APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University volleyball team piled up 17 aces Friday night en route to a 3-0 Midwest Conference victory over Monmouth College at Alexander Gymnasium.
The Vikings won 25-21, 25-15, 26-24. The victory was No. 100 for Lawrence head coach Matt Schoultz.
Rachel Barthel led the way for the Vikings (6-12, 1-2 MWC) with seven aces, and Lauren Ray and Cyra Bammer had three aces apiece.
Arianna Neumeyer paced Lawrence with 12 kills, and Barthel added nine as the Vikings compiled a .238 hitting percentage. Ray had a team-high 18 assists, and Sydney Nelson picked up 16. Bammer piled up 29 digs, and Ray added 10.
Lawrence trailed 17-14 in the opening set before the Vikings went on an 8-2 run to take control. Barthel picked up two aces and a kill, and Neumeyer added two kills to spark the run. The Vikings led 22-21 when Colleen Nowlan got a kill, Bammer picked up an ace and Rachael Wuensch added a kill to close out the set.
The second set was tied 10-10 when Lawrence outscored the Scots (6-12, 1-2) 11-3 to pull away. Bammer finished off the set with another ace.
The Vikings trailed 23-19 in the third set before mounting a comeback. A kill by Neumeyer and a pair of kills from Barthel, sandwiched around a Monmouth error, tied the set at 23-23. The Scots won the next point and had a set point at 24-23, but Lawrence got a kill from Claire Vinopal and a Monmouth error to take a 25-24 lead. Lawrence’s Arianna Cohen got the final kill on the next point to finish off the set and match.