BATESVILLE, AR – The Principia Volleyball team traveled to Arkansas this weekend for their first ever matches at new conference school, Lyon College. The Panthers faced both Lyon and Eureka College in their first two SLIAC contests of the season. Despite two more 3-0 losses, Principia won their most combined points in a match this season in the match vs Eureka, showing their growth as a team.
The Panthers have dealt with some early season injuries and were down three players for this tri-match, but others stepped up in new roles and played some of their best volleyball of the season. Freshmen
Sam Borton-Center,
Dana Galinis, and
Meghan Mellor played especially strong in the first match against Eureka. Borton-Center recorded 8 aces plus 4 kills, then added 5 kills against Lyon to lead the Panthers with 9 on the day. Galinis had a season-high for kills in a match with 7. Mellor added 5 kills while leading the team with 3 blocks.
After coming close to winning their first set of the season against Eureka, the Panthers were a bit rattled in the first set against a strong Lyon team and only won one point. However, the team was able to gather themselves and score 18 in a competitive second set, before running out of gas in the third.
Coach Davis said afterwards: "We have found a way to execute on a plan with a level of consistency that I am starting to expect from our girls. We talk resiliency and excellence every day at practice, and I think it's starting to catch on. I am excited to see how we take that into our next match against last year's defending champions."
Up Next: The Panthers will head down to St. Louis to face Fontbonne University on Tuesday at 7:00 pm.
Hear more comments from Coach Davis after the tri-match:
