Volleyball wins Thriller over Schreiner; Split Final day of SCAC Cross-Divisional
SHREVEPORT, La. – The University of Dallas volleyball team wrapped up conference play by splitting two matches on Sunday in the cross-divisional at Centenary College. After being swept by No. 5 Trinity in the early afternoon matchup, the Crusaders edged out Schreiner University in a back-to-back contest that went five sets.
The nationally ranked Tigers prevailed 25-10, 25-4, and 25-17 in the first match. Dallas kept up in the third set by winning the first two points and would eventually lead 6-3. After a kill by Emily Pauletti (Dallas, Texas) knotted the score at 9, Trinity won the next four points and eventually saw its lead balloon to 21-13.
Samantha Garza (Richmond, Texas) posted a team-high five kills, as UD was outdone 36-17 in that category. Mary Scholz (Fallon, Nev.) and Diana Hassink (Tulsa, Okla.) each posted eight digs apiece.
The Tigers spread their 36 kills around with a quartet claiming five apiece. Annie Rose Leggett, Morgan Sampson, Maggie Linker, and Avery Tuggle formed the unit. Katrina Lieberman notched 32 assists, which was all-but two for the Maroon.
Dallas capped its portion of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) schedule with a thrilling five-set win over Schreiner University. UD won both its league games over the Mountaineers to sweep the season series, but it was a close battle throughout. Not a single frame was decided by more than four points, and the first and last ones required extra serves to determine the winner.
It was the first five-set win for the Crusaders in four tries this fall. The scores were 29-27, 25-22, 21-25, 21-25, and 16-14 in favor of Dallas.
The opening frame featured 12 ties and four lead changes. The Crusaders appeared to capture the momentum after a few attack errors put them up 12-10. The advantage eventually swelled to five on three occasions. The first of the trio was 19-14 and then both sides exchanged points. A kill by Garza made it 21-16 before three unanswered by Schriener nipped it to a two-point margin. After Dallas called for time, three-of-four points went its way on a kill from Garza and two from Scholz. The Mountaineers were resilient and rallied for the next five in a row. Rylee Davis (Lampasas, Texas) struck a kill to keep the Crusaders alive and then a bad set by its opponent gave them the game-winning chance. It took three more ties later but consecutive attack errors concluded the first set with Dallas in front.
UD surged forward in the next set with the first seven points notched. Garza had two kills while Scholz and Mary Goodykoontz (Chandler, Ariz.) chipped in one apiece during that stretch. Up 13-7, Schreiner erased the deficit with six consecutive points. The Mountaineers did gain their only lead by countering a kill from Sarah Hughes (Fair Oaks, Calif.) with two points of their own to make it 15-14. A service error evened the score and ignited four points in a row for the Crusaders. SU had one more counter to tie things at 19 and 20. Davis propelled the Crusaders up with a kill and Hughes hit back-to-back ones that started a 4-0 swing. The junior earned her third kill in a row for the squad and helped take a 2-0 lead.
Schreiner responded with a pair of wins in the next two sets to force a deciding frame. In the third set, the Mountaineers flipped the script a little as the teams had battled 17-all. The next four points went to the opposition and two kills apiece by Hughes and Garza were not enough throughout the last juncture as SU scored eight of the final 12 points.
The Mountaineers started the fourth set on an 11-4 run, but the Crusaders did chip away eventually making it a two-point game at 16-14. They were unable to narrow things any closer as the stage was set for an exciting final set.
The first 10 points were balanced as both sides traded points through that juncture. Schreiner took the first multiple point lead with the next three points in a row to make it 8-5.
Hughes already was on her way to a career night with a double-double in kills (19) and digs (31), as she contributed to her performance with consecutive kills out of Dallas' first timeout. Schreiner answered with four more points on several tough rallies that extended the edge to 12-7. UD gained a point to stop the streak after using its last timeout.
A kill by Mallory Dunn for Schreiner made it 13-8, but the Crusaders grinded out four straight points that featured a service ace by Hughes and kill by Garza.
The freshman, along with Scholz, contributed 16 kills apiece overall, as the duo teamed up on the final four points in a row with half each that countered a 14-12 margin. Garza recorded the first kill to prevent the game from ending. Hassink went onto serve, and Scholz had the next two kills that switched UD's position to on top. Garza nailed the game-winning point on a kill that was assisted by Goodykoontz.
The sophomore setter shattered a career-high in assists with 53. The last time a player for Dallas had over 50 assists was October 9th, 2016, when Elizabeth Smith (Broken Arrow, Okla.) notched 61 against Austin College.
Dallas set season-bests in kills (61), assists (61), and digs (147). The digs total was a team match record, which surpassed the previous best from last season in that match mentioned above on Oct. 9th by four. Hassink paced a quartet of players in double figures that all earned personal-highs for those digs with 44. Hughes followed with her total that was part of her third double-double of the season. Scholz earned her 13th one this fall, which included 29 digs. Goodykoontz rounded out the four players with 19 and had the team's third double-double.
Schreiner was led offensively by Amanda Combs (15), Mallory Dunn (12), and Hannah Hartman (11) for a trio of double-digit kill performances. Dunn had a double-double in that category and digs (29). Amanda Gomez collected a team-high 40 digs. The Mountaineers defense posted 142 digs and 28 blocks. Combs led the middle block with 11 blocks and included four solo.
UP NEXT
Dallas concludes the regular season with a pair of non-conference games next weekend in California. On Oct. 27th, the Crusaders will be at Mills College at 6 p.m. (PST). The next day features a matchup at University of California-Santa Cruz with first serve scheduled at 4 p.m. (PST).