The Lawrence women’s volleyball team went 0-5 overall this week after taking on conference opponent St. Norbert College and four teams in the Elmhurst Invitational. With sophomore Diane McLeod out for the rest of the season with two fractures, it looks like the Vikings will need to come up with a new point of attack.
In their first game of the week, Oct. 19, LU lost 3-0 to the Green Knights from St. Norbert. This win was a big one for St. Norbert as it added to their 6-0 record in the Midwest Conference. Senior Clare Bohrer paced the Vikings with eight kills, and junior Shannon McLain added five. Sophomore Kate Rosenbalm filled in for setter McLeod and had 20 assists. Sophomore Kathleen Rowland had a team-high 11 digs for the Vikings.
Next the team headed to Illinois to participate in the Elmhurst Invitational held at Elmhurst College. The Vikings’ first game on Friday, Oct. 21, was against the Thunder from Wheaton College and it ended in a 0-3 loss. The Thunder defeated Lawrence 25-14, 25-20, 25-15.
In their second game on Friday, the Vikings took Simpson College into five sets but lost 2-3. Simpson defeated the Vikings 25-15, 24-26, 28-26, 25-21, 15-7. Bohrer topped 1,000 kills for her career in the match. She now has 1,020 career kills and is just the fifth player in Lawrence history to get over the 1,000 kill mark.
On Saturday, Oct. 22, the Vikings fell to North Central College 0-3. North Central won 25-16, 25-16, 25-14. Bohrer paced the Vikings with six kills, and Shannon McLain and Junior Emma Kane had three kills apiece. Rosenbalm led Lawrence with 13 assists while Rowland had a team-high 14 digs.
In Lawrence’s last game of the tourney, they lost 0-3 to UW-River Falls. River Falls won 25-19, 25-13, 25-14. Bohrer led Lawrence with six kills and McLain added four. Sophomore Taylor Tomaszewski paced the Vikings with 12 digs and two aces. Rosenbalm led Lawrence with 12 assists.
Although the Vikings did not come out with the records they wanted, it is time to look forward. The Vikings are currently ranked fourth in conference and still have two conference games to play, placing them in a prime position to make the conference tournament.