By Mike DeVader, Reinhardt Director of Athletic Communications & Media
COLUMBIA, S.C. – For the third-consecutive season under head coach Brian Goodhind, not only did the Reinhardt Eagles claim another Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) championship, they also did it in Columbia, S.C., once again – this time against the Koalas in a 3-1 victory Friday night.
The hometown squad – who had clinched on the road at Allen (S.C.) the last two years – made additional history with its league-record 20th AAC triumph in a single campaign.
Reinhardt has now won 21 matches in-a-row and is 27-2 (20-0 in-conference) with the positive outcome over Columbia.
"We knew today would be tough having two starters left back home sick with the flu and another player down with an ankle injury," Goodhind said. "Set one showed that it did affect us early. To the girls' credit they rebounded well, reacted well to some shifts in the lineup and adjustments. I was definitely proud of their response. The girls know the streak and it's making every win harder and harder. Great job by Coach Stevenson, as she had her team up and ready to play tonight. Columbia played with great energy and was together in that first set.
We need to move on to tomorrow and try to go 1-0 and 1-0. All the Glory to God. #WePlayFor11."
Columbia came out of the locker room and gave it right to the Eagles in the opening stanza, as the Koalas hit better than the Eagles at .241 to take a 1-0 lead after scoring three of the last four points with the game tied at 22.
It would take about half of set two for Reinhardt to really get on a roll thanks to a 7-0 run when it was trailing, 13-12. That momentum would carry the club to a 1-1 tie after finishing the set on a 5-0 scoring spree. The Eagles' strong play would continue in the next game – opening with a 5-0 advantage. From there, Columbia would try to claw its way back into contention before another 7-0 run put Reinhardt on top by 12 at 21-9.
The Koalas would only net two more points before dropping the set, 25-11.
Four big scoring sprees by the visitors would lock up the league banner for the Eagles and another conference with following a match-deciding 25-9 outcome in stanza four, including the last five tallies overall (three of which were aces by Erinn Marroquin.
Marroquin collected six of her team's 12 aces and 29 assists – Carlee Baxter added 16 dimes.
Shelby Glawson (15 kills) and Courtney Pressley (13) were all over the floor on the offensive end.
Mar Vives (16) and Tessa Colden (15) led the way in digs.
Scoring Leaders Against the Koalas
Kills Shelby Glawson (15), Courtney Pressley (13), Tessa Colden (8)
Aces Erinn Marroquin (6), Sophia Graziano (2), Kelley Adkins (2)
Blocks Isabelle Diaz (3), Shadaisha Summerall (3), Ashlyn Carlton (2)
Assists Erinn Marroquin (29), Carlee Baxter (16), Shelby Glawson (1)
Digs Mar Vives (16), Tessa Colden (15), Shadaisha Summerall (9)
Reinhardt looks to finish off a perfect regular season in conference play tomorrow, as the club plays a tri-match with Columbia International (S.C.) at 1 p.m. before closing the year against non-conference foe Piedmont International (N.C.).
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