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Box Score 4 Jacksonville, ILL. -- The Panthers traveled to Jacksonville, IL to enjoy a weekend of hardnosed non-conference play, and ended up with victories over Earlham College, Robert Morris, and Monmouth College. Their sole loss was to host Illinois College.
It was a good weekend for the Principia women. They figured out some things to help their consistency and their ability to terminate as a team, and they built some nice trust through the experience of four matches in 24 hours.
The match against Earlham went four sets, but Principia always held the lead in the three sets they won. Earlham was inspiring in their persistence. They climbed back into every game somewhat, and forced the Panthers to nail it shut. Sophia Hathaway led the attack with 15 kills (.325) and Emily Tippetts added nine kills hitting a team high .429. Sophia led the defensive efforts as well with 19 digs, and also served up two aces. The entire team had a solid defensive showing with five players digging over 10 balls.
Next up was a very sharp and soulful Illinois College. This time Principia was the one clamoring for points, or at least to take IC out of their powerful rhythm. The stellar IC defense made it difficult for the Panthers to put the ball down, and PC ended the match with a gaunt .079 team hitting percentage. Libero Cha Cha Fisher was tight on defense picking up a match high 23 digs. This was a great match that showed the Panthers what a step above looked like. IC played a fast and powerful game, and it served as a look into what we can be if we keep sharpening our play.
Saturday morning Principia played Robert Morris, and RMU showed from beginning to end that they would NOT roll over and die. They were so scrappy and played a very "blue collar" game, finding points and runs through sheer hard work and persistent swinging. In game two Principia was down 11-18, and Principia showed their soul as they tightened things up, and fearlessly worked to eliminate the looming deficit. 16-20, 17-20, 18-20, 19-21, 19-22, 19-23, 20-23, 21-23, 22-23, 23-23…25-23! That's what this team is built of! And then guess what? Game three was the same as Principia found themselves down 8-14, 10-16, 12-18. And then the Panthers got ornery and did it again. They climbed back into the game through fearless, bold playing and took game three 25-21.
It was a nice well rounded offense with Sophia, Noelle Shoemake, Emily, Nikki Matters, and setter Devon Marunde all scoring. The defensive side of the ball was deep as well, with everyone taking care of the ball allowing PC's defensive transition to find its vibe. Sophia was masterful at the service line with 4 aces and zero errors allowing Principia to score 19 points behind her serve.
Finally Principia took the court against Monmouth, and battled for the win in four games. The Panthers had a taste of their own medicine in game two when after being in driver's seat at 8-4, Monmouth tied it at 15-15, and kept pushing until they took the game right out of PC's paws. When a team plays 4 matches in 24 hours, losing that game was wearying physically and mentally. HOWEVER, that beautiful bold soul the characterizes PCVB 2016 was fully expressed in a decisive game three and four win to take the match.
Mia Gill had the libero jersey on in this match, working hard to limit Monmouth's offense, and her match high 32 digs showed just that. Setter Marunde had a beautiful two matches today, and posted 40 assists against Monmouth and picked up 13 digs, as well as putting down 5 kills of her own for a .417 hitting percentage. The offense was very balanced, with bold and smart production from Sophia, Noelle, Emily, Nikki, Rachel Proctor, along with Devon. Emily was an effective blocking presence with three blocks.
Tuesday is a big home match pitting the Panthers of Greenville against your very own Principia Panthers. Come on down to Hay at 7pm to create that home gym feeling and buoy the team on to victory!
