Crusaders pick up pair of wins on Saturday in Millsaps/Belhaven Tournament.
Crusaders pick up pair of wins on Saturday in Millsaps/Belhaven Tournament.
Posted: Sep 08, 2018

Volleyball Goes 2-0 on the Final Day of the Millsaps/Belhaven Tournament

Game Leaders
University of Dallas
K: Abigail Porras - 11
B: Ellise Anable - 2
D: Ellise Anable - 6
SA: 3 Players (#3, #7, #17) - 3
LaGrange College
K: 2 Players (#4, #14) - 4
B: Jazzlyn Kenner - 2
D: Courtney Swafford - 8
SA: 2 Players (#20, #25) - 1
Team Stats
Full stats
Game Leaders
University of Dallas
K: 2 Players (#6, #18) - 11
B: 2 Players (#3, #21) - 2
D: 2 Players (#6, #17) - 21
SA: Ellise Anable - 4
Belhaven University
K: Lauren Whiting - 19
B: Callista Moore - 3
D: Sydney McEachern - 26
SA: Megan Nobles - 2
Team Stats
Full stats

JACKSON, Miss. – The University of Dallas volleyball team picked up two wins on the second day of the Millsaps/Belhaven Tournament by edging out Belhaven in five sets 28-26, 25-16, 25-11, 26-24, 15-11 and sweeping LaGrange 25-17, 25-16, 25-11. Dallas (4-3) has now won four of the last five games, including three in a row.

(Match vs. Belhaven University)

The Crusaders edged out Belhaven University 7-1 in five sets on the second day of the Millsaps/ Belhaven Invitational. UD put a stop to a 6-0 undefeated record for the Blazers. Up until the first set, Belhaven had not dropped a set on the year.

After coming out of the gates with a 5-0 lead in the first set, the Blazers looked to keep their undefeated record on the year. The Crusaders chipped away at the lead slowly as Ellise Anable (Phoenix, Ariz.) had one of her four aces in the match to tie the game at 14. The battle continued as the game was tied at 22 and again at 26. Dayjah Whyte (Round Rock, Texas) had a monster kill to take a 27-26 lead. Sarah Hughes (Fair Oaks, Calif.) capped off the match with a kill to take set one for UD.

Momentum helped carry the UD offense into the second set. They raced out to a 14-6 lead led by Abigail Porras (El Paso, Texas) who had two kills and Anable who pounded three consecutive kills. Elizabeth Smith (Broken Arrow, Okla.) led the team with 36 assists. She helped make a big run in the second set. The Crusaders went on to take the final four points consecutively to take a 2-0 lead in the match, thanks to two aces from Brook Jefferson (Pearland, Texas).  

Dallas fell in the third set 25-11 after Belhaven stormed back to avoid the sweep.

UD was able to build a 21-16 lead in the fourth set. The Blazers kept the match alive to staving off Dallas by scoring four straight points to send them to the fifth set.

The Blazers took a 2-0 lead to start the fifth set. Isabel Garcia (San Antonio, Texas) and Anable hit back-to-back kills to tie the match at two. The Blazers tied the match at 11 after a Jackie Fredericks kill. The Crusaders finished off the set with four straight points. Anable squeaked in an ace to make it 14-11. UD had a blocking assist to cap off match point.  

Dallas set a season high 13 service aces having a quartet of players produce multiple in the match. Anable (4), Porras (3), Smith (3), and Jefferson (2). Krystyn Pua (Escondido, Calif.) had a personal best 21 digs in this morning's match. Ellise Anable had a double-double with 11 kills and 21 digs, with a season-best four aces. Whyte matched her classmate with 11 kills - giving her four straight matches with double-digits for that category.

SOCIAL MEDIA

(Match vs. LaGrange College)

The University of Dallas volleyball team was able to go 2-0 on the final day of the Millsaps/Belhaven Tournament. The Crusaders swept LaGrange (2-4) 25-17, 25-16, 25-11. This marked the second sweep of the tournament. Dallas went 3-1 on the weekend.

Dallas leaped out to quick starts in each of the sets. In the opening frame, the first four points were part of a 7-1 start for UD. The advantage reached as much as 11 on a couple occassions, before the Panthers narrowed the score to 24-17 on four straight points. 

In the 2nd set, the Crusaders led the duration thanks to a 3-0 start. LaGrange posted two points to reduce the margin to 18-14, but then the next five points sparked a 7-2 surge to finish the set. A bad set by the opposition started the run with Porras on serve. The freshman produced two aces in that stretch, along with classmate Anable making a kill. She had a kill prior to Pua's ace that concluded the set for the last pair of Dallas points. 

Dallas trailed the only time in the match on the first point of the last set. Whyte managed a kill to even the score at 1, and the Crusaders went on to score eight of the first 10 points. LaGrange cut the score to 8-4, but were never able to come closer as UD went out to win by 14. A kill by Anna Stevenson (Dallas, Texas) was the final UD point and capped a successful day.

The Crusaders posted a .316 kill percentage overall with 37 kills. They opened the first set with 14 and eclipsed double figures in all three sets for that category. Porras led the way with 11 kills and finished the day with 20 combined in the pair of matches. Garcia contributed eight, while Whyte and Anable added six apiece. 

Dallas tallied 13 service aces again with contributions coming from six players. A trio of them made three aces including: Porras, Lexi Shafer (Sugar Land, Texas), and Pua. Smith and Stephanie Janysek (Sinton, Texas) combined for 30 of the team's 35 assists with 17 and 13, respectively. 

SOCIAL MEDIA

UP NEXT

Dallas will be making their home opener in the UD Classic. They are set to play Mississippi University for Women Friday (Sept. 14) at 6 p.m. On Saturday (Sept. 15) they will take on Randall University at 12:00 p.m.