Volleyball Recap (Week 6) - Around the SCAC

Volleyball Recap (Week 6) - Around the SCAC

SUWANEE, Ga. - Thanks to four wins at the SCAC East-West Divisional in San Antonio over the weekend, the Austin College Kangaroos improved to 17-8 overall and 8-3 in the SCAC. Austin College now finds itself in sole possession of third-place in the conference standings.

AROUND THE SCAC

Austin College swept the SCAC West-East Divisional this weekend, going 4-0 against Centre, Oglethorpe, Birmingham-Southern and Sewanee to improve to 17-8 overall and 8-3 in conference play and move into third place in the SCAC. On Saturday the ‘Roos topped Centre 3-0 behind 16 kills from Jessi Fleming and 30 assists from Kelly McDaniel, and the team followed that up with a 3-1 win over Oglethorpe with Fleming again leading the way with 19 kills. Shelby Eaves added 15 kills and McDaniel had 38 assists. On Sunday, Austin College knocked off BSC 3-2 to open the day with Fleming notching 24 kills and Eaves adding 12, while McDaniel again led the way with 37 assists. In the final match of the weekend, the ‘Roos topped Sewanee 3-1 with Eaves registering a team-best 12 kills and 16 digs, and McDaniel had 37 assists for the second time in the day.

Birmingham-Southern traveled to San Antonio for the SCAC West vs. East Divisional, hosted by Trinity, and went 2-2. On Saturday, they defeated the host Tigers (3-0) as well as Dallas (3-1); on Sunday, they fell to Austin (3-2) and No. 9 Southwestern (3-0). Against Trinity, sophomore Alex Bothe posted a double-double with 12 kills and 11 digs; freshman Kelly Foster led the team with 13 kills in that match, and she and Bothe led the team in kills against Dallas with 12 apiece. The Panthers are at home this week for a match against Faulkner University on Thursday, then travel to Rome, Ga., to face Shorter University on Saturday.

Centre
traveled to San Antonio, Texas to compete in the SCAC East/West Divisional match-up hosted by Trinity. The Colonels dropped all four matches over the weekend. Next up for the Colonels will be an away match at Maryville (Tenn.) followed by a home tri-match against Fisk University and Berry on Saturday.

No. 13 Colorado College
went undefeated and did not drop a single set over three matches this past weekend. The Tigers beat Rhodes, Millsaps and Hendrix all in three sets each. Senior Amy Schornack broke CC’s all-time career assists record with her second assist against Rhodes to begin the weekend. The record was previously held by Larissa Enns (1998-01), who had 3,717 career assists as a Tiger. After last weekend’s games, Schornack now holds the record with 3,813 career assists. Senior Sarah Schmoker led the Tiger offense with 33 kills over three games, while senior Hannah Varnell led the defense with 40 digs. CC will be back in action at home this weekend as it hosts the 2011 Molten Volleyball Spike It Up Classic on Oct. 14-15 in Reid Gymnasium.

After a 5-1 record this past week, including a 3-1 record in SCAC play, Dallas currently sits at 12-13 overall (4-7 conference). On the week, the Lady Crusaders defeated Arlington Baptist College (3-0) and Rust College (3-0) at home before heading to Trinity for the SCAC West/East showdown. In San Antonio, Dallas bested Sewanee (3-1), fell to Birmingham-Southern (3-1), and then knocked off Oglethorpe (3-2) and Centre (3-1). Up next for the team is a Tuesday, Oct. 11 road match with Dallas Christian College. On Saturday, Dallas will host the University of Dallas Invitational, with St. Lawrence University (N.Y.) and Southwestern Christian College coming to town.

Hendrix started the week with a three-set victory at Rust on Tuesday night. Junior Kristen Finch had a career-night hitting .562 with 10 kills. Junior Melissa Clement recorded 13 kills and freshman middle blocker Carson Hunter added nine. Hendrix suffered a pair of five-set defeats at the SCAC Central Inter-Pod on Saturday. In the loss to Millsaps, freshman outside hitter Kylee Spicer blasted 19 kills and Clement had 16 kills and a career-high eight digs. The Warriors were up two sets to one against Rhodes, but could not put the Lynx away. Clement hit .371 with 16 kills and Calhoun had six kills and 39 assists. Sophomore Katie Burchfield came up with a season-best 17 digs. The Warriors ended the tournament with a three-set loss to #13 Colorado College. Freshman Ella Concavage-Nasar paced Hendrix with 18 digs. The Warriors will be off until Oct. 18 when they play at Williams Baptist.

Millsaps
lost two out of three games this past weekend at the SCAC Central Intra-Pod. The Majors started the weekend with a conference win over Hendrix before falling to Colorado College and Rhodes. On Saturday, the Majors took a five set thriller over the Hendrix Warriors. The teams went back and forth as Millsaps took Game One and Three while Hendrix took Game Two and Four. The Majors dominated Game Five, taking it 15-9 thanks to 10 kills and only one error in the final game. Junior Mackenzie Westphal led the way with 14 kills and 10 digs while juniors Kasey Laird added 13 kills and 13 digs along with junior Raven Scott with 12 kills and 13 digs. The Majors came back later that night and took on No. 13 Colorado College on their home court. Millsaps kept it close, but did not have enough to overtake the Tigers who took the game in straight sets. Millsaps finished the weekend off with Rhodes & dropped a heartbreaker to the Lynx in five games.

Oglethorpe
went 1-4 this past week, topping Reinhardt (W, 3-0) before losing all four weekend SCAC matches against tough competition. The Petrels avenged a loss from earlier in the season to the Eagles. The Petrels found the going much tougher against the four Texas schools they faced over the weekend, losing to Southwestern (3-0), Austin (3-1), Dallas (3-2) and Trinity ( 3-0). With the results Oglethorpe is now 6-18 on the season. The Petrels travel to face Brenau this Thursday at 7p.m. 

Rhodes
had a solid showing this weekend in Colorado, going 2-1. After a three set loss to host Colorado College, the Lynx responded with five set thriller against Hendrix. Meagan Mansfield led the Lynx with 18 kills while Lexie Krall added 14 kills to pace the team’s offense. Stephanie Renner led the defense with five blocks. In another classic Millsaps vs. Rhodes battle, the Lynx were able to find a way to win the five set marathon 17-15 in set five. Again Lexie Krall led the Lynx with 18 kills, hitting .483 for the match.

Sewanee
dropped all four matches that it had in Texas. After losing to Dallas and Southwestern on Saturday the Tigers fell to Trinity and Austin College on Sunday. Individually, Sewanee was led by freshman Jamie Sue Wilson, who combined for 45 kills in the four contests.

No. 7 Southwestern picked up four wins at the SCAC Divisional in San Antonio, never dropping a set as they defeated Oglethorpe, Sewanee, Centre and Birmingham-Southern 3-0 to improve to 21-2 on the year and remain perfect in conference with an 11-0 record. SU posted a .309 team hitting percentage in their opener against Oglethorpe in Saturday afternoon. First-year Elizabeth Sandoval made a name for herself with 13 kills in 22 attempts with just two errors to lead the attack. Sunday SU picked up where they left off and despite being challenged by Centre, were able to dig down and fight to the finish, winning 25-21, 25-21, 25-20. Sandoval once again led the attack with 13 kills. The Pirates' amped up their already high-powered offense and turned up the defense as well to face Birmingham-Southern for the final game. The Pirates posted a .316 hitting percentage while holding BSC to just .061. Thibodeau had 13 kills while Jill Wigington posted 10. The Pirates have an off week before returning to SCAC play at home on October 21-22.

Trinity
went 3-1 at the SCAC West-East Divisional in San Antonio, bouncing back after dropping its first match to win three straight to finish the weekend. The Tigers lost a 3-0 decision to Birmingham-Southern, then recorded three consecutive shutout wins over Centre, Sewanee, and Oglethorpe. Trinity will play two non-conference matches during the week, before returning to SCAC action on October 21-22 in Georgetown, Texas.  The Tigers face Texas Lutheran on the road on Wednesday, and Concordia (Texas) on Thursday evening at home.

For the complete SCAC Spikes Weekly for Week 6, click here.

Happy Holidays from the SCAC!
December 25, 2011 Happy Holidays from the SCAC!