In the second of three pool play matches at the NAIA Volleyball National Championship in Sioux City, Iowa, No. 16 Taylor fell 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-22) on Wednesday afternoon to No. 2 California Baptist.
Facing a taller front line than its own for the first time this season, the Trojans were held to just nine kills in each set for a .167 hitting percentage. Led by 2008 First Team All-American Shi Fei with 12 kills, Cal Baptist hit at .325 for the match.
As the match wore on, Taylor's hitting percentage improved with each set while the Lancers decreased their efficiency, but the Trojans never could crack the win column.
Cal Baptist (28-5) used triple blocking tactics with a front row of three players at 6-foot-2 or taller to frustrate the Trojan hitters, who were unable to find any type of offensive rhythm in the match. NAIA Kills leader Kelsey Pritchard led Taylor with 10 kills on 32 attempts.
The Taylor back row was active all afternoon, led by freshman Courtney Herschberger's 18 digs. Betsy Brown had 9 digs and Rachel Kizer added 7. Brown led the Trojans with three block assists.
The powerful jump-serving game of the Lancers forced Taylor into seven receiving errors to go along with four unforced errors from the service line.
Taylor had just one lead in the match and that was with a 4-3 lead in the first set. The Trojans never trailed by more than five in the first two sets, but CBU maintained control throughout.
The Lancers built a 16-10 lead in the second set, but Taylor responded with a 4-0 run to get within two points at 16-14. Two straight kills for CBU stretched the lead to four, putting the Lancers far enough ahead to put the Trojans away.
After going down 19-14 in the final set, Taylor again reeled off four straight points and trimmed the CBU lead to 19-18, but the Lancers picked up a kill to go up 20-18. Taylor's Betsy Brown picked up a kill on the next point, but a kill and an ace by the Lancers gave CBU the margin they needed to close out the match.
For the second straight match, Taylor faced a team from the Golden State Athletic Conference, which qualified seven teams for the NAIA National Championship. Cal Baptist is the highest ranked team Taylor has faced in at least the last five seasons.
It was the first loss for Taylor since a 3-2 setback to then-No. 7 Columbia on Oct. 30. The Trojans had not been defeated in straight sets since Sept. 25 in a match against then-No. 14 Olivet Nazarene. Both Columbia and Olivet Nazarene are national tournament qualifiers.
Taylor (36-6) will play its final pool play match Thursday at 1 p.m. CST/2 p.m. EST against Mobile (Ala.). The Trojans must win to secure their spot in the 12-team single elimination championship bracket.
