Eureka, ILL. -- The Panthers met their final two SLIAC opponents in first round play today, and came away tired but victorious. First up was top ranked Westminster College, and Principia won 25-20, 21-25, 26-28, 26-24, 16-14. Phew – what a match!
Principia had such a balanced offense with
Noelle Shoemake leading the team with 16 kills,
Jessica Bayne 14,
Sophia Hathaway 12, and
Hayden Warner 11. Setter
Devon Marunde was masterful distributing the ball and keeping the Bluejays guessing. She tallied 196 sets for the match, and also served up 4 aces, picked up 18 digs and blocked 3. Warner was nails at the line serving up 7 aces with no errors. Libero
Mia Gill was picking up everything with 54 digs for the five games – a new All Time high for Principia College Volleyball! The team defensive effort was stellar with 5 other players adding 7-18 digs. The Panthers were a menace at the net as well with 10 blocks. The team kept their offensive errors to 11% and killed nearly 30%.
The next match started at 9pm against host Eureka, and Principia won 28-26, 23-25, 25-22, 25-10 – another phew match! Eureka made it tough on the Panthers for sure – they were gritty and running down everything Principia dished out. The Panthers were patient and put away 31% of their swings with only 10% error. It was another beautiful team effort with all of the hitters doing posting kills along with low errors. Principia was tough from the service line again with Shoemake and Matters each serving up 3 aces. Gill, Shoemake and
Amanda Roberts led the defensive efforts with 36, 14, and 12 digs respectively.
Coach Sprague had this to say about tonight, "This team battled….all night long. Sometimes it was easy and sometimes it seemed impossible, but they kept going and the team unity and respect kept everyone playing for the team – no selfishness. It was inspiring to watch them make good mental decisions and come away with two victories."
This brings the Panthers to 12-4 on the season (10-3 in SLIAC). Next up the Panthers host Blackburn College Tuesday at 7pm. Come on down to Hay Fieldhouse and cheer them on!
