Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 The Prin volleyball team took on 2012 SLIAC champion Webster University first today, and it was a slugfest. Both teams were hitting the ball, but ultimately Webster's gritty defense earned the Gorloks the "W". In game one Principia could not get their offense going, with only 6 kills in their favor. Game two showed a stellar refocus, and put Prin in the hunt. Their 16 kills in game two and 15 kills in game three were more in line with the Panther game plan. There are lots of teams that can hit the ball hard, but the team that can defend the hard hit, and transition into an effective offense is the one most likely sitting at the top, and that was Webster today.
Principia had a well rounded offense, with everyone contributing kills or making Webster chase down the ball. Jess Bushong was effective hitting .240 and putting down seven kills.
Tess Rountree added nine kills, and
Christine Nacewicz another seven.
Savanna Sprague kept the defense guessing with five kills of her own from the setter position (.333).
The Panthers are making progress every outing in their defense, with four players digging in the double digits.Â
Sierra Sprague and
Summer Switzer each picked up 19, and Tess had 18 and Savanna 15. Prin lost game two 23-25 and held on as long as they could before losing game three 24-26.
Next on the docket was Spalding University. The SLIAC preseason poll picked Spalding and Prin tied for 3
rd. Spalding was tenacious defensively, and their block touched a lot of Prin's hits. They were hustling in the backcourt to keep the ball alive, but ultimately Prin controlled the offensive battle with 47 kills to Spalding's 20 kills, and Prin out defended them 83 digs to 46 digs.
Tess Rountree had a stellar match with 15 kills (.438), three aces and 30 digs. Jess Bushong was right behind hitting .381 with 12 kills. It was another well rounded offensive outing with kills all over the court and five Panthers digging double digits –
Sierra Sprague 14,
Savanna Sprague and
Molly Moser each with 11 and
Summer Switzer 10.
Principia volleyball sits at 6-4, and travels to Blackburn on Tuesday for their next competition.
