Crusaders Drop JWU in Straight-Set Sweep
DENVER, Colo. - The University of Dallas volleyball team swept Johnson & Wales University 25-16, 25-23, 25-17 for the straight-set sweep on Friday on the first day of a tournament held at JWU. The Crusaders (18-12, 7-8 SCAC) offense was led by Abigail Porras (El Paso, Texas) with 13 kills and Isabel Garcia (San Antonio, Texas) with 11 kills.
In the first set both teams traded points to tie the match at 4. JWU was able to grab a 7-6 lead after a UD attack error. Dallas went on a big run taking 11 of the next 14 points (18-9). A 7-0 run got the Wildcats right back in the set. Brea Chaney and Madi Fox led the charge with kills of their own. The Crusaders ended the set taking six of the final seven points to take the 1-0 set lead. Ellise Anable (Phoenix, Ariz.) had two kills along with an Anna Stevenson (Dallas, Texas) ace on that run.
Set two was back-and-forth. With the set tied at 6, JWU went on a 5-0 run capped off by a Brooke Paxton kill. The Wildcats got the lead to 4 (15-11), but UD stormed back with a 5-0 run to regain the advantage. Stevenson added a kill along with a Garcia ace on that run. A 3-0 Wildcats lead shifted the momentum once again. UD took the next five points (20-18), but the Wildacts came back with four points of their own to make for a wild finish. Dallas finished off the JWU rally after they took the final four of the last five points to take set two.
Set three was tied at 4. Dallas gained a small lead (6-4) after kills by Stevenson and Porras. JWU tied the set at 7. A 3-0 run by UD was erased by a 3-0 run by the Wildcats with three errors by the Crusaders. JWU found the lead (14-13) but Dallas took 10 of the final 14 points. Stevenson had three kills along with two aces by Anable in that long run to lead the Crusaders to the 3-set win.
A trio of Crusaders hit double-digits in digs. Anable matched her career-best with 21 digs to lead the team. Pua recorded 17, while Elizabeth Smith (Broken Arrow, Okla.) added 13 as the team registered 71 digs in the contest. Smith also notched 34 assists in the match.
Paxton led the Wildcats with eight kills, while Kaitlin Jones notched 17 digs to lead the home team for the weekend tournament.
SOCIAL MEDIA
#UDallasVB sweeps Johnson & Wales University on Friday in straight-set sweep. #WeAreUD #SCACvb #d3vb pic.twitter.com/FvnNY2vttb
— UDallas Athletics (@UDallasSports) October 27, 2018
UP NEXT
Dallas will continue play tomorrow (10/27) in the tournament held at JWU. The Crusaders will play No. 4 Colorado College at 10 a.m. (MST) followed by a non-conference match with Mississippi University for Women at 2 p.m. (MST).