UD Volleyball Splits Competitive Saturday at Centenary College
(Photo Courtesy of Trinity Athletics)
SHREVEPORT, La. – The University of Dallas volleyball team played Centenary College in two hard-fought matches on Saturday. The Crusaders were able to claim the first match of a doubleheader, 3-1. The last three sets were determined by three points or less, including one that went beyond the 25-point regulation set.
In the second matchup the teams were evenly matched with the first three sets within three points and two-of-three decided by two. After UD forced a fifth set with a convincing 14-point spread in the fourth, the Ladies would force a split in the series by winning the decisive set and winning in five.
Dallas moves to 2-7 overall on the year, while Centenary improved to 3-8.
Match 1 (Set Scores: 25-18, 25-27, 25-22, 25-22)
The Crusaders jumped out ahead scoring five of the first six points. Isabel Garcia (San Antonio, Texas) and Dayjah Whyte (Round Rock, Texas) posted kills in the run and Moriah Delgado (Fort Worth, Texas) was on serve and also had a service for the third UD point in that surge. A 5-2 stretch helped open a seven-point advantage in the early part of the opening set. After Centenary sliced the score to 14-12, it was UD that stretched the lead to 18-12. Dallas kept at least a five-point margin except the 22-18 point that was prior to three-straight by the Crusaders to start on top. Garcia and Faith Daniels (San Antonio, Texas) registered kills in the last rallies.
This one was back-and-forth with UD making its first major move on a 5-0 run to flip a 11-9 deficit to 14-1. Whyte was serving during that run. Garcia scored a point on a kill to make it 21-16, but the Ladies rallied to score six points in a row. UD withstood the adversity of down 23-22 and scored the next two points on a kill by Daniels and ace by Whyte. Abigail Porras (El Paso, Texas) lifted the guests back up with the potential winning serve, but the Ladies had a trio of kills by Elizabeth Epley, Alania Bartie, and Liz Lowe take their lone set in this game. Centenary had 19 kills in that set alone.
In the third set, Kills by Whyte and Porras bookended a 5-0 run early on. After being up as many as five, Centenary counted with a 5-0 outburst to go up 12-11. Both teams traded runs with UD going in front 20-15, before the Ladies strung five points to knot things. UD was the first to five in the last portion of the set with Daniels hitting a kill, Delgado serving an ace and then Whyte putting down the winning point.
The last set finished with the same score, as UD went up going out to an 8-4 advantage. There were no lead changes this time after that, although Centenary tied things at 12 and 20. A Whyte kill and Garcia ace gave UD the first two points and after the Ladies countered with kills, Whyte produced a trio of kills to wrap up the win.
Whyte paced Dallas' offense with 16 kills, which was a season-best at the time. Porras was the other Crusader to reach double-digits in that category with 10. Garcia and Daniels each had seven. Larissa Ramirez (San Antonio, Texas) compiled a season-best 39 assists. Digs were nearly even with UD holding an 81-80 edge.
Centenary grabbed a 52-44 edge in kills. Alyssa Davis and Lowe each had 13 kills, while Epley had 10. Rachel Demerjian put up 31 assists.
Match 2 (Set Scores: 22-25, 26-24, 23-25, 25-11, 10-15)
The second game picked up from the first in terms of competiveness. Dallas was up 17-15 before the Ladies turned the momentum with a 6-0 run. Whyte and Porras put down kills and an attack error made it 22-21, but three of the last four points dropped Dallas behind.
Centenary would go up as many as five in the second set, 16-11 Dallas scored the next four points with Whyte and Ellise Anable (Phoenix, Ariz.) getting a block assist to cap the run. The Ladies went up 22-19 and then were up 23-22 before the Crusader got hot with four-of-five points. After tying things at 23, Whyte got a kill to make it 24-23. Centenary's Caroline Richmond answered with a kill and Garcia and Abby Medico (Tulsa, Okla.) were the heroes for the last two points with kills.
The third set saw neither side lead by more than three points through the duration of the set, which one of those occasions was when Dallas was down set-point after Davis had consecutive kills. The Crusaders nipped the score to 24-23, but Davis was overwhelming by tallying the team's last three kills.
Dallas was in control in the fourth set by leading in double-digits most of it. UD never trailed after recording the first five points with Delgado serving each time. The Crusaders traded scores and then erupted with nine in a row to get to the double-digit threshold.
In the last set, Garcia got a kill to give UD the serve after down 1-0 and she would get an ace that was part of the 3 straight. Porras made it 6-5 on a kill, but the Ladies notched the next five points to swing the momentum. Porras had another kill to keep Dallas within three. The Ladies were able to finish the frame and match with four of the last five points. Centenary scored 10 of its 15 points this set on kills.
Whyte shattered a season-high 19 kills and totaled five errors in 61 total attacks. She also worked hard in the front row with six block assists and was effective serving with four aces. Porras and Garcia also had big numbers with 16 and 11 kills, respectively. Garcia's total was a season-high as well. UD's 59 team kills was a season-most and second time to surpass 50 this season. Both were in five-set matches. Ramirez also improved on her season-high from the first match that day with two more assists for 41 total Medico added 12. Delgado led a quintet of players in double figures for digs with 21. Anable followed with 16, then Chloe Ilagan (Sugar Land, Texas) had 13, and then Porras and Garcia had 11 and 10, respectively, for double-doubles. UD held an 8-6 edge as a team on blocks.
The Ladies were led by Davis with 26 points, who hit a torrid .429 kill percentage. Caroline Richmond tossed in 19 kills as the next highest was six. Demerjian passed 55 assists and the team eclipsed the century mark for digs with 101.
Dallas is home for a final time this Easter Weekend. The Crusaders will play Schreiner University at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Gillian De La Cruz (Lewisville, Texas) will be recognized following the match as part of Senior Day.
A reminder that spectators are still not permitted for indoor events at SCAC schools.