DALLAS, Texas – The Dallas Christian College volleyball team battled NCAA Division III Centenary College to a 3-1 setback on Friday night at home. The Crusaders (6-5) competed hard throughout the contest, forcing a fourth set by winning the third set by two points. They eventually would fall in a back-and-forth set that was also a 26-24 final.
 
The set scores were: 25-20, 25-20, 24-26, 26-24 with Centenary (9-6) winning its sixth straight match.
 
DCC was unable to contain a hard swinging Centenary team that amassed 60 kills.
 
The Crusaders offense posted 43 kills, led by Christen Downey with nine. The sophomore middle blocker picked up a season-high seven blocks, including two solo blocks. Elizabeth Morrow contributed seven blocks, and Lauren Baker tallied six.
 
Kelly Graves led a trio of setters that saw action on the court throughout the game with 22 assists. Caitlyn Yablon anchored the defense with a game-high 28 digs. Olivia Withers and Raezellejace Leano each added 10 digs, which helped DCC finish with 71.
 
The Ladies had a trio of players contribute in double-digits for 81 digs, including Alyssa Davis' double-double of 23 kills and 17 digs. Jaycie Proctor worked as the libero in the last three sets and pulled a team-high 23 digs. The front row for Centenary had 12 blocks.
 
The team's traded points throughout most of the opening frame with the score even at 11. Centenary went on a 9-1 run to pull away and seize the early momentum.
 
Things appeared to be in control for the visitors at the start of the second set with the first nine points going Centenary's way until Maya Harrington got a point on a kill. Behind as many as 10 several times, including a 15-4 deficit at one juncture, the Crusaders poured nine straight points to rally back to a two-point margin. The Ladies responded with five-of-six points to push the lead back to six (20-16). Morrow got a kill, Withers was credited an ace after Centenary was charged a rotation error on the serve, and Harrington produced another kill to make it a 21-19 game. The Ladies secured a 2-0 edge in the match after scoring the last four points over five serves.
 
DCC fought back with its best set of the night in the third. A similar back-and-forth happened in the early going similar to set one, but it was the home Crusaders that caught fire and raced out to a 17-12 advantage. Kills by Hannah Gallegos and Baker started a 4-0 scoring swing that were capped by hitting errors by Centenary. The Ladies closed the gap to three (17-14), but Graves got a kill and put Leano on serve for the 5-0 surge. Things did not come easy, as a 23-18 lead vanished with six straight points to place the Ladies in position to comeback and sweep on match-point. Five of those points had been on kills by the tough NCAA foe. The Crusaders showed grit and stuck together as Downey managed a clutch kill to knot things at 24. Centenary hit the next ball out and Downey took the final blow with a kill to force a fourth set.
 
Momentum was back with DCC this time, as a kill by Keeley Price opened a 6-2 run in the final frame. The largest lead for the home team was five on a few occasions, but the Ladies erased the last gap of that amount with five straight to force a 12-12 score. The Crusaders grabbed the next couple of points, but would eventually fall behind for the first time in the set at 16-15. The Ladies never led by more than one in this set until the final score. Needing to keep pace, Baker got a kill to put Leano on serve. After Graves got a kill, Leano served an ace to make it a two-point spread for DCC. The closely contested action continued, with the Crusaders getting up 24-22 on a block assist from Harrington and Price. Centenary's top hitter in the match and season, Davis, would not be denied as she tied and put her team up 25-24. DCC called its last timeout, but the lone ball handling error of the game on DCC was whistled to end an otherwise phenomenal effort.
 
The fourth ranked Crusaders in the National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association (NCCAA) will look to rest for a week after playing four times since Saturday. The Crusaders are at Champion Christian College in Hot Springs, Arkansas, on October 1 at 4 p.m.

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