No. 22 Taylor Cruises to Sweep of No. 23 Spring Arbor in Highly-Anticipated Top 25 Matchup

SPRING ARBOR, Mich. – A highly anticipated matchup between Top 25 squads was dominated by the Trojans on Wednesday night, who swept the Cougars in decisive fashion.

Taylor came out with a steady presence to force Spring Arbor (14-3, 2-3 CL) into nine errors in the opening set, and a pair of service aces by Ellie Frey helped get an 18-11 lead.

The Trojans looked primed to ease into a quick set one victory before an 8-1 run by the Cougars knotted the game at 19 and forced TU to use a timeout and regain focus.

The squads traded runs of two and three as Ruth Anderson swatted down a pair of kills late, as the freshman delivered an impressive line of eight kills on a .438 hitting percentage in her first collegiate start.

A trio of errors by the Cougars handed TU a set one win as the home squad was held to a .068 hitting percentage to open the night.

The second was close in the early going until Mackenzie Gerig stepped to the service line and tossed up a pair of aces to spark a 7-1 run for the Trojans. The transfer defensive specialist had a team-high 15 digs in a tremendous display in the back row.

Frey and the Trojan offense got into rhythm in the second, as the transfer delivered six of her game-high 14 kills. The away team fired home 17 kills on a .297 hitting percentage to fuel a comfortable 25-16 second set victory.

Shaye Watson led an early charge in the third, firing home a pair of kills as TU took an 11-4 lead. The efficient Taylor offense fired 19 kills, led by four from Reagan Kleiman in the final set of the night.

A commanding lead shrank to three at 17-14 but two kills apiece by Frey, Anderson, and Kleiman ensured a sweep as the Purple and Gray took the final set 25-20.

Taylor (13-4, 4-1 CL) continues Crossroads League play with another Top 25 matchup on Saturday, September 20, against No. 21 Marian (10-4, 2-3 CL) back inside Odle Arena.