Trojans Lose Thriller to No. 7 Columbia
October 30, 2009
The NAIA Volleyball Match of the Week lived up to its billing Friday night, as No. 7 Columbia escaped a near upset by defeating No. 17 Taylor 3-2 (28-26, 25-19, 16-25, 21-25, 15-11). Columbia improved to 30-2, while Taylor drops its season record to 28-5.
The match marked just the second time this season that Columbia has been stretched to a five-set match.
"I'm very proud of the way our team played tonight," said Taylor head coach Brittany Smith. "We played with great character and demonstrated the willingness to fight back after being down 0-2. This team refuses to give up even in tough situations."
Taylor dropped the first two sets, but used a season-high 16 team blocks to roar back into the match by winning the next two sets.
It was Bethany Beck who wreaked the most havoc at the net against the Cougars. The sophomore middle blocker knocked down a career-high eight blocks (2 solo/6 assists) to go along with her seven kills.
The Trojans fell behind 6-1 to start the fifth set, but again made a determined come back and tied the score at 10-10. Three straight points by the Cougars finally put the match out of reach for the Trojans, who scored just one more point and fell by the final score of 15-11.
Sophomore outside hitter Kelsey Pritchard paced Taylor with 14 kills to hit at a .344 clip. Junior Jackie Geile earned a double-double with 13 kills and 11 digs. Setter Betsy Brown chipped in with her own double-double by posting 47 assists and 12 digs.
Despite out hitting the Cougars by nearly .100 points with a .259 hitting percentage, the Trojans had just 52 kills compared to Columbia's 65. The Cougars outdug the Trojans 70-58.
At times Taylor seemed to be its own worst enemy, recording 11 service errors and 8 receiving errors.
"We made some errors that could probably be attributed to our youth in a high intensity environment," said Smith, "but it was a good experience for the team to compete at this level and give us the confidence that we can play with teams like Columbia."
The Cougars were led by Cate Eckhartd and Maria Omondi, who each recorded 18 kills.
Taylor next faces Indiana Wesleyan at noon on Saturday, followed by a 2 p.m. match vs. Ohio Dominican to close out the Trojan Challenge.