Kleiman Propels Taylor to Thrilling Win Over Cornerstone

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UPLAND, Ind. – Reagan Kleiman had 20 kills on a .425 attack percentage and Lindsay Springer delivered 44 assists to fuel Taylor in its thrilling five-set win over previously undefeated Cornerstone (4-2) Friday morning.

Playing in one of two opening matches at its own Amber McClure Fayerweather Memorial Tournament inside Odle Arena, the Trojans went head-to-head with the Golden Eagles in a battle that saw both sides ride momentum for long periods at a time.

TU fell 25-17 in the opening frame before settling in to take a 2-1 advantage after 25-20 and 25-18 wins in the second and third sets. Kleiman helped close the book on both of those games, combining for five kills in the waning 10 points of the second and third sets alone.

The Trojans fell behind early in the fourth period and could not recover, setting the stage for a winner-take-all fifth set.

Cornerstone raced out to a 7-4 lead in that final set, but Jaylynn Dunsmore, Gracie Conway and Lindsay Springer each had kills that gave Taylor the upper hand at 10-9.

The Golden Eagles clawed back to take a one-point advantage, 11-10, until Grace Ieremia notched her 500th career kill in a Trojan uniform to tie things up, and TU roared back with five straight points to claim the 15-11 victory in the decisive fifth frame.

McKaylah Flagle and Jen Springer led the defensive effort for Taylor with a dozen digs apiece, while Chloe Holtz joined them in double figures with 10 digs. Springer also keyed the Trojans from the service line with two aces.

Both teams notched a strong hitting percentage throughout the match, as TU edged CU .245 to .234 in that category. 

Taylor played in Friday's last time slot as well, taking on Olivet Nazarene (2-6) in an entertaining battle. Though the first and third sets required extra points, ONU came out on top 26-24 and 27-25, respectively, in those frames as it defeated Taylor in the match, 3-0.

The Trojans had leads in both the opening and closing sets of Friday evening's match, and were one point away from taking set number three with a 25-24 lead behind the loudest crowd of the night, but the Tigers quickly closed the door thereafter.

Kleiman recorded 10 kills to spearhead Taylor's attack. Flagle led all players in the match with 14 digs, and Lindsay Springer collected 31 assists.

Taylor (5-5) is back in action Saturday at the AMF Memorial Tournament to play RV Indiana East (7-3) at 11:30 a.m. ET and Saint Xavier (1-5) at 4:30 p.m.