Austin College Edges UD Volleyball
IRVING, Texas – The University of Dallas volleyball team was edged twice on Saturday by Austin College. Both matches were sweeps for the 'Roos, who improved to 4-2 while UD dropped to 0-4 overall and at home.
Match 1 (Set Scores: 25-18, 25-21, 25-23)
The first set of this game was back-and-forth with Andriella Wagner tallying the go-ahead kill to make it 10-9. The 'Roos scored the next seven points with Riley Abernathy controlling the serve for six of them. Dallas cut the deficit to four, but that surge was the difference.
In the next set things were nearly even until the later part of the frame. Wagner had another go-ahead kills, this time to make it 18-17 favoring the Crusaders. However, the 'Roos leveled the score on a kill by Caitlin Mahoney and used that to spark an 8-2 run and claim the 2-0 advantage. AC rattled off the last four points.
Dallas clawed back from down 6-1 in the last set to pull within two on several occasions. After being down as many as six (17-11), the Crusaders fought back with six of the next seven points with Dayjah Whyte (Round Rock, Texas) picking up two of UD's four kills. Savannah Walker (San Antonio, Texas) and Abigail Porras (El Paso, Texas) capped the run with back-to-back kills. After AC answered to get up by three, the Crusaders scored a trio of points on kills from Porras, Larissa Ramirez (San Antonio, Texas), and Wagner to even things at 21. Two more points swung the momentum for the guests, but UD fought to keep things within a point until decisive final point.
Other than the first set, UD had more kills than the 'Roos in the last two sets. Whyte was the leader in kills with eight. Porras followed with seven and Wagner had six. Ramirez had a season-high 20 assists and Moriah Delgado (Fort Worth, Texas).
Austin was led in kills by Abernathy with nine. Victoria Smith and Shelbi Cook each had seven. Ali Horton recorded a double-double with 17 assists and 13 digs.
Match 2 (Set Scores: 25-23, 25-20, 25-22)
Dallas shook off a 4-0 deficit with the next three points, which were kills by Isabel Garcia (San Antonio, Texas), Whyte, and Porras. After another Austin College push, UD answered to knot things at seven, eight, and nine. The 'Roos went up five (15-10), but Dallas scrapped back and in the nailbiting serves would tie things at 21, 22, and 23. Smith got AC the kill and an error on the Dallas attack finished the set off.
Austin leaped out to its biggest lead at the start of a set on the day with an 8-2 lead. Dallas scored six of its next seven points via a kill. Three came from Whyte. The 'Roos led by as many as six (20-14) in this set, and kept UD at bay while finishing the game.
The Crusaders took an 8-5 lead in the third set. Garcia capped the 4-1 run with a kill. They maintained a narrow advantage until it was 18-all. Teams traded pints with UD getting things to 21-all on the kill by Whyte. Four-of-five points to end the game were by the 'Roos.
Dallas outdid the 'Roos in team kills each set. UD would register double-digits in team kills for this match, which was more than Austin College in each frame. Porras and Whyte matched 11 kills for a game-high. Whyte was also involved in three blocks. Garcia chipped in six kills. Abby Medico (Tulsa, Okla.) recorded a personal-best 24 assists.
Moriah Delgado (Fort Worth, Texas) surpassed 20 digs in both outings.
The 'Roos were led by Smith offensively with 10 kills. Mari Prazak had 23 digs and Horton added 18 assists. AC's defense had nine blocks and 64 digs. Dallas just edged in digs with 66.
Dallas completes its home stand of three matches in just as many weeks with University of St. Thomas on Friday, March 12. The game times are at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.