'Roo Volleyball Splits with St. Thomas

HOUSTON, Texas - The Austin College volleyball team split its two matches at the University of St. Thomas on Thursday, falling 3-1 in the opener before bouncing back with a 3-0 win in the second match of the day. The 'Roos are now 7-5 overall on the year.

The 'Roos dropped the first set of the opener 25-20 before bouncing back and winning set two 26-24, but St. Thomas squeezed out 27-25 and 25-23 victories in the final two sets to make it a 3-1 final. The 'Roos got 14 kills from Victoria Smith and 13 from Riley Abernathy, but committed 14 service errors as a team, compared to just six for the Celts. Abernathy added 18 digs, while Ali Horton had 22 assists and 20 digs and Brooklyn Talley had 18 assists and 19 digs. Mari Prazak led the 'Roos with 33 digs in the loss.

In the second match, the 'Roos swept through to a three set win with scores of 25-23, 25-19, 25-20 behind nine kills apiece from Smith and Olivia Linton, along with eight kills and 20 digs from Abernathy. Shelbi Cook added seven kills, and Horton had 22 assists and 11 digs. Talley chipped in with 18 assists and 12 digs, and Prazak once again paced the 'Roos with 24 digs. Hannah Arbaugh added 10 digs for the 'Roos in the victory.