Crusaders Sweep Day One of Austin/Dallas Crossover
Irving, TX - The University of Dallas women's volleyball team won their first two games of the Austin College and University of Dallas Crossover Tournament. The Crusaders swept the Lobos of Sul Ross State University 3-0 (25-16, 25-19, 25-21) and then defeated the Patriots of Arlington Baptist University 3-1 (16-25, 25-13, 25-15, 25-21).
Match 1 - Sul Ross
In the first set the Crusaders jumped out to an early lead that they never relinquished. The Lobos tied the set near the midpoint at 10-10, but the Crusaders quickly regained control of the set going on a 6-1 run to gain separation on their way to a 25-16 win.
Sul Ross got their first lead of the match in the second set when they took the lead, 7-4. Dallas regained the lead at 8-7, and then pulled away from the Lobos. The closest Sul Ross reached was three points for the rest of the set at 14-11, 16-13, and 19-16, but were held off by the Crusaders' on their way to 25-19 win.
The third set mirrored the first set as the Lobos tied the game once, this time early at 1-1. From there Dallas maintained control of the game, building their largest lead of the set at seven, 16-9, and cruising to sweep the match 3-0 with a 25-21 third set victory.
Dayjah Whyte (Round Rock, Texas) led UD's offense with game highs in both attacks and kills with 24 and 15. Whyte also played well at the net defensively with four block assists. Freshman Hannah Gibbons (Paris, Texas) contributed well both offensively and defensively with 11 attacks and five kills on offense and one solo block and two block assists on defense. Abby Medico (Tulsa, Okla.) rounded out the offense with a stout performance registering 17 attacks with nine kills. Larissa Ramirez (San Antonio, Texas) led the team in assists and digs with 35 and 10, and Chloe Ilagan (Sugar Land, Texas) also contributed 10 digs.
Lobos middle hitter Annika Canaba led the team with 20 attacks and eight kills and setter Kamrynn Caruth had a game high three service aces.
Dallas is now 7-0 against the Lobos, winning every game since the matchup started in 2011.
Match 2 - Arlington Baptist
Dallas started out even in the first set against Arlington Baptist, as the Partiots and the Crusaders split the first 20 points for a tie at 10-10. The Patriots then amassed a lead that Dallas could not overcome, going on a 7-0 run to cruise to a first set win at 25-16.
The second set also started even at 5-5 until the Crusaders roared ahead with an 11-1 run. After back-to-back points by Arlington Baptist, Dallas went on another run, 9-2, to tie the game at one set apiece.
Dallas led from the beginning of the third set, scoring the first three points and five of the first six. From their Dallas gradually widened the gap before closing out the set with four consecutive points, with the set final score at 25-15.
The two teams battled over the fourth set as the two teams were deadlocked, again, at 5-5. Arlington Baptist looked as if they had gained control of the set, going on a 5-1 run to take a 11-6 lead, but then Dallas chipped away to eventually tie the game at 19-19. Dallas then continued their momentum to score six of the last eight points to win the set 25-21 and take the match 3-1.
Whyte had another good offensive game with a game high 26 attacks and a team high 13 kills. She also continued her hard work at the net with a solo block and three block assists to finish the day with 50 attacks, 28 kills, one solo block and seven block assists.
Gibbons' second performance was even better than her first of the day, as she pounded 25 attacks along with nine kills. She also continued her strong defensive play as she teamed up on four block assists for a total on the day of 36 attacks, 14 kills, one solo block and six block assists.
Medico recorded another complementary performance adding 20 attacks and eight kills to end Friday with totals of 37 attacks and 17 kills. Ramirez led the team in assists with 36. Ilagan led in digs with 13, and Ellise Anabel (Phoenix, Ariz.) was also in double-digits with 10 digs.
Freshman Alissa Stennett (Coeur d' Alene, Idaho) made her collegiate debut playing in three of the four sets and earning two kills on 11 attacks and four block assists for the game.
With the wins Dallas improves to 3-0 (0-0) on the year, and with the losses Sul Ross and Arlington Baptist fall to 1-1 and 3-3. The Crusaders start the season 3-0 for the first time since the team did the same in 2012.
The Crusaders will wrap up their tournament schedule tomorrow with two more games against Rhodes College (TN) and McMurry University. The game against Rhodes is scheduled for 2:00 PM and the game against McMurry is scheduled for 4:00 PM. All times are Central.