Three tough losses for Lady Chargers at Classic

DONALDSON, IN – The Ancilla College Volleyball team faced three tough losses over the weekend at the Oakland Raider Classic.

The Lady Chargers lost to Oakland in the opening match 28-26, 15-25, 17-25 and 16-25. Ancilla then saw two more losses against Lakeland (21-25, 13-25, and 17-25) and St. Clair College (12-25, 15-25, 25-21, 20-25). The team came back and rallied hard as they took on Columbus State Community College, but were eventually defeated after five sets 23-25, 25-14, 15-25, 25-21 and 6-15.

Offensively, the Chargers were led in hitting by Freshman Jill Brown (Elkhart Central). Brown posted 44 kills on the weekend with 14 coming against Oakland and 15 coming against Columbus State Community College. She also added 30 digs to the cause. The offensive play making was led by the freshman duo of Jackie Friel (Mendon High School, MI) and Maddie Price (Elkhart Central) with 66 and 34 assists respectively.

Ancilla’s defense was headed by Mississinewa’s Natalee Walters with 75 digs followed by Price’s 47. Freshman Tori Bush (South Bend Clay) and Samantha Brenneman (Rossville) each led in blocking. Bush had seven block assists and Brennaman had one block solo and six block assists.

Charger head coach Lana Singleton commented, “There were bright spots and low spots to the weekend, but we definitely saw some good competition and know some things we need to work on to get better.”

“I was impressed with how many of our new recruits are stepping into key roles for us. I am excited to watch our improvement and growth,” said Singleton. “I am also prepared to begin challenging the girls to be mentally tougher and not make strings of unforced errors in a row, which in my mind, happened a lot this weekend.”

Sophomore Lady Charger, Sophia Smith, landed an All-Tourney team selection for the Lady Chargers as they opened the weekend at the Oakland Raider Tournament. Smith had a solid weekend collecting 33 kills, three aces, 36 digs and five blocks.

Coach Singleton remarked, “Sophia works hard every day and I was glad to see the other coaches noticed her skills and talents both offensively and defensively.”

The Lady Chargers are at home against Morton College, Tuesday, August 25^th at 7:00pm. The game will be held at Charger Arena.