ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Lawrence University volleyball team split a pair of four-set matches Friday at the Ericksen Center, defeating the University of Wisconsin-Platteville before falling to Bethel University.
Match 1: Lawrence 3, UW-Platteville 1
Lawrence opened the day with a strong performance against UW-Platteville, taking control early and finishing off a four-set victory.
The Vikings jumped out quickly in the opening set, scoring the first four points and building an 11-6 advantage. Platteville worked its way back into the frame, but Lawrence maintained the lead down the stretch and closed out a 25-21 win.
After the Pioneers evened the match with a 25-18 victory in the second set, Lawrence responded in the third. The Vikings pulled away late and finished off a 25-21 win to move back in front 2-1.
The fourth set proved to be the tightest of the match. Lawrence battled back from an early deficit and eventually tied the score at 24-24 on a kill from Norma Glisczinski. Emma Nilson followed with a block to give the Vikings match point before Hallie Neill delivered a service ace to secure the 26-24 victory.
Glisczinski led the Lawrence attack with 15 kills while hitting .483, committing just one error on 29 attempts. Audrey Weier added 13 kills, while Nilson and Bella Van Lannen each finished with eight. Nilson hit .471 in the victory.
Ally Corrente recorded 23 assists, while Neill handed out 24. Makenna Rettler led the Vikings defensively with 31 digs as Lawrence finished the match hitting .258 with 53 kills and nine total blocks.
Match 2: Bethel 3, Lawrence 1
Lawrence carried its momentum into the second match of the day and grabbed the opening set against Bethel in a back-and-forth battle.
The Vikings built a 15-9 advantage before the Royals worked their way back into the set. The teams traded points late and were tied at 25-25 before Glisczinski delivered a kill to put Lawrence back in front. Neill followed with a service ace to finish off the 27-25 win.
Another tight battle followed in the second set, but Bethel edged Lawrence 26-24 to even the match. The Royals then took control of the third set 25-15 before closing out the match with a 25-20 victory in the fourth.
Van Lannen led the Lawrence offense with 20 kills while hitting .254. Glisczinski added 10 kills, while Weier and Nilson each finished with eight. Nilson hit a team-best .429 on 14 attempts.
Corrente finished with 23 assists and 12 digs, while Neill added 22 assists and 16 digs. Aria Wessel paced the defense with 18 digs as Lawrence totaled 81 digs in the match.
