Volleyball Continues to Bring in Victories

By Mike DeVader, Reinhardt Director of Athletic Communications & Media

WALESKA, Ga. – Reinhardt's six-game homestand wrapped up on Saturday evening as the Eagles went 2-0 on the day against Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) foe Columbia International (S.C.) in a sweep (25-18,25-15,25-13) before capping off the night with a 3-1 win over Faulkner (Ala.) (25-27,25-13,25-20,25-20) in come-from-behind fashion.
 
The hometown team is now 18-2 – winning 12-straight outings – and is up to 11-0 in the AAC.
 
"It's not easy playing a tri-match, but having two tournaments earlier in the year and how we train, I really think helps us on days like today," lead Eagle Brian Goodhind said. "I have to give major props to the two head coaches of these opposing teams today. These are two great leaders who are all about doing things the right way. It was an honor to share the court with them today. There's no better feeling as a coach when you get to compete against strong, faithful leaders. Their players play so hard, never give up and you know you have to go hard the entire match or they will make runs on you. CIU is truly blessed… Coach Amber is there, and she is going to get that program to be one to watch out for in the very near future. In Faulkner, all I can say is if you let down for one second against this team, they will make you pay. Coach Tori is a great leader and her teams are hands-down the scrappiest teams I have ever coached against in my eight years as a head coach. They just get balls up that no one else would get and they truly play for one another and God; that says a lot about their head coach.
 
For us, it was a good day and we went 1-0 and 1-0; on to Allen on Tuesday. To God goes all the Glory. #WePlayFor11.
 
In match one against the Rams, the Eagles hit a combined .308 (including .545 in set three) as they got stronger as the matchup continued. Columbia International had no answer for the Reinhardt game plan as it couldn't get above 18 point in any stanza, while going downhill in sets two and three.
 
The output on the court was up-and-down the roster as both the offense and defense shared the wealth with a multitude of players. Erinn Marroquin (15 assists) and Carlee Baxter (12) ran the show setting up the scoring, while the Eagles earned seven tallies from the serving line – led by three aces from Kelley Adkins.
 
Emily Charbonneau and Savanna Davis each had a half-dozen kills.
 
On defense, Reinhardt had four total blocks and Tessa Colden hauled in a team-high nine digs.
 
Scoring Leaders Against the Rams
Kills       Emily Charbonneau (6), Savanna Davis (6), Courtney Pressley (5)
Aces      Kelley Adkins (3), Alma Vazquez-Nunez (2), Mar Vives (1)
Blocks   Shadaisha Summerall (2), Emily Charbonneau (1), Isabelle Breitbarth (1)
Assists  Erinn Marroquin (15), Carlee Baxter (12), Emily Charbonneau (2)
Digs       Tessa Colden (9), Emily Charbonneau (4), Erinn Marroquin (4)
 
The visiting Eagles came to play in the opening game of the nightcap after riding momentum from their victory over the Rams in the middle contest of the trio of on-court battles.
 
Each club had its chances to win in set one, in fact, Reinhardt had a substantial lead on multiple occasions – including 17-13 – before Faulkner scored six-consecutive points to jump ahead by two.
 
The Eagles would notch four out of the next five tallies to move ahead, 21-20, before falling behind again by one (23-22) the tying things up at 23-23 on the very next play. Each squad would hold set point before Faulkner reeled off three-straight to take the opening stanza.
 
The hometown club would rebound nicely with three-consecutive victories, highlighted by holding Faulkner to a negative hitting percentage in the second game to pull even at 1-1. Reinhardt would then compile 16 kills in both the third and fourth sets as it kept a stranglehold on the outcome after letting stanza one slip away.
 
Savanna Davis carried the load in the final three sets as she was on fire with 15 kills on 33 attempts (.394 hitting percentage). Tessa Colden and Brittany Taksas (.538) had the second-most kills with nine.
 
Carlee Baxter had a double-double with 27 assists and 12 digs. Four players had double-digit defensive receptions, with Adkins leading the way with 15.
 
Scoring Leaders Against the Eagles
Kills       Savanna Davis (15), Tessa Colden (9), Brittany Taksas (9)
Aces      Erinn Marroquin (2), Carlee Baxter (1), Kelley Adkins (1)
Blocks   Shadaisha Summerall (4), Emily Charbonneau (3), Courtney Pressley (2)
Assists  Carlee Baxter (27), Erinn Marroquin (23), Holly Heath (2)
Digs       Kelley Adkins (15), Mar Vives (13), Carlee Baxter (12)
 
Allen (S.C.) welcomes Reinhardt on Oct. 8 as conference play continues at 6:30 p.m.
 
For up-to-the-minute Eagles sports news, follow Reinhardt Athletics on Facebook, @RU_Eagles on Twitter and @ru_eagles on Instagram. 

For more information on Reinhardt Women's Volleyball, please click here.