Crusaders Drop Two Matches on Day Two of SCAC Divisional Tournament at Trinity University
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - The University of Dallas volleyball team dropped a pair of matches Sunday on day two of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Divisional tournament held at Trinity University. The Crusaders (17-12, 6-8 SCAC) played Texas Lutheran University in the first game losing in four sets 25-23, 16-25, 27-25, 25-21. Dallas then played a competitive three-set loss to No. 9 Trinity University 25-22, 25-23, 25-12.
(Match against Texas Lutheran University)
Texas Lutheran (8-18, 5-8 SCAC) earned an 8-2 lead in set one, but Dallas scored three-straight points led by two service aces by Krystyn Pua (Escondido, Calif.). A kill by Ellise Anable (Phoenix, Ariz.) helped UD inch closer (14-13). After a Peyton Sulak kill for TLU, Dallas tied the match at 15 after a Bulldogs attack error and another Anable kill. Dallas grooved along to a 23-19 advantage, but TLU came back to score six-straight points to win set one.
Dallas started the second set with a 14-5 lead. A big 4-0 run along the way pushed the Crusaders lead to 19-8 thanks to kills by Dayjah Whyte (Round Rock, Texas) and Isabel Garcia (San Antonio, Texas). TLU did not go down easy, but Dallas hung on for the second-set win.
Dallas, up one in set three (9-8), had a solid 4-0 run capped off by a Lexi Shafer (Sugar Land, Texas) ace. Dallas found its lead grow to 17-11 but TLU took seven of the next eight points to tie that match at 18. Dallas did not back down at this point, staying with the Bulldogs only down one point (22-21). UD had a 3-0 run by three kills by Anable to find themselves one point from the set win, but TLU came back with five of the final six points for a big comeback to take the set win.
UD was up 10-5 in the fourth set, but a 5-0 run for the Bulldogs tied it up. Elizabeth Smith (Broken Arrow, Okla.) added a kill along with a TLU error to regain the lead. The Bulldogs rallied back to tie the match again at 14. Dallas saw an 18-17 lead, but could not hold it for much longer. UD saw the lead dwindle when TLU took the next six points. The Bulldogs took this momentum for the match-win.
Anable led the Crusaders with a personal-best 16 kills and 12 digs for her fifth career double-double. Whyte followed her teammate with 12 kills.
Pua set a career-high 35 digs in the match. She also notched six of the team's season-high 15 service aces. Smith dished out 35 assists and produced 16 digs. Dallas collected a season-high 99 digs in the match.
Cailey Young led the Bulldogs with 13 kills. Jaci Chambers collected 21 digs for TLU.
(Match against No. 9 Trinity University)
Trinity University (20-5, 12-1 SCAC) who is ranked No. 9 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) had a 5-4 lead in the first set. UD grabbed six of the next seven points to find themselves up 9-6. Trinity came back to tie the set at 11. The Tigers took five of the next six points to regain the lead. Dallas hung around with kills by Anable down the stretch. UD was down a couple late in the set, but Trinity claimed the opening frame by posting the last three points.
Dallas responded by starting set two up 5-1 and kept the lead through the majority of the set (13-10). Four Tigers points negated the UD lead by grabbing their first lead of the set. Dallas kept pushing back and to tie the match down the stretch, as the game was tied seven different times until 21-21. Trinity closed the second set out by taking four-straight points.
Trinity finished the match with a strong third set led by long runs to take the straight-set sweep.
Anable and Whyte led the Crusaders with eight kills each. Anable also notched 14 digs to lead Dallas in that category. Smith contributed 24 assists.
Sarah Mullens had a game-high 23 digs for Trinity. The Tigers offense was led by Avery Tuggle with 10 kills. Tuggle also collected 15 digs.
UP NEXT
Dallas will finish out the regular season next weekend in the SCAC tournament held at Johnson & Wales. The Crusaders will play Friday (10/26) against Johnson & Wales University at 6 p.m. (MST). On Saturday (10/27) UD will play Colorado College at 10 a.m. (MST) followed by ending the regular season with a non-conference match against Mississippi University for Women at 3 p.m. (MST).