NORTH CANTON, Ohio - It took a complete team effort and every bit of five sets but the Walsh Cavaliers volleyball team advanced to the Great Midwest Semifinals with a 3-2 (25-16, 23-25, 25-18, 19-25, 15-12) win over the Trevecca Nazarene Trojans on Tuesday (Nov. 19) night at the Cecchini Center. 

As the three seed, Walsh advances to the Semifinals to have a rematch with the #2 Tiffin Dragons on Friday (Nov. 22) at 7:30 PM played at Hillsdale. 

"Tonight was a battle, just like we thought," said Walsh head coach Jayme Plummer.  "We had to use a lot of different people and rotations in order to carry the load. I'm incredibly proud of the team for the effort and everyone stepped up at different times, in different positions. Our team showed a lot of grit tonight and I'm proud of that."

In a match that was tied 30 times and had 11 lead changes, Walsh battled a feisty Trojans team. 

Trevecca led the match early 5-3 before a Walsh 7-1 run gave the Cavaliers a 10-6 lead. Walsh's lead grew to five but a 6-0 Trojans rally put the visitors back in front, 15-14. The Cavaliers ended the set on an 11-1 run, capping it with ace from Julie Kruse. The Cavaliers took an 1-0 advantage with a 25-16 set one win. 

Set two saw eight ties in the first twenty points as neither team led by more than three. After a kill by Amber King put Walsh up 11-10, Trevecca scored five straight points and seven of the next eight for a 17-12 lead. The Cavaliers closed the gap to one twice in the set but Trevecca tied the match at one with a 25-23 win. 

After four ties in set three, Walsh gained distance early and pulled away with a 14-4 run. Lauren Loucks (four) and Alexis Gilland (three) combined for seven kills on the run mixed with five errors and blocks from King, Justine Coffman and Shymara Dykes. Gilland closed out the third set with her sixth kill of the set and 14th of the night, as Walsh won 25-18. 

Walsh's momentum carried into set four with a 7-3 run out of the gate before Trevecca clawed back with a 10-4 run, taking the 13-11 lead. The Trojans pushed the advantage to three, 17-14 but Walsh tied the set at 17 with three consecutive points. An 8-2 run spelled victory for Trevecca as they knotted the match at two sets each, winning 25-19. 

Going to the fifth set for only the third time all season, Walsh never trailed in the final set despite six ties. Loucks and Gilland got the Cavaliers out in front 2-0. The set was quickly tied and the teams exchanged points until a 9-9 tie. Gilland had back-to-back kills as Walsh gained an 11-9 lead. The Cavaliers sealed their third straight bid to the semifinals when Hallie Schroeder capped the match with a thunderous kill, giving the Cavaliers a 15-12 set five win. 

Walsh combined to hit .228 against Trevecca, who .151 as a team. Gilland finished with a career-high 22 kills along with 11 digs on defense. Loucks had 16 kills on offense for the Cavaliers, including seven in set three. Dykes (two block assists), Coffman (four solo/four block assists) and King (one solo block/one block assist) each had seven kills while the trio combined for 8.5 blocks. Olivia Kearns totaled 47 assists and a career-high 24 digs. 

Six different players added double-digit dig totals in the match. Sydnee Marks reached a career-high with 19 digs while Samantha Wentz finished with 16 digs. Schroeder had 11 digs in two sets played and Kruse rounded out the group with ten digs. 

Walsh travels to Hillsdale for the G-MAC Semifinals against Tiffin. That match will begin at 7:30 PM on Friday (Nov. 22) at Dawn Potter Arena. 

-WC-