ANDERSON, S.C. - Playing in the final match of her illustrious career, senior outside hitter Fatima Gharachorloo reached a number of career milestones as Brevard fell 3-0 to 10-time defending South Atlantic Conference champion Wingate during 2015 SAC Volleyball Championship action.
Gharachorloo finished the match with a team-high 16 digs, seven more than the number she needed to become the third NCAA-era Brevard (12-17) player to reach 1,000 career digs. Her fourth kill of the match also marked the 1,100th of her career, extending her own school record in the category.
The Mississauga, Ontario native closes her career with 1,107 kills and 1,007 digs. She is the only NCAA-era Tornado to reach 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs and leads her closest competitor by 363 terminations on the career kills list. She ranks third in school history in digs and is the highest-ranking player on the list that did not play the libero position.
"I'm honored to be considered as a valuable player that's helped better this program and I can't wait to see what the team is able to accomplish in the years to come," said Gharachorloo after being honored in a post-match ceremony for her second team all-conference selection. "It was great to have gone to the conference tournament this year, but this is just a stepping stone and I know the girls are going to keep moving forward and building a legacy here at Brevard."
Fellow senior outside hitter Kindle Kirkham also notched four kills and four digs in her final match in a Brevard uniform. She ends her career with 207 kills and 226 digs in her two seasons with Brevard after transferring from Lamar Community College prior to her junior year.
The Tornados fell 3-0 to the top-seeded Bulldogs (27-3), who won their 28th consecutive SAC Volleyball Championship match and will seek their 11th straight berth in the conference final when they face fourth-seeded Lincoln Memorial in Saturday's first semifinal. Wingate seized momentum for good in the second set following a back-and-forth frame that saw 11 ties and three lead changes.
"We were proud that we elevated our game and won today," said Wingate head coach Shelton Collier. "They had us beat in the second set and we had to fight back to get that one, which was a key to the match. Brevard played really well and in my opinion is the most improved team in the league this year."
Brevard forced the favored Bulldogs to fight back from a late deficit to avoid the prospect of playing at least four sets. The Tornados led 23-21 following a Wingate ball handling error and an emphatic kill by Rachel Ruble. But the Bulldogs closed the set on a 5-1 run to earn the hard-fought 26-24 victory. Wingate turned the tide on consecutive attack errors from Brevard and notched the win with a perfectly-placed kill from Phoebe Havenaar to go up 2-0 in the match.
"Overall, I thought we played a pretty solid match," commented head coach Anna Wagner. "but we committed too many unforced errors today against a great Wingate team with championship experience."
Down but not out, the Tornados continued to fight throughout the third set. The Bulldogs appeared poised to coast to a victory after two straight points put Wingate up 15-9 following a Brevard timeout. The Tornados battled back with three straight points as part of a 7-2 spurt that trimmed the deficit to a single point at 17-16.
Wingate used its size and athleticism, however, to pull away with a 5-1 run and withstood a final Tornados' charge, bookending the match with a 25-20 third-set victory nearly identical to its six-point victory in the first set.
The Bulldogs hit .294 for the match while limiting the Brevard attack to a .138 mark with 29 kills. Savannah Cox stood out for the Tornados, moving into tenth place on the NCAA-era career kills list with eight terminations, three behind Gharachorloo's 11 for the team lead, and a team-high .273 attack percentage. Hannah Elmore and Aleksandra Vrvilo each notched two service aces to double the Bulldogs' match total, while Vrvilo accumulated 14 digs to reach double figures for the 55th consecutive match.
The Tornados finish with a 12-17 overall record for the second straight season after playing a significantly more challenging nonconference slate in 2015. Brevard shattered the program record for conference wins in the Division II era, earning nine victories in league play and claiming its highest finish since the SAC expanded to 12 teams.
Wagner is optimistic about the state of the Tornados' program entering the 2016 season. "As we start preparing for next year, this experience has given our players an idea of what it's like to compete for a championship. We will miss our seniors, but I am confident that this group of young women will continue to build on the achievements of this season."
To keep up with all the latest information about the Tornados, "Like" our Brevard College Tornado Athletics Facebook page or follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @BCTornados.
Featured image courtesy of Richard Shiro.
