Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 Monmouth, IL. -- The volleyball team traveled to Monmouth to kick off their season, and came away winning the tri match with a hard fought 3-1 victory over Lincoln Christian and a 3 game sweep over host Monmouth.
The match against Lincoln Christian was up for grabs from beginning to end. Game one was back and forth until 23-23, when some gritty defense from freshman
Nikki Matters led to a nice offensive punch from freshman setter
Devon Marunde to sophomore middle
Emily Tippetts to take the lead 24-23. Lincoln Christian clawed back to 24-24, but the Panthers still had the momentum and finished it off with a nice offensive series from Devon to Tippetts and to sophomore outside
Sophia Hathaway to take game one.
Game two had Prin in the lead 12-9, but Lincoln Christian stayed fiery and the Panthers struggled with mediocre passing and too many hitting errors. The Panthers dug in and closed the gap somewhat, but LCC took game two handily. Game three saw the Panthers get back on track with solid passing, which led to simple in-system offense and a decisive 25-20 win in game three. Neither team would back down, and game four showed LCC's grit and determination. The Panthers created a nice 17-13 spread, but LCC narrowed it to 17-15 with some strategic shots. The Panthers answered with power, finesse, and composure under pressure to win game four 27-25.
The Panther offense was well rounded, pounding and picking from all over the court. Emily led the attack with 12 kills, and Sophia added 9 of her own along with Nikki's 8,
Noelle Shoemake's five, and
Sara Stephenson's two. Defensively the Panthers were well rounded as well with Sophia picking up 15 digs and serving up 2 aces, and
Mia Gill digging 14.
Emma Herman was a great presence in the back court serving tough and tallying 9 digs.
Cha Cha Fisher and
Nikki Matters both added 6 digs.
After about a 20 minute break, Principia took on host Monmouth. The Panthers showed their soul with their bold competitive ways taking game one 26-24, game two 25-13 and game three 25-21 to earn the "w", with inspiring team play and refocus. Monmouth tried all sorts of things to get Principia out of system, but the Panthers committed to winning the out of system game, and it actually seemed to fire the team up. Before long the Panthers were sharper and took firmer control of the match. Sophia led the efforts with 13 kills, 21 digs, and an ace.
Emma Herman was stellar in this match and led the way with 22 bold serves that set the Panthers up for an effective defensive transition time and again. Emma also recorded 13 digs. Emily and Nikki added 10 and 8 kills respectively.
