Last weekend saw the women’s volleyball team go up against Midwest Conference competitors Monmouth College and Illinois College at the Alexander Gym. These matches followed a 10-day stretch of no games after their match against North Park University, which was slated for Tuesday, Oct. 18, was canceled. Unfortunately for the Vikings, they were unable to shake their 18-game losing streak as they ended up losing all sets across both matches.
On Friday, the Scots defeated Lawrence 25-14, 25-16 and 25-17. The Vikings have faced injuries and burnout this season, evident by the mere two players “on the bench” at this match while the Scots were fresh off of a win at Beloit College the day prior. The first set began in a 2-2 tie, with Monmouth quickly pulling ahead for an early lead. Lawrence’s players had several good efforts to catch up but were always at least six points behind. The second set was similar, starting with a 2-0 Lawrence lead, which was promptly foiled by the Scots scoring 12 consecutive points. The Vikings managed to gain some momentum back towards the end of the set, but it wasn’t enough to stop Monmouth from reaching the 25-point mark first. The final set saw the Vikings with the early advantage before the Scots pulled away with the lead. Lawrence whittled Monmouth’s advantage down to just three points before the Scots scored another four consecutive points and won the set.
On Saturday, the Lady Blues defeated Lawrence 25-15, 25-14 and 25-21. Both teams were fresh off a loss, with Illinois College losing to Lake Forest the day before. They were tied early into the first set, with the Lady Blues beginning to pull away with the lead about halfway through. The Vikings couldn’t shake Illinois’ momentum and ended up losing the set in a 10-point deficit. Lawrence started out the second set strong with a three-point lead. By the time the first timeout was called, the score was a 7-7 tie. Afterwards, the Vikings started to lose steam and Illinois College pulled ahead. The Lady Blues maintained at least a six-point lead for the rest of the set. The Vikings put up a good fight in the third set, scoring the first three points to secure an early lead. As Illinois began to take the lead, the Vikings had a surge that landed them in a 14-14 tie. They were still neck-in-neck at the end of the set, with a 20-22 score. In the end, the Lady Blues pulled ahead and Lawrence lost the set in a four-point deficit.
Although both matches ended in defeat, the Vikings still had some standout moments and players. Gracie Pettit had five kills and an ace at Friday’s match. Kylie Naylor had four kills and two aces against Monmouth, and four kills against Illinois. Callista Lo had a total of eight kills and one ace across both games. Mikayla Seymour had two kills and some memorable solo blocks. The player with the most kills was Aliana Butler-Gray, who had six kills on Friday and four kills on Saturday, for a total of 10 kills across both games.
The volleyball Vikings will wrap up their season with a matches against Lake Forest College on Wednesday, Oct. 26, and Cornell College on Friday, Oct. 28.