No. 7 Marian Tops No. 17 Taylor in Top-25 Showdown
INDIANAPOLIS – A pair of NAIA Top-25 programs squared off on Wednesday evening with the top spot in the Crossroads League standings on the line and the host No. 7 Marian squad defended its home court and undefeated record with a 25-21, 25-15, 27-25 win over the No. 17 Trojans.
The action was contested throughout the evening with TU remaining as close as 22-20 in the first set, before the Knights (20-0, 12-0 CL) finished off the 25-21 win. MU carried that momentum into a hot start in the second game and took a lopsided 25-15 victory for a two-set lead.
Taylor rebounded in the third, going toe-to-toe with the hosts once again and remaining within striking distance after a 5-0 spurt opened a 13-8 lead for Marian. The gap grew slightly at 20-14, before TU erupted for eight of the next nine tallies. Kills from Stephaney Fifield and Amanda Adams capped the rally and pushed the Trojans to a 22-21 advantage.
Marian countered with the next three points of the contest to push Taylor to the brink at 24-22, but a Knight error and a Grace Isaacs kill knotted the margin once again. That would be Taylor’s final push however, as MU held off the Purple and Gold in the final set for a 27-25 win and match sweep.
Isaacs put on a show for Taylor with 12 kills, two blocks and a .417 percentage, while Adams added 13 kills. Fifield was steady once again with 23 digs and Kacy Bragg posted 32 assists, 17 digs and two blocks.
No. 17 Taylor (21-4, 10-2 CL) will look to bounce back on Friday night inside Odle Arena against IU East (12-7) in a 6:00 pm non-league tilt.