September 04, 2009 11:44 PM
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Volleyball
Mary Ann Sprague
Volleyball Takes Two Wins
Goodrich-Stuart and Edwards Lead the Panthers to a great first day of competition.
Mary Ann Sprague
The Principia College volleyball team travelled to Richmond, Ind. to compete in the Earlham Invitational. Principia took on host Earlham first and shocked the big "E" with a fast and furious first game victory. Earlham sharpened up to give Prin a good match, but Principia pulled out a 3-1 victory.
Anne Goodrich-Stuart was on her game, serving 100% with 5 aces, and coming up with 12 kills and 18 digs for a double-double. Setter
Tara Edwards showed great skill and leadership as she rallied the team through a persistent 4 game effort. Outside hitter
Hannah Richards tore Earlham's court apart and tallied 23 kills for the match, earning two double-doubles as well, picking up 13 and 15 digs for the two matches.
The Panthers had about 10 minutes off after their 1:45 match against Earlham. Next in line was Cumberland University. CU was a good team with great ball control and defensive tenacity. Prin was looking a bit sluggish at the beg inning of the match, but found their rhythm in time to tak'e the wind out of Cumberland's sails with a 3-1 victory.
The team has been working on tough serving with a purpose, and today they showed Coach Sprague they had been paying attention. With 19 Aces and a team serving percentage of 90%, the Panthers definitely stood out as the best serving team at the tourney. The team has also been working on controlling their unforced errors, making their opponent earn every point they get, and they scored high on that as well. Today the Panthers held their hitting errors down to 15%, which is down significantly from last week's scrimmage! The offensive signature for this year's team is patient persistence. We will never get tired of hitting the ball smartly, waiting for the perfect ka-boom ball. Coach Sprague says, " I saw that today, and I like it!"
Principia finished pool play in first place and takes on the 2nd place team in another pool tomorrow enroute to the finals at 3:00pm.
