LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Spalding women's volleyball team hosted SLIAC foes Eureka College and Blackburn College for Senior Day. The Golden Eagles walked away with two sweeps on the day, defeating the Red Devils and Beavers in straight sets.
After the weekend, Spalding moved to 10-11 (6-4 SLIAC), while Eureka fell to 3-12 (3-7 SLIAC) and Blackburn fell to 3-18 (1-8 SLIAC).
M1: Spalding 3, Eureka 0
Set one of this SLIAC matchup was a heavily contested spectacle. From the first serve, neither team could get ahead by more than three points.
Ella Clark had a pair of service aces to take a 15-12 lead before Eureka went on a 3-0 run of their own. This made the score 15-15 and was the 10th tie score of the set. Spalding pulled ahead by scoring five of the next six points. The Red Devils clawed their way back as SU held them off, taking the first set 25-23.
The second set started out similar to the first, with the teams trading points until it was tied 5-5. Kills from
Jayda Branch,
Presley Hagan, and
Jobi Smith helped the Golden Eagles jump ahead 10-6. There was no turning back for Spalding, as they went on to build a commanding lead through the middle of the set. A service ace from
Erica Jewell put the bow on set two, with SU winning 25-17.
Determined to win the game in a sweep, Spalding raced out ahead of the Red Devils early, taking a 7-1 lead. Later, a block by
Abigail Ratts and Smith pushed the Golden Eagle lead to seven with the score reading 13-6.
Brianna Terpening scored a service ace with an impressive serve to increase the SU lead to 22-14. Ratts closed out game one of Senior Day with a strong kill to end the set 25-16.
M2: Spalding 3, Blackburn 0
Spalding and Blackburn opened the first set with momentum with their wins over Eureka. The Beavers took an early lead over the Golden Eagles, 6-4. Back-to-back kills by Branch, two kills by
Presley Hagan, and a kill by Clark found some light for SU. Spalding took the lead 13-7. The Golden Eagles controlled the remainder of this set, winning 25-16.
Two errors by the Beavers allowed Spalding to open the second set on a 4-1 run. Blackburn answered with their own 13-4 run, making it a 14-8 score in favor of the Beavers.
Jobi Smith joined the kills category, giving SU some momentum to get back into this game.
Halle Calbert, a senior, helped with back-to-back aces. Spalding used this hard push to close the second set on a 15-7 run. SU took the set 25-21.
The Golden Eagles were on fire to begin the third set. Ratts (twice), Smith, Branch (three times), and some errors by Blackburn gave SU a 7-2 advantage. Spalding continued with their remarkable day and kept full control of this set. The Golden Eagles took the set, 25-14.
GOLDEN EAGLE NOTES
NEXT FOR SPALDING
The Golden Eagles get a small break before hitting the road and heading to Fulton, Missouri on Saturday, October 26th. Spalding will take on conference opponents Westminster College and Webster University. First serve is scheduled for 11:00 AM.
