SUWANEE, Ga. - Trinity University highlighted week two action in the SCAC. The Tigers competed in the Cal-Lu-Fornia Invitational where they swept sixth-ranked La Verne, 3-0. Trinity went 3-1 during the invitational. Austin College continued its hot streak, as the 'Roos have won 10 straight contests.
Taking a look at the national picture, the Colorado College Tigers moved up four spots in this week's AVCA Coaches Top 25 poll to 11th. With their 3-1 weekend in California, Trinity moved up two spots to 16th. Southwestern University remained steady in staying at 20th while Austin College finally checked into the top-25 after receiving votes each of the past two weeks. The Kangaroos find themselves at 25th. Finally, DePauw University continued to receive votes and is just two spots out of the top-25, at 27th.
AROUND THE SCAC
No. 25 Austin College
went 5-0 on the week, topping Sul Ross 3-0 on Thursday before
sweeping through the 14th Annual Austin College Classic on Friday
and Saturday with wins over Sul Ross, UT-Tyler, East Texas Baptist
and Mary Hardin-Baylor. The 'Roos topped Sul Ross and UT-Tyler by
scores of 3-0 on Friday and ETBU and UMHB 3-1 on Saturday. Jenna
Wilson averaged 2.8 kills and 3.8 digs with a hitting percentage of
.402 for the week, and Jordan Anderton added 10.3 assists per game.
Jessi Fleming and Chitra Kavouspour also had strong weekends for
the 'Roos, with Fleming getting 13 kills against both ETBU and UMHB
and Kavouspour leading the way with 15 kills against East Texas
Baptist. The 'Roos have now won 10 straight since their season
opening loss and are 10-1.
Birmingham-Southern went 1-3 this weekend at the
Rhodes Invitational. On Friday, the Panthers lost to Loyola New
Orleans, 3-0, but defeated Principia College 3-0. On Saturday, BSC
dropped matches to Union University, 3-0, and Freed-Hardeman
University, 3-1. BSC is on the road this weekend at the SCAC
West/Central Divisional, taking on Austin College, Southwestern
University, Millsaps College, and Colorado College, all in San
Antonio, Texas.
Centre won their second straight tournament by
going 3-1 at the Hanover Invite on Sept. 11-12. The team opened up
the tournament on Friday night with a tough five game loss to
Anderson and then a five game win against Transylvania. On Saturday
the Colonels began play with a three game sweep of Capital giving
them the first place spot in their pool. Centre then played
Maryville at 3:00pm for the championship which they won in four
games. Junior middle hitter Ashton Hupman was named the tournament
MVP for her efforts.
No. 11 Colorado College improved to 9-0 at home
and 9-1 overall after posting four consecutive three-set victories
at the 2009 Molten Volleyball Colorado College Invitational. The
Tigers clinched the tournament title with a 3-0 victory over No. 14
University of Puget Sound. Junior middle blocker Emily Perkins was
voted tournament MVP by the opposing coaches and was joined on the
all-tournament team by sophomore rightside hitter Meredith Ballard
and freshman outside hitter Laura Goldsmith. Perkins had 10 kills,
seven digs and five blocked shots in the 3-0 victory over McMurry.
In the tournament finale against UPS, Perkins led the way with 16
kills on 27 attacks without hitting an error. She added 11 digs to
complete her 33rd career double-double. The Tigers begin SCAC play
next weekend in San Antonio, Texas.
DePauw won its opening three matches at the
Rose-Hulman Invitational to post the program's best start ever at
8-0, but the Tigers dropped the weekend's final match. The Tigers
opened the tournament with 3-0 wins over Eureka , Aurora, and
Blackburn. Lincoln Christian then topped DePauw 3-1. For the week,
DePauw hit .266 and averaged 11.3 kills per set. Katey Larson led
with a .356 attack percentage and 2.6 kills per set, while Ali
Smith averaged 8.4 assists and Kylee Lehrman totaled 14 aces and 30
digs. Paige Thompson led with 10 blocks. Junior middle hitter
Kristen Chynoweth was named to the all-tournament team and hit .297
in the four matches while averaging 2.45 kills per set and 0.6
blocks.
Hendrix went 1-3 on the week after hosting the
2009 Hendrix Fall Classic on Friday and Saturday. The Warriors
split Friday’s competition with a 1-3 loss to Huntingdon
College and 3-0 win over LeTourneau University. Hendrix dropped
both matches on Saturday, against Schreiner University in straight
sets and then a 3-1 loss to Belhaven. The Warriors now stand at 2-7
on the year and will look for a victory in their midweek contest at
Williams Baptist College, before traveling to San Antonio for the
SCAC Central vs. West cross-divisional at Trinity. Hendrix first
year outside hitter Katie Bates paced the squad with 29 kills on 65
attempts over the weekend, while first year middle blocker Melissa
Clement was nipping at her heels with 28 kills on 65 attempts.
Millsaps traveled to
Memphis, Tenn., for the Rhodes College Tournament where they opened
play with two losses Friday night to Union University 3-1 and
Freed-Hardeman University 3-1. The Majors turned things around on
Saturday as they defeated Principia College 3-1 and then shut down
Spring Hill College 3-0. Junior Kate Hall led the team with 45
kills while Raven Scott added 31 kills to go with her 16 solo
blocks in the four matches. Senior libero Dixie Krauss led the
Majors on defense with 76 digs. Up next for the Majors is another
home match against Belhaven College Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m.
before they travel to San Antonio, Texas to begin SCAC play in a
cross divisional.
Oglethorpe swept both their matches this week to
push their record to 5-4 on the season. On Tuesday, The Stormy
Petrels jumped on the LaGrange College Panthers early and took
control of the match in the beginning stages to win each game with
some breathing room, 25-18, 25-19 and 25-20. On Saturday in
Decatur, Georgia, the Petrels had their best day of this season in
terms of hitting percentage (.300) to easily dispatch Agnes Scott,
3-0. Oglethorpe earned the sweep by taking the games 25-11, 25-15
and 25-9. With the victory, the Stormy Petrels move to 5-4 on the
season and will get set to host Brewton Parker on Pinholster Court
this Tuesday at 6:00 p.m.
Rhodes went 2-2 this weekend at the Rhodes
Invitational. The Lynx defeated Freed Hardeman University in five
sets and Spring Hill College while dropping matches to Loyola (La.)
and Principia College. Senior Setter Laura Jensen had two triple
doubles on the weekend in matches against Freed Hardeman and
Principia. Junior Libero Kayla McCrury had a 30 dig performance in
her match versus Principia, while Middle Blockers Kelsea Everett
and Maura Mohler combined for 12 of the teams 22 blocks in their
win versus Spring Hill.
Sewanee played at the Kenyon Invitational and
dropped four matches, with the first being a tight battle against
host Kenyon in which the Tigers lost 25-23, 26-24 and 25-13. On the
weekend, Libby Boddiford logged 25 kills and Erin Brahm led with 58
assists. The Tigers are 1-7 and will play at Oakwood this
weekend.
No. 20 Southwestern rebounded nicely after a tough
weekend last week, winning at Texas Lutheran and sweeping the
Southwestern Invitational. The Pirates lost just one game through
the four contests. They faced a top ASC opponent, TLU, on Tuesday
and won 3-1. Senior Audra Gentry led SU with 15 kills and a .300
hitting percentage and added 13 digs on the evening. Sophomore
Lindsay Thompson continued her consistent play and contributed 11
kills and hit .375. On Friday the Pirates opened up Invitational
action against Hardin-Simmons. After dominating the first game
25-7, SU found themselves with a little more resistance in game two
and three but emerged victorious in both, 25-23, to win the match
3-0. Thompson led with 12 kills and a .391 hitting percentage while
Sam Lingamfelter had 26 digs. Saturday the Pirates beat Concordia
(Texas) and Wiley, both in three games as well. Southwestern begins
SCAC play at Trinity this weekend.
No. 14 Trinity went 3-1 at the Cal-Lu-Fornia
Invitational last weekend at Thousand Oaks, California. The Tigers
defeated sixth-ranked La Verne 3-0 to open the tournament, and then
finished the day with a 3-1 win over Pomona-Pitzer. Trinity split
the final day of action, rebounding from a 3-2 loss to Redlands
with a 3-2 win over Whitworth. The Tigers rallied from two sets
down to force a fifth set against Redlands, but fell just short of
an undefeated weekend. Trinity will host the SCAC West-Central this
weekend in San Antonio, with eight of the 12 conference teams in
attendance. The Tigers will face Hendrix and Rhodes on Friday,
followed by Millsaps and Austin College on Saturday.
For the complete SCAC Spikes Weekly for Week 2, click here.