Carlinville, ILL. -- There was nothing easy about the 2-0 day in Carlinville, Illinois for the Principia College Volleyball team. Principia beat MacMurray in 4 games to win the first match of the day, and took Blackburn in 4 games as well, bringing the Lady Panthers to 6-2 overall and 5-1 in SLIAC play.
Against MacMurray, Principia served 96% with a 10:1 ace to error ratio. The Panthers held their offensive errors to 10%, and spread out the swings well among the 6 hitters, but even with those statistics where Prin needed them, beating Mac was not easy. In the end the victory went to the team that kept the ball flying AND "waited aggressively" for their kaboom ball.
Mia Gill picked up 42 digs on the match, with
Noelle Shoemake (16 digs),
Sophia Hathaway (14) and
Hayden Warner (13) rounding out a solid defensive outing. Hathaway led the match with 6 Aces and added 10 kills (.310).
Jessica Bayne hit .333 with 6 kills and only 1 error.
The next match against Blackburn was tight as well, but the Panthers started to sharpen up and looked a little more in control of their own game. Principia kept their offensive errors at 7% and hit a season high .289, while serving 90% with a 12:8 ace to error ratio.
Hayden Warner ignited into a beast during this match putting down 21 kills with zero errors for a .553 outing. The Panthers were hot and cold, until Hayden bust out of the shadows and just pounded the ball again and again – keeping Blackburn from getting into a rhythm. Warner also added 2 aces and 10 digs.
They said it:
"Even with missing our setter for this game, we persisted and expelled our adversities. Our team continues to create consistent play and improve on both offense and defense with every match."
  -Freshman
Hayden Warner
"This team is learning to thrive in tough situations – all while having each other's back. This is not a sport run by a clock – we have all of the time in the world to change the momentum and climb back in the game. Today could have been two losses, but these women refused to settle."
  -Coach
Mary Ann Sprague
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Next up:
Principia travels to St. Louis to play Fontbonne University on Tuesday, September 18th at 7:00 pm. We'd love to have your support!
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