The Tabor College volleyball team won its 11th-straight match Friday by defeating Friends, 3-1, to kick off the second half of the conference season.
“I don’t feel like it was our best volleyball, but we just kept a constant pace,” coach Amy Ratzlaff said. “Our defense was remarkable and kept us playing solid.”
Tabor won Set 1, 25-21. The Bluejays recorded 15 kills in the set, led by Tena Loewen with six, but made 11 errors, including four consecutive miscues at the end that narrowed Tabor’s lead from 24-17 to 24-21. Loewen then secured the win with a kill.
The Bluejays won Set 2, 25-22. Friends led by as many as three, 11-8, but Tabor outscored the Falcons, 6-1 after that to take the lead. The game was then tied four times, but Friends never regained the advantage. The Bluejays built a 22-18 margin but let the Falcons back in with four consecutive errors. Tabor used kills by Miranda Leibold and Loewen and a Falcon error to seal the win.
Friends stayed alive by winning Set 3, 25-23. The Bluejays led by as many as seven, 19-12, but the Falcons rallied to the finish to win by two. Six of Friends’ final 13 points came courtesy of Tabor errors.
Tabor sealed the victory by winning Set 4, 25-19. With Friends in front, 5-4, Tabor went on a 5-0 run to take the lead for good. Loewen capped the win with a kill.
The Bluejays recorded 54 kills and hit .071 for the match. Loewen led the effort with 27 kills. Megan Voth had 24 assists. Ali Jost had 19 digs. Kendra Kroeker had four solo blocks.
York—Tabor earned a 3-0 victory on the road Wednesday.
The Bluejays won Set 1, 25-12, building to their largest lead at the end of the set. Tabor hit .320 in the set with 11 kills. Kendra Kroeker led the effort with four kills.
Tabor won Set 2, 25-15, maintaining the lead from start to finish. The Bluejays built a 9-2 lead following a service ace by Miranda Leibold and never looked back. Tabor won the set on a service ace by Tianna Frazell.
The Bluejays completed the sweep with a 25-23 win in Set 3. This time, York built an 11-8 advantage, but Tabor regained it with a 4-0 run. The set was tied 21 times, including at 23 before Tabor gained distance to win with a pair of kills by Amy Horner.
Tabor hit .207 for the match, tallying 37 kills. Horner led the attack with 11 kills. Keeley Kroeker had 19 assists. Ali Jost had 10 digs.
Southwestern—Tabor swept the Moundbuilders Monday, 25-20, 25-17, 25-13.
Aside from eight ties, the Bluejays led from start to finish in all three sets.
Offensively, Tabor hit .536 in Set 2, recording 19 kills and only four errors in 28 attempts. The Bluejays hit a collective .337 for the match, led by Tena Loewen with 20 kills. Keeley Kroeker had 26 assists. Ali Jost had 12 digs.
Southwestern, meanwhile, hit .100 for the match.
Coming—Tabor (11-1, 14-7) was scheduled to play at Kansas Wesleyan (10-2, 14-11) Monday and will travel to Ottawa (13-0, 18-5) tonight for a 7 p.m. game.
The Bluejays will host Sterling (3-9, 9-14) Saturday at 7 p.m.
