Southwestern volleyball continued their impressive play with four wins at the SCAC West/Central Divisional #1 over the weekend including triumphing 3-0 in a prolonged battle with #14 Colorado College. The wins improve the #9 nationally-ranked Pirates to 17-2 on the year and 7-0 in the SCAC.
SU opened the weekend with #14 Colorado College and the NCAA Division III featured game didn't disappoint as the two teams battled through three sets. The Pirates emerged triumphant in three long sets, winning 28-26, 35-33, 25-21. Southwestern's balanced attack kept the Tigers on their toes as five of eight Pirates recorded eight or more kills with Taylor Wright leading the way with 12. Christina Nicholls led with 25 digs and 36 assists while Rachel Thibodeau had a team high 3 aces.
SU rode the momentum to a 3-1 win over Millsaps in their second game of the day, using their deep bench to their advantage after the prolonged earlier match. Thibodeau continued her strong play with a team high 14 kills and tied for a team high 26 digs with Sarai Tenerelli. Jill Wigington was close behind with 13 kills and posted an impressive .324 hitting percentage in the match.
The second day pitted Southwestern first against host-institution Rhodes. The Lynx came out strong, challenging SU, but the Pirates earned the win in the fifth set by hitting nearly .300 as a team after struggling in the earlier sets.
Thibodeau was once again an offensive catalyst with 18 kills to lead the attack. Nicholls had 49 assists while Tenerelli had 30 digs to lead the Pirates
Southwestern ended the weekend on a high note, easily defeating Hendrix 25-22, 25-20, 25-20. Defense was the key in the match for SU and was headed up by none other than Thibodeau. She had a team high 22 digs while being second on the team in kills with 10 behind Wigington's 11.
The Pirates return to San Antonio for the third time this season, this time for the SCAC West/East Divisional #1 where they will face Oglethorpe and Sewanee on Saturday and Centre and Birmingham Southern on Sunday.
