College Showcase: Geile records 1,000th career kill

Tue, Nov 3, 2009    to del.icio.us

Fruitport graduate Jackie Geile recorded her 1,000th career kill on Saturday, helping the Taylor University women's volleyball team win a pair of matches at its home Trojan Challenge and in the process, earn its fourth-straight 30-win season.

Geile, a junior, reached the lofty mark with her 10th and final kill early in the third game against Ohio Dominican. Taylor swept the match, and also edged Indiana Wesleyan earlier in the day in a five-game decision, improving its record to 30-5 this season.

Geile and teammate Kelsey Pritchard, who also reached 1,000 kills on Saturday, became just the 17th and 18th players in Taylor's program history to reach the milestone.

Taylor clinched its third-straight Mid-Central College Conference chmapionship on Oct. 28 with a sweep of Huntington. The Trojans close their regular season on Wednesday with Senior Night gainst Goshen, then begin play in the MCC Tournament on Tuesday.

Geile is second on the team behind Pritchard with 352 kills this season. She also ranks third on the team with 243 digs. Taylor also features Grand Haven graduate Colleen Nelis, who has contributed 153 kills this season from her middle block position.

ADRIAN SOCCER RIDING WIN STREAK

Sabrina Fortney and the Adrian College women's soccer team are enjoying a 10-game winning streak, which has run their season record to an impressive 11-5-2 and 6-2 in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association.

The team's second-place regualar-season finish in the MIAA is the school's best since it became a MIAA-sponsored sport in 1989.

Fortney, a Spring Lake graduate, was a second-team All-MIAA selection a year ago, and has continued to thrive on the Bulldogs' defense this season. She has started 14 of the Bulldogs' 18 games, and has helped Adrian limit its opponents to only 12 goals this season. The Bulldogs have also recorded 10 shutouts.

Fortney has one goal on three shots for the Bulldogs, who received a first-round bye in the MIAA Tournament. They will face Albion in the semifinals today.

KING, SPARTANS ROLL ON HALLOWEEN

Thanks to four blocks from Spring Lake graduate Vanessa King, the Michigan State women's volleyball team downed visiting Wisconsin in a Big Ten Conference match on Saturday, helping the Spartans extend their win streak on Halloween to four matches.

With the win, MSU improves to 16-8 this season and 4-8 in the Big Ten, which is good for seventh.

King, a senior for the Spartans, once again has been a force at the net, leading the team with 86 blocks in 75 games played, for an impressive average of 1.15 per game. She has also tallied 125 kills on only 281 attacks for a strong hitting percentage of .310.

King and the Spartans hit the road for a pair of conference matches this week, as they battle Northwestern on Friday and Illinois on Saturday. The match against the Wildcats will be streamed live on BigTenNetwork.com.

ADDISON PLACES 21ST AT BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS

University of Michigan freshman runner Becca Addison placed 21st overall at Sunday's Big Ten Conference Championships, held at State College, Pa., on the campus of Penn State University.

Addison, a Grand Haven graduate, clocked in with a time of 21 minutes, 23 seconds, as she finished just behind teammate Kaitlyn Patterson, who was three seconds faster in 19th place.

As a team, the Wolverines placed fourth overall, trailing champion Penn State, runner-up Illinois and third-place finisher Minnesota.

The Maize and Blue will run one final tune-up race prior to the NCAA postseason meets, as they head south to Toledo, Ohio, for the Toledo Rocket Open on Friday.

The NCAA Division 1 Great Lakes Regional will be held in Bloomington, Ind. on Saturday, Nov. 14.