APPLETON, Wis. — It’s rare that a team can point to one moment in a long season and say definitively that was the turning point.
The Lawrence University volleyball team definitely has that moment in 2014.
Down two sets to none and trailing 24-20 in the third set to Carroll University in the Midwest Conference opener on Sept. 24, the Vikings rallied … big time. Lawrence killed off four consecutive match points and then fought off two more match points to win the set 29-27. The Vikings went on to win the match in five sets.
“I think that it just really built their confidence up. The energy and confidence we’ve been playing with since the switch got flipped has been contagious within the team,” Lawrence coach Matt Schoultz said. “Different players are stepping up at different times, and we’re not giving up huge runs where teams are scoring five or six points. We seem to be getting out of those situations quicker.”
Lawrence is off to a 3-0 start in Midwest Conference play, and that is the best start for the Vikings in the league since 2011. The Vikings defeated Knox College and Monmouth College this past weekend.
“Our play has really picked up since we started conference play,” Schoultz said. “We have quite a few freshmen on the floor and getting them up to speed in the nonconference play was something we knew we would have to get through. They figured it out starting with conference play and that was kind of the plan.”
Lawrence has freshman hitter Arianna Cohen leading the team at 2.27 kills per set and she was named the conference’s Offensive Player of the Week after a dominating performance against Knox this past weekend. For the week, Cohen had a .531 hitting percentage in two matches.
The Vikings have a great mix with seniors Betsy Sorensen and Kayla Storm teaming juniors Terese Swords, Megan Conley and Andrea Wilkinson up front on the attack.
“We usually have three or four players getting between six and eight kills apiece,” Schoultz said. “Things have been pretty spread out. That’s what we want because it makes it harder for teams to focus on one or two players. We want to keep teams guessing where it’s going to go.”
The Vikings employ a pair of freshmen setters, Lauren Ray and Sydney Nelson, and freshman libero Cyra Bammer has been outstanding after the Vikings lost all-conference performer Kathleen Rowland to graduation. Ray is averaging 4.55 assists per set, and Nelson is at 3.48.
“It’s been working out well,” Schoultz said of his two setters. “They are the quarterbacks on the floor and have improved their game and their conference in running the team.”
The Vikings will receive a stern test over the next few weeks if they want to reach the four-team conference tournament. Lawrence finishes with six of its final seven conference matches on the road, and that includes a trip to Iowa this weekend and the long trek to Illinois College on Oct. 17.
“We have to continue to play consistently, which we have done over the past couple weeks,” Schoultz said. “My biggest worry is how we are going to handle the travel, especially with so many freshmen who have never done it before.”
Lawrence has a first-place showdown at Cornell College, with whom the Vikings are tied at 3-0, on Friday. The Vikings then head to Grinnell College before returning home to face a very good Ripon College team on Tuesday.
“We do have a pretty grueling stretch coming up here,” Schoultz said. “We have a tough week ahead of us.”