DALLAS, Texas – The Dallas Christian College volleyball team brushed off an earlier setback this week with a commanding 3-0 victory over Southwestern Adventist University on Thursday night. After being held to 11 kills in a set for the most of one on Tuesday night, DCC surpassed that amount in all three frames, as it put up double-digit margins in all three set wins.
 
The scores were 25-7, 25-11, 25-12. The No. 4 Crusaders improved to 6-4 overall and finished a six-game stretch against NCCAA Regional opponents with a 4-2 mark.
 
"This game was a really good win for us," Taylor Gary expressed. "I feel like we were a really good team together and worked together. We encouraged each other even after mistakes."
 
Not many miscues were committed on Thursday, as DCC combined for eight attack errors and had just one in the second frame. The Crusaders held the edge in all the team statistics, highlighted by a .317 hitting percentage compared to -.021 by the Knights. They also led 41-16 in kills, 38-16 in assists, 59-55 in digs, and 5-1 in service aces.
 
This was a great team-effort, Olivia Withers mentioned afterwards on the team's attitude toward moving forward from the previous outing.
 
"We all decided that we needed to bounce back, Withers stated. "We all decided that whenever we made a mistake, we needed to brush it off and move onto the next one. We needed to keep a positive energy."
 
The Crusaders had 18 players on the court, with Alexis Garner making her season debut. Annarose Collins appeared in her first home match, as Head Coach Tyese Little was able to rotate her players in throughout the different sets.
 
Still, team leaders in kills Lauren Baker and Christen Downey achieved their numbers with 28 of the team's 41 kills. Baker had 17 and no hitting errors to achieve a .607 hitting percentage. Downey had one error in 15 attempts to pull a .667 clip. Caitlyn Yablon paced the team with 22 digs.
 
Withers is one-of-two freshmen to start in all 10 matches this season and is two behind in sets played at 33 and is highest for sets played by a first-year player.
 
"I think that college ball is a lot faster, than what high school ball was like," Withers answered when talking about the adjustment to facing collegiate teams. "Keeping that positive energy, whenever you make a mistake you got to brush it off."
 
Dallas Christian opened a 10-1 advantage in the first set and were able to lead by as many as 16 (19-3) after a 6-0 run with Raezellejace Leano on serve. In the second set, some of the reserves rotated in and another big start saw DCC go in front 8-1 and then eventually 13-4. A double-digit lead was built at 21-11, which was part of a string of six points to close the frame. Garner was on serve and Baker collected four kills in the run. In the clinching set, the Crusaders garnered the first six points, but Southwestern Adventist slashed the score to 8-4. The Knights tallied their most points in a set at 12, but DCC pulled away with a couple of 4-0 scoring spurts, including an 8-3 run to finish the match. Gary was on serve for the first of those runs, while Madelyn Guerrero worked the last serves leading to match-point.
 
Gary posted a career-high 15 assists, playing in the second and third sets.
 
She credited her success to "keeping my eye on target…get the ball to the other hitters. That is my job." Gary continued, "I tried my hardest to keep that goal the whole game."
 
Garner added nine assists, as primary setters Hannah Gallegos and Kelly Graves combined for seven in the early going, but would enjoy the night to rest.
 
DCC is back on the court Friday night at 6 p.m. versus Centenary College. As Withers stated, the team and herself have to "keep a high energy." Gary mentioned that it takes the whole team to be successful.
 
"You are all one," she finished.
 
"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."