Resilient Comeback Falls Short at No. 16 MVNU

MOUNT VERNON, Ohio – Following a slow start to Saturday afternoon's match at No. 16 Mount Vernon Nazarene (22-2, 9-2 CL), the Taylor volleyball team surged to take the third set and force extra points in the fourth set before ultimately falling, 3-1 (16-25, 23-25, 25-22, 30-32).

Jaylynn Dunsmore opened play on Saturday with a kill, but TU struggled to get much else going as it dropped the first frame.

Taylor dramatically turned things around to begin set number two, with Grace Ieremia overpowering the Cougars on her way to three kills as the Trojans led, 9-3. Aided later by several strong swings from Gracie Conway, who surpassed 500 career kills in the frame, the Purple and Grey maintained a slim advantage through the majority of the second set but were unable to close it out as they fell into a 2-0 hole.

The third set was tied, 6-6, a dozen points in, though it was MVNU who had all the momentum when it went on a 7-0 run and eyed a sweep.

Trailing 13-7, the Trojans fought back with a barrage of kills and an especially dominant stretch from Reagan Kleiman. TU scored on six of the final seven rallies in the set to force a once-improbable fourth set.

Once again Taylor trailed by as many as seven in that fourth frame, but Conway and Daya Vestal keyed a late run that eventually tied the match at 22, 23, 24 and 25 all. Though the Trojans had the advantage with set point on four occasions following alternating kills from Kleiman and Reagan Salzbrenner, the Cougars put the match away with three consecutive points.

Ieremia fueled TU to a respectable .223 hitting percentage with her 16 kills on 29 attacks. Conway added a season-high 12 kills to move her career mark to 509, while Kleiman, Salzbrenner and Vestal combined for 24 additional kills.

Five Trojans had at least 10 digs, with McKaylah Flagle and Jen Springer leading the defensive effort with 21 and 14 digs, respectively. Chloe Holtz, who went over 500 career digs on the day, dug 11 opposition attacks, as did Abi Powers, who also notched a team-high two service aces. Lindsay Springer closed with 10 digs and a match-high 48 assists.

Taylor (8-15, 3-8 CL) faces another tough test Wednesday at home when No. 14 Grace (16-5, 9-2) comes to Odle Arena. The first serve is slated for 7 p.m.