Game Recap: Rhodes vs. No. 1 Centre College
Rhodes fell to No. 1 Centre College on Saturday, October 31st, at Mallory Gymnasium, in 3 sets. The Colonels are a formidable team, and have built one of the most consistent offensive and defensive systems in the country. That showed on Saturday when they won the match hitting .319 and with 52 digs.
Key Performances
The Lynx were led offensively by middle blocker Chloe Dunnigan and outside hitter Yzzi Dsamou. Dunnigan had 5 kills on 11 attempts, hitting .273 for the match. Dsamou added 7 kills, and senior outside Meg Gebhart contributed 5. Defensively, Gebhart recorded 7 digs, along with senior Olivia Wiseman. Emma Clark ran the Lynx offense with 12 assists.
Game Highlights
Rhodes earned a total of 28 points, to Centre's 59. The Colonels certainly showed that their #1 ranking wasn't an accident— their stats in nearly every category were double what the Lynx were able to record. Rhodes finished the game with 22 kills, 25 digs, 20 assists, and 4 blocks.
Game Recap: Rhodes vs. Oglethorpe University
The Lynx were able to turn the day around for Senior Night, sweeping the Oglethorpe Stormy Petrels on Rhodes' home court on Saturday. Rhodes put on a dominant performance, keeping OU at or below 15 points for all three sets. Contributing to this performance was Rhodes' hitting percentage, at .361 for the game, and their 12 aces against the Petrels.
Key Performances
The Lynx were overwhelmingly led by their seniors in this match, starting offensively with outsides Yzzi Dsamou and Meg Gebhart. Gebhart had 11 kills, hitting .444 for the match, and Dsamou had 10 kills, hitting .333. Senior middle Rachel Clark added 5 kills, hitting .400. Senior setter Emma Clark was a big part of this offensive success, with 14 assists, 4 digs, and 2 aces. Finally, defensively, senior libero Olivia Wiseman contributed 7 digs, 3 assists, and 2 aces, and Gebhart recorded 12 digs.
Game Highlights
Rhodes finished the game with 51 earned points, 39 kills, 12 aces, 38 assists, and 39 digs. Efficiency-wise, this was arguably the Lynx's best game, as they hit .364, .310, and .429 in the 1st, 2nd, and 3 sets. Simultaneously, they were able to keep the Petrels at .000 on the match, due in large part to an outstanding defensive performance and aggressive serves from the back line.
Game Recap: Rhodes vs. No. 12 Berry College
The Rhodes Lynx played a close, 5 set match with the No. 12 Vikings on Sunday, November 1st, in Mallory Gymnasium. Rhodes took the first two sets 25-22 and 25-23, but lost steam in the third and went down 19-25, 11-25, and 8-15 by the end of the game. Rhodes did a lot of things well, with a fantastic defensive performance anchoring the offensive success that they found and keeping the infamous Berry offense at bay.
Key Performances
The Lynx offense was led by seniors Rachel Clarke and Yzzi Dsamou. Clarke recorded 11 kills and hit .526 for the match, while Dsamou recorded 16 kills and hit .238 for the match. Libero Olivia Wiseman racked up 20 digs, while Luca Prest contributed 17 digs and 18 assists. Senior setter Emma Clark put up 20 assists.
Game Highlights
The Lynx were extremely competitive with Berry in sets 1 and 2, hitting more efficiently than the Vikings and putting on an excellent defensive and serve receive performance. Rhodes also went block-for-block with Berry on the match, each team putting up 6. Towards the second half of the match, the Lynx started to struggle to return serves, giving up 9 aces to Berry— this same struggle with serve receive led to a decrease in hitting efficiency from Rhodes, falling to .100, .095, and .000 in subsequent sets.
Looking Ahead
The Lynx will play Millsaps College this Saturday on the Majors' home court. Both teams have historically been very evenly matched, and both will be looking to maintain their rankings in the SAA. Rhodes is currently No. 5, and Millsaps is at No. 6. Rhodes won in a close 5 the last time the two faced off— can they repeat that success?
