THIBODAUX, Louisiana-- The University of the Incarnate Word volleyball team played in its third five-set match of the season at Nicholls on Thursday night. This was the Cardinals' third road conference victory of the season as they push to qualify for the conference tournament next month.
NOTABLES
- Freshman outside hitter Bethany Clapp delivered a season-high 23 kills to lead all scorers. In doing so, she breaks her previous season-best mark of 20 kills, set her last time out (@ McNeese Oct. 16).
- She also registered 11 digs to earn her fourth double-double of the season (23 kills, 11 digs).
- Freshman setter Pilar Gonzaba posted the third double-double of her college career, leading the team with 35 assists while also adding 12 digs.
- As a team, the UIW defense set a new season high with 92 digs. This was the most in a single match by any UIW team since October 2015 (98 vs. MCN), and the fourth most in a single game since UIW joined DI in 2013.
- Sophomore libero Madelynn Miller was at the forefront of the historic defensive effort, leading the team with 27 digs.
- Freshman outside hitter Chloe Patton was the fourth Cardinal to reach double-digit digs as she collected 14, tying her season high set Oct. 11 against SFA.
- Offensively, Patton set a new season-best mark with eight kills in the match.
- Sophomore outside hitter Julia Monday put together 14 kills on a team-leading .361 attack percentage.
- She has been a staple of stability on the UIW offense, posting 29 kills on .364 hitting in her last two matches, both Cardinal victories.
- Freshman middle blocker Carissa McGarity led the team, along with Monday, with three blocks.
- Freshman Kendall Kilchrist finished with 17 assists and five digs in a string supporting effort.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET 1 (27-25) | The Colonels jumped out to a 13-7 lead in the set. UIW couldn't manage to cut into the lead, and soon Nicholls had a set point, 24-20. With their backs against the wall, the Cardinals fought back.
Clapp defended the first set point with a kill, then
Monday rattled off three consecutive kills to tie the score, 24-24. Next,
McGarity stepped up, delivering a pair of kills to give UIW the lead.
Clapp led the team with seven kills, while
Monday led the team with a pair of blocks.
SET 2 (21-25) | Once again, Nicholls jumped out to a 13-7 lead. This time, the Colonels maintained their pressure and grew the lead, eventually holding a 20-10 advantage. UIW rallied with a late run, defending five set points in a row, but Nicholls held on to win the set.
McGarity and
Slaughter led the team with three kills each.
SET 3 (25-23) | This time, it was UIW that jumped out to the 13-7 lead
, but like the first set, the trailing team rallied and soon the score was tied, 18-18. It was then that the fierce defense from UIW paid off. The Cardinals were all over the defensive side of the court, digging out seemingly every attack Nicholls put forth and eventually, the Colonels started hitting errors. UIW won five of the next seven points to secure a 23-20 advantage, which they rode to a four point set victory.
Clapp led the team with five kills while the UIW defense held Nicholls to .077 hitting in the set.
SET 4 (20-25) | The fourth set consisted of Nicholls earning small advantages, and UIW fighting to try to overcome them. The only lead change in the set came after the first three points, but the set was tied three different times, as late as 14-14, before Nicholls finally pulled away for good. UIW managed to fight off four set points, but the Colonels got the set win to force a winner-take-all fifth.
SET 5 (15-9) | The Cardinals went on an 8-1 run after going down early in the fifth to take a 9-5 advantage. Junior outside hitter
Cameron Taylor played a critical part in the run, collecting her first kill and first block of the match on consecutive plays to give UIW its first lead of the set, 6-4. From there, the UIW offense took over, delivering hard and accurate attacks that the tired Nicholls defense simply couldn't handle. In the end, UIW hit .429 in the final set, grabbing seven kills and just one error as well as two aces and a block from
Taylor and
Slaughter.
Clapp led the team with four kills in the set, including the match winner from
Gonzaba.
HEAR FROM COACH DABBS
"Road wins are so important. Nicholls came out and served us really tough and played some aggressive defense. We struggled finding our middles tonight in Slaughter and McGarity, but Clapp and Monday were successful on the outside and right side.
Cameron Taylor came in clutch for us at the end of the match with some aggressive serves, blocks and kills as well. Then also, our setters were aggressive with their setting decisions, which helped open the outside up. Really strong effort all around.
"I'm proud of this team. They stayed composed and fought hard. We want to make it to the postseason and we know how important every single match is from here on out."
UP NEXT
The Cardinals complete their final road trip of SLC play on Saturday when they face New Orleans at 1 p.m. CT. After that, they return to the McDermott Center for a weekend of matches with heavy post-season implications. UIW will host a rematch against Lamar on Thursday (Nov. 1 at 7:00 p.m.), after falling in four sets to LU back in September. Then, UIW will attempt a season-sweep of McNeese when the Cowgirls visit town next Saturday (Nov. 3 at 10:30 a.m.).
FOLLOW ALONG
For the most up-to-date information on UIW Athletics, visit
uiwcardinals.com, follow the Cardinals on Twitter @
UIWAthletics and like UIW Athletics on Facebook at
UIW Athletics.
