Volleyball Recap (Week 5) - Around the SCAC

Volleyball Recap (Week 5) - Around the SCAC

SUWANEE, Ga. - DePauw posted a 4-0 week at the SCAC East/Central crossover matches and extended its winning streak to six matches. The Tigers are now tied for second place in the SCAC with Colorado College. Birmingham-Southern extended its winning streak to 11 matches and now is 19-2 on the season.

AROUND THE SCAC

Austin College cruised past the University of Dallas 25-20, 25-18, 25-10 in the team’s only match of the week to bring their overall record to 16-3 on the year. Jessica Fleming led the way with 16 kills in just 22 attempts and added seven total blocks while Jordan Anderton had 32 assists, 15 digs, four block assists and was three of four in kill attempts. Shelby Eaves also put together a strong effort with nine kills and seven digs, and Jenna Wilson added six kills and a team-best 12 digs.
  
Birmingham-Southern was 4-0 this week at home, hosting the SCAC East/Central Divisional #1. On Saturday, the Panthers swept Sewanee and Centre; on Sunday, they defeated Millsaps in five sets and Oglethorpe in four. Freshman Alex Bothe led BSC in kills in both of Saturday's matches, while junior Hope Harris led in both of Sunday's matches. Seniors Christine Denning and Jennifer McKannan led BSC in all four matches in assists and digs, respectively. The Panthers are now 19-2 on the season and 6-2 against SCAC opponents, their only losses to top-25 Austin and Southwestern.

Centre once again went 1-3 over the weekend. Centre started off strong by going up early 2-0 on Rhodes in their first match only to drop the next three games and lose 2-3. Later that night Centre played host Birmingham-Southern and came up short losing in three games to the Panthers on their home court. On Sunday the Colonels put up a good fight against DePauw but fell short in three close games to the Tigers. In their last match of the weekend Centre took on Hendrix and was able to end the weekend on a positive three game win.

No. 7 Colorado College saw its eight-match winning streak come to an end with a 25-21, 25-23, 25-20 loss at Division II Colorado State University-Pueblo on Friday night. It was the first of four matches against Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference opponents. The match was an uphill battle for the Tigers most of the night, falling behind in each set before battling back to push their in-state rivals. But in all three sets, CSUP pulled away at the end. Meredith Ballard had seven kills to lead the Tiger attack. Laura Goldsmith and Emily Perkins collected 14 and 11 digs, respectively, to pace the defense. CC lost in three sets for the first time this season, while the ThunderWolves avenged last year’s four-set loss to the Tigers. Colorado College returns to action on Tuesday night at Denver’s Metropolitan State College, and competes in the third of four SCAC crossover weekends next Saturday and Sunday at Millsaps College in Jackson, Miss.

DePauw improved to 14-8 overall and 7-1 in the SCAC after sweeping all four matches last weekend. The Tigers opened with a 3-0 win over Hendrix and followed it up on Saturday with a 3-2 victory over Millsaps. On Sunday, DePauw picked up a pair of 3-0 wins as it defeated Centre and Rhodes. For the week, Kristen Chynoweth hit .455 and averaged 2.6 kills and 0.7 blocks per set. Ali Smith averaged 12.1 assists and Kylee Lerhman totaled nine service aces. Madison Hoenig finished with a team-high 58 digs (4.1/set) and Chynoweth had 10 blocks (0.7/set). As a team, the Tigers hit .259 and averaged 12.6 kills per set.
  
Hendrix picked up its first SCAC victory of the season with a 1-3 record at the SCAC Central vs. East Crossover hosted by Birmingham-Southern College on Saturday and Sunday. The Warriors suffered a 3-0 loss to DePauw and a 3-1 loss to Rhodes on Saturday, and then opened Sunday with a 3-0 victory over Sewanee before wrapping up the weekend with a 3-0 loss to Centre. The Warriors now stand at 7-13 overall and 1-7 in conference action. Against DePauw, Hendrix was led by first year outside hitter Katie Burchfield with 11 kills, while sophomore middle blocker Melissa Clement and first year outside hitter Jordan Spennato added six and five kills, respectively. Clement paced the squad against Rhodes with 13 kills and Spennato chipped in 10 kills. Hendrix earned its first SCAC win 25-16, 25-24, 25-21 and was led by senior outside hitter Becca Clancy with 16 kills. Calhoun added 36 assists and Burchfield paced the team with 20 digs.

Millsaps split a set of matches this weekend at Birmingham-Southern. The Majors took game one 3-0 from Oglethorpe. Game two saw a five-set battle with DePauw with the Majors ultimately falling 10-15 in the rubber match. All the sets were close with DePauw taking the first two 18-25 and 23-25 before the Majors clawed back in the third and fourth, winning 25-23 and 25-21. Game three saw the Majors take on the hosting Birmingham-Southern Panthers. The Majors gave BSC all they could handle, winning sets two and three 25-19 but they could not put the game away in the fourth and closest set of the match, 21-25. The Panthers finished the final set 11-15 to take the win. The Majors will host Alcorn State in Jackson on Wednesday before hosting the West-Central Cross Divisional on Saturday and Sunday at the Hangar Dome.

Oglethorpe went 1-3 in SCAC matches held in Birmingham this past weekend. The Petrels fell to Millsaps (0-3), Rhodes (0-3) and host Birmingham-Southern (1-3) but managed to record the win over Sewanee (3-0). With the results Oglethorpe is now 4-13 on the season and will face Toccoa Falls on Senior Night this Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. on Pinholster Court.

Rhodes finished with a 3-1 overall record at this weekend's SCAC East-Central Divisional hosted by Birmingham-Southern. The team found themselves down two sets to none to Centre, before battling back to beat the Colonels in a five set thriller. Outside Hitters Claire Warren and Meagan Mansfield combined for 29 kills and 31 digs. Senior Libero Kayla McCrury led the team with 33 digs. In the final match of the day, the Lynx faced off against Hendrix. Rhodes dropped the first set 23-25 before sweeping the next three sets. Freshman Right Side Lexie Krall added 11 kills and 6 blocks. The Lynx defeated Oglethorpe in three straight sets to begin day two. Freshman Middle Hitter Bethany Gunn led the team with 9 kills and 3 blocks. Setter Michelle Quina added 16 assists and 3 service aces. The team was unable to finish the weekend with a perfect record when they faced off against DePauw University in the team's finale. The Lynx lost in three straight sets. DePauw overpowered the Lynx hitting .333 on the match while the Lynx only hit .115.

Sewanee dropped four matches over the weekend in Cross Divisional play at Birmingham-Southern College. Sewanee fell to Birmingham-Southern 3-0, Oglethorpe 3-0, Hendrix 3-0 and Millsaps 3-0. In the Hendrix match, Kim Conkell led Sewanee with seven kills and one block, while Erin Brahm contributed 19 assists. Liz Boddiford paced the Tigers with 15 digs and four aces. In the Millsaps match, Boddiford led the way with 13 kills, while Brahm tallied 19 assists, and Adrienne Borchadt chipped in 12 digs. The Tigers host Oakwood College on Thursday in a non-conference match.

No. 18 Southwestern had a quiet week with just one non-conference game mid-week. Southwestern traveled to Seguin, Texas to face Texas Lutheran University on Wednesday night, defeating the Bulldogs 3-0; 25-19, 25-18, 25-23. Lindsay Thompson led the attack with 10 kills while Rachel Thibodeau recorded eight. Allison Stubbs was all over the court as she had six kills and a team high 19 digs. Annie Hutson was second in digs with 16. The Pirates return home for a non-conference match on Thursday against #18 UT Dallas before returning to SCAC action at Millsaps over the weekend.

Trinity had the week off. The Tigers (10-8 overall, 4-3 SCAC) return to action on Wednesday, October 6 with a home match against Texas Lutheran at 6 p.m. before heading to Millsaps for the SCAC Central/West crossover Oct. 9-10.

For the complete SCAC Spikes Weekly for Week 5, click here.