Aug. 31, 2010

Written by Dan Ryan - B-CUathletics.com -

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (August 31, 2010) –- Krysta Gardner calls her jump serve “a work in progress.”

If that's the case of what the Bethune-Cookman sophomore showed Tuesday night in a convincing 3-0 victory over Savannah State, the final product could be something.

Gardner's jump serve produced six service aces at the outset of Game 3, giving the LadyCats a lead they never gave surrendered.

No LadyCat registered more than four aces in a 2009 match. The entire team had 10 in the first four matches this season before Gardner's spurt.  (There were also five Gardner service errors, but let's not spoil the moment.)

“It was nice to see her get the serve going,” B-CU coach Vanessa Cogswell said of Gardner. “We've emphasized how important it is to get a strong going like that and then maintain our aggressiveness.”

 Gardner possesses a 30-inch vertical that combined with placement makes for an effective weapon in her arsenal. She just began implementing the jump serve this year.

“It's coming along,” Gardner said. “I've grown a lot over the past year, especially with Coach working on my approach. It feels pretty good.”

The vertical also makes Gardner a threat on the line, and her seven kills trailed just Linda Nwabuko's 11 and Jessica Wilson's eight for team-high.  Gardner rounded out the night with a team-high six digs.

With Kaiyana Johnson and Wilson having relatively quiet evening, Nwabuko earned the MVP award from her teammates. The junior from Rockwell, Tx. Entered the night fifth in the team in kills, but took control with a second-game effort that saw her register six kills in ten attempts.

“I was really trying to get some energy out of my teammates the second set,” Nwabuko said. “ I wanted us to be able to put the ball down.

“Linda has risen to the occasion,” Cogswell said. “She came back strong and confident.”

#Dan Ryan#