Volleyball Falls Shy in Thriller vs. Austin College; Swept at Colorado College Hosted Divisional
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – After clawing back with a 25-22 set four win, the University of Dallas volleyball team (4-7, 0-2) dropped a 15-13 thriller to Austin College (8-5, 1-1 SCAC) on Saturday.
MATCH VS. AUSTIN COLLEGE
Set Scores: L 3-2 | (17-25, 25-21, 19-25, 25-22, 13-15)
HOW IT HAPPENED
In the opening set, Austin College gained the first four points forcing an early UD timeout. The Navy and White responded with three points to nip the deficit to one. The 'Roos raced back out to lead by as many as five on two occasions – with the latest being 15-10. Dallas surged back with five straight points that included three kills from Mairin Guilfoyle (Roanoke, Va.). With the score knotted 15-all, the 'Roos countered with three points in a row and five of the next six. They closed the opening frame on a 10-2 run.
The next set, the Crusaders were down as many as 9-5, but would score six of the next seven to gain their second lead of the set and first since scoring a 1-0 edge to start the second. Austin College retook the lead with a pair of points from attack errors on UD. An attack error by the 'Roos tied the scoreboard again, and Mary Scholz (Fallon, Nev.) put Dallas ahead for good in the set. Elizabeth Smith (Broken Arrow, Okla.) served an ace to give UD a 14-12 lead. Eventually the Crusaders would lead by as many as five on three occasions (22-17) before AC rattled out four points in a row to close the margin to a pair (23-21). Guilfoyle fired consecutive kills out of a UD timeout to even the set 1-1.
Austin College took the third set. After a tight 9-9 result in the early stages, the 'Roos swung the momentum with an 11-2 scoring stretch to take a 2-1 lead in the set scores.
Dallas refused to back down, clawing out to a small advantage that never was more than two points in the fourth set. After a 13-13 deadlock, the Crusaders surged in front with a service error on the opposition's side. Krystyn Pua (Escondido, Calif.) dialed a service ace to put Dallas up two. After an AC point, the crusaders scored five of the next six points to lead 25-20. The lead ballooned to 23-17, and a run by Austin College to get within two (24-22) was not enough. Scholz secured a 2-2 set score with the final kill.
In the fifth set, there were 11 ties and five lead changes. The Crusaders were the first to eight points with a one-point lead. After switching benches, the Crusaders went up 11-9 on a kills by Diana Hassink (Tulsa, Okla.). However, the 'Roos fought back with three unanswered points. UD's Kyndal Miller (Crockett, Texas) tied the score with a kill and Hassink put UD up 13-12 on a successful attack of her own. Austin College tallied the final three points to earn its first conference win.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- Both teams hit well in the fourth set. Austin College produced a .324 (14-37) kill percentage and Dallas etched a .280 (19-50) clip.
- Guilfoyle led UD with 16 kills. Scholz was right behind with 15. Smith and Hassink added nine apiece. Hassink snapped a four-game streak of having double figures in kills.
- Smith missed her first career triple-double by a kill. She bested her assists career-high last night by one with 46 and also made 13 digs.
- Koster anchored the defense with 39 digs and a team-high three service aces. Hassink was in the middle of a trio of double-digit performances in digs with a season-best 25.
- Both teams each posted 105 digs.
- AC's Rebekah Bowden matched a game-high 16 kills and hit a .366 kill percentage. Madison Lee and Presleigh Watson contributed 13 kills apiece and hit strong percentages with respective clips of .393 and .294.
- Watson and Bowden combined for 14 blocks and Austin College had 26 total. Katie Ingle made 48 assists.
MATCH VS. COLORADO COLLEGE
Set Scores: L | (14-25, 19-25, 13-25)
HOW IT HAPPENED
In the nightcap, fourth ranked Colorado College proved too much on its home court and swept Dallas in straight sets to give the Crusaders their fourth straight setback. The second set was the tightest battle with the visitors notching the first three points. UD led 12-10 before the Tigers pounced on a stretch of six unanswered points. The Crusaders ended the run out of a timeout, but four more points opened a seven point advantage for Colorado College (20-13).
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
-Guilfoyle and Scholz each tallied eight kills to lead Dallas offensively.
- Koster and Hassink both produced 15 digs. As a team, CC outdid the Crusaders 59-50 on digs after the Navy and White eclipsed 100 the previous two matches.
- Smith totaled 21 assists.
- The Tigers were led by Glenna Yancey with nine kills in 17 attempts for a .471 kill percentage. Marguerite Spaethling, Reagan Folaron, and Abbe Holtze followed with eight, seven, and six, respectively.
- Colorado College hit .304 (46-112) as a team for kill percentage. The team made 18 blocks, with Spaethling and Yancey leading with five and four out of the individuals.
UP NEXT
Dallas is back on the court on Tuesday, September 20. The Crusaders are up the road at Dallas Christian College. In the all-time series, UD is 26-1 against the Crusaders from Farmers Branch, Texas. Last year, DCC prevailed at home in five sets. The Navy and White did triumph in the season opener at the Maher Center 3-0 to split the season series.