The University of Dallas volleyball team, currently with 4-3 record, caught fire in the Millsaps/Belhaven Tournament this past weekend in Jackson, Miss. On Friday, UD kicked off their 4-game tournament with a 3-set match against Loyola University (8-4). UD fought hard, but fell in the first match to the Wolfpack in three sets, with scores of 19-25,15-25, and 19-25.
For their second game of the day, UD came up against Dillard University (5-8) and achieved their first sweep victory of the season. UD beat Dillard in three sets with scores of 25-15, 25-9, and 25-14.
Maintaining the energy from their win on Friday night, UD came out strong on Saturday against Belhaven University (7-1). Battling it out in a 5-match showdown, UD defeated the previously undefeated Blazers, with scores of 28-26, 25-16, 11-25, 24-26, and 15-11. Freshman Ellise Anable of Phoenix, Ariz. kicked off her UD collegiate career with double-double of 11 kills and 21 digs, and a season-best four service aces.
“When we can take care of our side mentally and physically and then focus on attacking the other team’s weakness we should be able to see positive results,” said UD Head Coach Kelli Trautmann. “We did a better job with the games we won [by] playing aggressive and [maintaining] ball control on our side.”
UD kept their momentum and finished off the weekend with their second sweep of the tournament against LaGrange College (2-4), winning 25-17, 25-16, and 25-11. Dallas had 37 offensive kills against the Panthers.
“I was very impressed [by] how we finished our last match against LaGrange,” said Trautmann. “Overall I would say that has been our best performance on our side so far.”
This Friday, Sept. 14 at 6 p.m. will be the Crusader’s first home game, in which they will play Mississippi University for Women. On Saturday, Sept. 15, at 12 p.m. they will host another home game against Randall University.
“The focus is staying disciplined, getting better each day and pushing each other in practice,” said Trautmann. “As a team we need to continue to give full effort and focus on pushing each other in practice, which in the long run will help this program and help [us] be competitive in our conference.”
