Volleyball falls Thursday against Southwestern Assemblies of God
IRVING, Texas – The University of Dallas volleyball (5-5) team fell 3-1 to Southwestern Assemblies of God University (8-2) on Thursday night at the Maher Center. The setback ended a six-game winning streak at home dating back to 2014.
The first set was a back-and-forth exchange of points that featured 22 ties and went to the largest point total in a set for Dallas this season with 64 combined. A kill from senior Jaime Birzer (Ottawa, Kan.) lifted the Lady Crusaders to a 24-23 advantage, but SAGU would counter with two-straight points off miscues from the home squad.
UD stayed alive forcing extra points with two in a row to go up 26-25. Neither team could close out its opponent as four lead changes occurred before the Lions went up from a 31-all set to take the thrilling frame 1-0.
The Lady Crusaders shifted the momentum answering with a powerful second set to even things after prevailing 25-16. Trailing 8-6, the Navy and White mustered a stretch of four points in a row, and would go on a 12-5 run to open their greatest margin of the set by nine.
In the remaining pair of sets, SAGU notched both wins 25-19 and 25-18, respectively, to prevail in the match.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Junior Jessie Koster (Sherwood, Ore.) posted a season-high 31 digs. Fellow classmates Lexi Noriega (Salinas, Calif.), and Diana Hassink (Tulsa, Okla.) added 20 apiece.
- Matching a season-high 16 kills was Birzer, who tied a game-high and paced UD's trio of double-digit finishers in that category. Senior Cat Dowgwillo (St. Louis, Mo.) managed 13 kills, while Junior Mairin Guilfoyle (Roanoke, Va.) rounded out the unit with 11. Guilfoyle also added 14 digs.
- Freshmen duo Elizabeth Smith (Broken Arrow, Okla.) and Kaley Turner (Puyallup, Wash.) compiled 43 of the team's 56 assists with 23 and 20, respectively.
- For the Lions, Kali Shaw tied the game-high total of 16 kills and also was the team-leader in digs with 34. Emmalee Smith and Celi Bruce contributed respective dig tallies of 25 and 21.
- Carlie Tuiasosopo managed 14 kills and Mollie McBride chimed in with 11. Caitlin Paschall totaled a game-high 44 assists and added 16 digs.
UP NEXT
Dallas begins Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) play with a three-match tournament at Shreveport, Louisiana, on September 19-20. The Lady Crusaders face Austin College (10:30 AM) and host Centenary College (5:00 PM) on the 19th, and will conclude things against Colorado College (11:00 AM) on the 20th.