The old coaching adage says you have to play good competition to get better.
Go ahead and check that one off the list for Lawrence University volleyball coach Matt Schoultz.
Schoultz’s Vikings have played a rigorous non-conference schedule and appear ready to make a run at the making the four-team Midwest Conference Tournament in November.
“Our pre-conference schedule helped us prepare for conference play,” Schoultz said. “We played four teams ranked in the top 25. The level we had to play at was high. We didn’t win those matches but were competitive. It helped us to get better and push ourselves to get better.”
Schoultz said the difference between the top teams in the nation and the Vikings is the peaks and valleys. The Vikings have found some peaks but have spent too much time in the valleys.
“We lost to a lot of those teams because they played more consistent volleyball,” Schoultz said. “I think it’s taught us we have to play more consistent and raise the level of our play. I think it’s definitely preparing us for what we will see in our conference schedule.”
Lawrence sports a 6-8 record after that early stretch, but the Vikings picked up a big win when they opened conference play on Tuesday with an impressive 3-1 victory over Carroll University.
“To get a win over (Carroll) was definitely a big step in the right direction for reaching the conference tournament,” Schoultz said.
The way the Vikings defeated Carroll was just as important as the win itself. Lawrence dominated the first two sets with impressive play before Carroll regrouped in the third set. But the Vikings turned it on again in the fourth set to wrap up the match.
“We have pretty high expectations of the way we want to play,” Schoultz said. “The way we played in the first two sets and the way we finished the fourth set, when we play at that level, we’re going to be pretty tough to beat at times.”
The Vikings have some firepower to play at that high level. Senior outside hitter Clare Bohrer is a three-time all-conference selection and averaged 2.67 kills and 1.02 blocks per set. Junior outside hitter Shannon McLain is right behind Bohrer at 2.27 kills per set.
Sophomore setter Diane McLeod has been a constant, averaging 8.92 assists per set, and piled up 51 in the match against Carroll.
“We have a lot of different weapons,” Schoultz said. “When things are going well like they were (against Carroll) at times, we’re pretty tough to stop. But again, it’s about consistency.”
If the Vikings continue to find that consistency, that goal of playing in the conference tournament becomes more and more of a reality.
“One of our main goals for this year is to make the conference tournament,” Schoultz said. “It’s something we haven’t done since I started here, and I think it’s an attainable goal for this year.”
McLeod setting pretty
McLeod has been named the MWC Offensive Player of the Week. The sophomore from Hartford, Wis., helped Lawrence to a 2-2 record on the week and was named to the all-tournament team at the Lawrence Quadrangular on Sept. 17. For the week, McLeod piled up 144 assists, an average of 11.1 per set, to go along with 43 digs, seven aces, six kills and seven blocks.
Burke takes defensive award
Lawrence women’s soccer standout Cassie Burke has been chosen as the MWC Defensive Player of the Week. The junior goalkeeper went 2-0 and posted a shutout as Lawrence swept a pair of matches. In a 1-0 win over the Milwaukee School of Engineering last Saturday, Burke made seven saves to post her first shutout of the season and fifth of her career. In a 4-1 victory over Lakeland College on Sunday, Burke played the first half in goal and made two saves to help Lawrence to a 2-0 lead at the break.
Editor’s Note: Inside LU Athletics is a weekly notes package written by Lawrence University Sports Information Director Joe Vanden Acker. It will feature teams and individual players, recap weekly awards or highlights and take a look at what’s ahead for the Vikings.