DE PERE, Wis. — The Lawrence University volleyball team split a pair of matches Saturday at the Mulva Family Fitness & Sports Center, falling to Lakeland University in the opener before bouncing back with a 3-1 victory over Saint Mary's University.
Game 1: Lakeland 3, Lawrence 0
Lawrence battled Lakeland throughout the opening match but came up just short in a 25-23, 25-19, 25-23 loss.
The opening set featured 13 ties as neither side was able to create much separation. Lawrence stayed within striking distance late, but Lakeland secured the final points to take the set 25-23.
The Muskies took control in the second set as Lawrence struggled to find its offensive rhythm before Lakeland finished off a 25-19 victory.
Lawrence responded with a stronger effort in the third and built a 22-19 advantage late. Lakeland answered with a run of its own to move in front 24-22. Bella Van Lannen delivered a kill to keep the Vikings alive at 24-23, but the Muskies closed out the match on the following point.
Van Lannen led Lawrence with 10 kills, while Meg Pfannerstill, Norma Glisczinski and Emma Nilson each added six. Ally Corrente and Hallie Neill finished with 12 assists apiece, and Aria Wessel led the back row with 12 digs.
Game 2: Lawrence 3, Saint Mary's 1
The Vikings responded quickly in the second match of the day, defeating Saint Mary's 25-17, 20-25, 25-17, 25-14.
Lawrence set the tone in the opening set, recording 16 kills on the way to a 25-17 victory. Saint Mary's answered in the second to even the match with a 25-20 win, but the Vikings took command from there.
Lawrence turned in its best offensive set of the match in the third, putting down 16 kills while hitting .303. The Vikings sided out at a 70 percent rate and rolled to another 25-17 victory to move ahead 2-1.
Lawrence carried that momentum into the fourth. The Vikings raced out to an early advantage behind kills from Audrey Weier, Van Lannen and Isabella Stephani, stretching the margin to 11-3 and forcing a Saint Mary's timeout.
The Vikings never let the Cardinals back into the set, closing out the match with a 25-14 victory. Lawrence held Saint Mary's to a negative hitting percentage in the fourth and sided out on 73 percent of its opportunities.
Van Lannen led Lawrence with 18 kills, while Weier turned in a strong all-around performance with 14 kills on a .385 hitting percentage, four service aces and 10 digs. Glisczinski added eight kills, and Nilson finished with six kills while hitting .278.
Neill led the Vikings with 22 assists, Corrente added 14 and Wessel finished with 13 digs. Makenna Rettler chipped in 11 digs as Lawrence totaled 10 service aces in the victory.
Nilson was also recognized for her performance over the weekend with a spot on the all-tournament team.
