Taylor Falls in Four Sets in CL Tournament Semifinals

Volleyball | Wed, Nov. 10, 2021
| by Seth Mikel

Crossroads League Championships Central

MARION, Ind. – Playing in its first Crossroads League Tournament Semifinal since 2016, the RV Taylor squad took aim at notching its fifth win of the year over a foe ranked or receiving votes in the NAIA Top-25 Poll but fell just shy of advancing to the CL Tournament Finals with a 25-19, 23-25, 25-15, 25-18 loss at No. 20 Indiana Wesleyan.

Taylor posted solid statistics across the board, getting 16 kills in 28 swings for a .429 percentage from Ryan Czerniak and a 48-assist, 14-dig, one-ace effort from Kacy Bragg. Amanda Adams and Sarah Scott also cracked double figures with 13 and 11 kills each, with Stephaney Fifield adding 20 digs.

The Wildcat (22-4) attack was up to the challenge from the Trojans however, as the hosts hit .396 as a team in the match, slamming 60 kills and just seven errors on the night.

The opening set hung in the balance midway through, before Indiana Wesleyan took control late to strike first with a 25-19 victory.

Taylor hit back, tying the contest with a 25-23 thriller in the second set. A trio of IWU errors turned the action in TU’s favor and a kill from Czerniak opened a 19-15 Trojan edge. Czerniak added another termination, before Adams added two and Scott closed the door with two kills to seal the two-point win.

TU stayed hot to open the third set with a 3-1 lead, but Indiana Wesleyan punched back with an extended, 18-10, stretch to take control of the eventual 25-15 outcome.

The fourth set saw a valiant effort from Taylor, as the Trojans looked to force a decisive fifth set. Czerniak was in the middle of the action once again, providing three-straight points for Taylor, before Adams beat the IWU defense on back-to-back swings to put TU out front by a 14-10 margin.

That would be Taylor’s final push however, as Indiana Wesleyan registered nine of the next 10 points to flip the momentum and went on to finish the match with a 25-18 win.

The loss brings an end to RV Taylor’s (27-7) time in the CL Tournament and leaves the Trojans waiting to see if they will receive an at-large bid into the NAIA National Tournament when the field is announced on Monday, November 15 at 11:00 am (ET) on the NAIA Facebook page.