LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - For the first time since 2010, the Austin College ‘Roos have started the season 5-0 as they swept through the Austin College Invitational in Sherman. The ‘Roos were tested, picking up a 3-2 decision over Sul Ross State, but otherwise went on to convincing 3-0 wins over the rest of the competition.
No. 8 Colorado College showed why they are one of the top teams in the nation, cruising to a 4-0 record at the Colorado College Invitational, winning all four games in three sets. The Tigers only allowed 20 points in a set once.
Trinity and Texas Lutheran each put up 3-1 records to begin their season while Centenary and Southwestern went 2-2 on the weekend.
Austin College
For the first time since 2010, the Austin College
‘Roos have started the season 5-0 as they swept through the
competition at the Austin College Invitational. The ‘Roos
opens with a 3-0 victory over Rust College and followed that up
with a 3-0 win against McMurry. Austin College came back on
Saturday, opening the day with a hard fought 3-2 victory
over Sul Ross State, winning by scores of 25-23, 24-26, 25-18,
15-25, 18-16 behind 11 kills and seven block assists
from Rebecca Franklin. Madison Lee finished with
eight kills and nine digs, and and Rachel
Fusselman had 31 digs. The ‘Roos wrapped up the
tournament with a pair of 3-0 wins over Dallas Christian and
Hutson-Tillotson. Franklin led the way with 38 kills while
Fusselman was fantastic defensively with 66 digs.
Centenary College
The Centenary Ladies competed at the Austin College
Invitational this weekend, going 2-2 in the process including a 3-2
win over Huston-Tillotson to close out the invitational. After
falling to McMurry in their first game, the Ladies bounced back and
knocked off Dallas Christian 3-1 thanks to 11 kills from Rachel
Perkins while Allison Lazewski added 30 assists. The Ladies then
fell just short to Sul Ross State in five sets, but were able to
bounce back and defeat Huston-Tillotson in five sets thanks to
another 11 kill performance by Perkins. Lazewski added another 35
assists while Chelsea Petska picked up 17 digs. Perkins led the way
with 53 kills while Lazewski had 138 assists on the weekend.
Colorado College
Colorado College was absolutely dominant in their first
tournament of the season as the No. 8 team in the country rolled to
four opening wins on their home court. The Tigers won all four
games in three sets with only one team able to get over 20 points
in 12 sets. Courtney Birkett was named Most Valuable Player with 42
kills and 25 digs with a hitting percentage of .333. As a team, the
Tigers combined to hit .289 on the weekend while holding their
opponents to -.033. Abbe Holtz added 34 kills while Sophie
Merrifield was excellent defensively with 55 digs.
Dallas
The Crusaders opened up the weekend at the UTD Tournament
where, despite close matches throughout, could not pick up their
first win of the season as they dropped to 0-4. Dallas dropped
their first match to Hardin-Simmons, 3-1, and then fell to UMHB
3-0. The following day Crusaders couldn’t get anything going
against ETBU and fell just short to the host, Texas-Dallas, 3-2.
Jaime Birzer led the way with 40 kills on the weekend while C.J.
Broadbent added 122 assists.
Schreiner
Replacing six seniors is never easy as Schreiner found
out this past weekend, falling to 0-4 at the Bulldog Classic at
Texas Lutheran. The Mountaineers had a tough outing on the first
day, dropping a pair of 3-0 matches to Concordia (TX) and Farleigh
Dickinson. They battled back, but fell just short in the opening
match against LeTourneau in five sets before losing its final match
to Willametter in straight sets. Alyssa Chapman led the team with
29 kills while Kelli Bolen added 80 assists and 51 digs.
Southwestern
Southwestern had a wild weekend in Richardson, Texas at
the UTD Labor Day Tournament, going 2-2 on the weekend and playing
at least four sets in all four games. The season got off on a sour
note as the Pirates dropped a 3-2 match to Mary Hardin-Baylor in a
rematch of last year’s Regional Quarterfinal. However, the
Pirates bounced back and knocked off Hardin-Simmons 3-1 thanks to
Kaitlyn Foster’s 17 kills. The next day, Southwestern
couldn’t handle the host school, Texas-Dallas, falling 3-1,
but ended the weekend on a high note by knocking off East Texas
Baptist, 3-2. Foster was outstanding with 50 kills and 88
digs to lead the team in both categories.
Texas Lutheran
The Bulldogs opened their season at home, hosting the
Bulldog Classic. It was an excellent first day for TLU as they
swept LeTourneau and Concordia (TX) in straight sets to start the
season off right. The following day, the Bulldogs dropped a
heartbreaker, 3-2, to Wisconsin-Oshkosh despite 37 digs from Megan
Lee. The Bulldogs finished the weekend with a 3-0 sweep over Lewis
& Clark. Brette Threadgill and Kristin Fording led the way with
43 kills each while Lee, the reigning Backrow Player of the Year,
picked up right where she left off with 97 digs.
Trinity
Trinity opened its season with a pair of sweeps over East
Texas Baptist and Texas-Dallas at the UTD Labor Day Tournament in
Richardson, Texas. The No. 13 team in the nation fell the following
day to Mary Hardin-Baylor, 3-1, but finished the weekend strong
with another 3-0 victory, this time over Hardin-Simmons. The
reigning SCAC Player of the Year, Maggie Emodi, was strong in her
first outing of 2014, leading the team with 48 kills. Erin
Cusenbary was excellent as well, coming through with 36 kills and a
.500 hitting percentage to go with 17 blocks.
