In the first outing, Melissa Thornton had six kills to lead in that category and Mekenna Cipres and Kerry Abernathy collected six assists apiece. Meredith Hardin had six blocks and Natalie Beth Hayes came up with five.
The Tigers offense came alive against Southwestern with Thornton leading the way with 13 kills. Alexis Arthur (10), Courtney Frady (10), Hays (9) and Meredith Hardin (7) were also active at the net. Sophomore Setter Mekenna Cipres had 22 assists and her counterpart Kerry Abernathy had 17. Libero Danelle Russell had 26 digs.
Even though the team was unable to win over the two day event, Coach Meredith Franklin was encouraged by the progress made: "We were exposed to some teams and skills tht we are not accustomed to seeing in our conference," Franklin said. "We have grown smarter and stronger as a team. The only thing now we need to do is learn how to finish it. In most of the matches we went neck and neck with the teams, and just let off at the end."
The Tigers will continue tournament play next weekend with a two day event in South Carolina.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2010/8/231839