The women of Lawrence’s volleyball team packed in three matches this weekend, two of which were important Midwest Conference matches.
Though play started Friday night against Grinnell, the team spent the week training hard to prepare. When asked how the team got themselves ready for the long weekend, senior Kate Rosenbalm replied, “We watched a lot of film of both teams as well as going through their rotations in practice to examine their offenses.”
The strategizing paid off, as the Vikes defeated Grinnell 3-1 on Friday, Oct. 4 on their home court. In the first of four games, Lawrence dominated the attack and crushed Grinnell 25-6. Not willing to give up, however, Grinnell came back in the second match to win 30-28. Lawrence’s attack was too strong for Grinnell overall, with sophomores Megan Conley and Terese Swords contributing 14 and 11 kills respectively. Senior Di McLeod played an incredible match, offering up 41 assists, seven kills, 11 digs and three blocks. The Vikings’ defense was lead by senior Kathleen Rowland, who had 29 digs. With such strong offense and defense, the Vikes came out with a victory, beating Grinnell 25-19 and 30-28 in the last two games.
Saturday, Oct. 5 was no easy day for the Vikes, as they took on two very tough teams. They began the day at 11:00 a.m. against Cornell, their second Conference matchup of the weekend. Conley and Swords had a combined 13 kills and McLeod offered up 20 assists. Unfortunately, this was not enough to stop the Cornell offense, which came out on top 3-0 by the following scores: 25-17, 25-15, and 25-17. Senior Taylor Tomaszewski reacted, “We had strong serve/receive, but our hitting percentage was too low.”
The Vikings’ final game of the weekend was against Lakeland College, another stout competitor. Off to a strong start, the Vikes defeated Lakeland in the first game by a score of 25-19. Asked what the best part of the weekend was, Rowland mentioned, “When we beat Lakeland in our first game. There was a lot of positive energy on the court.” Lakeland did not give up that easily though, and ended up defeating the Vikes 25-15, 25-21 and 26-24 in the final three games. Despite the loss, the Vikings still had strong offensive and defensive plays. Swords and Conley had 11 and 10 kills respectively, with junior Kayla Storm contributing nine kills of her own. McLeod recorded 37 assists during the match, and Rowland, who holds the record for digs at Lawrence, notched 32 this game.
Saturday’s game against Lakeland was also Lawrence’s Senior Day. Rosenbalm, Tomaszewski, Rowland, McLeod and Lily Heun were all honored at the beginning of the game. “I can’t say that I have a favorite memory. I love every moment I spend with my LUVers, they are my family here on campus and I wouldn’t trade it for anything” Tomaszewski mentioned. Lawrence’s next home match is Saturday, Oct. 12 at 11:00 a.m. against Midwest Conference rival Illinois College.