Shreveport – The Centenary volleyball team split a pair of matches on Saturday as the Ladies fell 3-2 to The University of Dallas Crusaders in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play and then defeated the LeTourneau University YellowJackets, 3-2, to cap the day in a thrilling non-conference contest at the Gold Dome.
The Ladies (9-14, 0-8 SCAC) improved to 3-5 at home this season and are now 12-7 in their last 19 home matches dating back to the beginning of last season. LeTourneau swept Dallas in the middle match on Saturday afternoon as the YellowJackets are now 11-6 on the season, while Dallas is 7-12 overall and 1-6 in league play.
Match one recap: Dallas 3 Centenary 2
Dallas took the first set by a score of 25-13 but Centenary responded with an equally decisive 25-15 win in set two. The Ladies claimed a tight 26-24 win in set three and were poised to win the match in the fourth set, but the visitors claimed a 25-18 win to even things up and then edged the Ladies 15-13 in the fifth set to clinch the victory.
The Ladies finished with 73 digs, 52 assists, 52 kills, and nine service aces. The Crusaders recorded 68 digs, 57 kills, 53 assists, and 12 aces.
Senior DS/L Jaycie Proctor (Paris, Texas) led the Ladies with 20 digs, and was one of five Centenary players to post double-digit digs. Sophomore MB Elizabeth Canady (League City, Texas) had a game-high 14 kills while sophomore RS Jaylin St. Martin (New Orleans, La.) joined her in double digits with 11. Freshman S Meadow Smith (Mansfield, Texas) led the Ladies with 28 assists and senior S/RS Rachel Demerjian (Glendora, Calif.) added 16. Demerjian also posted 13 digs, two aces, and two kills.
Senior MB Liz Lowe (San Antonio, Texas) had 12 digs, eight kills, two aces, an assist, and a block. Smith also had 11 digs and an ace, and sophomore OH/DS Kiara Liedy (Sugar Land, Texas) tallied 10 digs and a pair of aces. Sophomore RS Aubrey Salazar (San Antonio, Texas) had seven kills and two digs.
Match two recap: Centenary 3 LeTourneau 2
The Ladies opened the match with a 25-21 win in the first set but the YellowJackets evened things up with a 25-16 win in the second set LeTourneau then claimed a 25-15 win in set three to go up 2-1. The Ladies tied the match with a thrilling 29-28 win in the fourth set and sealed the win with a 15-8 win in the fifth set. Centenary finished with a .353 attack percentage in the first set, and .267 in the fifth set.
Centenary tallied 84 digs, 64 kills, 62 assists, three aces, and three blocks. LeTourneau finished with 82 digs, 57 kills, 54 assists, and 10 aces. The 84 digs are tied for the fourth-most in a single match this season by the Ladies and the 64 kills is tied for the most in a match, tying the total that Centenary had in the season opener against Howard Payne on Sept. 2.
Proctor again led the way with a match-high 28 digs, St. Martin had a team-leading 16 kills and added four digs and a pair of blocks, and senior DS Mariah Martinez (San Antonio, Texas) had a season-high 31 assists to go with 12 digs. Canady had 10 kills and a block, Lowe posted 12 kills, five digs, and an ace. Junior MB/OH Robin Lemelle (Liberty, Texas) tallied 13 digs, nine kills, and five assists, and Liedy posted nine digs and an ace. Freshman OH Jaeda Moreno (Weslaco, Texas) added nine kills and one dig.
Centenary is back on the road next weekend for three conference matches in Sherman, Texas and hosted by Austin College. The Ladies will face St. Thomas and Southwestern on Friday, Oct. 14 (1 and 5 p.m.) and then play Texas Lutheran on Saturday, Oct. 15 at 10 a.m.
See the complete Ladies' season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/wvball/2022-23/schedule
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