MARIAN CLAIMS CROSSROADS LEAGUE TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP IN FIVE-SET THRILLER OVER INDIANA WESLEYAN
by Mitch Huppert
INDIANAPOLIS – For just the second time in program history, the Marian volleyball team are winners of the Crossroads League Tournament, as the Knights won a thrilling come-from-behind five-set match Saturday night over Indiana Wesleyan in the championship game. Marian had to rally from a 2-1 deficit, but after winning the fourth set rode the momentum in the fifth, claiming the 3-2 victory with a 15-13 fifth set. The win gives Marian a 32-1 overall record as they enter the NAIA Opening Round.
Indiana Wesleyan won the first set of the night 25-21, and jumped out to a commanding lead early as they forced Marian into a timeout leading 7-3. The Wildcats pushed their lead to six in the first game, but Marian slowly crept back, and used a two different 3-0 runs to eventually tie the set at 14. IWU captured the lead after the Marian timeout with a Victoria Johnson kill, and never trailed again as they closed on a 11-7 scoring advantage. Marian was able to get within a point twice, but could not close before going down 1-0.
The second set started with a strong battle between both teams, as the two sides traded points with the set pushing to a 10-10 tie. Sarah Spangler tied the set at 10 with a strong kill, and gave Marian their first taste of the lead as she buried two more spikes to grow a 13-10 advantage. IWU’s first timeout of the set did little to stall Marian’s momentum, as Jai-Lyn Norwood and Skyler Van Note helped push the lead to six. Indiana Wesleyan called their final timeout trailing 19-13, but it did little to help them back into the set as Averi Lanman and Spangler helped put away the 25-18 victory.
With the match even at one set a piece entering the third, the action leaned toward Marian early as they grew a 5-3 lead, but quickly a service error sparked a 6-0 Wildcat run. The Knights called timeout attempting to halt the run trailing 9-5, but Indiana Wesleyan continued to add to their lead scoring the next three points after the break. Marian would get within three points twice as they attempted to mount a comeback, but Indiana Wesleyan was able to stave off both surges with kills from Macy Puthoff, Ana Collar, and Johnson. A 5-0 run cemented IWU’s grasp on the set, as they went on to take a 2-1 lead with the 25-17 victory.
Trailing after three sets for just the second time this season, Marian had to work out of an early hole as they fell behind 5-2 to start the second set. Michaela Hoffa and Sydney Schaffer started the rally as the Knights pushed back to a tie score at 7-7, but the Wildcats pushed back ahead with back to back points. Marian would tie the set two more times as they fought tooth and nail, and eventually seized control as a kill from Hoffa sparked a 3-0 run. The run put the Knights ahead 15-14, and after a Wildcat timeout Marian was able to keep their lead with Norwood, Madison Brooks, and Van Note scoring the next six points. Van Note was the catalyst in the final push, scoring five of six points on kills in a 6-1 run to tie the match 2-2 with Marian’s 25-18 win.
With the match tied, Marian entered the fifth set for just the first time this season, and their first time seeing the fifth since their NAIA National Championship run in 2019. Norwood scored the first point of the set, but neither team gained an advantage as the set pushed to a 5-5 tie. A Marian service error helped start a 3-0 run for the Wildcats, and forced Marian to call a timeout trailing 8-5. After the break Spangler dropped a touch attack in for a kill, and generated a 3-0 spree that brought the set to an 8-8 tie.
The run forced a timeout for Indiana Wesleyan, and after allowing IWU to score, Marian gained their advantage on a Hoffa kill and Schaffer ace. The two points gave Marian the momentum, and a kill from Spangler helped Marian move to a 12-10 lead. Collar and Hoffa traded kills as Marian kept their lead, but back to back kills from the Wildcats top player brought the set back to a tie at 13-13. On the ensuing rally, Van Note slammed a kill into the backcourt to give the Knights a 14-13 lead. After the final timeout of the night, Marian was able to put away the match and win the championship, as Brooks and Lanman met at the net to get a game-winning block to close a 15-13 win.
Marian hit .262 and recorded 65 kills as a team in the win, leading the match in nearly every statistical category. Van Note had a monster game doing a little of everything, leading the Knights with 17 kills and 23 digs, setting a season-high in kills. Spangler hit .424 in the win recording 17 kills, and Norwood had 16 kills and a match-high five total blocks. Hoffa had 10 kills and two block assists, and Brooks had four total blocks. Both Katie Hardegree and Lexi Spence had identical stat lines, as the setters each had 31 assists and nine digs. Alison Dreves and Maggie Meyer each had 12 digs, and Schaffer had two service aces.
Marian has earned an automatic bid to the NAIA Tournament after winning both the Crossroads League Regular Season and Tournament Championships. The Knights will learn their NAIA Opening Round opponent on Monday morning, when the NAIA annoucnes the 48-team field at 11 AM on the NAIA Facebook page.
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