Volleyball Sweeps Cedarville in Opener
August 25, 2009
The 19th-ranked Taylor volleyball team opened its 2009 season with a straight set victory (25-16, 25-17, 25-19) over Cedarville in Odle Arena on Tuesday.
"This was a great start to our season," said Taylor head coach Brittany Smith. "We saw a lot of players step up and contribute tonight. This is a very competitive group, and it's going to be exciting to see how we progress at all six positions."
The defending back-to-back Mid-Central College Conference regular season champions, Taylor jumped on Cedarville early in the first set and came away with a nine-point victory after hitting at .192 in the opener.
Taylor (1-0) got even better as the match went on, looking at times to be in mid-season form by hitting at a .462 clip in the second set.
The Cedarville (2-3) defense had no answer for Taylor sophomore outside hitter Kelsey Pritchard, who finished the match hitting .476 with 12 kills and just 2 errors.
The Trojans closed out the match by hitting at .345 in the final set to secure the team's first win of the season.
Taylor setter Betsy Brown made her return to the court for the Trojans after suffering an injury at the end of last season that kept her out of Taylor's run to the MCC Tournament Championship game. The 2008 NAIA Honorable Mention All-American pick posted 34 assists and 6 digs.
Freshman libero Courtney Herschberger anchored the defense with 13 digs and one service ace. Pritchard and Bethany Beck teamed up on two block assists to lead the Trojans.
Taylor travels to Dearborn, Mich., this weekend for the UM-Dearborn Tournament where the featured matchup will be against No. 13 Olivet Nazarene on Saturday morning at 8:30 am.