The Lawrence women’s volleyball team wrapped up another season this past Thursday against conference leader Carroll College. Despite an inspired effort by senior Kelly Mulcahy, who was playing in her final home game and was attempting to move into second place on the all-time kills list, the girls lost in three games.Carroll (8-1, 18-13) won the first game 30-27, but trailed for most of the second game and part of the third before pulling out victories of 32-30 and 30-25. Senior student assistant coach Ryan Wendel said that the girls played “as well as they have all year — it’s just too bad it was against the conference leaders.”
Mulcahy led the Vikes with 15 kills, just 2 shy of tying for second place all-time. Meanwhile, former Wayland Academy standout Margaret Rhatican added 10 kills and 8 digs. Freshman Farrell Tremble and sophomore Shannon Storey paced the defense with 11 and 7 digs respectively, while junior Hillary Cheever was a beast at the net notching 8 blocks.
Although the record doesn’t reflect success (the girls won just seven games), there is plenty of promise as the team graduates Mulcahy, their only senior. With a lineup dominated by freshmen and sophomores and the return of junior Tara Carmody (out this season with a torn ACL), the future looks bright as these young women continue to gain experience and improve their skills.
Overall, the Vikes say farewell to three vital cogs in the wheel. Along with Mulcahy, the team will no longer enjoy seeing student assistant coach Ryan Wendel on the bench, or their team’s student trainer Carrie Van Groll.