GEORGETOWN, Texas - Southwestern had to continuously dig deep during day two action at the SCAC West/Central Cross as they defeated Rhodes College 3-0 and Trinity 3-2. The young Pirate squad continues to define themselves as they play top competition, further cementing their status as one of the nation's elite.

Southwestern found themselves in a battle once again in their first match on day two, taking on a scrappy Rhodes team. The Pirates did exert their dominance, however, winning in three close sets 25-20, 28-26, and 25-21. Lindsay Thompson (pictured) led in kills (11) and blocks (3) while Rachel Thibodeau recorded 10 kills. Christina Nicholls racked up 33 assists and a team high 17 digs. Annie Hutson and Allison Stubbs were close behind with 14 digs each. Stubbs also contributed two aces as did Lauren Brown.

The final match placed Southwestern against longtime conference rival Trinity. The Pirates came storming out of the gates, quickly amassing a five point lead, 10-5, then ten point lead 20-10 and cruised to the game one 25-14 win.

The momentum took a 180 degree turn as game two got underway and Trinity jumped out to an 8-1 lead. The Pirates attempted to close the gap and pulled within two points a couple of times but were unable to surpass the Tigers as they took game two 25-21.

Trinity carried the momentum into game three as they took a commanding 10 point lead at the midway point. The lead seemed to be insurmountable and turned out to be as the Pirates' final rally fell short handing the Tigers a 25-22 win to go up 2-1 in the match.

Game four was more reminiscent of what fans expected from this epic matchup, a back and forth bout with constant lead changes. Southwestern managed to acquire a brief lead and maintained it, sealing the game win, 25-21, with an ace from Nicholls.

The decisive game five got underway with Trinity striking first. The Tigers pulled ahead briefly to a 8-5 lead but the Pirates quickly closed the gap, pulling even 8-8 on a devastating block by Thompson and Jill Wigington.

Southwestern built the lead to 13-11 before Trinity scored again. A well placed time-out by Coach Long froze Trinity's player who missed the serve, giving SU the ball back needing just one point to win.  A long rally ended when Stubbs' kill glanced off Trinity's blockers and careened out of bounds handing the Pirates the 15-12 game five win and 3-2 match victory.

Thompson led with 16 kills and 7 blocks in the match. Lauren Brown had 14 kills and Jill Wigington notched four blocks. Nicholls recorded 45 assists while Stubbs had a team hihg 22 digs.

The win improves Southwestern to 11-3 on the year and 3-0 in SCAC play. They remain deep in conference action next weekend as they head to the West/East Cross at Sewanee, TN beginning on September 25^th.