Volleyball Sweeps LeTourneau in 3 Sets; Take another Split on Saturday at Austin College Invitational
SHERMAN, Texas – The University of Dallas volleyball team split Saturday's two matches and went 2-2 overall at the Austin College Invitational on Saturday. Dallas moved to 3-5 on the year and started the day with a straight set sweep (25-21, 25-17, 25-23) over LeTourneau University in the morning. A five hour break lingered and the Crusaders were downed in three to Concordia University (25-11, 25-17, 26-24) which led to a split of the twinbill.
In the first match Saturday, Dallas avenged a setback a week ago with the YellowJackets. It was the second 3-0 victory of the Crusaders this early portion of the campaign. The opening set started with the teams trading points through 4-4. Sarah Hughes (Fair Oaks, Calif.) got a kill and while on serve would get a miscue from LETU's attack to claim a two-point edge. UD remained in front the rest of the set and led by as many as five on two occasions (15-10, 19-14).
Dallas had to nip an early hole in the middle set. Trailing 4-2, the Crusaders made two points back on a kill by Stephanie Janysek (Sinton, Texas) and block by Mary Scholz (Fallon, Nev.). The YellowJackets reclaimed the lead briefly as the next three points were earned by UD. Scholz made a kill for the final tie of the frame (5-5). From that juncture, the Crusaders tallied 20 of the next 29 points. A service ace by Merit Paramo (Wasilla, Alaska) stretched the margin to 10 points (24-14). The next trio of points went to LeTourneau before Theresa Schramm (Plymouth, Wis.) protected the front row with a strong attack that resulted in a kill for the point that lifted Dallas up 2-0.
That momentum appeared to be all on the Crusaders' side in the start of the third set thanks to an 11-6 outbreak. Five consecutive scores for LeTourneau closed the gap within one and eventually a kill by Elyse Wright tied the set at 12-12. Korissa White followed with an ace to give the YellowJackets their first lead since it was 5-4 in the previous set. UD countered with a 4-1 stretch, but the team in blue and gold jerseys rallied for six points in a row and led 2016. Some miscues for Dallas' opponent closed the gap back for Dallas. Scholz smacked a kill to make it 21-all, and the Samantha Garza (Richmond, Texas) sealed the sweep with her seventh kill of the game. The Crusaders collected nine of the final 12 points in the match to get by a 20-16 deficit.
Scholz led the Crusaders with 10 kills and added 11 digs for her seventh double-double on the year. After Garza's seven kills were Janysek (6) and Paramo (5). Janysek added 26 assists and nine digs. Diana Hassink (Tulsa, Okla.) led the team with 18 digs.
In the final match of the weekend, the Crusaders dropped two sets and then responded with a tough final one against Concordia. Dallas combined for 13 kills in the first two frames, but managed 15 in their final set with the Tornados.
After dealing with long stretches without points in the first sets, UD started the last set with five of the first seven points. An error by the Tornados moved Hassink to the serve and she got to deliver the next four balls with three of them resulting in points for the Crusaders. This included an ace that made it 4-1.
A 15-10 lead tied the widest advantage of the match for Dallas a second time, but then five straight points for its opponent evaporated the margin. Paramo stuck a successful attack for a kill that put her team in front a final time 16-15. There were three ties beyond that. Garza's kill kept the Crusaders alive with the score knotted at 24, but then a kill by CTX's Samantha Mendez and ace by Hanah Singer ended the match.
Scholz has led the Crusaders in kills all eight matches and finished this final game with 12. She dug 13 balls to reach a double-double for all of her contests in two weekend tournaments as well. Hassink has one more dig than her classmate to finish with a team-high. Krystyn Pua (Escondido, Calif.) made nine digs while Janysek had eight. Hughes finished second on the squad in kills with seven.
The Tornados placed a trio of players in double-digits for kills paced by Carly Custer with 16. Marissa Stinson closely followed with 15 and Kelly Farina made 10. Stinson hit a 56.0 kill percentage and Custer etched a 38.7 percent-clip. Georgia Quiroz bumped 27 assists while Lianne VanDyke contributed 14.
SOCIAL MEDIA
.@UDallasVball Final vs. LeTourneau University: #UDCrusaders earn set sweep! Play Concordia later at 3 today. #GoUD #UDVB pic.twitter.com/U01aIF2p0r
— UDallas Athletics (@UDallasSports) September 9, 2017
UP NEXT
Dallas hosts the UD Tournament on September 15th-16th at the Maher Center. The Crusaders play Brooklyn College at 6 p.m. that first day in what will be their home opener and the SCAC 8-in-8. Dallas will face Johnson & Wales University and Endicott College the following day. Complete Schedule