DATE: Tuesday, October 28, 1997             TAG: 9710280445

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C8   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Athlete of the Week 

SOURCE: BY BRIAN J. FRENCH, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   40 lines

STRICKLAND: PUTS UP MVP STATS IN TCIS

Norfolk Christian's Daniel Strickland, when asked Saturday how it felt to be the TCIS boys volleyball tournament's most valuable player, assumed the role of reluctant star.

``Dude, the only reason I got the award was beacuse we won,'' Strickland said. ``My teammates won this, too.''

But those 11 points and eight digs - not to mention a perfect 19-for-19 on service - probably had something to do with it.

Those are the numbers Strickland posted as the Ambassadors upset top-seeded and undefeated-in-the-TCIS Norfolk Collegiate in four sets.

The win also made Strickland and his teammates the main attraction at the small school Monday.

``That's what's so cool about going to a small school,'' Strickland said as students streamed by to congratulate him on the win. ``You know everyone around here, and everyone thinks it's such a big deal.''

Strickland - a first-team All-TCIS selection who also plays basketball and baseball for the Ambassadors - also credits a higher source.

``Before the match, all the guys in the locker room prayed,'' Strickland said. ``You should have been in there to feel that. It was a really cool atmosphere.''

With souls in order, the Ambassadors came out and did something no other team in the conference did in the regular season: beat the Oaks.

That happened when Norfolk Christian scored 12 straight points to rally from a 9-0 deficit in the fourth set.

``We had beaten them in the preseason and played them close in the regular season,'' Strickland said. ``We knew that so long as we tried and played as hard as we could out there, we could win.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo

Norfolk Christian's Daniel Strickland had 11 points, eight digs and

didn't miss a serve vs. Norfolk Collegiate.

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