No. 11 Trojans Suffer Sweep to RV Bethel in NAIA Pool Play

Volleyball | Thu, Dec. 1, 2022 at 7:15 PM
| by Jake Chipka

Pool Play Schedule

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – No. 11 Taylor (31-6) played its first NAIA National Championship Pool Play match on Thursday evening against Crossroads League foe, RV Bethel (23-12), against whom the Trojans suffered their first lost in two months and just their second sweep of the season: 25-22, 25-20, 25-21.

Prior to the 2022 campaign, Taylor and Bethel had never played each other more than twice in a single season. A different story has unfolded this year, as Thursday’s pool play match marked the fourth matchup between the two teams, with Bethel closing the season series with a win to even the score at two match-wins apiece.

Bethel outhit the Trojans 47-35 throughout the match Thursday evening, as Taylor posted just its second sub-.200 single-match team hitting percentage since September 9. Taylor’s 35 team kills marks the second-lowest total posted this season, as no Trojan reached double-digit kills.

Arlanda Faulkner led with a team-high nine kills, while four other Trojans recorded five or more.

Taylor also scored its lowest team-block total since September 21, as the Trojans tallied just five total team blocks. Jaylynn Dunsmore was responsible for 2.5 of those, as the sophomore mid-hitter from Yorktown, Indiana, combined two solo blocks with a block assist and five kills.

Meanwhile, Grace Ieremia picked up a pair of block assists herself, bumping her season total to 139 and just seven away from a share of the single-season TU program record.

Bethel proved a handful for Taylor to handle from the opening serve. After working an early 2-1 lead, Taylor subsequently failed to secure another lead throughout the remainder of Thursday’s opening set. Though play unfolded in an even manner, so much so that a mammoth kill struck by Ieremia and a solo block by Dunsmore made it a 20-19 game. However, Bethel responded with a 4-1 surge which paved the way toward a 25-22 opening-set win.

Crossroads League Player of the Year, Ryan Czerniak, opened the second set of play with back-to-back kills, her first of the night, though Bethel followed with a 4-0 run to work an early two-point lead. From there, the two Crossroads League foes threw punches until the score read 19-19, after which Bethel offered the knockout with a 6-2 swing to close the set. Bethel outkilled the Trojans 18-12 in the second set alone, amplifying the pressure on Taylor to provide a…