TU Volleyball Season Comes to End in CL Tourney

INDIANAPOLIS – The Trojans came up short against No. 1 and top-seeded Marian (11-2, 10-2 CL) in the Crossroads League Tournament Quarterfinals on Tuesday. The night match favored the hosting Knights in a 25-18, 25-15, 27-25 sweep.

Seventh-seeded Taylor (8-11, 7-9 CL) put together its best effort in the third set, holding its largest lead and pushing past the normal 25 point limit. TU jumped out to a four-point advantage at 8-4 behind two service aces from Nikki Parrett. The Trojans held the lead for the majority of the set but had to fight at the end of the stanza, stopping a pair of Marian set-point opportunities.

Marian outdueled TU, 44-35, in kills and, 6-4, in aces. Defensively, the visiting Trojans scooped up five more digs and three more blocks than the host squad.

Errors plagued the Purple and Gold on Tuesday, as the team handed the Knights 26 points by way of attack, set and ball handling errors.

A team-high 14 kills came in from Amanda Adams, who surpassed double-digit kills for the 16th time this season and for the 53rd time in her career. Adams accounted for at least five points in each set on Tuesday.

Grace Isaacs and Ryan Czerniak supplemented Taylor's attack with nine kills each. The duo displayed efficiency on offense with Isaacs boasting a .375 hitting percentage and Czerniak a .643 hitting percentage.

TU setter Kacy Bragg dished out 28 assists on the night, securing 20 assists in all 18 contests of the 2020 season.

Parrett led the way in the back row, picking up nine digs in the contest. At the net, Savannah Strieter notched her sixth solo block of the year and finished the match with two total blocks.

TU's four seniors of Amanda Adams, Brooke Foster, Ashley Harrell, and Grace Isaacs all closed their collegiate careers on Tuesday. The group helped the Trojans to a 67-59 overall record and a 26-15 mark and 63.4 winning percentage in Odle Arena.

Taylor finished the 2020 season at 8-11 overall and 7-9 in Crossroads League play.