Crusaders Top Dallas Christian to Close Regular Season on 3-Game Streak; SCAC Tournament Next
FARMERS BRANCH, Texas – The University of Dallas volleyball team concluded the regular season with a 3-1 victory at Dallas Christian College in non-conference action on Wednesday night. Dallas (17-18) won their third match in a row for the second time this season to have a streak as long. DCC (9-11) led big in the first two sets but were outscored 19-6 in the second set that spun the momentum for the road Crusaders.
MATCH INFORMATION
Scores
Set 1: 23-25
Set 2: 25-19
Set 3: 25-18
Set 4: 25-12
Playing without a couple of starters, the visiting Crusaders fell behind 7-3 through the first 10 points and eventually saw that deficit widen to seven (16-8) thanks to a 7-1 run after they had cut the gap to one. UD urgently scored five points in a row to make it 24-23, but the home Crusaders took the first set.
Dallas Christian rattled off the first seven points in the next set and led 13-6 before the Navy and White used four points thanks to pair of kills by Kennedy Bradley (Groesbeck, Texas) and Anna Stevenson (Dallas, Texas) to slice into the deficit. Savannah Walker (San Antonio, Texas) was on serve during the hot stretch. After DCC reclaimed two of the points, the next six went to the road Crusaders to knot the score up. The entire run ended up being a 10-1 result and seven points for Dallas came via a kill.
The next two sets saw Dallas in control. A 5-5 tie turned into a five-point gap most of the remainder of the match. DCC pulled within three (21-18), but out of a Dallas timeout were the remaining four points. Bradley and Andriella Wagner (Round Rock, Texas) grabbed a kill each. Another 10-1 run polished off the road Crusaders third straight set win and settled the largest margin in the scoring column for the teams on the evening.
During this winning stretch, UD has fallen in the first set of all the matches.
The road Crusaders posted a 51-44 edge in kills, which included 18 in the second set that turned things around. Stevenson, this week's United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) Player of the Week led the squad with 15 kills and had six hitting errors in 43 total attacks. Dayjah Whyte (Round Rock, Texas) also cracked double figures with 10 kills. She was effective hitting .526 thanks to no errors and 19 total attacks. Isabel Garcia (San Antonio, Texas) contributed nine kills and Bradley gave a season-high seven.
Larissa Ramirez (San Antonio, Texas) put in 36 assists and 13 digs for a double-double. A quintet of players were in double-digits for digs, led by Garcia's 16. Everyone else stood at 15, 13 (two), and 12 to give UD an 83-80 overall advantage. Ramirez also totaled half of the team's eight service aces.
DCC was led Brittany Fannin and Lauren Baker in kills with 12 and 10, respectively. The duo contributed double-doubles with Fanin adding 16 digs and Baker snatching 10 assists. Elizabeth Morrow ahda a team-high 24 assists and 10 digs for the remaining double-double in game. Morrow and Summer Doty conbimed for 16 kills with eight apiece, as the host Crusaders played just seven and only subbed with the libero.
SOCIAL MEDIA
#UDCRUSADERS WIN! Finish regular season with 3 straight victories!#WeAreUD #d3vb #UDallas pic.twitter.com/Tmd2vqMAoC
— UDallas Athletics (@UDallasSports) October 31, 2019
UP NEXT
Dallas turns its attention to the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament (SCAC) held in Seguin, Texas, on November 8-10. Dallas will play at 3:30 p.m. vs. Austin College.
More information can be found on SCAC Tournament Central