By Gabe Bain, Sports Co-Editor
Published: 9.21.12
Taylor and Indiana Wesleyan have dominated the Crossroads League in volleyball for years, raising anticipation every time the two teams cross paths on the court. Sept. 15 was no different.
The Trojans brought a strong effort but dropped the match to their nationally-ranked rivals, the Wildcats, 3-1, marking the Trojan's first conference loss this season and putting them in a tie for first place.
Head coach Brittany Smith said it was tougher to prepare for this match with two games earlier in the week. The team did not have enough time to get ready as they would like. But she later said they knew what to expect, being familiar with the Wildcats' tendencies.
The first set began with the Wildcats completely in control. IWU went on to win the first set by a wide margin of 25-11. Taylor only recorded six kills.
The Trojans looked to respond in the second set, proving to be much tougher than what the first set might have shown. Although Taylor fought back, the Wildcats showed why they were ranked in the top 10 in the nation and dropped the Trojans 25-18.
Stuck in a 2-0 hole, the Trojans were much more competitive the next two sets.
"We gave a lot of effort," said senior libero Courtney Herschberger. "Even though we were struggling we still gave the effort."
The third set came, and the Trojans looked like a new team. They got out to a quick 4-1 lead and battled IWU throughout the rest of the set.
Up 10-7 in the third set, junior middle hitter Montanna Ashline delivered a huge kill that seemed to dictate where the rest of the set was headed: in the Trojans favor.
Led by Herschberger and junior outside hitter Ashlyn DeHoogh, the Trojans beat the Wildcats 25-21 to bring the match to 2-1, still in IWU's favor. Taylor recorded a game-high nine kills for this set.
"We didn't make any adjustments," Smith said. "We simply started to execute what we were supposed to do in the first place."
In the start of the fourth set, the Trojans appeared resilient, but IWU pushed ahead to a 17-10 lead. Down but not out, Taylor pushed back and tied up the set at 17-17.
The Wildcats clawed back, building up a 22-18 lead. Taylor battled their opponent until the end but came up short 25-22.
DeHoogh said they know they can do great things as a team as long as they remember their training and stay confident, removing all doubt that they may have.
Smith, disappointed in their defeat, restated their purpose for playing.
"We come to play to win," Smith said. "We don't play to compete."
Sophomore defensive specialist Kelsey Carr led the Trojans' defense with 16 digs, and Herschberger had 15. On the offensive end, seniors Ali Swart and Elizabeth Luke led the team with eight and seven kills, respectively.
Herschberger added that the team had to fix the little things and only focus on the positives in preparing for the next match.
Taylor bounced back Wednesday night at home against Huntington to win 3-1. Now they have won 37 straight home Crossroads League matches, 11-3 overall and 6-1 in conference.
The Trojans are back in action Sept. 21 on the road against Crossroads League rival Mount Vernon Nazarene at 7 p.m.
