Southwestern Too Much for Dallas Volleyball in NCAA Game

After a season filled with ups and down, the University of Dallas (19-20) volleyball team was aimed at redemption in their first round NCAA playoff game against the regional host Southwestern University Pirates (34-3) in Georgetown, TX Thursday evening. UD put up a great fight in the first game before succumbing to the talented Pirates in three sets, 25-18, 25-15, 25-8.

Going into the match against the number one seeded Pirates, the Crusaders knew that points would be hard to come by, and that was definitely the case tonight. Against Southwestern deep and experienced front line, UD’s hitters still did manage to slam home some impressive kills, although the opportunities were limited. Leading the effort with seven kills was sophomore outside hitter Danielle Fuchs (St. Charles, MO/Duchesne H.S.), followed by sophomore middle blocker Liz Baska (Tonganoxie, KS/Tonganoxie H.S) who managed four. Junior middle blocker Celina Farrell (Corinth, TX/Lake Dallas H.S.) chipped in two kills and two block assists, and senior outside hitter Cortney Anderson added two kills and a block assist in her last game for the Crusaders.

Defensively, junior libero Kelli Fuentes (Rowlett, TX/Rowlett H.S.) led the team with 12 digs. Freshmen setter Amanda Kitten (Slaton, TX/Lubbock-Cooper) also played well, recoding 7 digs and 15 sets.

Overall, the Crusaders played very well considering that they were playing against a team who looks to contend for the national championship this year. Their effort this time around was much better than the one that they put forth against the Pirates in the first match of the season, showing that the team really did improve over the course of the year. Hopefully this glimpse of what it is like to play in the prestigious NCAA Tournament will motivate them to have an even better season next year.