Trojans Notch Sweep of Madonna on Day One of AMF Memorial Tournament

Madonna - Courtside Highlights

UPLAND, Ind. – The Trojans ended the day with a three-set sweep to collect a split on day one of the Amber McClure Fayerweather Memorial Tournament. 

TU notched a sweep of Madonna (5-3) by hitting .283 and delivering in clutch moments to win multiple tight sets against the Crusaders. 

The lead for the Trojans slowly built over the set until they notched a 19-13 advantage before the Crusaders woke up and tied it up at 20. The set was tied at 21, 22, 23, and 24 as neither team could grab any separation late. Gracie Conway delivered a key kill before Chloe Holtz put the set to bed with a service ace.  

Madonna grabbed momentum in the second set until Taylor went on a 4-0 run to take the lead at 18-17. The Trojans did not look back and tallied 11 of the final fifteen points for a 25-21 win. 

RV Taylor (7-4, 0-1 CL) controlled the final set and cruised to a 25-18 victory to close the books on the evening in Odle Arena with a much-needed win, which snapped a three-match losing streak for the Trojans. 

Conway was electric with 14 kills on 28 swings and added two blocks and two digs in an incredible showing. Ieremia led the charge defensively with four blocks. 

Taylor's first match of the day was a highly contested battle against RV IU Kokomo (7-3). 

After dropping the first set, Taylor bounced back in a big way. An early 9-7 advantage ballooned into a 16-9 lead, which put the Cougars out of sight as Taylor cruised to a 25-20 victory by hitting an impressive .324. 

The Cougars tried to race away with the third set, building a 16-9 lead. A stellar 8-0 run turned the tide and forced the opposition to burn both timeouts as TU grabbed the momentum. The set was locked at 19 before Conway delivered two kills following a kill from Sarah Scott, which gave TU some breathing room. Two more kills from Conway sandwiched a kill from Jaylynn Dunsmore to cap the set and give the Trojans the vital third set. 

Neither team could find any separation in the fourth set, with no more than a two-point difference between the squads leading to the set being knotted at 16. Unfortunately, four straight points for the Cougars gave them a lead they would not relinquish to bring the match to a decisive fifth set. 

Taylor struggled out the gate and fell behind 10-2 before finding its foot in the decisive set. A 4-0 run gave them some life in the match, but the Cougars kept them at arm's length for a 14-9 lead. Taylor continued to fight and grabbed three straight points before falling 15-12 for a tough five-set defeat. 

Dunsmore led the way with 15 kills, while Grace Ieremia and Reagan Klieman hit over .300 with eight kills apiece. Ieremia was a force on defense with six blocks, including two solo blocks, while McKaylah Flagle kept the ball up the entire match with 31 digs. 

Taylor will have two more matches in the AMF Memorial Tournament on Saturday, September 9, beginning with a battle against Cumberland (9-9) at 11:30 am.