Schreiner volleyball rallies for first win of the season, tops Redlands in four sets

SAN ANTONIO — The Schreiner volleyball team picked up its first win of the season Friday, holding off Redlands in four sets at Bell Center behind a heavy dose of serving pressure and a match-high effort from Giana Hilliard.

Schreiner won 25-20, 25-16, 17-25, 25-23, improving to 1-1 in non-conference play. Redlands, the California-based opponent, fell to 0-1. It was Schreiner’s second match in three days in San Antonio, following Tuesday’s four-set loss to Trinity.

Redlands actually outhit Schreiner as a team, .191 to .160, and won the battle at the net with 10 total team blocks to Schreiner’s seven. But the Mountaineers turned the match with their serves, piling up 14 aces to Redlands’ four and forcing 20 Redlands attack errors. Schreiner also won the dig battle, 74-64, and finished with a better sideout percentage, 60% to 54.9%.

How it went

Schreiner and Redlands traded points through much of a tight opening set before the Mountaineers pulled away late, closing on a 6-2 run to take the first set 25-20.

The second set was Schreiner’s most dominant of the night. Harlie Gallaspy and Hilliard combined to serve most of a stretch that turned a 12-12 tie into a 22-13 cushion, and Schreiner cruised from there to a 25-16 win.

Redlands answered by controlling the third set from the opening point, building leads as large as eight before an 8-2 Schreiner run in the final stretch pulled the Mountaineers from 9-15 back to 17-24. It wasn’t enough, and Redlands took the set 25-17 to cut its deficit to 2-1.

Schreiner opened the fourth set with a 4-0 run keyed by Lauren Monaco’s serve, and though Redlands twice pulled within one point in the final stretch, the Mountaineers closed it out 25-23 on a Monaco kill to clinch the match.

Schreiner leaders

Hilliard led all players with 17 kills on a .324 clip (37 attempts, five errors), adding 15 digs for a near double-double performance that led the match with 20.5 total points. Mackenzie Strban added nine kills, and Emma Frye hit .294 with seven kills while also leading Schreiner at the net with a match-high five total blocks (one solo, four assists).

Monaco and Anna Eubanks each served four aces to pace Schreiner’s 14-ace night, with Hilliard adding three more from the service line. Jesse Garner chipped in five kills and three block assists.

Gallaspy and Gaby Torres split setting duties, combining for 42 of Schreiner’s 47 assists (22 and 20, respectively). Libero Maleyci Soliz paced Schreiner’s defense with a team-high 24 digs, with Azalea De Leon adding nine.

Redlands leaders

Lily Kautai was Redlands’ top performer, hitting .317 with 16 kills and adding 11 digs for a match-high 16.5 points on the losing side. Krystal Rose Huff, Jaycee Hullar and Cecily Wagstaff each finished with seven kills, and Brooke Patsch added six kills while pacing Redlands’ block effort with four assisted blocks. Esha Ball was Redlands’ most efficient hitter at .417 on 12 attempts.

Makenna Vanhofwegen ran the Redlands offense with 22 assists and served two of the team’s four aces. Libero Tiana Mariner led Redlands with 20 digs and added a service ace of her own; Emily Kitchin also finished with 15 digs.

Box score

	Sets	K	E	TA	Pct	Ast	SA	SE	Dig	Blocks	Pts
Schreiner	3	48	24	150	.160	47	14	4	74	7.0	69
Redlands	1	51	20	162	.191	47	4	6	6