Box Score In play this afternoon at Birmingham Southern, the home team remained undefeated in the SAA, although Centre did make a match of it in losing 25-19, 25-22, and 25-23. Even though never thrilled with a loss, Head Coach James Neyhouse saw a couple of good signs: "We certainly improved significantly from our effort yesterday, and we got a little better with each game today. However, we knew going in that the match was best of five. Our trend is improvement, and our goal is an increase in the pace of that trend. Birmingham Southern is a top-30 team, and I firmly believe that we too can earn that status."
Lydia Prevost, the junior from Knoxville, TN, had another good day for her team with three blocks and seven kills. Three other Colonels each had two blocks as Centre continued its good net defense. Neyhouse remarked, "We do have several players who are capable of frustrating the other teams' hitters. Blocking is one of several areas in which more consistency would be most 'satisfactory'."
Centre's senior
Jenna Foushee (Louisville, KY) was all over the court (several times) as she hustled her way to 27 digs. Junior
Catherine Janszen (Cincinnati, OH) had 11 to go along with her eight kills, the latter number matched by freshman
Beth Cecil (Bardstown, KY). Assists once again came from junior
Kary Stivers (Louisville, KY) with 14, and freshman
Elizabeth Janszen (Cincinnati, OH), who had 10.
Centre had been averaging several service aces per match, but Birmingham Southern not only completely denied the Colonels in that category, but also aced them three times, and gratefully accepted eight gift-points on errant Centre serves. Those 11 points lost on serve-receive exactly matched the difference in match points between the two teams.
Coach Neyhouse, though, was reluctant to place too much emphasis on the coincidence: "Yes, eight plus three equals 11, and 11 equals itself; but the bottom line is that Birmingham Southern found ways to get to 25 with a lead of at least two; and, as always, mistakes by the loser helped the winner. We do need to reduce our errors; but, looking at the larger goal, we need to be the team that insists on scoring the last point in a match." Centre has opportunities to do just that next Saturday against Hendrix and Austin at Hendrix, and with a visit to Rhodes on Sunday.
