LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - Trinity University and Southwestern University each had impressive wins at the Trinity National Invitational. Southwestern defeated #5 Emory, 3-2 while Trinity beat UC-Santa Cruz, 3-2. Trinity nearly upset Emory, but the Tigers dropped a heartbreaking 3-2 decision to the Eagles.
AROUND THE SCAC
Austin College went 2-1 at the Rhodes College Classic over the weekend, bringing their overall record to 7-4 on the season. The 'Roos kicked off the weekend with a 3-1 victory over Maryville College and followed that up by topping Rhodes 3-2 before falling 3-1 to Birmingham-Southern in their final match of the weekend. Shelby Eaves had a strong weekend, averaging a team-best 3.31 kills per set and adding 2.77 digs per set. Kelly McDaniel averaged 8.85 assists and 2.77 digs per set and added three service aces, and Adrienne Reynolds averaged 6.85 digs per set with only four receiving errors for the weekend.
Centenary finished the week 0-2, losing both
matches (Belhaven 3-0, Mississippi College 3-1) in its first
tri-match of the year at the Gold Dome. The Ladies return to action
Sept. 18 with its second tri-match against Texas Wesleyan and Wiley
College.
No. 16 Colorado College went 2-1 during the week to
improve to 8-3 on the season. The Tigers began the week with a
tough 3-2 loss to Division II Colorado State University-Pueblo on
Tuesday night. CC rallied back to end the week with back-to-back
3-0 sweeps over Greensboro College on Friday and Saturday. Freshmen
Devon Lucero and Emily Phillips led the Tigers’ attack during
the week, as Lucero dished out a team-high 82 assists, while
Phillips collected a team-best 24 kills over three games. Sophomore
Julia Lawton led the back row with a team-high 40 digs and eight
service aces. Sophomore Randi Braak and Lucero each had a hand in
eight blocks to lead the team at the net, while freshmen McQella
Adams and Lauren Hahn contributed with seven blocks each during the
week. The Tigers return to the road this week as they begin
conference play against Trinity University on Friday in Georgetown,
Texas.
Dallas (6-5) went 2-0 on the week as hosts of a
tri-match on Saturday afternoon. Dallas took down Arlington Baptist
College in straight sets (25-12, 25-18, 26-24) before handling
Hillsdale Free Will Baptist College (Okla.) as well in three sets
(25-6, 25-10, 25-15). After suffering five losses in a row, Dallas
is back to their winning ways with three straight victories. The
squad begins conference play on the road. This week, they will face
Centenary College of Louisiana (Friday), before battling Trinity
University and host Southwestern University (Saturday) in
Georgetown, Texas.
No. 25 Southwestern traveled to San Antonio this weekend
to face nationally-ranked competition once again. The Pirates
returned to Georgetown with three wins including one over #5 Emory
to move to 8-4 on the season. SU opened with Concordia University
and were never threatened as they won 3-0. After the warm-up the
Pirates turned around to face #6 Cal Lutheran. SU was in every
match but beat to the finish as they fell 3-0. Chandler Lentz was
all over the court defensively and posted 20 digs in the loss. Day
two Southwestern opened with #5 Emory and the seesaw battle was
just what both sides expected. Each team took a set 26-24 before
Emory had a slight 2-1 advantage by winning the third set 25-23.
The Pirates out-worked the Eagles in the final two sets 26-24,
15-12 to win the match 3-2. To close the tournament SU faced UC
Santa Cruz for a rematch and got their payback as they won 3-0.
Chandler Lentz and Kaitlyn Foster were both selected to the
All-Tournament team after their outstanding performances.
Southwestern comes home for the first time this season this
weekend, opening SCAC play. They face Austin College on Friday
night and Centenary and Dallas on Saturday.
Trinity earned its first wins of the 2012 season by going
2-2 at the Trinity National Invitational over the weekend. The
Tigers lost 3-0 to fourth-ranked Christopher Newport to start the
tournament, then earned a 3-2 win over UC-Santa Cruz. On Saturday,
the Tigers took a 2-0 lead over #5 Emory, but lost the match in the
end. Trinity finished the tournament with a 3-1 win over Concordia
(TX) University. This weekend, Trinity will open up conference play
at the SCAC Divisional in Georgetown, Texas. The Tigers will face
Colorado College in a rematch of last year’s SCAC
Championship on Friday afternoon, then will take on the University
of Dallas and Austin College in Saturday’s action.
For the complete SCAC Spikes Weekly for Week 3,
click here.
