Volleyball goes 2-0 on Saturday; Sweep Schreiner and Texas Lutheran
SHERMAN, Texas – The University of Dallas volleyball team (7-8, 2-3 SCAC) managed a pair of gutsy performances to notch its first conference wins of the season over Schreiner University (3-10, 0-4 SCAC) and Texas Lutheran University (7-4, 1-4 SCAC) on Saturday in the first of a four-game cross-divisional this weekend.
The two straight set sweeps were first together since UD swept consecutive matches at the beginning of last season against Knox College (September 5) and Howard Payne University (Sept. 11). This is the first time UD won back-to-back conference games since 2014, which occurred against the same opponents as today. Last time the Crusaders claimed consecutive three-set sweeps within league play was Sept. 20-21, 2014 in the friendly confines of Maher Center.
It is the first time since joining the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) that Dallas went 6-0 in combined sets on the same day against conference foes. The Crusaders have also won a season-high three straight matches for first time since end of 2014 where four contests in a row were tallied victories (October 26-November 7).
MATCH VS. SCHREINER UNIVERSITY
Sets: W 3-0 | (25-17, 25-19, 25-18)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Crusaders erupted out of the first serve with a 6-1 stretch to gain early momentum of the set. Schreiner nipped the margin to as close as three on a few occasions, and never came closer than two (12-10). From that juncture, UD's Mairin Guilfoyle (Roanoke, Va.) dialed a kill and began a 5-1 run that pushed the navy and white ahead for good. Guilfoyle combined for 24 kills on Saturday.
In the second set, it was again the Crusaders taking an early edge that would not be relinquished as the first three points were awarded to them. The frame did remain tight with one occurrence of the scoreboard being even at 10-all. Mary Scholz (Fallon, Nev.) pounded one of her team-high nine kills and sparked a 4-0 outburst. The Mountaineers cut the gap to 17-15, but five more UD points lifted it to the first pair of set triumphs.
Set three was not the closest margin of the trio as far as point difference, but it did begin as the most challenging out of the gate for the Crusaders. Trailing 3-0, Dallas countered with six of the next seven points on its column to gain the edge. Overall, the go-ahead point on a SU attack error was lone lead change, but there were three ties in the frame. The trio of them happened within the first 12 points as 6-6 was the final juncture this resulted.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
-Scholz led the Crusaders with nine kills and Diana Hassink (Tulsa, Okla.) and Guilfoyle each contributed eight.
-Jessie Koster (Sherwood, Ore.) anchored the defense with 23 digs and Hassink added 16. Krystyn Pua (Escondido, Calif.) rounded out trio of double-digit performers with 10.
- Elizabeth Smith (Broken Arrow, Okla.) posted 27 assists.
- Schreiner's Mackinley Zimmerle had a game-high 11 kills. Nichole West had 20 digs and Ashley Myers landed a double-double in assists (14) and digs (11).
MATCH VS. TEXAS LUTHERAN UNIVERSITY
Sets: W 3-0 | (20-25, 23-25, 24-26)
HOW IT HAPPENED
In the second contest of the SCAC Cross-Divisional, Dallas dropped the first two points to the Bulldogs of Texas Lutheran. That margin was nipped immediately as an attack error by TLU gave Koster UD's first serve and she hit an ace to put the teams in the first of nine deadlocks in the opening set.
This set also featured five lead changes, with the final one coming in the midst of a 5-0 Crusaders' run that started and ended with kills from Guilfoyle. That opened a 15-12 edge for UD, and despite the Bulldogs knotting the score with three straight out of their timeout; it was Dallas that remained in front and eventually took a 1-0 advantage.
The next set was another back-and-forth battle that resulted in 10 ties and eight lead changes. Teams traded points out of the gate, 2-2, and then TLU strung three more points to complete a 4-0 stretch. Consecutive kills by Kyndal Miller (Crockett, Texas) and Hassink brought the deficit to one (5-4). With the score 10-all, Texas Lutheran pulled away by as many as four points on two occasions with 16-12 being the second result.
UD's Miller smashed a big kill and consecutive good attacks from Hassink nipped the gap to 16-15. After a TLU point stalled the scoring streak momentarily, it was Dallas that jumped back in front 18-17 with three more points that included Kennedy Bradley (Groesbeck, Texas) kills on the final two. The Bulldogs made their final favorable lead change going up 21-19, but Dallas snagged a 2-0 set lead by scoring six of the final eight points.
Texas Lutheran appeared to have momentum most of the third set taking the first three points and staying in front by as many as five throughout the early portion. The Crusaders remained resilient, closing the deficit to as close as one on four occasions. The final was 19-18 and TLU answered with three straight and eventually led 24-20.
Dallas responded by sending six points in a row on the strength of five kills in a row by Guilfoyle. Pua capped the game-changing run on her career-high third service ace and was the UD server for all five possessions that the team started with. The Crusaders only tied and led once in this set, which came at the very end.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- Guilfoyle earned a game-high 16 kills. That is the senior outside hitter's seventh match to eclipse double figures in this offensive category. The mark ties her third highest season output.
- Hassink was a kill shy of a double-double with nine of those and 21 digs to finish second on the squad. Miller rounded out the top three players in kills with six. She has matched that mark for the third time in her rookie campaign.
- Koster made 34 digs as a quartet of players contributed double figures to the overall 92. After Hassink was Pua and Smith with 13 and 11, respectively.
- Smith notched 36 of the team's 39 assists.
- TLU's Kristin Fording paced its team with 14 kills and was second in digs with 16 for a double-double.
- Jaci Chambers and Sydney Sierra combined for all but five of the 32 assists with 16 and 11, respectively.
UP NEXT
Dallas concludes the weekend on Sunday with two more matches. The morning contest at 10 a.m. will be provided free on College TV Ticket against No. 5 Southwestern University. Later, UD plays Trinity University at 2 p.m.