Jeff Yoder | Echo
The volleyball team went through ups and downs in this week's Crossroads League tournament. The Trojans swept Saint Francis on Tuesday before their season ended at the hands of conference rival IWU last night in three sets.
Taylor took down Saint Francis in the tournament opener on Tuesday night as the Trojans hosted the Cougars, beating them in three sets, 25-14, 25-14 and 25-21.
"I had a feeling in warm-ups that we would come out ready to play and we got off to a really good start which was a key," said head coach Holly Motheral after Tuesday's game. "I thought our offense was balanced and our setters did a great job of getting all of our hitters involved and our blockers did a nice job too."
The first and second sets were smooth sailing for TU as the Trojans showed no signs of defeat. With one set left to advance, sophomore Olivia Griffith landed three consecutive aces to boost the Trojans to a lead in set three that would give them the victory.
Sophomore setter Julia Willey was all over the court on Tuesday as she registered 15 assists and 11 digs, both ties for team-highs. Griffith tallied 15 assists while junior libero Kelsey Carr was responsible for 11 digs.
The Trojan attack was more balanced than ever. Seniors Ashlyn DeHoogh and Montanna Ashline had nine and seven kills, respectively. Sophomore Casey Allen added eight kills while junior Jackie Close landed five, sophomore Michaela Sir contributed four and sophomore Kelly Arnold put down three.
Taylor commanded the match offensively, recording attacking percentages of .367 in set one, .286 in set two and .385 in the third set.
In last night's semifinal meeting with IWU, the tables turned. Taylor led most of the way through set one before IWU jumped in front, winning 25-22. Set two ended with a late run by IWU for a 25-18 Wildcat victory, and set three was all Wildcats as TU fell 25-15 to end the season.
The Trojans finished the 2013 campaign with a final record of 19-12 (13-5) for a successful inaugural season with head coach Holly Motheral at the helm. Taylor also ended the season ranked 10th in the nation in blocks per game (2.42) and 21st in total blocks (263.5).
DeHoogh and Ashline close the curtain on their Taylor careers as big pieces of the Trojans' success this season. DeHoogh led the Trojans in kills (329) and kills per game (3.02) this season while Ashline was fourth on the team in kills (178) and first on the team in blocks (90.5).
Photography by Timothy P. Riethmiller
