RICHMOND, Ky. - Sophomore Amy Arlinghaus (North Olmsted, Ohio) had 16 kills and senior Liz Guard (Willoughby, Ohio) tallied 12 to lead the Eastern Kentucky Volleyball team to a sweep of Georgia State on Saturday afternoon at McBrayer Arena with scores of 30-25, 30-21 and 30- 27. The Colonels claimed first place in the Comfort Suites Challenge with two wins in the tournament.

Guard had 34 kills overall to snare MVP honors and help lead the Colonels (2-0) to a perfect start to the 2005 season. Sophomore Brittany Nobilio (Johnsburg, Ill.) had a game-high 17 digs and junior Kelly Jennings (Barrington, Ill.) added 42 assists. The Panthers (0-2) were led by senior Alex Blenche's 15 kills and Christen Garcia's 16 digs but were held to a .177 hitting percentage by EKU.

Eastern Kentucky trailed most of game one, falling behind by as much as six. The Colonels scored nine straight points after a timeout from head coach Lori Duncan, with kills from four dfferent players during the run, and never trailed again in the 30-25 victory.

Building on the momentum, EKU jumped on the Panthers right from the start in game two. With two kills each from Guard, Arlinghaus and freshmen Bridget Mustard (Cincinnati, Ohio), the Colonels built leads of 10-4 and 13-6.The Panthers cut the gap to six on an Arlinghaus attack error, but that was as close as they would get as EKU methodically built its lead up to as much as 11 before cruising to the finish with a 30-21 victory.

"During game two we did everything that we had talked about before the game," Duncan said. "It was the best we played all weekend."

The two teams battled back and forth early in the third game before the Panthers took a five point lead at 18-13. The Colonels cut the lead to one, at 19-18, behind kills from Guard and sophomore Shelly George (North Huntingdon, Pa.) and managed to take the lead at 23-22. The Panthers tied the score again at 26, but EKU went on a 4-1 run to close the game, and the match, using two service aces from senior Libby Schleisman (Suwanee, Ga).

Eastern Kentucky heads off to the SBC/Sands Regency Tournament in Reno, Nevada next weekend for games against UCLA, Nevada and San Diego. They will return home for a match against Marquette on September 16 at 7:30 p.m.
Duquesne (1-1) evened its record in the Comfort Suites Challenge by rallying for a 3-1 victory (24-30, 32-30, 30-16, 30-24) against Morehead State (1-1). The Dukes relied on middle hitter Diana Wuebker, who recorded a game-high 17 kills, and setter Kristin Garnett (44 assists) to capture the final three games. Morehead State's Erin Peak led four Eagles who tallied double-digit kills with 16. Katelyn Barbour added 59 assists and 12 digs for MSU.

Comfort Suites All Tournament Team:
Liz Guard (MVP) (EKU), Amy Arlinghaus (EKU), Kelly Jennings (EKU), Diana Wuebker (Dusquene), Kristin Garnett (Dusquene), Robyn van Dam (Georgia St.), Diana Zipp (Morehead St.).

Tournament Finish:
1st – Eastern Kentucky, 2nd – Duquesne, 3rd – Morehead State, 4th – Georgia State