Heath Surpasses 1,000 Digs as Team Goes 2-0

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Eagles were able to snap their three-match losing streak on Saturday afternoon after prevailing in a five-set slugfest, 3-2 (25-22, 21-25, 25-23 ,22-25, 15-11), against Johnson (Tenn.) in the first Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) matchup between the two schools.

Reinhardt (14-9, 10-4 AAC) then grabbed another victory in non-conference play against Toccoa Falls (Ga.) – 25-23, 25-12, 25-5.

"It was nice to get two wins by going 1-0 and 1-0," head coach Brian Goodhind said. "There were a few tough losses going into today, but to the girls' credit, they played through a lot of adversity versus Johnson and pulled out a five-set match. That adversity was by our own doing with 60 errors between serving, hitting errors and ball handling errors; that's a ton of mistakes, and you are not usually on the winning end of a match like that. Luckily, for us, our defense and offense was enough to keep us in the match to pull out a big conference win.

In our second match, it was nice to use our depth and get a close set one, but once our girls got into a groove, they took control of the match. I have to give a big shoutout to our libero Holly Heath, who hit 1,000 digs in her career and still has one more year. When all is said and done, Holly has a good chance to leave a record behind her that will be tough to catch… More importantly, I want to give thanks and praise to God – all the honor and glory goes to Him."

Reinhardt at Johnson (W, 3-2)

• The first league outing between the two schools was one to remember, as the Eagles combined to hit .264 with four players owning double-digit kills – Jacoby Sims (18), Shelby Glawson (17; .400), Abby Infante (14; .276) and Katherine Perrin (13; .429).
• More records fell on the hardwood against the Royals as Taylor Sawdy posted a career-best in assists with 63 dimes out of her club's 72 total. She had another double-double with 14 digs.
• The hometown team kept Johnson in the contest a little more by struggling mightily at the serving line with 24 errors and only eight aces.
• The defensive effort helped make up for the serving miscues, however, as Reinhardt grabbed 100 digs – 44 of which came from Holly Heath (she surpassed 1,000 digs in her career) – who also added seven assists in the win.
• Sophia Graziano also chipped in with 11 digs, and as a team, the Eagles netted 11 total blocks.

Reinhardt vs. Toccoa Falls (W, 3-0)

• Thirteen aces and a .480 hitting percentage in the set three highlighted the Eagles' triumph over the Screaming Eagles for a 2-0 day on the hardwood in Tennessee.
• Reinhardt (.186) had six players gather three-or-more kills in the victory over Toccoa.
• The Screaming Eagles didn't help their cause with 22 hitting miscues and four more errors at the service line.
• Sarah Sweet (13 digs) and Claudia Klein (11 digs) led the way for the hometown team on the defensive side of the net.
• Taylor Sawdy added another 20 assists in the sweep.

A rematch with Point (Ga.) is up next, this time inside the Brown Athletic Center, as the two programs square off on Oct. 20 at 6:30 p.m.

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