JUSON’S BIG NIGHT “ASSISTS” VCU 3-2 WIN OVER DELAWARE
10-6-06
Box Score

RICHMOND, Va. – Virginia Commonwealth University sophomore Cat Juson (Long Beach, Calif./Bush) (pictured) set a Colonial Athletic Association season-high 71 assist and added 12 digs and three blocks to spearhead a 3-2 victory (30-17, 30-26, 25-30, 26-30, 15-10) over Delaware Friday at the Alltel Pavilion.

VCU has won three straight to improve to 10-8 overall and 4-4 in the CAA. Delaware slips to 14-3 on the year, including 5-3 in the conference.

Juson, whose previous career high for assists was 57, narrowly missed the Rams’ match record of 73, set by Tracey Angiouli against Davidson Sept. 13, 1991.

Five VCU players reached double digits in kills, including sophomore Ana Luiza Bernardes de Borja (Florianopolis, Brazil) and senior Ludmila Francescatto (Fraiburga, Brazil) who laid down 21 and 20, respectively. Also, senior middle blocker Melissa Peterson (Ganado, Ariz.) was errorless in 27 hitting attempts, booking 15 killls for a .556 attack percentage.

The Rams hit .288 for the match, compared to the Fightin’ Blue Hens’ .207 and had slight advantages in blocks (9.0 to 8.0) and service aces (5-3).

With Game Five knotted 3-3, VCU took control of the period with a 6-2 burst, sparked by a Peterson kill and an ace by sophomore Laryssa Goncalvaes (Curitiba, Brazil). Juson set three assists during the decisive run and had nine in the game overall. Delaware got as close as 13-10, but consecutive kills by Francescatto and de Borja – both set by Juson – sealed the win.

In all, Juson dished out 16 helpers in Game One, 17 in Game Two, 12 in the third and 17 more in the fourth.

VCU looked primed for a sweep early on, hitting .514 and .280 in Games One and Two, respectively, to gain a 2-0 lead.

Kelly Gibson had 21 kills and 15 digs, Heather Ranck dug 29 balls and Megan Welch doled out 55 assists for Delaware.

The Rams return to the floor on Saturday, Oct. 7 in a pivotal match with Towson at 7:30 p.m. at the Alltel Pavilion at the Stuart C. Siegel Center.