Elsah, ILL. -- Principia put a cap on a good weekend going 3-0 in front of a home crowd with a win over Spalding on Friday, and two "w"s on Saturday over NAIA Hannibal LaGrange and NCAA Knox College.
The Panthers out hit HLG .159-.064. Hannibal killed the ball well at 24%, but their 18% error did them in as the Panthers kept the ball flying with only 10% error. That was the tipping point because HLG posted more aces, blocks, and digs than Principia.
The Panther offense was well spread out with substantial kills from
Noelle Shoemake,
Jessica Bayne,
Sophia Hathaway, and
Nikki Matters. The defense was well rounded as well with everyone picking up Hannibal hits.
The match against Knox showed two teams battling and hitting the floor trying to get the win. Both teams played great defense which created a tough and long match for the hitters. As unbelievable as this is both teams had 44 kills. Both teams had 122 digs. Both teams put away 22% of the balls they swung at. Once again the Panthers got the win holding their errors to 13% vs Knox with 16% error. The Panthers also won the serving game with a 6-5 ace to error while Knox struggled at 7-10.
Coach Sprague shared, "There was a lot of good volleyball played today by all of the teams. They all showed so much heart, and everyone went after the win. It was inspiring. This 2018 Principia team makes me smile so big – they just keep going and they keep looking each other in the eye and help each other move forward, and they sing and dance on the court, and they win – now at 16-4!
Next up – Homecoming next Saturday at 11:00am versus Eureka College!
