STEVENS POINT, Wis. — The UW-Oshkosh volleyball team posted a 3-1 victory over Lawrence University on Tuesday at the UW-Stevens Point Quadrangular.
The Titans defeated the Vikings 25-21, 14-25, 25-17, 25-17.
Clare Bohrer paced the Vikings with 12 kills, and Shannon McLain added seven kills. Diane McLeod picked up 28 assists, and Kathleen Rowland had 20 digs.
Sarah Petermann led UW-Oshkosh with 13 kills.
STEVENS POINT, Wis. — The UW-Stevens Point volleyball team posted a 3-0 victory over Lawrence University on Tuesday at the UW-Stevens Point Quadrangular.
Christina Brinkman led a balanced Stevens Point attack with eight kills. Alexis Hartman paced the Pointers with 26 assists.
Emma Kane led Lawrence with seven kills, and Diane McLeod had 17 assists.
The Lawrence University volleyball team remained unbeaten in Midwest Conference play with a 3-0 victory over Knox College on Saturday at Alexander Gymnasium.
Lawrence improved to 3-0 in the conference with the 25-18, 25-17, 25-12 victory.
Clare Bohrer paced Lawrence (10-9, 3-0 MWC) with 10 kills on only 16 attempts. Betsy Sorensen added nine kills on only 10 attempts. Diane McLeod picked up 29 assists and 11 digs for the Vikings, and Kathleen Rowland had a team-high 16 digs.
Kelly Ricketts paced Knox (0-18, 0-4) with nine kills.
Lawrence bolted to an early lead in the opening set with a 10-4 lead. Knox pulled to within 16-13, but Lawrence scored seven of the next 11 points to pull away.
The Vikings led 18-15 in the second set, but Lawrence then scored the next three points to build its margin. The Prairie Fire didn’t get closer than five points after that.
Lawrence led 4-3 in the third set before scoring the next 12 points and cruising to win the set and match.
The Vikings return to action on Tuesday when they travel to the UW-Stevens Point Quadrangular.
The Lawrence University volleyball team is hosting breast cancer awareness events during its matches in October. All matches are free and open to the public.
The Midwest Conference will honor National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM) by launching the “Play for the Cure” campaign during select MWC volleyball games throughout the month of October.
The Lawrence volleyball team is hosting a Breast Cancer Awareness Day for the fourth consecutive year. The Vikings have been collecting donations on campus leading up to the event. Black with pink lettering Lawrence volleyball t-shirts also will be offered for sale ($10), and the Vikings will wear their pink jerseys during the match.
All proceeds from the event will be donated to the Appleton Medical Center Cancer Center.
Lawrence’s Play for the Cure match is Saturday, Oct. 1, at 1 p.m. vs. Knox College.
The Vikings also would like to recognize breast cancer survivors during their matches. If you would like to be a part of the day, please contact Lawrence head coach Matt Schoultz at 920-993-6280 or via email at matthew.schoultz@lawrence.edu.
The Lawrence University volleyball team put together a key rally late in the second set and went on to a 3-1 Midwest Conference victory over Grinnell College on Friday night at Alexander Gymnasium.
Lawrence won 24-26, 27-25, 25-11, 25-23.
Shannon McLain and Clare Bohrer had 13 kills apiece and Emma Kane added 11 kills to pace Lawrence (9-9, 2-0 MWC). Michelle Griggs paced Grinnell (4-12, 2-1) with 17 kills. Diane McLeod posted 44 assists for the Vikings, and Kathleen Rowland had a match-high 25 digs.
After Grinnell scored the final three points to win the first set, the Pioneers led 22-20 in the second set. A kill by McLain and an attack error by the Pioneers tied the set at 22-22. The teams then traded points and the set was tied 25-25. Lawrence then got kills from Jenna Picha and Kane to win the set.
Lawrence then blitzed the Pioneers in the third set to grab the lead, but Grinnell led 18-16 in the fourth set. Lawrence reeled off five consecutive points to grab a 21-18 lead. The Pioneers battled back to tie the set at 23-23, but Lawrence got a kill from Kane and a block from Kane and Bohrer to close out the set and match.
Lawrence returns to MWC play on Saturday when it hosts Knox College.
MILWAUKEE, Wis. — The Lawrence University volleyball team won a pair of matches on Saturday at the Milwaukee School of Engineering Quadrangular.
Lawrence defeated MSOE 3-0 (25-23, 25-15, 29-27), and the Vikings downed Finlandia 3-0 (25-6, 25-11, 25-12). Wisconsin Lutheran topped Lawrence (3-1 (25-22, 25-14, 19-25, 25-20).
In the first match, Shannon McLain piled up 17 kills to lead the Lawrence attack. Diane McLeod picked up 19 assists, and Kathleen Rowland had 18 digs against the Raiders.
Lawrence’s reserves did the damage against Finlandia as Betsy Sorensen picked up a team-high nine kills against the Lions. McLain also had nine kills against Finlandia. Kate Rosenbalm paced the Vikings with 18 assists, and Rowland had a team-high 11 digs.
Clare Bohrer had 16 kills, McLain added 13 and Emma Kane had 12 in the loss to Wisconsin Lutheran. McLeod piled up a match-high 42 assists. Rowland paced the Vikings with 30 digs.
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.
The Lawrence University volleyball team downed Carroll University 3-1 on Tuesday at Alexander Gymnasium in the Midwest Conference opener for both teams.
Lawrence (6-8, 1-0 MWC) won 25-14, 25-19, 32-34, 25-20.
Shannon McLain paced Lawrence with 20 kills and a .319 hitting percentage. Clare Bohrer added 16 kills and seven blocks for the Vikings. Diane McLeod piled up 51 assists and picked up 21 digs. Kathleen Rowland had a team-high 27 digs for the Vikings.
Lawrence’s Sam Nimmer recorded nine digs and passed 1,000 digs for her career.
Emily Cecka led Carroll (7-9, 0-1) with 14 kills, Samantha Derynda picked up 39 assists and Michelle Eberhardy had 30 digs.
Lawrence rolled through the first two sets, but Carroll survived three match points for the Vikings and came back to win the third set 34-32.
The Vikings then trailed 11-8 in the fourth set, but six of the next seven points to grab a 14-12 lead. After Carroll cut the lead to 14-13, Lawrence went on a 7-2 run to grab a 21-15 edge. The Vikings led 22-20 before three consecutive attack errors by the Pioneers gave Lawrence the win.
Lawrence University volleyball standout Diane McLeod has been named the Midwest Conference Offensive Player of the Week.
McLeod (Hartland, Wis./Waukesha Catholic Memorial) 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.
In a 3-0 win over Mount Mary College on Sept. 14, McLeod had 34 assists and 14 digs to go along with three aces and a pair of blocks. At the Lawrence Quad, she finished the three matches with 110 assists, 29 digs, five blocks and four aces. Her top totals of the day were 42 assists and 14 digs against Edgewood.
Lawrence returned to action on Wednesday with a 3-1 victory over Carroll University. McLeod piled up 51 assists to help Lawrence to the victory in the Midwest Conference opener for both teams.
This marks the second consecutive week Lawrence has earned MWC Offensive Player of the Week honors. Clare Bohrer (Eau Claire, Wis./Regis) picked up the honor last week.
The Lawrence University volleyball team posted a 1-2 record on Saturday at the Lawrence Quadrangular inside Alexander Gymnasium.
The Vikings defeated Alverno College 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-17). Lawrence dropped a 3-1 decision to Edgewood College by the scores of 25-19, 23-25, 28-26, 25-18. Cardinal Stritch University topped the Vikings 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 27-25).
In the other matches on Saturday, Cardinal Stritch defeated Alverno 3-0 (25-16, 25-19, 25-10), Edgewood defeated Alverno 3-0 (25-11, 25-18, 25-14) and Edgewood defeated Cardinal Stritch 3-1 (25-22, 14-25, 25-22, 25-18).
Freshman Betsy Sorensen paced the Vikings on the day with 31 kills and a .280 hitting percentage. Shannon McLain added 25 kills, and Presley Neuman had 18. Both Sorensen and Neuman had a team-high 10 blocks apiece.
Setter Diane McLeod piled up 110 assists and picked up 29 digs, five kills and four aces on the day. Libero Kathleen Rowland paced Lawrence with 62 digs.
All-Tournament Team
Mallory Palmer, OH, Edgewood
Ashleigh Fisher, OH, Cardinal Stritch
Diane McLeod, S, Lawrence
Lindsay Swansby, S, Edgewood
Sarah Mlachnik, L, Cardinal Stritch
Kathleen Rowland, L, Lawrence
Lawrence vs. Edgewood box score
