APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University volleyball team went toe-to-toe with No. 24 University of Chicago in a five-set thriller Wednesday night at Alexander Gym, ultimately falling 3-2.
Lawrence took the opening set before UChicago responded with victories in the next two. The Vikings forced a deciding fifth set with a strong fourth-set performance, but the Maroons closed out the match 20-25, 25-21, 25-22, 22-25, 15-10.
The Vikings came out firing in the opening set, building an early advantage and maintaining control on the way to a 25-20 victory. Bella Van Lannen led the attack with six kills in the frame, while Emma Nilson added three as Lawrence hit .303 with 13 kills and just three attacking errors.
UChicago answered by taking the second set 25-21 and followed with a 25-22 victory in the third. Lawrence nearly completed a dramatic comeback in the third, scoring six straight points after trailing 24-16 before the Maroons finally secured the final point.
Facing a must-win fourth set, Lawrence responded. The Vikings jumped out to a 5-1 lead and later stretched the advantage to 18-13 behind a strong defensive effort at the net. UChicago rallied to tie the score at 20, but Lawrence answered by scoring five of the final seven points. Hallie Neill finished off the 25-22 set victory with a kill to send the match to a fifth.
UChicago gained separation early in the deciding set, but Lawrence battled back from a 6-2 deficit and pulled within 8-7 on an Ally Corrente service ace. The Maroons answered down the stretch and took the fifth set 15-10.
Van Lannen paced Lawrence with 13 kills, while Audrey Weier finished with 11 kills and a team-best .360 hitting percentage. Meg Pfannerstill added 10 kills, and Nilson contributed eight kills. The Vikings were particularly strong at the net, finishing with 12 total team blocks.
Neill led Lawrence with 22 assists, while Corrente added 17. Amanda Vlkovic finished with 13 digs as the Vikings totaled 81 digs and held UChicago to a .149 hitting percentage for the match.
