LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - Texas Lutheran is off to its best start in school history since 1998 as they dominated the weekend, going 4-0. The Bulldogs have won seven of their first eight matches and all seven wins have been in straight sets with their only loss coming in five sets.
Colorado College remains undefeated, dominating for the second weekend in a row including a convincing win over the 17th-ranked team in the country.
Dallas rebounded after a tough opening weekend, going 4-1 on the week inclduing a 3-1 weekend on the West Coast.
Austin College
The 'Roos had a loaded week, playing six games this past
weekend and putting together an impressive 4-2 record over the
span. Austin College opened the week with a Wednesday evening win
over Jarvis Christian, 3-1. They went on to host the Austin College
Classic, splitting the first day with their first loss of the
season to Texas-Tyler, 3-1, but bouncing back to defeat LeTourneau,
3-1. They finished the tournament 2-1 on Saturday, defeating Sul
Ross State in five sets and Howard Payne in straight sets, but fell
to Texas-Dallas in straight sets. Presleigh Watson finished the
weekend with 56 kills while hitting .344. Rachel Fusselman added
107 digs (4.65 digs/set) and 11 service aces.
Centenary College
The Ladies traveled to Memphis as they opened their
weekend against Rhodes College, falling in straight sets. They came
back later that day and dropped a heartbreaking five set thriller
to Fontbonne despite 15 kills from Desiree Frey. The weekend
concluded with a tough 3-1 defeat to Lyon College. Frey finished
the weekend with 35 kills and 35 digs while Rachel Perkins added 24
kills. Allison Lazewski added 81 assists for the weekend.
Colorado College
The seventh ranked team in the country continues to look
dominant through only two weekend of play as it was another 4-0
weekend for Colorado College. The Tigers began with a pair of
sweeps, knocking off East Texas Baptist followed by a win over
17th-ranked Clarkson. The following day, Saint Mary's became the
first team to not get swept by Colorado College; however, it would
not matter as the Tigers still won the match in four sets. They
finished the tournament on cruise control, defeating Tufts, 3-0.
Courtney Birkett, last week's SCAC Offensive Player of the Week,
again earned MVP of her home tournament, finishing with 47 kills
and 36 digs. Sophie Merrifield finished with 76 digs to earn a spot
on the All-Tournament team. Keli Sherwood also earned a spot on the
All-Tourney Team with 24 kills and 10 block assists.
Dallas
The Crusaders bounced back after a tough opening weekend
with a 4-1 record over the weekend in California. Dallas picked up
their first win of the season at home over Wiley in straight sets.
The Crusaders followed that up with sweeps of the Redlands and
Occidental. The following day, the Crusaders took a tough loss to
Pomona-Pitzer, but finished the tournament strong with a 3-1 win
over Chapman.
Schreiner
It was another tough weekend for the Mountaineers, going
0-4. They started it out with a home loss to Concordia (TX) in
straight sets. They traveled to Jackson to compete at the Millsaps
Tournament where they were swept by the home team, 3-0, and then
dropped a 3-1 contest to former ASC opponent, Mississippi College.
The following day, Schreiner finished the tournament with a 3-0
loss to Huntingdon.
Southwestern
The Pirates put together another 2-2 weekend against
tough competition as they were in St. Louis. They started the
weekend with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Webster. They followed
that up against 11th-ranked Washington (MO) where a tough battle
turned into a 3-1 defeat. Southwestern returned the next day to
take on fifth-ranked Wittenberg where they fell in straight sets.
However, Southwestern finished the weekend with a sweep of their
own, defeating Wheaton, 3-0. The Pirates gto a balanced attack all
weekend long, led by 29 kills from Kate Mitchell and 27 kills from
Kaitlyn Foster. Foster added 85 digs defensively while Chandler
Lentz had 68 digs.
Texas Lutheran
The Bulldogs are off to their best start since 1998,
putting together an outstanding weekend at the Austin College
Classic, sweeping the weekend, and not dropping a set in the
process. Texas Lutheran began the weekend with sweeps of Howard
Payne and Texas-Dallas, dominating both games. They followed that
up with sweeps of Texas-Tyler and LeTourneau to move to 7-1 on the
season. They have also won five games in a row. Brette Threadgill
led the way with 35 kills and now has double digit kills in seven
of her first eight matches. Meanwhile, last week's SCAC Defensive
Player of the Wee, Megan Lee, put together another great weekend
defensively, scoring 53 digs in only 12 sets.
Trinity
The 14th-ranked team in the country faced stout
competition at California Lutheran, but despite tough matches
played by the Tigers, only could muster a 1-3 weekend. Trinity
began against second-ranked Emory, falling in straight sets. Later
that evening, they took on 18th-ranked Pacific Lutheran, dropping
that match 3-1, despite losing two sets 29-27. The following day,
Trinity got a much needed with over Pomona-Pitzer, winning the
match 3-1 thanks to a 13 kills, 20 digs effort from Maggie Emodi.
The Tigers concluded the weekend with a rematch of the Regional
Final in 2013 against fourth-ranked Cal Lutheran where the Tigers
fell, 3-1. Emody finished the week with 49 kills while Erin
Cusenbary added 40 kills, four block solos, and 22 block
assists.
