Brilliance at the Service Line Fuels Pair of Impressive Victories for the Trojans

UPLAND, Ind. – An incredible fourth-set comeback powered RV Taylor to an upset of No. 19 Missouri Baptist before a sweep of RV Indiana Tech completed the Trojans' perfect 4-0 finish in the Amber McClure Fayerweather Memorial Tournament.

Team brilliance at the service line throughout the final day of the AMFM tournament fueled the Trojans to a pair of victories, which saw the home team collect 18 aces from six players against just seven total errors.  

The Trojans rode an impressive start at the service line to a set-one victory over No. 19 Missouri Baptist to start the day. The Spartans had six service errors without an ace, and TU collected four aces, two apiece from Lindsay Springer and Suzanne Storey.

The opening set had 15 tied scores and was knotted at 21 before Taylor rattled off the final four points, as Springer delivered both of her aces during the final run.

A tight second set saw the score level on nine occasions and it all square at 19. Missouri Baptist controlled the final part, scoring six of the final eight points to even up the sets at one apiece.

The even teams continued the tight match in the third as extra points were required. Taylor secured five straight points late to get on the brink with the score 24-22, but was unable to complete the win as the Spartans took the next two points.

Another set point went to the wayside and the teams traded points until Missouri Baptist (8-2) two the final two for a 31-29 set victory.

The Trojans went down big early in the fourth and were running out of hope, trailing 19-10. A TU timeout let the squad regroup and refocus, and when Margo Hernandez took the serve with the score sitting at 21-14, the tide began to shift. Frey began the rally with a kill, and after a hitting error, Daya Vestal and Reagan Salzbrenner teamed up for a block followed by a service ace.

The crowd sensed the moment and let their voices be heard. Vestal and Salzbrenner each tallied a kill, and another Spartan error left the score tied at 21. Missouri Baptist stopped the bleeding momentarily, but a Frey kill and another block by Vestal and Salzbrenner gave TU its first lead of the set at 23-22.

A point from the Spartan evened the set at 23, but Salzbrenner rocketed one of her nine kills before Ellie Frey finished it off to complete the improbable comeback.

Taking the momentum and running with it, Taylor raced out to an 11-4 lead in the decisive fifth set. The Spartans could do no more than trade points with the home squad, and fittingly, Frey closed out the upset with her 26th kill of the match.  

Taylor finished the tournament with a clean sweep of RV Indiana Tech (3-5) to complete the non-league portion of their schedule at 9-3.

A back-and-forth opener swung the Trojans' way late, picking up eight of the final 12 points for a 25-22 win behind a .290 hitting percentage.

TU played from behind for most of the second set until McKaylah Flagle delivered a pair of aces in a 6-0 run to gain a slim 22-21 lead. Feeding off the huge run, the Trojans forced a pair of errors to take the second by an identical 25-22 score.

Feeding off the late momentum, Taylor took a quick 6-1 to force a timeout. The lead continued to grow and ballooned to 21-9 as Mackenzie Gerig notched a trifecta of aces and Frey collected three more kills to end the match.

An efficient attack led by Frey was supplanted by Reagan Kleiman and Vestal, with the duo combining for 32 kills and just four errors throughout the day. The Taylor block came alive with 16 blocks in eight sets, led by Alexa Mader with a team-high eight of her own.

The Trojans begin Crossroads League play on Wednesday, September 3, against Goshen (4-6) on the road, with the first set slated to begin at 7:00 pm.