Chris Yingling | Echo
It only took three sets for the Taylor volleyball team to take out rival Indiana Wesleyan at home on Wednesday 3-0.
The Trojans smashed Indiana Wesleyan's 13-match winning streak by winning the match. Taylor hasn't won against Indiana Wesleyan since Oct. 5, 2011.
Taylor used a balanced attack, featuring senior Jackie Close, sophomore Kelly Arnold and freshmen Rachel Bouma and Becca Gerig with a team-high seven kills each. Reigning Crossroads League Hitter of the Week and junior Casey Allen followed up with six kills and five blocks.
A 9-6 lead in the first set pushed momentum in the Trojans' favor early in the contest. The team made a late-set push to close out IWU 25-18. In the first set, Taylor never allowed Indiana Wesleyan to close the gap to fewer than two points and were dominant for the whole set.
Indiana Wesleyan showed more fight in set two. Nine lead changes and 25 ties kept the audience on the edge of its seat. Neither team budged an inch. Close logged the final kill, helping Taylor capture the 25-23 win.Taylor started fast on the final set, jumping out to an early 12-5 lead. Indiana Wesleyan rallied to make it a close 20-19 set. Then, the Trojans scored five of the final six points and won the third set 25-20.
"I was very proud of this team's consistency and their aggressiveness along with not giving up," said head coach Holly Motheral. "Indiana Wesleyan's a good team and they'll get some points, but we stayed on top of it. We had momentum for most of the match."
The defense played admirably against a tough Indiana Wesleyan scoring attack. Senior libero Kelsey Arvin recorded a game-high 24 digs while Gerig had 14 and junior Maggie Williamson had 10. Setter of the Week and junior Julia Willey had another great evening with 31 assists and 16 digs.
"Everyone was an offensive threat and everyone was contributing. We didn't just have one or two attackers," Motheral said. "I thought we were good in almost every area (Wednesday)."
Taylor will take a short break from Crossroads League play, hosting Georgetown College at 7 p.m. tonight in Odle Arena. A Saturday match against Point Park follows at 11 a.m. in Odle.
Photograph by Josh Adams
