Koster and Volleyball Dig Season-Highs; Go 0-2 on Thursday at LeTourneau
LONGVIEW, Texas – On Thursday, the University of Dallas volleyball team (7-12) fell in a pair of non-conference games hosted at LeTourneau University. The Crusaders were swept in straight sets against University of Texas at Tyler (12-4) to start the evening before a late rally down 2 sets was ousted in the fourth set to host LeTourneau (7-13).
It was another historical night for UD's Jessie Koster (Sherwood, Ore.) in the nightcap. The conference player of the week claimed a career-high 48 digs and etched her name for 5th in the league record books. The leading NCAA Division III player in digs and digs average for second straight week increased her school career record to 2,534.
MATCH VS. UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS-TYLER
Set Scores: L 3-0 | (15-25, 19-25, 15-25)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Patriots jumped out to a quick start in the first set by posting a 10-3 score through the early juncture. This included four straight points from the opening serve.
In the second set, the Crusaders fell by the narrowest margin of the match. Consecutive kills from Mairin Guilfoyle (Roanoke, Va.) got UD on the board and evened a 2-2 score. Texas-Tyler rattled four points in a row to open a 9-4 edge, but the Crusaders countered with five of the next six points to tighten the gap again. Despite the navy and white knotting the point column on two occasions (15-15, 18-18), the Patriots secured a 2-0 lead with seven of the final eight points awarded. This included the final five.
UTT earned the sweep by repeating the score in the first set.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- Guilfoyle, who recently broke into the 1,000 Kills club, led Dallas with 13 and had a .333 percentage. She led Dallas with 14.0 points.
- Mary Scholz (Fallon, Nev.) and Kennedy Bradley (Groesbeck, Texas) each contributed six kills.
- Elizabeth Smith (Broken Arrow, Okla.) added 29 assists.
- UT-Tyler hit .281, .344, and .400 in each respective set as a team.
- Macy Harris recorded a team-high 11 kills in 15 total attacks for a .667 kill percentage. Jordan Debus chipped in nine kills.
- Rebecca Floyd made 20 assists and Reighanna Guzman had 13.
- As a team, the Patriots made 19 blocks with 18 block assists. Samantha Lee led with five, while Callie Reed and Kayla McCoy notched four apiece.
MATCH VS. LETOURNEAU UNIVERSITY
Set Scores: L 3-1 | (17-25, 17-25, 25-16, 24-26)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The first two sets went to the home team by identical scores. The Crusaders attempted to overcome a sluggish start by breaking out a 10-1 run in the third. LeTourneau cut the margin with three straight points, but Dallas kept the pressure that eventually reflected a 18-10 advantage. That surge was capped on a solo block by Merit Paramo (Wasilla, Alaska). UD would avoid the sweep with a nine-point win in the frame.
The momentum remained on the Crusaders' side to start the fourth set. Dallas engineered a 5-0 run that started with back-to-back kills by Guilfoyle to start the match. Diana Hassink (Tulsa, Okla.) followed the pair of kills with one of hers. The Yellow Jackets worked immediately on cutting the margin and strung four points in a row after a kill by Scholz to take their first lead of the set (9-8). That lead was short lived as Smith pounded a kill of her own to knot the scoreboard.
From there, the squads exchanged points in a match that featured 12 ties and 10 from that juncture. Dallas grabbed a 21-18 lead with a kill from Paramo, but the home team rallied late to force extra sets. The Crusaders gained the necessary point to stay alive on a Scholz kill to tie everything 24-all. LETU hammered the two decisive points.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- Koster topped her personal best in digs from earlier this season by two.
- Guilfoyle registered her third highest kill total this campaign with 17. She has double figure performances in four of her last five contests and led the Crusaders in each of those.
- Scholz also logged a double-digit number with 13 kills.
- Hassink chipped in eight kills and was two away from a double-double as she lifted 15 digs.
- UD garnered a season-best 114 digs with a quartet of players in double figures. Behind Koster was Smith's personal best 19, Hassink's 15, and Krystyn Pua's (Escondido, Calif.) 12. This is the fifth match this season the team broke triple-digits in digs and is highest total since season opener at Arlington Baptist College (114).
- Smith eclipsed 40 assists for the third time this fall with her third highest amount of 42 to reflect a double-double.
- LeTourneau displayed kill percentages of .229 and .234, respectively, in opening two sets, but hit negative and .119 in final two.
- Skylar Horan and Dolores Henson led the Yellow Jackets attack with 12 and 10. Horan posted a .333 kill percentage.
- Audrey Galindo handled 31 digs and Henson pulled a double-double with 23 digs. The team had 103 digs overall. Horan picked up five of the team's 16 block assists.
UP NEXT
Dallas takes a weekend off and will begin a four-game home stand after being on the road for 19 straight to start 2016. The Crusaders are at the Maher Center on October 8-9 for an SCAC divisional. Colorado College, Centenary College, and Austin College will all be participating.
Complete schedule and information on coverage is available here.