SAN ANTONIO — Lauren Crabtree led Southwestern to a 2-0 weekend at the 2021 Trinity National Invitational, earning all-tournament honors after volleyball picked up wins against Cal Lutheran and Chapman. 

Crabtree recorded a team-high 22 kills in seven sets on a .364 hitting percentage. She also contributed four block assists and a solo block. 

Southwestern 3, Cal Lutheran 1 (25-19, 21-25, 25-15, 25-19)

Southwestern had three players with double-digit kills and hit a season-best .248 as a team, totaling 56 kills on 49 assists. 

Crabtree led the way with 12 kills on a .360 clip. Christina Kuras and Emma White each contributed 11 kills. The latter also contributed four service aces to finish with a team-high 15 points. 

"Today, we saw this team figure out how to win a match even when the rhythm wasn't as smooth on our side of the net," head volleyball coach Don Flora says. 

The Pirates struggled with eight attack errors in the second set, but recovered to hit .357 and .311 in the final two to put Cal Lutheran away. 

"The offense from our setters was real clean in the third and fourth sets, where we hit .321," Flora says. "And defensively, Ali Grona and Emma White played significant defense behind the block. Riley Brantley and Andie Valenzuela were both really terminal as attackers in transition and that put a lot of pressure on Cal Lutheran." 

Grona led Southwestern with 23 digs and White contributed 16. Brantley had eight kills on a .333 hitting percentage and Valenzuela had nine kills on a .375 clip. Katelyn Whitehead had 23 assists and Claire Romo had 19. 

Southwestern 3, Chapman 0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-18)

A stingy Pirate defense limited Chapman to 27 kills on a .042 hitting percentage, holding the Panthers to under .100 in two of the three sets. Brantley controlled the net with seven block assists and Grona and Geneva Nedrow worked behind her with 16 and 12 digs. 

Southwestern finished the match with 10 blocks and 59 digs. 

"Seeing us hold their top two attackers to under .100 in their hitting percentage is a sign that the team had their eyes on the correct things in our blocking and digs," Flora says. 

Crabtree led a balanced attack with 10 kills on a .368 hitting percentage. White and Christina Kuras had eight kills each, Valenzuela had seven kills on a .500 hitting percentage, and Brantley had six kills. 

"Emma, Christina, Lauren, and Jess are doing quality things on the pins in their attacking mindset," Flora says. "If we can stay balanced on offense we can do some nice things each match."

Southwestern also had six service aces, led by White's three.

"Today we also kept good serving pressure on Chapman's receivers," Flora says. "When we compete at the service line it shows." 

Southwestern improves to 9-0 with the two wins. The Pirates will open conference play next weekend in Colorado Springs, Colo., with matches against Texas Lutheran and Colorado College on Friday, Sept. 24. Southwestern will face St. Thomas on Saturday, Sept. 25.