DUBUQUE, Iowa — The Lawrence University volleyball team split a pair of matches Saturday at the Stoltz Sports Center, sweeping Saint Mary's University of Minnesota before falling to the University of Dubuque in three sets.
Game 1: Lawrence 3, Saint Mary's 0
The Vikings opened the day with a 25-17, 25-21, 25-22 victory over Saint Mary's.
Lawrence put together a balanced offensive effort, finishing with 39 kills while hitting .200 and holding Saint Mary's to a .117 attack percentage.
Audrey Weier and Bella Van Lannen led the Vikings with 10 kills apiece. Weier hit .391 with just one error on 23 attacks, while Emma Nilson and Meg Pfannerstill each added seven kills. Nilson hit .294 and also contributed four blocks.
Hallie Neill handed out 18 assists, Makenna Rettler added 10, and Aria Wessel led the defensive effort with 17 digs. Pfannerstill finished with 10 digs as Lawrence also piled up 11 service aces.
Lawrence controlled the opening set on the way to a 25-17 win before taking the second 25-21.
Saint Mary's pushed the Vikings in the third and held a 17-13 advantage, but Lawrence worked its way back. The Vikings erased the deficit and eventually broke a 22-22 tie by scoring the final three points to complete the sweep.
Game 2: Dubuque 3, Lawrence 0
Lawrence closed the day against a University of Dubuque team receiving votes in the national poll and fell 25-19, 25-19, 25-23.
The Vikings finished with 39 kills and hit .231 for the match, but Dubuque countered with 44 kills and a .321 hitting percentage.
Weier and Pfannerstill paced Lawrence with nine kills apiece, Van Lannen added eight and Nilson finished with six. Neill recorded 17 assists, while Ally Corrente added 12. Wessel led Lawrence with seven digs.
After dropping the first two sets by identical 25-19 scores, Lawrence put together its strongest push of the match in the third.
The Vikings battled back from a five-point deficit to pull even at 17-17 and stayed within striking distance the rest of the way. Dubuque reached match point at 24-21, but back-to-back kills from Weier pulled Lawrence within one at 24-23 before the Spartans secured the final point.
