THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 6, 1994 TAG: 9411060377
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C15 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 52 lines
Kempsville volleyball teams put a double whammy on their opponents Saturday night at Tallwood High, capturing both the boys and girls Beach District tournament titles.
For the boys finalists, it was the end of the road - there is no Eastern Region competition.
But for the girls, the region tournament is set for Tuesday night at Tallwood. Kempsville will face Western Branch at 5 p.m., followed by Indian River against Salem - with winners facing off for the championship and a Group AAA state berth.
The top-ranked Chiefs girls team got things started with a hard-fought three-game decision over No. 2 Salem, 13-15, 15-9, 15-7. The boys followed with an exciting 15-7, 11-15, 15-11 victory over First Colonial in a battle of the No. 3 and 4 seeds.
Kempsville couldn't hold off Salem in a 40-minute opening game that featured 38 sideouts, but came out strong in the second game. Emerald Zemedkum served nine straight points to give the Chiefs (19-1) a 10-1 lead, only to have Salem charge back and score seven straight points with Jenny Harmon serving.
But after a sideout, Kempsville registered four straight points with Jen Rogers serving to get to game point. Kempsville allowed Salem (16-4) only one more point before Rogers put the game away with a hit off a Sun Devils block.
The third game was basically all Kempsville, but the Chiefs still had trouble putting Salem away, as there were 23 sideouts.
Melanie Freeman started a surge with her team up, 9-2 - scoring five points on some big kills to finish with nine in the game and 12 for the match.
Faline Phucas had nine kills for the Chiefs, while Zemedkum had 29 assists. Salem was led by Sara Gatewood's six kills and seven solo blocks. Misty Colebank added four.
The boys matchup was also equally matched and incredibly intense - lasting 10 minutes shy of two hours with plenty of in-your-face action.
The Chiefs used a balanced attack with Dave Merritt, Kevin Baucom and Brian Bersticker each registering 11 kills. Many were made easy by Jeremy Castellano's fine evening of setting. Bersticker also had seven blocks and Baucom had seven digs. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
GARY C. KNAPP
Faline Phucas, a Kempsville senior, had nine kills in the Chiefs'
13-15, 15-9, 15-7 win over Salem in the Beach volleyball finals.
by CNB