Potomac State Volleyball

Potomac State wins Southern Maryland Invitational

Catamounts rally in fifth game for title

LAPLATA, MD ý All-tournament selections Ashley Sallee and Krista Plumer led strong all-around team performances over the weekend as Potomac State went 4-0 in winning the Southern Maryland Women's Volleyball Invitational Tournament.

Potomac State beat Southern Maryland in a five-set thriller in Saturday's championship match, rallying from an 8-3 deficit to win the fifth game 15-13.

The Catamounts had lost the opening game 21-25 and won the next two 26-24 and 25-15 before losing the fourth, 25-19.

Sallee had a triple-double with 18 kills, 12 service points and 11 digs, while Plumer had 41 assists.

The Catamounts excelled from the service line both days, with 43 aces in four matches and 14 in the final.

Kari Dancy added 16 service points and 12 digs, Julieanne Buckley had strong net play with 16 kills and a number of key blocks, Lauren Douthitt had 10 digs and Kelli Scott eight points and four aces.

The win over Southern Maryland, ranked No. 23 in the NJCAA Division II poll, avenged a three-set loss earlier in the season at a tournament at Howard.

"I thought we played excellent volleyball. We are a scrappy team, and we played with a lot of intensity and fire," said Potomac State coach Martha Ganoe. "We were down in the fifth game 8-3, and outscored them 12-5 the rest of the way. We just refused to go down."

"Ashley and Kari served really well in the championship match, and Julieanne Buckley had some big blocks for us at key points and had some amazing defensive saves to keep the ball alive."

In pool play on Friday, Potomac State beat Chesapeake 27-25, 25-20 and 25-17; Cape Fear, N.C., 25-19, 25-21, 22-25, 25-14; and Essex 25-13, 25-15, 25-18.

For the tournament, Buckley had 42 points, 44 kills, 22 digs and 10 blocks; Douthitt 42 points, 10 aces, 19 kills and 34 digs; Sallee 57 kills and 50 digs; Scott 31 points, 13 aces, 21 kills and 29 digs; Dancy 31 points, nine aces and 37 digs; and Plumer 23 points, 19 digs and 123 assists.

Potomac State is 9-3, with the only losses coming to nationally-ranked teams: Southern Maryland, Hagerstown and Rhode Island. The Catamounts play again Saturday at the Western Pennsylvania Collegiate Conference Tournament.