IRVING, Texas --Emma White and Lauren Crabtree had career days to lead the Southwestern University Pirates volleyball team to a pair of victories in today's SCAC Group Divisional matches.
White led the Pirates in kills and digs in the first match and Crabtree posted a triple-double in the second, showcasing the depth of the duo's well-rounded games.
"Having strong contributions from numerous teammates makes for quality signs of this team's effort and growth in our daily training," Head Coach Don Flora said. "Seeing it transfer to live matches is cool to see.
"Emma White had one of her most complete days throughout the two days, Ali Grona continues to receive serve at a high level and is seeing the ball well defensively. Jess Mayer and Lauren Crabtree have found some quality rhythm in our offense."
Southwestern 3, Centenary 0 (25-19, 25-12, 25-19)
White combined volume and efficiency in the first match, leading the Pirates in kills and assists with 17 each on a career-high .359 hitting percentage.
The first year from Lucas, Texas set the tone early with seven kills in the first set as the Pirates hit .277 with 18 kills and five errors on 47 attacks.
Southwestern stepped up its intensity on defense in the second set, holding Centenary to a -.025 hitting percentage, allowing just seven kills with eight errors.
The Pirates had a match-high 19 kills in the third set with a .306 hitting percentage.
Darby Stowers was the only other Pirate to finish with double-digit kills with 10 on a .588 hitting percentage. Lauren Crabtree matched White in digs with 17 and had a match-high 29 assists with eight kills on a .385 hitting percentage.
In recent weeks, the Pirates have leaned heavily on Crabtree pulling double-duty, filling in as the setter directing the offense while still feeding her opportunities to attack.
Against Dallas, Crabtree was everywhere and everything, posting a triple-double with a match-high 15 kills, 31 assists, and 15 digs. Almost as impressive as the number of things she was tasked to do was how efficiently she did it, hitting .243 for the match.
Crabtree and Mayer split duties directing the offense with Mayer adding 21 assists for a team that finished with a .196 hitting percentage.
White continued her strong play with 15 kills (.286) and 15 digs. Elleanna McGown contributed 13 kills and a team-high 25 digs with five assists.
With the victories, the Pirates improved to 15-9 on the season and 8-4 in conference play. Southwestern will return to action tomorrow with a match against Colorado College at 10 a.m. and Schreiner at 4:00 p.m.
