Houston, Texas - The Centenary Ladies volleyball team dropped a pair of matches on Sunday in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play to the St. Thomas Celts in their season opener by scores of 3-1 and 3-0 at the Jerabeck Activity and Athletic Center.
The Ladies (0-2) got off to a great start as they won the first set of Sunday's opening match, 25-14. The Celts responded with a close 26-24 victory in the second set and took set three, 25-18. St. Thomas then closed out the match by winning a competitive fourth set, 25-21.
St. Thomas (4-0) opened the second match with a 25-14 win in the first set and then posted a 25-10 win in the second set. The Celts closed out the sweep in the third set by a 25-11 count.
The Celts held a slight advantage in total attacks in the first match (178-174) but the Ladies had more kills (47-38), digs (93-80), and assists (44-35). Junior Outside Hitter Alyssa Davis (Van Alstyne, Texas) collected 49 total attacks, 16 digs, and 14 kills in the opening match while fellow junior Rachel Demerjian (Glendora, Calif.) had a team-best 22 assists and seven digs.
Sophomore Liz Lowe (San Antonio, Texas) had 28 total attacks, seven kills, and three digs. Senior Outside Hitter Ami Powers (Katy, Texas) had 25 total attacks, 12 digs and seven kills. Sophomore defensive specialist Mariah Martinez (San Antonio, Texas) and junior Elizabeth Epley (Nashville, Tenn.) combined for 16 digs and 14 total attacks.
Freshman Caroline Richmond (Maequez, Texas) had an impressive collegiate debut as she recorded 35 total attacks, 12 kills, and five digs. Fellow freshman Tori Ligman (Bossier City. La.) of Airline High School, contributed 22 digs and five assists in her first-career match.
Five Celts collected at least 20 total attacks in the opening match and three players had 13 or more digs each. The Ladies again held the advantage in total attacks in the second match (114-103) but the Celts amassed more kills (36-19), assists (33-19), and digs (61-51).
Richmond and Powers each had 23 total attacks in the second match, Richmond's six kills led the way, and Demerjian and junior Marichael Clarin-Jante (Houston, Texas) each had nine assists to lead the team. Clarin-Jante added five digs. Ligman had a team-high 13 digs and Epley and Lowe each had 16 total attacks and combined for seven kills and four digs. Richmond added six kills and six digs.
The Ladies will remain on the road for the next two weekends after Sunday's matches, as the Maroon and White will face Texas Lutheran (March 6) and Trinity (March 13). Centenary's home opener will be March 20 vs. Schreiner and then the Ladies will face Dallas at home on March 27. The Ladies' final two road matches of the season will be at Southwestern on April 3 and will close the season at home versus Colorado College with single matches on April 9 at 5 p.m. and April 10 at 1 p.m.
The Ladies' first 12 matches this season will be doubleheaders at Noon and 4 p.m. for the next six Saturday's with the exception of the final two matches against Colorado College which are a Friday-Saturday.
All home matches will be held at the Gold Dome and will be live streamed and live stats will be available. A link to the complete Ladies' schedule can be found here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/wvball/2020-21/schedule
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