By Will Fairfax
The 23rd-ranked Taylor volleyball team nearly pulled off an incredible comeback in a hotly contested match against the Division II Indianapolis Greyhounds 3-2 (25-14, 25-21, 24-26, 18-25, 17-15).
The Greyhounds, ranked No. 9 in DII polls, took advantage of Taylor's early mistakes and won the first set 25-14.
The Trojans showed more fight in the second set and had a 20-18 lead before Indianapolis won five straight points on their way to a 25-21 win.
Taylor showed early in set three that they were not going to leave without a fight as they won seven straight points to build an early 8-2 lead.
The Trojans led 17-10 before the Greyhounds fought back and tied up the match at 24-24.
Senior Liz Luke then had a huge kill followed by an Indianapolis receiving error to give the Trojans a 26-24 victory.
Taylor won four straight points to open up a 5-1 lead at the beginning of the fourth set. They never relinquished the lead and won the set 25-18 as Indianapolis began to get frustrated.
The fifth set was a war as both teams gave everything they had to come away with the victory.
Down 4-7, junior Ashlyn DeHoogh had two straight kills followed by a block to bring the deciding set to a 7-7 tie.
The Trojans saved one match point when DeHoogh got another kill to reach a 15-15 tie before the Greyhounds took two straight points to win the set 17-15.
Luke, who finished with a team-high 21 kills, said they didn't start out the match with enough fight.
"The first two games we were just playing good volleyball. We weren't playing to win, and we weren't fighting," Luke said. "After that second game, we started to fight them and play them hard, and so, honestly, the fifth game it was anybody's game. We were both fighting . . . . We fought and we played hard, and we're proud of that."
Taylor also had to face Indianapolis' senior Kristina Kerrigan, who had a career high 33 kills and a season-high 17 digs.
Head coach Brittany Smith was proud of her team's never-say-die attitude and their belief that they could overcome the 0-2 deficit.
"Hands down . . . that's the thing I love about Taylor volleyball," Smith said. "These players will never give up. They will never just stop trying. That's never been the problem. We're going to keep fighting till the very last ball drops."
The Trojans' sluggish start might have cost them in the end, but Luke said they learned a big lesson.
"We learned that we need to come out with that fight, immediately in that first game rather than waiting for that third game," Luke said. "We learned that we need to stick with our blocking plan, and when coach makes an adjustment - we immediately adjust. And to just to play with passion and fight."
DeHoogh finished with 19 kills, while senior Ali Swart added 14 kills. Freshman Julia Willey dictated the offense with 57 assists.
Junior Montanna Ashline led the Trojans with eight block assists, and senior Courtney Herschberger led the team with 25 digs.
Taylor travels to Indiana Wesleyan Sept. 29 to participate in the Mideast Regional Crossover. They face No. 22 Cornerstone at 12 p.m. and Olivet Nazarene at 2 p.m.
