After two heart-wrenching defeats in which the Bulldog
volleyball team fought back from two sets down, the University of
Redlands bounced back with an impressive five-set win over No. 16
Trinity University (TX) on Saturday at the Cal-Lu-Fornia
Tournament. The team's momentum carried through to its next
match, resulting in a resounding victory in straight sets over
regional opponent Linfield College (OR).
Against the Tigers of Trinity, Redlands earned the opening set by
five points and then held on for the 25-23 win in the second
stanza. However, Trinity refused to go away and battled back in the
next set with a lop-sided 25-9 victory. The Bulldogs slightly
rebounded in the fourth but came up short by three points. Finally,
Redlands sealed the deal in the deciding fifth set by a score of
15-9, earning its first win of the 2009 season.
The Maroon and Gray was the only team to nab a victory over the
Tigers at the tournament.
Junior outside hitter Jackie Hamilton (Loma Linda, CA) led the team
with 15 kills while sophomore middle blocker Emily Capozzoli
(Poway, CA) and senior outside hitter Ali Massei (San Carlos, CA)
each supplied 12. Senior setter Kelina Smith (Kurtistown, HI)
dished out 46 assists in the win. Senior libero Lauren Harding
(Altadena, CA) came away with a team-leading 33 digs, while junior
middle blocker Megan Phillips (Vista, CA) dominated the net with
seven total blocks.
The Bulldogs maintained their rhythm in the second match of the
day, downing the Wildcats of Linfield in three sets. Redlands
jumped out to a 25-19 victory in the opening frame and then cruised
to a 25-15 win in the second. Unwilling to take a fourth match to
five sets in two days, the Bulldogs fought their way through the
third set and captured the victory with a 25-23 showing.
Phillips took over the offense by slamming down 18 kills off of
just 28 attempts for an astounding hitting percentage of .571.
Hamilton added nine kills and Capozzoli patrolled the net with
seven total blocks. Harding supplied 19 digs from the back row,
while Smith offered 30 assists.
With the wins, Redlands improves to 2-2 on the season. The Bulldog
volleyball team looks forward to facing in-region opponent Chapman
University on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Orange. Redlands returns home
on Thursday for a 4 p.m. match against the Cyclones of Mills
College, followed by a 7:30 p.m. contest against La Sierra
University.
