Strong Start Fades for Volleyball at No. 5 IWU

MARION, Ind. – The Taylor volleyball team could not keep up with Crossroads League-undefeated, No. 5 Indiana Wesleyan (27-2, 17-0 CL) in a three-set loss Saturday afternoon (20-25, 16-25, 19-25).

Reagan Kleiman and Gracie Conway were on point to begin the first frame, helping to give TU a slim 12-11 advantage in the first set. The Trojans stuck with IWU and trailed by just one at 20-19 later, but the Wildcat attack took over to end the set.

The fifth-ranked team continued its strong play with 19 kills in the second set as Taylor struggled to keep pace.

TU faced a large deficit of nine points in the eventual final set, though it rallied furiously by taking advantage of IWU attack errors and recording five kills from four separate Trojans in a span of just seven points.

The late comeback made it a two-point third set at 20-18 and gave Taylor hopes of playing on. The Wildcats recovered, however, to close out the match with a sweep.

Kleiman finished with 10 kills to lead the Trojans, followed by Conway and Grace Ieremia with eight and six kills, respectively. Lindsay Springer tallied a team-high 27 assists.

TU's defense was led by McKaylah Flagle and Chloe Holtz as it recorded a solid 48 digs, but it had just one total team block.

Taylor (10-19, 5-12 CL) ends its regular season Wednesday inside Odle Arena at 7 p.m. versus Bethel (18-14, 8-9). The Trojans need to either win or have Saint Francis (11-18, 4-13) lose its final match to guarantee a spot in the Crossroads League Tournament, which is slated to begin Nov. 9.