Life was a little different for the Lady Charger volleyball team in 2000. After back to back seasons of carving up opponents at Spragins Hall before the popcorn had a chance to cook, the Lady Chargers found themselves in some titanic struggles. Several matches went five games and lasted over two hours. The Lady Chargers actually lost four games at home, ending a long home court winning streak.
However, when it was all said and done, the Lady Chargers came out smelling like a rose. Coach Laura Taube's Lady Chargers finished the season with a 22-14 record overall and 11-5 in the GSC. The 2000 Lady Chargers set their share of school records. As a team the Lady Chargers set new school records for most kills in a single match (99) and assists in a match (93).
Individually, junior middle blocker Ellen LaFiore took the editing pen to the UAH record book, along with junior setter Jane Baumgartner. LaFiore set seven new records, while Baumgartner topped two marks.
LaFiore piled up several post season awards. She was named first team All-GSC for the third consecutive season. She was also named All-GSC tournament, AVCA All-South Central Region, Daktronics South Central Region and Daktronic All-America. In the classroom, LaFiore earned GSC All-Academic honors for the third straight season. She was also voted 3rd team Verizon Academic All-America.
Three other Charger volleyballers earned academic honors in 2000. Melissa Feldman, Ashley Otwell and Sara Winn were all named to the GSC Academic Honor Roll.
The season got off to a rough start as the Lady Chargers lost two of their first four matches in the UAH Invitational. The Lady Chargers loss in the tournament opener against Arkansas Tech ended a 17-match home winning streak.
Then, after beating Southern Indiana in the final match of the tournament, the Lady Chargers tried to get on a roll, winning the next two matches over Lee University and Christian Brothers. However, the streak ended quickly with a loss to Truman State. It also started a new streak as the Lady Chargers also lost the next two matches, dropping to 4-5 in the early part of the schedule.
The rocky road continued as the Lady Chargers three of their first five GSC matches including the second loss ever to Valdosta State. However, in true Lady Charger fashion, UAH rebounded to win the next three matches. One of those was a huge five-game classic against Central Missouri State. The Lady Chargers pulled an upset, beating CMSU on its own floor. It was only the third loss of the season for the Jennies, who also saw a very long winning streak in its home gym go up in smoke.
After completing another three-game winning streak, the Lady Chargers ran out of steam. Florida Southern beat UAH 3-0 in the final match of the CMSU Classic. After beating Montevallo at home, the Lady Chargers took 3 of 4 in the Henderson State University Invitational. The wins got the Lady Chargers ready for an important stretch run packed with GSC matches.
The Lady Chargers went on their hottest streak of the season, finishing out the regular schedule winning 8 of the last 10. The streak earned the Lady Chargers a spot in the GSC Tournament. The Lady Chargers also had an outside chance of making a third straight trip to the NCAA Division II playoffs.
UAH knocked off Henderson State in the first round of the GSC tournament. However, top seeded UNA was waiting in the semifinals. The two teams waged a fierce battle. The Lions won the first game 15-6. But, in the second game, the Lady Chargers left it all on the floor. In fact, both teams made some incredible plays. That one game lasted nearly an hour. When the smoke cleared, UNA had won the game 18-16 and the Lady Chargers were broken. The Lions went on to win the third game and put an end to the Lady Chargers' season.
Although Coach Taube's Lady Chargers fell short of making a return trip to the playoffs, they served notice that they were among the toughest in the GSC and in the Region. With no seniors on the 2000 squad, the Lady Chargers should be formidible in 2001.
Final 2000 Statistics
