Volleyball

MOUNT VERNON, Iowa — The Lawrence University volleyball team saw its hopes of a Midwest Conference Tournament title dashed Friday after an impressive performance by defending league champion Cornell College.

The Rams defeated Lawrence 25-15, 25-15, 25-9 in the tournament semifinals.

League player of the year Diamond Boyd and Nicole Ciari paced Cornell (22-6) with nine kills apiece. The Rams hit .351 for the match and had just eight attack errors.

Freshman Rachel Barthel paced Lawrence (11-16) with seven kills, and Arianna Neumeyer added six kills and 10 digs. Sydney Nelson led Lawrence with 10 assists, and Barthel picked up seven digs and a pair of aces.

Cornell jumped out to a 10-5 lead in the opening set and gradually pulled away. In the second set, Lawrence led 14-13 after a kill by Barthel, but the Rams went on a 12-1 run to finish the set. Cornell raced to a 10-2 lead in the third set and quickly closed out the set and the match.

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APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence University volleyball standouts Arianna Neumeyer and Cyra Bammer have been chosen for the All-Midwest Conference team in a vote of league coaches.

Neumeyer (Manitowoc, Wis./Lutheran), a sophomore outside hitter, was named to the first team. Bammer (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville), the team’s libero, was a second-team pick.

Neumeyer, who was chosen for the second consecutive year, was the Vikings’ top hitter and a force on the serve and on defense.

Neumeyer piled up 258 kills for an average of 3.11 per set while posting a .140 hitting percentage. Neumeyer, who earned MWC Offensive Player of the Week honors during the season, also picked up 26 service aces.

Neumeyer was second on the team in digs only to Bammer and finished with 298 during the regular season for an average of 3.59 per set. Neumeyer also was second on the team with 27 blocks.

Bammer, who was twice named the MWC Defensive Player of the Week this season, led the team with 433 digs this season. Bammer, who passed 1,000 career digs this season, averaged 5.41 digs per set.

Bammer also contributed 19 aces, 34 kills and 48 assists.

Lawrence also won the Sportsmanship Award in a vote by the league’s coaches.

APPLETON, Wis. — It was the most important match of the season for the Lawrence University volleyball team, and it was one in which the Vikings weren’t playing.

When St. Norbert knocked off Ripon on Oct. 26, it vaulted Lawrence into the four-team Midwest Conference Tournament in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Lawrence plays top seed Cornell Friday night in one semifinal, and St. Norbert faces Grinnell in the other. The winners meet Saturday in the title match with a NCAA Division III Tournament berth on the line.

“I was at home watching (the webcast), and I know the team got together and was watching,” Lawrence coach Matt Schoultz said. “We were texting back and forth. It’s a great step for our program and a great opportunity to represent Lawrence at the tournament.”

Lawrence (11-15) has been knocking on the door of the tournament since 2013 and narrowly missed making it last season.

“Knowing the players we had returning and how close we came last year to making it, it was something we felt was attainable this year,” Schoultz said. “We had some pretty high expectations, and that was our goal this year.”

The Vikings returned all-conference hitter Arianna Neumeyer, the setting duo of Lauren Ray and Sydney Nelson and defensive standout Cyra Bammer. A valuable new addition to the mix has been rookie outside hitter Rachel Barthel.

The Vikings stumbled out of the gate with an 0-2 conference mark, but then reeled off five straight conference wins.

“It was just staying the course,” Schoultz said of the win streak. “Just continuing to get better and staying more consistent. That started with how they approached practice. They never lost focus and got down on themselves. They stayed very positive and motivated.”

Road losses at Grinnell and Cornell to finish the league slate put their tournament berth in jeopardy before they got the assist from St. Norbert. It’s Lawrence’s first berth in the MWC Tournament since it went to its current four-team format in 2008.

“Setting that expectation and then realizing it — it changes the attitude of the entire program,” Schoultz said. “To say you’re in the top four and made it to the conference tournament finally, it’s a great builder for our returning players and for players looking to come here in the future.”

Just making the tournament isn’t enough for Schoultz and the Vikings. They would like to win a match or two, but the Vikings will have to knock off four-time defending champion Cornell to get to the title match. It would be a first for Lawrence volleyball, and Schoultz would like to add “2016” to the volleyball banner in Alexander Gymnasium.

“Every day we step in that gym and we have an empty banner up there. It’s hard not to think about that every day in practice,” Schoultz said.

“We are not just being satisfied with being at the tournament. They feel like they have the talent and ability to win a match. … I feel like we could be right there with (Cornell), and I think the team feels that way.”

PLYMOUTH, Wis. — The Lawrence University volleyball team played some stingy defense Saturday and rode that to a 3-0 nonconference win over Lakeland University at Woltzen Gymnasium.

Lawrence won the match 25-21, 25-22, 25-21 as part of the Lakeland Quadrangular.

Lawrence (11-15) limited Lakeland (15-16) to a .055 hitting percentage for the match and piled up 55 digs. Cyra Bammer and Katie Kumbalek had 14 digs apiece to pace the Vikings.

Arianna Neumeyer led Lawrence with nine kills and picked up 10 digs. Rachael Wuensch added eight kills for the Vikings, and Lauren Ray posted 17 assists. Bammer had a team-best three aces, and Ray picked up a pair.

Box score

PLYMOUTH, Wis. — The Edgewood College volleyball team downed Lawrence University 3-0 in a nonconference match on Saturday at Woltzen Gymnasium.

The Eagles won 25-17, 29-27, 25-15 as part of the Lakeland College Quadrangular.

Emily Chaussee led Edgewood (17-13) with 10 kills.

Arianna Neumeyer paced the Vikings (10-15) with nine kills and 11 digs, and Rachel Barthel added eight kills. Lauren Ray picked up 10 assists for the Vikings.

Box score

MOUNT VERNON, Iowa — The Cornell College volleyball team won a pair of tight sets Saturday and went on to a 3-0 Midwest Conference victory over Lawrence University.

The Rams won 25-21, 25-15, 25-23.

Diamond Boyd led Cornell (17-6, 9-0 MWC), which won the league title, with 17 kills, and Libby Schnoor added 10. Katherine Devlin picked up 34 assists for the Rams.

Arianna Neumeyer paced Lawrence (10-14, 5-4) with nine kills, and Rachael Wuensch added six. Sydney Nelson picked up 21 assists, and Cyra Bammer had 23 digs.

The Rams pulled out to a 20-10 lead in the first set before the Vikings rallied. The Vikings were still down 24-15 when they rattled off six consecutive points, including two kills by Neumeyer and an ace from Nelson, to cut the margin to 24-21. The Rams finally ended the first set on Schnoor’s kill.

After Cornell won the second set, the third set was tight throughout. The set was tied at 23-23 after Sara Schliesman’s kill, but a kill by Boyd and a Lawrence attack error gave the Rams the set and match.

Box score

GRINNELL, Iowa — The Grinnell College volleyball team won a pair of tight opening sets Friday and went on to a 3-1 Midwest Conference victory over Lawrence University at Darby Gymnasium.

Grinnell won 25-23, 25-22, 15-25, 25-18.

Olivia Fromm led Grinnell (12-9, 4-2 MWC). with 15 kills, and Margaret Giles picked up 32 assists. Arianna Neumeyer paced all players with 16 kills for Lawrence (10-13, 5-3), and Rachel Barthel added 13.

Cyra Bammer led Lawrence with 37 digs, and Neumeyer picked up 21 digs and three aces. Sydney Nelson paced the Vikings with 16 assists.

The first set was tied at 22-22, but a Grinnell kill and a Lawrence error gave the Pioneers a two-point edge. Neumeyer countered with a kill for the Vikings, but Grinnell got a kill from Ariel Lepito to close out the set.

Lawrence trailed 21-12 in the second set before rallying. The Vikings went on a 10-2 run, capped by Lauren Ray’s ace, to cut the lead to 24-22. Emily Friedman countered with a kill to give Grinnell a 2-0 lead.

Lawrence dominated the third set and cruised to an easy victory, but Grinnell pulled away midway through the fourth set for a 17-10 lead. The Vikings bounced back and cut the margin to 24-18 before a Lawrence service error gave Grinnell the set and match.

Box score

APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University volleyball team swept the Midwest Conference Player of the Week awards after winning a trio of league matches.

Sophomore outside hitter Arianna Neumeyer (Manitowoc, Wis./Lutheran) was named the Offensive Player of the Week, and junior defensive specialist Cyra Bammer (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville) was named Defensive Player of the Week for the second consecutive week.

Lawrence was perfect on the week as the Vikings won at Beloit College and knocked off Lake Forest College and Ripon College at Alexander Gymnasium. The Vikings have now won five straight to improve to 5-2 in the league and 10-12 overall.

Neumeyer piled up 49 kills for the week as the Vikings topped Beloit in straight sets and defeated both Lake Forest and Ripon in four sets. Neumeyer had a .289 hitting percentage for the three matches in addition to collecting six aces, 40 digs and a pair of blocks.

Neumeyer started her week with a match-high nine kills and 11 digs as the Vikings rolled past Beloit. She then picked up 18 kills, two aces and 11 digs in Lawrence’s win over Lake Forest. Neumeyer finished the week by matching her career high with 22 kills to go along with four aces and 18 digs in a victory over Ripon.

Bammer collected 61 digs on her way to winning the weekly award for the second straight time. Bammer picked up 18 digs in the Vikings’ win over Beloit. She then had 15 digs against Lake Forest and finished the week with 28 digs against Ripon. For the week, Bammer and the Vikings limited the opposition to a .095 hitting percentage.

Lawrence returns to action this weekend for a pair of conference matches in Iowa. The Vikings play at Grinnell College on Friday before heading to Cornell College for a Saturday morning match.