Game Recap: Rhodes vs. Southwestern University
Rhodes lost to Southwestern in 4 sets yesterday, October 23rd, at Bell Center in San Antonio. The Lynx were able to take a competitive first set, starting the match off more efficiently than the Pirates. But where Southwestern was able to grow their efficiency throughout the match— .220, .209, and .2 in subsequent sets— Rhodes hit less and less efficiently as the match went on. The defense also struggled against the Southwestern offense, with 69 digs to Southwestern's 86.
Key Performances
Freshman middle blocker Chloe Dunnigan had an outstanding match, hitting .316 on 19 attempts. With 8 kills, 2 aces, 1 solo block and 2 block assists, she contributed 12 total points for the Lynx. Defensively, libero Olivia Wiseman contributed 20 digs and 3 assists, and Meg Gebhart added 12 digs. Setters Emma Clark and Luca Prest ran the Rhodes offense with 19 and 14 assists, respectively.
Game Highlights
The game came down to offensive efficiency. Both teams had 161 hitting attempts, but Rhodes was only able to terminate 37, where Southwestern had 54 kills. Defense played a role here as well, both in the back court and at the net— Rhodes had fewer digs and fewer blocks. The Lynx needed to be able to pick some of those up to turn into offense of their own, like they did in the first set. Rhodes has shown time and again that they can hang with good teams, and beat them. The key is going to be to find a consistent high level, to spread offensive opportunities, and to stay disciplined on defense.
Game Recap: Rhodes vs. Trinity University
Rhodes lost in a close three sets to Trinity University on Saturday, October 24th in Bell Center. Despite what the scores show, the Lynx played a competitive match with the Tigers, staying close with them in nearly every stat category. Rhodes was also able to generate more offense than the Tigers, with 94 attempts to Trinity's 92, but again struggled with efficiency, hitting .106 on the match.
Key Performances
The middle blockers had a great game against Trinity, with senior Rachel Clark putting 4 kills on the board with 6 attempts, for a hitting percentage of .667. Freshman Anna Satterfield was also very efficient, with 3 kills on 4 attempts for a .500 hitting percentage. The Rhodes blockers on the whole were also a key part of the successes Rhodes had during the match. They had 16 block assists to Trinity's 10. Clark had 6 blocks, leading the team. Yzzi Dsamou and Isabella Kvetensky each added three blocks. The Rhodes defense was also led by Olivia Wiseman, who put 14 digs on the board.
Game Highlights
Rhodes had 30 kills, 8 blocks, and 36 digs on the match, staying very competitive with Trinity. Both teams struggled to stay consistent at the serving line, but Rhodes had an equal number of aces to errors (7 of each) while Trinity had 3 more aces than errors. Like in their game against Southwestern on Friday, hitting efficiency was a glaring discrepancy between the two teams. Both Trinity and Southwestern were able to keep the Lynx to a very low hitting percentage, while remaining consistent themselves.
Up Next:
The Rhodes Lynx will face off against the #1 ranked Centre Colonels on Saturday, October 31st in Mallory Gymnasium. During this SAA pod, Rhodes will also play Oglethorpe University and Berry College. The Lynx will be looking for another victory over the Petrels, as well as at least one upset this weekend, in order to keep their current 3rd place position in the conference.
