Dallas Christian College fought hard on Saturday in a rematch versus Central Baptist College. After dropping the earlier meeting in Arkansas on four sets, the Mustangs took care of a three-set sweep that featured scores: 25-16, 25-18, 25-22. Each time the Crusaders seemed to gather a run to narrow the gap, the guests would answer and eventually secure the win.
Dallas Christian drops to 6-5 on the season, while Central Baptist improved to 8-5.
The first set saw teams trade points in the early going before a 16-9 scoring swing closed things in favor of Central Baptist. DCC clawed back from a huge nine-point hole (20-11) in the second set to make it a three-point (21-18) deficit before eventually being put away.
In the final set, the Crusaders came out strong with seven of the first 10 points scored. This surge featured kills by Summer Doty, Elizabeth Morrow, and Lauren Baker. Kelly Graves also nailed back-to-back service aces to extend the lead. A 9-0 run for the opposition flipped the momentum again and was the final lead change of the frame.
Dallas Christian did not surrender, as it nipped the deficit to one on several occasions. This included after trailing by five (20-15) at one juncture, as the team rallied with Gallegos on the serve to score four straight times. After a DCC timeout, Morrow notched three kills on the next quartet of plays to make it 20-19. The Mustangs did not allow multiple points in a row the rest of the way and closed out the narrowest margin of sets in the contest.
Leading the Crusaders offense was a trio of players with eight kills featuring Downey, Morrow, and Baker. Gallegos and Graves combined for 26 assists. Yablon and Morrow eclipsed double-digits in digs with 13 and 10, respectively. Three-of-four DCC aces were in the last set.
The Mustangs hit .309 overall with Lena Srdanov tallying a game-high 14 kills. Khyra Echols followed with 13 and Kemoree Martin had 11. Molly Murphy totaled 37 assists.
Dallas Christian remains home with two-of-three matches left this regular season at the friendly confines. The Crusaders take on conference foe Arlington Baptist University on Tuesday, October 20 at 5 p.m.
