No. 19 Trojans Take Care of Cougars in Three Sets

Volleyball | Wed, Sep. 14, 2022 at 12:05 PM
| by Jake Chipka

SPRING ARBOR, Mich. – The No. 19 Taylor volleyball team (13-3, 2-0 CL) re-entered league play on Wednesday evening, a night on which the Trojans took care of Spring Arbor (9-4, 0-2 CL) in quick and decisive fashion.

The Trojans picked up their eighth three-set sweep of the season while racking up 20 more kills than the Cougars, all the while posting a team hitting percentage of .301 in comparison to a Spring Arbor percentage of just .067.

Ryan Czerniak, the reigning NAIA National Attacker of the Week, led the charge for Taylor in this way once again, totaling 13 kills in 20 attacks while committing just a single error against Spring Arbor.

Outside hitter, Arlanda Faulkner, contributed 10 kills herself alongside a .364 hitting percentage for her eighth double-digit-kill performance of the season. Meanwhile, sophomore mid-hitter, Jaylynn Dunsmore, had one of her better offensive performances of the 2022 campaign, posting 10 kills for the second time this season while maintaining a .368 hitting percentage throughout the match.

Match play unfolded in a competitive manner, as the score read 12-10 Taylor midway through the opening set. At that point, however, Taylor turned on the jets, subsequently enacting a 13-2 run to take the first set 25-12.

Set two, then, followed a similar storyline, as the Cougars hung tight with Taylor until the score read 10-10. A quick 7-1 run gave the Trojans momentum, however, which Taylor rode to a 25-17 set win.

Spring Arbor continued to battle, though, nurturing a 20-20 tie in the third set, before the Trojans once again ripped off a run that proved detrimental to the Cougar spirit. Thanks to four-consecutive kills, two of which came from the powerful right arm of Dunsmore, the Trojans took the third-and-final set by a score of 25-21, sweeping the Cougars on their home court.

Paving the way throughout the match for Czerniak, Faulkner, and Dunsmore, was TU setter, Kacy Bragg, who totaled 40 assists for the ninth time this season.

Defensively, TU mid-hitter, Grace Ieremia, sent back four blocks throughout the three-set match, which marked the eighth time this season that the Florida native has posted four-or-more blocks in a match. Meanwhile, Anna Frey and McKaylah Flagle solidified the Trojan backline, as the teammates respectively tallied 17 and 12 digs apiece.

No. 19 Taylor (13-3, 2-0 CL) is set to…