Chris Yingling | Echo
The Taylor volleyball team rocketed to a great start on the season with a 4-1 record in the Rio Grande Tournament.
The Trojans started well in the tournament, quickly taking out its first three opponents to put up a 3-0 record. Northwestern Ohio was the culprit of the Trojans' only loss. The team then rebounded to take out Rio Grande by a score of 3-1, bringing the team's win total up to four.
"Starting off 4-1, I was really impressed with the team and how they gelled," said Holly Motheral, head coach. "It was nice to see the team flowing and doing what they needed to win. I think what impressed me the most was our cohesion on the court and our solid defense, especially in the last match against Rio Grande."
Individual players on the team stepped up and performed extremely well in the tourney. Freshman Becca Gerig and senior libero Kelsey Arvin both received All-Tournament team honors.
Junior Julia Willey was named the Crossroads League Setter of the Week, her first player-of-the-week honor. She earned the award after recording 173 assists for her teammates while adding 22 kills and four service aces.
"Julia is one of our captains this year, and she has been a leader on and off the court," Motheral said. "She stepped it up this weekend, and she was our only setter for the whole tournament. She's really good at moving on to the next play, which is something that I always look for in a setter and a captain."
Offensively, Gerig led the Trojans in kills with 60 while also logging 3.16 kills per set, the highest average of Trojan attackers. Sophomore Kelly Arnold and senior Jackie Close also recorded 47 and 36 kills in the tourney, respectively.
"It was so fun to see what all of our hard work has been going towards and being rewarded with positive results overall was awesome," Gerig said. "We will definitely be giving our best efforts as we begin (conference play)."
Kelsey Arvin led the Trojans with six aces while freshman Rachel Bouma recorded 9.5 blocks in the tourney.
The Trojans are in action this weekend in the Embry-Riddle Tournament in Daytona Beach, Fla. Taylor's home opener will be against Grace on Sept. 3 at 7 p.m. in Odle Arena.
Photo provided by the Taylor University Sports Information Department
