Elsah, ILL. -- The Principia College Volleyball team faced the Spalding University Golden Eagles for the second time this season, after losing to them 3-0 to open up conference play in September. This is Homecoming for the Lady Panthers and they came out ready to fight. Unfortunately the team lost their rhythm in games 3 and 4 and couldn't pull off the win, letting the Golden Eagles walk away with a 3-1 win and season sweep over the Panthers.
A look at the match:
Principia started the match with strong serving and able hitting, taking the lead 7-3. Spalding found their groove though and fought back to gain the lead 18-17. Prin had a hard time siding out and let Spalding score too many in a row leading to a 23-25 loss in game one. Principia did a nice job in game two making Spalding scramble with tough serving and .200 hitting (9 kills on only 30 swings) from the Panthers. Principia was solid front court and back, leading to a 25-20 win. Game three and four were all Spalding as the Panthers struggled with serve receive and hitting errors. Each game they hung in there and worked the problems, but Spalding tightened up their own game giving us no freebies and taking the match 3-1.
Good to know:
Jessica Bayne had a solid match with 10 kills and 12 digs, and she really moved and communicated well.
Mesa Goebel and
Greer Sprague were bold at the service line combining for 5 aces. Spalding was giving our setter
Devon Marunde plenty of opportunities to dig, and she was up to the task with inspiring defense picking up a team high 19 digs, and as usual was masterful running the offense from every spot on the court!
Sarah Ungerleider led the team hitting .222.
Next up:
The Panthers host SLIAC #1 Greenville on Tuesday night.
