericks Center on the campus of the University of Dayton. The Musketeers will face No. 2-seed Saint Louis at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.

Ruth's kill tally led the Musketeers on Friday; she hit .349 in the match. Hillary Otte was 13-of-26 for a .346 attack effiency in the match.

Charlotte was paced with 10 kills from two student-athletes. Bianca Rouse hit .350 on a 10-of-20 night. Jenna Litoborski also had 10 kills.

Xavier led in blocking 9.5 to 4.0. Michell Matia had five block assists and one solo block. Charlotte's Kara Raker had three block assists.

Charlotte's Kaitlin Knight and Sheri Davis led the 49ers in digs tallying 11 apiece. XU's Ruth had 14 digs and A-10 Libero and Rookie of the Year Stephanie Vorherr had 12 in the match.

Xavier improves to 20-11 this season. They earned the third seed in the tournament with an 11-4 record. Charlotte falls to 16-15 and 6-9 in the A-10.

TEMPLE OUTLASTS GEORGE WASHINGTON IN FIVE SETS

DAYTON, Ohio - The Temple Owls prevailed over the George Washington Colonials, securing a berth into the Atlantic 10 semifinal held at the Frericks Center on the campus of the University of Dayton. The Owls will meet the number one seeded Dayton Flyers at 5:00 p.m. ET on Saturday.

Temple's Yun Yi Zhang led all attackers with 29 kills in the match. Zhang finished with a .313 attack efficiency, with two solo blocks and a block assist on the night. Cayleigh Ashman also scored in double-figures adding 10 kills for the Owls.

George Washington's Leah Hill led the team tallying a double-double. Hill had 19 kills and 14 digs against the Owls. Lauren Whyte was the next highest scorer adding 16 kills and 16 digs. Whyte was joined by Candace Silva-Martin as a team-leader in digs.

On the defensive end, Temple was paced by libero Ariel Pierre's 23 digs. Pierre added one service ace and one kill in addition to her dig total.

The George Washington Colonials close out their season with a 21-12 and 8-7 record in the A-10. The Owls improve to 14-11 and 9-6 in the conference.