DALLAS, Texas – The Dallas Christian College volleyball team closed out an amazing comeback effort in the fourth set to seal a 3-1 victory over rival Randall University on Saturday afternoon. After taking the first two sets, 25-20 and 25-14, the Saints (5-6) got back in the game with a 25-21 win in the third set.
 
Up 24-21, a hitting error allowed DCC (5-3) to get the ball back. With Hannah Gallegos on the serve, the Crusaders stormed back with five straight points to avoid dropping the set and claiming the win by the necessary two points when at 24-all. Gallegos, a setter that led with 25 assists, claimed only one kill and it was on a batted ball that she sent back over an unsuspecting front row to seal the win.
 
"Emotions were very high. I just knew I had to get serves in and make it work for my team," Gallegos stated when asked about what it was like on serve down to set-point. "[Get ball to teammates and] let them pass the ball and set the ball and press forward."
 
Gallegos admitted the final play was not planned. She reflected, "What do I do with the ball, and I just pushed it."
 
Lauren Baker eclipsed 20 kills for a game-high and surpassed that feat for the second time this year. Elizabeth Morrow had the hot-hand, especially early with a season-high 13 kills. Christen Downey chipped in 10 kills and had a couple key ones in the last set to round out a trio of Crusaders in double figures.
 
Kelly Graves worked well rotating in with Gallegos, as she notched 21 assists with her teammate setter. Caitlyn Yablon anchored the back row with 29 digs, while Raezellejace Leano and Olivia Withers contributed 14 and 12, respectively. DCC outdid Randall 78-75 in that category.
 
The recent history between these squads, especially with so many returners from the 2020 campaign, hinted this would be a tight affair. DCC prevailed in five sets on Senior Day, the National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association (NCCAA) Volleyball Division II Southwest Regional Semifinals, and in the National Tournament that was part of the path to the NCCAA National Championship Match.
 
Baker and her teammates knew the importance of this early matchup and how it could set the tone the remainder of the fall.
 
"That was the first time we have beaten them in four [sets] and not going to five." Baker said. "We knew the stakes were really high and we were going to have to fight together as a team and that we were not going to be able to get through it if we didn't play together."
 
It was a back-and-forth first set with neither side leading by more than two through the first 34 points. Down 16-15, the Crusaders scored three in a row to push the lead to 18-16 and force an opposition timeout. It did not matter, as Morrow notched her third kill of the run to open a 19-16 lead. Yablon secured the other point in that sure with a service ace. Seven of the last 10 DCC points came from kills. Keianna Rivers got a kill after Randall interfered with the net. After Randall got to 20-18, Downey and Baker hit consecutive kills to prevent the score from being reduced to less than three the rest of the set.
 
The Crusaders jumped out to an 11-5 lead capped by a Morrow kill from Graves on the assist. Randall slashed the deficit to three (11-8), but kills by Downey and Morrow. The duo then leaped for a big block assist to build the advantage to 15-9. DCC closed the set on a 7-0 run.
 
The third set was an exchange of small spurts by each team. The Saints used a 4-0 swing to grab an 18-16 lead and never trailed the rest of the way. DCC cut the gap to one point, but two kills by Kinzee Goodno created the different. She would register the final four Randall points on kills during the final five serves.
 
In the last set, it was a tight battle with Randall seeking to push things to a familiar fifth set that would decide it all. RU held the early edge at 10-7, but Dallas Christian tied things at 10 thanks to an athletic decision by Keeley Price to push over an attack on a long dig by Leano.
 
Four straight points lifted the guests to 17-13. Down four a moment later, DCC got a magnificent kill by Downey that ignited the Crusaders bench and a 5-0 run. Keeley Price came up with a block to knot the score at 18. Downey smacked the go-ahead kill. After points were traded by the results of Randall server Lauren Hogan, the Saints scored 4-of-5 points to get up 24-21. A hitting error prevented the set from ending and Gallegos started the comeback. Cameron Del Angel was another unspoken hero that had two critical kills in that run. She finished with five kills and Price had four.
 
DCC did not get outdone as a team in kills in a set, as they edged Randall in the trio of wins. The lone setback had both teams at 11.
 
Randall was led by Goodno with 13 kills, while Teagan Hamilton followed with 12. The Saints were tough to break on the block with 10 overall. Tara Shaw and Goodno each posted four block assists and Goodno added three solo blocks for seven overall.
 
DCC improved to more than one win above .500 for the first time this season and have won 3-of-4 against Southwest Regional foes. This was also the first time DCC won a match without it being a set sweep.
 
Baker shattered 100 kills on the campaign and now has 101 with 3.61 kills-per-set. She credits this season to not having to play the entire rotation and to having amazing communication from her coach and teammates.
 
"This is the first time I have not played all the way around, so I have more time to think about how I play in the front row," Baker explained. "Having my coach and backrow people telling me where to hit the ball and what space is open."
 
Dallas Christian will be back in action this week for three games in four days during the week. The busy stretch starts with a rematch from the Southwest Regional Championship Game with Arlington Baptist University across town. DCC is back home for another regional opponent with Southwestern Adventist University on Thursday, September 23. The next day, the Crusaders host NCAA Division III Centenary College. Both start times at home are at 6 p.m.
 
The players know this is just the start of things to come, as the NCCAA Southwest Regionals will be at the friendly confines come November 4-6.
 
"We just have to practice very hard," Gallegos mentioned when talking about the upcoming preparation for a busy week. "We have to work hard to see what we can fix and keep going. We are not done yet."

"Dallas Christian educates and mentors students to be people of influence engaging in their calling to the work of Christ in the church and in the world."