After dropping the first contest of the weekend to Western Kentucky at the WKU Invitational, Xavier bounced back with wins over LSU and Wake Forest in the second two matches of the weekend in Bowling Green, Ky. The Musketeers were led by a double-double effort in both kills and digs by sophomore Sarah Brown in both wins over LSU and Wake Forest. Previously, XU had not had a player record a double-double this season until Brown did it in consecutive matches on Friday night and Saturday afternoon.
Neither match was easy to win, as it took five sets to defeat the LSU Tigers and four sets to top the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest. LSU, who had received votes in the latest AVCA Top-25 Coaches’ Poll, had not lost a September match since the 2009 season. The five-set match between the Tigers and Muskies included a third set, ultimately won by XU, which included 20 ties and 10 lead changes.
The Muskies came out winning the first two sets Saturday against Wake Forest, but almost saw the match slip away from them after losing the third set and initially struggling in the fourth set. XU didn’t get things going until Elizabeth Lucich sparked XU with a career day at the service line.
“The hallmark of a good team is to be able to perform well when it is not your best day,” head coach Mike Johnson said via goxavier.com. “We were out of rhythm in a few phases of our game, but we were able to dig deep when it mattered. Our serving, which had been problematic early [in the match] was the spark plug to our success. Liz Lucich broke the game open and allowed our offense to flow.”
With another two wins this weekend, Xavier improves to 6-3 on the season. The Musketeers will take the court again next weekend in the Michigan/Addidas Invitational in Ann Arbor, Mi.