LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - Southwestern University returned to winning ways this week as the Pirates went 4-0 on the week. Southwestern went undefeated in dominating fashion as the Pirates did not drop a set the entire week.
AROUND THE SCAC
Austin College went 4-2 last week, including winning four of five at the 17th Annual Austin College Classic to improve to 5-3 overall this season. The ‘Roos fell to St. Gregory’s 3-2 to open the week before topping Howard Payne and Concordia-Texas 3-0 on day one of the AC Classic, and on day two fell 3-2 to Schreiner before besting Rhodes 3-1 and Dallas Christian 3-0. Shelby Eaves had a strong week for the ‘Roos, averaging 3.35 kills and 3.41 digs per set with a .232 hitting percentage. Adrienne Reynolds had a good week defensively, averaging 6.2 digs per set, and Kelly McDaniel added 8.8 assists per set. Bekah Newberry also had a good week, averaging 2.55 kills per set with a .333 hitting percentage.
Centenary (0-8, 0-0 SCAC) dropped four matches
last week. The Ladies fell 3-1 to Mary Hardin-Baylor before
dropping a 3-0 decision to Mary Hardin-Baylor on Friday. On
Saturday, Centenary was bested by East Texas Baptist and
Texas-Tyler in straight sets on Saturday. The Ladies return to
action on Sept. 11 when they host Belhaven (Miss.) and Mississippi
College.
No. 15 Colorado College went 3-1 over the weekend to win
the Colorado College Classic and improve to 6-2 on the season. The
Tigers split matches the first day of the tournament, as they
defeated Wheaton College, 3-1, but dropped a 3-2 decision to the
University of Texas-Dallas. CC came back in the second day of the
tournament beating Texas Lutheran, 3-0, and No. 20 Pacific
Lutheran, 3-1, to earn the tournament title. The Tigers were led by
freshman Devon Lucero, who ran the offense with 147 assists over
four games. After missing the first week of action due to a
preseason injury, Lucero had a break-out performance with 39
assists, 16 digs and 11 kills for her first ever triple-double of
her career against Wheaton. Freshman duo Emily Phillips and Lauren
Hahn led CC at the net, with Phillips leading the team with 39
kills and Hahn leading the team with 21 blocks. Senior Laura
Goldsmith led the back row with 83 digs over the weekend. Lucero
earned tournament MVP honors, while Goldsmith and Phillips were
both named to the all-tournament team. The Tigers return to the
road on Sept. 11 as they take on Division II Colorado State
University-Pueblo at 7 p.m. CC will return home later in the week
as it hosts Greensboro College on Sept. 14-15.
Dallas (4-5) encountered what proved a rough part of their
2012 schedule this past week, going a combined 1-4 at the Austin
College Invitational held Friday and Saturday. Dallas suffered
defeats to Rhodes (3-1), Schreiner (3-0), St. Thomas (Texas) (3-0),
and to Concordia (Texas) (3-2). The Lady Crusaders ended a five
match winless streak with a 3-0 (25-6, 25-6, 25-17) victory over
Dallas Christian College to conclude play in Sherman, Texas. A
tri-match is scheduled this week for Dallas, as Arlington Baptist
College and Hillsdale Free Will Baptist College (Ark.) head to
Irving to play Saturday.
Southwestern returned to their winning ways this weekend,
winning four matches without dropping a set. The Pirates opened
with St. Thomas (Texas) and were tested the entire match but never
lost control as they won 25-22, 25-18, 25-23. SU then moved on to
Dallas Christian and absolutely dominated the match and posted a
.500 team hitting percentage in route to a 25-4, 25-8, 25-10 win.
Day two, Southwestern opened with soon-to-be SCAC opponent
Schreiner. SU was once again very strong offensively, opening the
match with a .455 hitting percentage and closed out the 25-9,
25-19, 25-18 win. The Pirates then turned their attention to Howard
Payne to close out the weekend. The Yellowjackets put up a fight
but Southwestern was much stronger as SU used their defense to
close out the matches 25-16, 25-21, 25-19. SU heads to San Antonio
this weekend to take on nationally-ranked opponents Cal Lutheran
and Emory. They will also have a chance at revenge as they take on
UC Santa Cruz.
Trinity continued its rough start to the season, falling
to 0-7 on the year with four losses at the Cal Lu Fornia National
Invitational. The Tigers have faced four nationally-ranked teams in
the first two weekends of play. Trinity opened the tournament with
a 3-1 loss to Occidental, falling by a total of nine points in the
three sets lost. The Tigers then lost 3-0 against Claremont to
close the first day. On Saturday, Trinity fell 3-2 against LaVerne
– despite taking a 2-1 lead – and 3-0 against Cal
Lutheran. The Tigers will play their first home matches of the 2012
season this weekend, hosting the Trinity National Invitational on
Friday and Saturday. Trinity will host #1 Christopher Newport, #4
Emory, #6 Cal Lutheran, #28 Southwestern, Concordia, and UC-Santa
Cruz in the tournament.
For the complete SCAC Spikes Weekly for Week 2,
click here.
