Cedarville Sweeps Regional Foe Indy at Home

by Tim Miller

The Cedarville Lady Jackets (15-11, 10-2 G-MAC) returned to home to sweep the University of Indianapolis Greyhounds on Tuesday night. Cedarville kept pace with G-MAC leading Findlay (11-1 G-MAC) and Hillsdale (10-2 G-MAC).

The Lady Jackets took the match in commanding fashion, winning 25-21, 25-18 and 25-23.

Freshman middle hitter Lauren Willow led the Lady Jackets in kills with 12. Senior outside hitter Krissy Pratt contributed 11 kills while reigning G-MAC Volleyball West Division Player of the Week and senior middle hitter Gabby Olson had 10 kills and six blocks.

Momentum remained stagnant in the first set, as neither team earned a large lead. The set was never separated by more than four points, and the Lady Jackets maintained a lead for most of the set.

Indy was able to fight back to take a 20-18 lead late in the set. The small run caused Cedarville to call the first timeout of the game.

Cedarville answered with three straight points, giving the Lady Jackets a 21-20 advantage. Indy promptly called a timeout.

Cedarville thwarted an chance of an Indy comeback, scoring four of the next five points to close the set. Four kills from Olson and Willow willed Cedarville to taking the first set, 25-21.

The second set seemed to mirror the first, as the Lady Jackets held a small edge for most of the set. Neither team rattled off more than three straight points until Cedarville went on a four-point run to take a 13-8 lead. This led to an Indy timeout.

After the timeout, Cedarville continued to pile it on. The Lady Jackets owned five of the six points out of the timeout, including the first four.

A 12-point lead gave Cedarville all it needed to win it, as the Lady Jackets led 22-10 late in the set. Indy sprinkled in a few points to keep the set close, but the Lady Jackets went on to win 25-18. Pratt and Willow each tallied five kills in the second set.

The Lady Jackets dominated in the third set to start, as they took seven of the first eight points. Indy called a timeout early to stop the scorching start from Cedarville.

At the halfway point, Cedarville kept its six-point lead, taking a 12-6 advantage. Indy closed the gap at that point, crawling back to a 15-14 deficit. Cedarville called its first timeout of the set as Indy had quickly taken the momentum.

Indy held the momentum and jumped to a 19-16 lead. Cedarville called its final timeout of the set with little time to mount a comeback.

Cedarville answered Indy during its first bout with adversity of the entire match. The Lady Jackets scored three of the next four points and forced an Indy timeout. Indy still held a 20-19 lead.

An attack error by Indy and service ace by Autumn Foust allowed Cedarville to tie and then take the lead in the game. Four unanswered from Cedarville allowed the Lady Jackets to climb back and win the third set 25-23.

Junior outside hitter Taylor Wilkerson exploded in the final set with five kills. Pratt, Olson and Willow added three kills each.

Cedarville will welcome Hillsdale to the Callan Athletic Center on Friday for a pivotal late-season match. The two squads are tied in the conference for the second-best record in the conference. The match begins at 7 p.m.

Tim Miller is a sophomore marketing major and sports editor for Cedars. He enjoys having a baby face, sipping Dunkin Donuts coffee and striving to be the optimal combination of Dwight Schrute and Ron Swanson.