Kraft’s Career Day Leads Trojans to Two Quality Wins

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Taylor volleyball team (3-3) picked up a pair of wins on Friday at the Onset Invitational over teams that are currently receiving votes in the NAIA Coaches Rating.

Junior Ava Kraft helped key the Friday morning victory over RV Indiana Tech by setting career highs virtually across the board, and the outside hitter delivered again in the Trojans' second match of the day, which came against RV Talladega.

TU stumbled out of the gates versus the Warriors of Indiana Tech, as it dropped the first five points of an opening set that it went on to lose, 25-15.

Taylor stayed with Indiana Tech (0-6) throughout most of the second game, aided by five kills from Kraft during the Trojans' first 10 points. A back-and-forth battle saw the Warriors take a 22-20 advantage, but TU kept the pressure on Indiana Tech with great defense that forced four attack errors in short order, which allowed the Purple and Gray to even the match.

Kraft and Jaylynn Dunsmore were excellent on the attack throughout another tight third set, as TU rallied back from a three-point deficit at 19-16 to eventually take it 27-25.

After a strong start to the fourth set, the Trojans trailed late yet again at 22-19, but Kraft and Dunsmore combined for four consecutive kills to dash the Warriors' hopes.

Kraft nearly doubled her previous career high with 21 kills in the Friday opener, as she accounted for 22.0 points and had a .348 hitting percentage. Dunsmore contributed 17 kills, while Lindsay Springer tallied 45 of TU's 49 assists.

Taylor started its second match of the day with a close first set against Talladega (0-2). Trailing 17-16, Springer carried the Trojans to a victory with a kill and three service aces over the set's final nine rallies.

TU rode that momentum with dominant second and third sets, winning the match in impressive 25-18, 25-10, 25-12 fashion.

Dunsmore led the way with 13 kills on just 24 attacks, as Kraft added eight kills and Grace Ieremia landed six kills on 10 swings. From the service line, Springer and Chloe Holtz had four and two aces, respectively.

McKaylah Flagle totaled 34 digs between the day's two matches to lead the Trojans, with Abi Powers joining her in double-digit digs during the first match, and Jen Springer doing likewise in the nightcap.

Taylor finishes play at the Onset Invitational in Fort Wayne, Ind., on Saturday with a match against RV Columbia International (5-1) at 9 a.m. and a match versus Indiana Southeast (0-2) at 5:30 p.m. Both matches are set to take place at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.