Lady Jackets Trump Battlers for Third Straight Win

by Abigail Hintz

Cedarville University volleyball rode the momentum from Friday night to get their second sweep in a row over G-MAC opponent Alderson Broaddus University on Saturday afternoon. The Jackets, who are currently 9-8 in G-MAC play and 11-17 overall, got the best of the Battlers with scores of 25-14, 25-20 and 25-16 and are now riding a three-game win streak.

Despite a quick turnaround from Friday night’s game and a seemingly banged up roster, Cedarville played with passion and grit, even after going down in the second set. Coach Smith was happy his team was able to build on the win Friday with solid blocking and tough serves.

The Lady Jackets prepare for an AB serve. (Photo: Carrie Bergan)

“I felt like we were in system, a little bit more fluid with the offense and our defensive transition,” said Smith. “There’s a lot of positives.”

Smith also commented on senior outside hitter Taylor Wilkerson’s play in the match, which was definitely a highlight for the Jackets. Wilkerson ended the night with 27 attempts and 12 kills. She is currently only three shy of her 1,000th kill, an exciting achievement for the senior.

Lauren Willow also had a great match with 11 kills. Senior Faith Ferris put away eight kills, and freshman Sara Beste ended the match with five of her own.

The Jackets’ blocking has been improving in recent matches and it showed with the team pulling 16 block assists with only three errors. Serving and service receptions were both solid for the team as well, with eight aces and no reception errors.

When the match started, it seemed as though Friday night’s game had never ended. Cedarville came out of the locker room swinging, going on a seven-point run to start the first set and force an Alderson Broaddus timeout.

The Battlers already looked defeated coming out of the timeout, despite their coach’s attempt to motivate them. It seemed as though they didn’t stand a chance against the Jackets tough defense and aggressive offense. Cedarville never looked back in the first set, putting the Battlers away 25-14.

Set two showed a more motivated Alderson Broaddus side and a relatively frazzled Cedarville team. The Jackets just couldn’t settle in, and the Battlers took advantage. It wasn’t until the eleventh point that the teams were tied, and Cedarville didn’t see the lead until Willow’s kill followed by an ace by freshman Maddie Lloyd, putting them up 16-14.

They managed to turn the set around and be the first to 20, and from there spectators were back to watching the Cedarville team they saw in the first set. Alderson Broaddus dropped the set 25-20.

The third set was the most back-and-forth of the three, with four lead changes and six ties. Cedarville began to take charge and pull away around the tenth point before going on a five-point run with two back-to-back aces from sophomore libero Autumn Foust to be the first to 20. Freshman Emily Jastrzemski had a big kill to put the game away 25-16.

Willow said it was a fun match for the team.

“The encouragement was there, the hard work was there, we’re just really having fun improving,” said Willow.

With Saturday’s win, Cedarville moves to fourth place in the G-MAC West, giving them hope of qualifying for the Great Midwest Championship, which starts on Nov. 6. The team is back in action next weekend, playing Kentucky Wesleyan on Friday night.