While most students are just getting back into the swing of classes, the women on Lawrence’s Volleyball team have been on campus practicing and competing since the middle of August. On Saturday, September 20, Lawrence hosted both Edgewood and Cardinal Stritch College for the Triangular Tournament. After spending the previous week working on blocking, defensive positioning and offensive attacks, the team was ready to take on Edgewood for the first match of the day.
The Edgewood Eagles came out strong on the attack, hitting .333 for the match as a whole. Freshman all-star hitter Arianna Cohen led Lawrence’s attack with 13 kills and no errors on 22 attempts, leaving her with an outstanding .591 hitting percentage. Also assisting on the attack was junior Terese Swords, who added nine kills for the Vikings. The freshmen pair of Lauren Ray and Sydney Nelson had 22 and 11 assists for the Vikings respectively. However, the Eagles’ attack could not be stopped and they were able to come out on top defeating the Vikings 25-20, 25-21, and 25-23.
“I think some of our strengths were our offensive choices and our serve receive. Those two elements continue to improve every game we play,” said Cohen. “We do tend to have some pretty negative attitudes when we are losing on the court, so I think that is something we can work on during conference.”
Next up for the Vikings was another non-conference competitor, Cardinal Stritch. This time it was the Vikings who started off strong, winning the first two games 27-25 and 25-23. Once again, Swords and Cohen led the attack with a combined total of 23 kills. Ray and Nelson also continued their streak, contributing 27 and 18 assists, respectively. Another freshmen duo, Cyra Bammer and Noelle Hele, each added 19 digs apiece for the Vikings defense. The Wolves ended up coming back in the last three matches to defeat Lawrence 3-2 overall with scores of 25-14, 25-15 and 15-9.
Despite the two hard losses, the Vikings put up a great effort throughout both matches. Cohen went on to mention, “I think [freshman] Sydney Nelson deserves the MVP title for the weekend. Her defense was spot on and she made great decisions as a setter. She continues to get better every week.”
The Vikings next match will be against conference competitor, Knox College at home Friday, October 3 at Alexander Gymnasium.