BATESVILLE, Ark. — The Spalding University women's volleyball team put together a dominant Saturday performance at Becknell Gymnasium, earning a pair of four-set St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) victories against Lyon College and Webster University.
With the two wins, Spalding moved to 7-7 overall and 2-2 in SLIAC play.
GAME ONE: SPALDING 3, LYON 1
In the morning matchup against Lyon, the Golden Eagles took set one 25-19, dropped the second 22-25, and then closed out the 3-1 win with matching 25-20 victories in sets three and four. Kylie Minnis led the attack with 14 kills, complemented by Presley Hagan's 11 kills and three aces, as well as Paloma Martinez's 10 kills and four blocks. Setter Taimane Alo orchestrated the offense with a 40-assist, 14-dig double-double, while Jaylen Wheatley anchored the defense with a team-high 19 digs alongside double-digit dig efforts from Hannah Wilson (12), Jobi Smith (11), and Tia Terpening (11).
GAME TWO: SPALDING 3, WEBSTER 1
Spalding carried that momentum into their second match against Webster, overcoming a 20-25 opening-set loss to rally with three straight set wins (25-21, 25-16, 25-20) for another 3-1 victory. The Golden Eagles out-hit the Gorloks .195 to .140, fueled by Minnis's match-high 16 kills on a .297 hitting percentage and Smith's 14-kill, 12-dig double-double. Isabelle Sprague added an efficient seven kills on a team-best .353 hitting percentage, while Alo recorded her second double-double of the day with 45 assists and 13 digs. Across the two matches, Minnis paced the attack with 30 total kills, Alo distributed 85 assists with 27 digs, and Wheatley led the backline defense with 31 total digs.
