Set scores were 25-15, 25-17 and 25-21. Berry previously defeated Oglethorpe in an away match on Sept. 12 in a sweep.
Sophomore transfer Anna Keappler led Berry with 11 kills, while junior Stephanie Quinn paced the team with 26 assists and nine digs.
Berry improved to 16-3 overall and holds its lead in the SAA rankings with an 8-1 conference mark. Oglethorpe fell to 3-10 and 0-10.
In the opening set, Berry brushed off small deficits to emerge victorious, 25-15. The team hit .474 while limiting Oglethorpe to a .091 clip.
In the following set, Berry outhit Oglethorpe, .281 to .077, and never trailed at any point during the action as it won 25-17.
To end the match, Berry held Oglethorpe without a kill in the third and final set on its way to a decisive 25-21 win.
“I felt like we got contributions from everyone on our team tonight, which is always a good feeling,” said Berry head coach Mika Robinson.
“I’ve said all along that our competition in practice every day is what’s preparing us and making us so good in these game situations. It’s nice for all of our players to get to show off those skills to our home fans and enjoy the victory.”
Robinson said the team’s reserves have stayed on top of their games even before seeing extensive playing time against Oglethorpe.
“They are sharp day in and day out,” said Robinson of the reserves.
“Really, any of the players on our team could be somewhere else and starting. And we appreciate the fact that all of our players have bought into the concept of being the best team that we can be, and that means pushing each other in the practice gym every day.
“Truly our success this year is because of how hard we push each other every day. They compete like crazy day in and day out, and so when we step out onto the floor the games actually seem a little bit easier compared to what we see on a daily basis.”
Berry will hit the road in its next match on Friday evening at SAA opponent Hendrix College in Arkansas at 7 p.m.
The match will mark Berry’s first action away from its home court since Sept. 15, a five-set loss to Centre College.
Berry soccer falls to Piedmont
DEMOREST — Berry women’s soccer lost, 1-0, in a road game at Piedmont College on Tuesday evening.
Piedmont’s Laura Goodwin earned the assist on teammate’s Dilyn MacLean’s decisive goal at 34:23.
Berry’s offense received contributions from sophomore Rachel LeRoy and freshman Sara Dillon, who ripped off three and two shots respectively on the night.
MacLean paced Piedmont with five shots, including two on goal. Piedmont narrowly edged Berry in the shots category, 10-9.
Converted midfielder Blair Shupenko took the loss in goal for Berry and made five saves. Her Piedmont counterpart, Marjorie Hammond, earned the win and notched five saves in the first half.
Berry’s record now is 2-7-1 overall, including 0-2-1 in Southern Athletic Association matchups. Piedmont is now 9-4-1 this season.
“You can’t be happy when you lose, but this was by far our best outing of the season,” said Berry head coach Lorenzo Canalis.
“I thought we played with determination and had our chances. The game could’ve gone either way, but give Piedmont credit. They played pretty well. If there is a consolation in this loss, it’s the way we played. We played well and created chances.
“This is the kind of team that I want to see every game.”
Although the loss is the same and the score is the same, it was a completely different story in terms of the way we played.”
When asked if he sees any common trends among the team’s five 1-0 defeats this season, Canalis contended that no two games are alike in spite of what the scores might indicate.
“Each of those five losses, unfortunately, has its own story,” Canalis said. “There’s really not a common denominator other than we’re losing all these one-goal games that we should win.”
Berry will return to action in a matchup with SAA foe Sewanee on Friday afternoon at 2 p.m.
Post a Comment