__Tribe takes two of three, notching wins against ECU and So. Illinois__
In a five-game match, the College defeated the Southern Illinois University Salukis Saturday 3-2 (23-30, 30-26, 24-30, 30-26, 15-8) and clinched second-place at the Tribe Classic. Coming off the heels of a 3-1 (29-31, 30-25, 31-29, 30-14) afternoon loss to eventual champion Kent State University, the Tribe rebounded against the Salukis as sophomore Jillian Brown and freshman Cassie Crumal led the way en route to All-Tournament Team honors.
p. Four College women recorded double-digit kills against Southern Illinois with freshman Erin Skipper registering a team-high 14 kills. Juniors Abbi Owens and Molly Bohman and sophomore Bryana Carey totaled 13, 11 and 10 kills respectively. Tribe setter Crumal dished out 56 assists in addition to her nine digs and five kills.
p. The College found itself down early in its first two games against the Salukis. In game one, the Tribe could not rally from a 12-6 deficit. Game two started similarly as the College quickly fell behind 12-5, but after tying the Salukis at 17, the Tribe jumped ahead 23-18 on a 6-1 run and did not look back. After splitting the next two games, the College reversed its earlier fortunes and started the fifth game strong. A 4-1 Tribe lead grew to 11-6, and the Salukis had no answer.
p. In Saturday’s matinee match, the Tribe won the first game against Kent State only to see the Golden Flashes take the next three and the match. Leading 29-24 and with the third game seemingly in reach, the College stumbled and Kent State reeled off seven straight points to win the game and effectively demoralize the Tribe. The Golden Flashes dominated the fourth game 30-14 to close out the match. Sophomore Lindsey Pflugner knocked in 16 kills to lead the College’s offense.
p. The Tribe opened tournament play Friday night against East Carolina University and netted a 3-0 (30-26, 30-28, 30-24) victory. Classmates Pflugner and Brown as well as Owens notched double-digit kills to spearhead the Tribe attack. On the defensive side of the net, freshman Ginny Bray denied the Pirates points with a team-high seven blocks.
p. The College makes a cross-country trip to visit the UC-Irvine Tournament this weekend and start a 10-game road trip, as the Tribe will not play again at Kaplan Arena until September 26. The Tribe will face Southern Mississippi at 5 p.m. Friday, UCLA at 11 a.m. Saturday and host UC-Irvine at 7 p.m. Saturday.
