Trojans Sweep Through Opening Day of SHU Tourney

Siena Heights Box | Roosevelt Box

ADRIAN, Mich. – Taylor was not challenged on Friday, sweeping past Siena Heights and Roosevelt in its first two contests of the Siena Heights Tournament.

Taylor opened the weekend by handling the host Saints (0-1) by a 25-16, 25-13, 25-20 count behind a 13-kill gem from Ryan Czerniak, who had just one error in her 18 swings. Five other Trojans had between five and seven terminations, as TU hit .277 in the victory.

Kacy Bragg spread the ball around, dishing out 27 assists, with Ashley Harrell serving up two of TU's five aces and Samantha Korn adding 17 digs. Amanda Adams also tallied 12 digs.

The action was contested early into the contest, before Taylor began to impose its will midway through the opening set and used back-to-back aces from Harrell to seal the opening-set win. It was all TU in the second and another strong finish in the third closed the door on the sweep.

Taylor continued to cruise in the nightcap, discarding Roosevelt (3-3) by a 25-18, 25-18, 25-19 margin. TU benefitted from sloppy play from the opposition and needed only 38 kills in the match.

Adams led the club with 10 kills, followed by Czerniak's eight. Korn led the defense yet again with 15 digs.

On the day, Czerniak collected 21 kills and just three miscues in 32 swings, pushing her team-leading hitting percentage on the season to a .308 mark. The sophomore has been dialed in of late, posting 41 kills and only nine errors in TU's last five outings.

Taylor (6-4) has surged behind that strong play, going 5-1 in its last six. TU will look to continue that momentum on Saturday, when it takes on Northwestern Ohio (3-3) at 1:00 pm and IU-East (1-2) at 3:00 pm.