Parrett and Faulkner Hit 1,000 as TU Sweeps Spring Arbor at Home

Volleyball | Wed, Oct. 5, 2022 at 9:00 PM
| by Jake Chipka

UPLAND, Ind. – On a night when Taylor seniors, Nikki Parrett and Arlanda Faulkner, hit 1,000-career milestones, the No. 13 Taylor Trojans (20-5, 9-2 CL) swept Spring Arbor (10-12, 1-10 CL) inside Odle Arena by a score of 25-9, 25-19, 25-9.

Parrett, a fifth-year senior defensive specialist, entered play Wednesday just two digs shy of 1,000 for her career, while Faulkner sat just three away from 1,000-career kills before the night’s competition. Each Trojan hit her milestone before the end of set one, a period of play in which Taylor outkilled the Cougars 13 to three.

Faulkner, a TU transfer from North Carolina Central, hit 772 kills before sporting the purple-and-grey. Throughout her first season in Upland, Faulkner has averaged 2.55 kills-per-set, though she struck four in Taylor’s first set alone on Wednesday evening.

Meanwhile, Parrett partnered her two first-set digs with three service aces, the last of which capped Taylor’s opening-set win at a dominant score of 25-9.

Spring Arbor answered with a strong second-set performance, however, crafting an early 6-4 lead before Taylor worked a 9-9 tie. From there Taylor made its move, embarking on a 9-3 run and establishing an 18-12 lead, which morphed into a 25-19 set win. Along the way, Trojan outside hitters, Ryan Czerniak and Anna Frey, led the charge, each posting four kills in the second set alone.

The third-and-final set unfolded in much the same way as set one, with the two sets’ scores matching at 25-9. Though, in Wednesday’s final set, Taylor created a spacious 20-3 lead, thanks to a 10-0 run throughout which Faulkner and Jaylynn Dunsmore each struck three kills apiece.

Faulkner finished her career night with 10 total kills in 14 attempts while failing to record a single error. All of that resulted in Faulkner’s highest single-match hitting percentage of the season with a mark of .714.

Meanwhile, Wednesday marked the eighth time that Czerniak has surpassed a single-match hitting percentage of .500 thus far in 2022. The lefty right-side hitter struck 11 kills while making just two errors in 16 total attempts. Czerniak continues to boast the nation’s best percentage on the season, which currently reads .427.

Only one Trojan in program history has posted a better hitting percentage in a single season, Laurel Kinzer, who maintained a .439 percentage throughout the 1988 season.

TU setter, Kacy…