Taylor Volleyball Wins One, Loses One
September 25, 2009
The No. 24 Taylor volleyball team suffered its second defeat to No. 14 Olivet Nazarene University this season, 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-13) at the USF Best of the Best Challenge in Ft. Wayne, Ind. Taylor rebounded in its second match Friday with a 3-2 (25-20, 17-25, 25-14, 21-25, 15-10) win over Campbellsville University.
Taylor is now 12-3 overall and 3-0 in the Mid-Central College Conference.
Taylor vs. Olivet Nazarene
Taylor posted its worst hitting percentage in at least the last seven seasons, with a .000 mark following 25 kills and 25 errors.
Up until the final point of the second set, Kelsey Pritchard and Jackie Geile were the only two Trojans to record kills in the match. Pritchard finished with a match high 14 kills and Geile recorded nine terminations.
Taylor led 12-9 in the early going of set one, but ONU's 19 kills in the opener were too much for the Trojans to overcome as they fell 25-21.
Set two saw the Trojans hold another early lead of 9-7 before a string of several costly hitting errors cost Taylor a 25-19 defeat.
Olivet Nazarene's front row saved its best for last when the Tigers hit at a .286 clip while holding the Trojans to -.133 for the final set. ONU closed out the match by the final score of 25-13.
Taylor vs. Campbellsville
Following a 45-minute break, the Trojans salvaged their day with a 3-2 win over Campbellsville University. The Tigers were receiving votes in the latest NAIA Top 25 Coaches' Poll.
Geile and Pritchard once again led the offense with 14 kills apiece. Freshman Courtney Herschberger anchored the Taylor defense by tallying 19 digs. For the second time in three matches, junior Kristen VandeBunte matched a career high with seven blocks.
Taylor took advantage of error-free hitting from Geile, Bethany Beck, and Colleen Nelis in the opening set to claim the 25-20 advantage.
The tables turned in set two when Taylor committed ten unforced errors and recorded just eight kills as the Tigers evened the match at 1-1
Four kills apiece from Geile and Pritchard, along with a strong blocking effort in set three helped Taylor to its most dominant set of the day in a 25-14 win.
Campbellsville fought back with 15 kills and a .250 hitting percentage in the fourth set to force the finale.
Taylor got off to a fast start with a 7-1 lead in the fifth set, but the Tigers battled back to within three at 13-10 before two straight kills from Geile closed out the match for the Trojans.
On Saturday Taylor will meet Trinity International at 11 a.m., followed by a meeting with the host Saint Francis Cougars at 3 p.m.