Springer Eclipses 3,000 Assists at Taylor in Season-Ending Defeat

NAIA Tournament Central

UPLAND, Ind. – Lindsay Springer eclipsed 3,000 assists at Taylor in a hard-fought four-set defeat against No. 18 Lewis Clark State (16-9) in NAIA Opening Round action inside Odle Arena on Saturday night.

Springer reached the milestone with her first assist of the evening to Ruth Anderson, which gave Taylor an early 6-4 edge. The sensational senior collected 24 assists on Saturday to end her TU career with 3,023. Her 8.49 assists per set ranks seventh in program history.

Springer and the Trojan offense began the night in terrific fashion, firing 18 first set kills against five errors en route to a 25-15 victory to open the night. Six hitters recorded a kill for TU in the opening set, with Daya Vestal leading the way with five.

After hitting a sizzling .342 in the first the offense cooled a bit throughout the night. An early advantage in the second set slowly slipped away after LCSC called a timeout with the score 11-7.

Trailing 18-15, Taylor took the next three points, which included a block from Vestal, who led the team with five and a kill by Ellie Frey, who notched 12 kills in the match.

The Warriors turned the tides and quickly raced away with the final seven points of the set to even it up at one apiece.

LCSC used the momentum to grab an early 5-2 advantage before Taylor responded with the next three and six of the next seven to flip the score and lead 8-6. A set of runs continued with the Warriors taking the next four before TU scored five of the next six to retake the lead.

The squads traded points until TU led 20-17 after a kill by Vestal. A pair of kills followed by an ace, which the Warriors racked up ten in the match, even the score at 20.

An error and a kill by Frey gave TU the lead in an all-important third set. Th wheels fell off and a similar end to the second happened as LCSC scored the final five points to stun the Trojans and take a 2-1 set advantage.

TU responded early with a Frey kill and a pair of blocks by Anderson to take a 4-1 lead in the fourth. The Warriors scored the next four and then with Taylor holding a slight edge at 8-7, a decisive 8-0 run by LCSC gave them a commanding 15-8 lead.

The Trojans battled back valiantly as Ava Kraft notched three kills in the set, but the deficit proved too great and the Warriors won the set and match to move onto NAIA Pool Play in Sioux City, Iowa in early December.

Frey delivered another double double with 17 digs to go with 12 kills and Margo Hernandez had 22 assists and 17 digs in an outstanding showing for the South Alabama transfer.

McKaylah Flagle ended her TU career with 14 digs and four assists, climbing the program leaderboard in career digs to sixth with 2,039.

A terrific season comes to a close for the Trojans with a final record of 20-12. Taylor loses a significant part of its rotation but returns a plethora of talent and will hope to get back to the NAIA Opening Round in 2026.