Trojans Sweep No. 15 Indiana Tech
October 16, 2009
The No. 24 Taylor University volleyball team swept their way past No. 15 Indiana Tech (25-21, 26-24, 25-21) in the NAIA Match of the Week played in Fort Wayne Friday evening.
With the win, Taylor (21-4) snapped Indiana Tech's ten-match winning streak, which included victories over then-No. 10 Madonna (Mich.) and No. 7 Georgetown (Ky.). The Warriors fall to 20-8 with each of their losses coming against Top 25 opponents.
The straight-set victory gives Taylor its 14th shutout of the season.
"Tonight was a really good win for us," said Taylor head coach Brittany Smith. "The team stepped up and finished the match against a very good Indiana Tech team."
The Taylor offense was led by sophomore middle blocker Bethany Beck, who had 13 kills on 25 swings for a .440 hitting efficiency. Sophomore outside hitter Kelsey Pritchard pounded 13 kills to bring her season total to a team-leading 354.
Sophomore setter Betsy Brown recorded 38 assists. The Trojans hit at a clip of .254 for the match, while the Warriors swung at .149.
Courtney Herschberger, a five-time Mid-Central College Conference Libero of the Week, posted her best three-set dig total of the year with 22 for the match.
Indiana Tech was led by Amber Birky with 11 kills. Melanie Forman dished out 32 assists for the Warriors.
Taylor had its first three attacks of the match blocked by the Warriors and went down 8-4 to start the opening set, but four straight Tech hitting errors allowed Taylor to grab a lead at 13-11. Five tie scores and four lead changes later, Beck pounded her fifth kill of the set to put Taylor up 1-0.
In a second set that featured 17 tie scores and eight lead changes, neither team ever held more than a three point lead. Five kills apiece from Beck and Jackie Geile, and 11 digs from Herschberger, helped lift Taylor to a 26-24 win.
Late in the third set with a 20-9 advantage, it appeared that Taylor would run away with the finale. However, the Warriors stayed alive and strung together an 11-2 run and pulled to within two points at 22-20. The Trojans held off the surge when Pritchard knocked down the final two kills of the match for a 25-21 Taylor final.
Friday night marked the second straight time that Indiana Tech has been ranked No. 15 in the NAIA rankings when the two teams have met. Taylor also won the last meeting on Nov. 1, 2008 in a 3-2 thriller played in Upland.
The all-time series between the two schools is now deadlocked at 7-7.
Next up for Taylor is a trip to Spring Arbor (Mich.) for an MCC matchup on Thursday, Oct. 22 at 7:00 pm.