Service Line Woes Haunt Taylor in Heartbreaking Five-Set Defeat

UPLAND, Ind. – A reverse sweep for the Trojans was denied in the deciding fifth set as the service line doomed the Trojans to a heartbreaking defeat inside Odle Arena on Wednesday night.

A match full of big swings and tight sets the service line was the deciding factor as Bethel (14-8, 6-3 CL) had seven aces against three errors while Taylor carded a pair of aces and an inflated eight errors.

After trailing two sets to none, Taylor looked likely to go down in three trailing 17-13. A timeout shifted momentum and saw TU take the next five points, cap by a block by Daya Vestal, who recorded five blocks.

Shaye Watson had back-to-back kills soon after to put Taylor up 24-20. A quick two points by Bethel forced a timeout and Alexa Mader and Reagan Kleiman combined for a block to keep the match rolling into a fourth.

Mader stayed hot with a pair of early kills as the senior had a season-high seven kills and a team-high six blocks in a solid performance at the net.

An early lad slowly faded as the set reached its middle, with the Pilots chipping away and eventually taking an 18-14 lead.

Ellie Frey took over from there, smashing five kills in the next six points to fuel the Trojans to a 22-19 lead. A short run from the Pilots was snuffed out and Frey combined with Mader for a block to close the set and force a fifth as the crowd inside Odle got loud. 

The decisive set quickly got away from TU with the Pilots leading 6-2 and rolling to an 11-5 advantage after a Taylor service error preceded an ace by the road team. No rally was forthcoming as Bethel cruised to a 15-8 set win to secure the upset for the Pilots.

Bethel had an early 7-0 run in the first set and held off a late rally to take the fist before turning the second set on its head with an 8-0 in the middle to switch a five-point deficit to a three-point advantage. The Pilots traded points in front of a stunned crowd to secure a decisive 2-0 set lead.

McKaylah Flagle was everywhere in the first three sets recording 23 of her season-high 28 digs. Frey had an astonishing nine kills in the fourth set en route to a game-high 24, while five Trojans produced seven or eight kills in a balanced attack.

Taylor (14-7, 5-4 CL) gets a week off before beginning the second half of Crossroads League against Goshen (5-14, 1-8 CL) back inside Odle Arena on Wednesday, October 8, at 7:00 pm.