Lady Pioneers Pick up Conference Sweep Over CBC

Lady Pioneers Pick up Conference Sweep Over CBC- Wil Teague, Sports Information Director, 10/22/24

Tonight the Lady Pioneers snapped their five-game losing streak as they swept the Lady Mustangs of Central Baptist College. The Pioneers improved to 6-11 on the year and 2-4 in the American Midwest Conference. Sets went as follows: 25–15 CRC, 27–25 CRC, 25–20 CRC.

Paragould, Ark. – Tonight's matchup proved to be the slump buster the Lady Pioneers needed as they pulled out of the losing rut and got back in the win column with a big sweep win over CBC. In the opening set, it was all Crowley's Ridge College from the start as the Pioneers dominated on all fronts. CRC would lead by as much as twelve before finishing off the Lady Mustangs with a 10-point difference. Set two, CRC would once more take a comfortable lead against CBC as The Lady Pioneers forced a Mustang timeout leading 12 to 7. Frighteningly, when play resumed, the Lady Mustangs regrouped and chipped away at the Pioneer lead before reclaiming the lead thanks to a huge 5-0 run deep in the set. Now trailing and facing a Mustang set point, Coach Carol Brotman would burn a time out of her own to regain footing in the situation. Beautifully, when play resumed the Lady Pioneers rallied to force extra frames and then would outlast the Mustangs with a big 27-25 set win thanks to freshman Alyssa Dirden drilling back-to-back kills for the the Pioneers. Leading two sets to none, the Lady Pioneers played with confidence in the final set and kept the pressure on the Lady Mustangs. Sophomore Mallory Hollis propelled the Lady Pioneers ahead 10-4 with three back-to-back service aces before a kill from Hannah Halverson forced another Mustang timeout as CBC trailed 13-6. Like set two, CBC would dig deep to challenge the Pioneers late, but thanks to the strong defensive performance from CRC the Lady Pioneers would come out victorious, ending the contest with a big combo block from senior Paige Glenn and sophomore Jillian Glasgow. 

Senior, and this week's Teammate of the Week award, Hannah Halverson, led the troops offensively with a double-double with 11 kills and 15 digs. Senior Jadyn Hesse wrapped up one dig short of a double-double with a team-high 19 assists and 9 digs. Freshman Alyssa Dirden claimed the defensive crown with a team-high 25 digs while adding 7 kills in the sweep. 

Up Next: CRC will stay at home and continue their conference play as they host Mission University on Thursday, October 24th at 6:00 PM at the Carter Activities Center. #GOPIONEERS