Volleyball

BELOIT, Wis. — Kayla Storm hit double digits in kills and digs to lead the Lawrence University volleyball team to a 3-0 Midwest Conference sweep over Beloit College Friday night at Flood Arena.

Lawrence won 25-19, 25-9, 25-22.

Storm led the Vikings (9-15, 5-3 MWC) with a match-high 10 kills and 12 digs. Terese Swords added eight kills and Megan Conley had seven for Lawrence. Cyra Bammer picked up 11 digs for the Vikings.

Lawrence trailed 14-13 in the opening set, but the Vikings rattled off six of the next seven points to grab a 19-15 edge. Beloit (3-20, 0-8) never got closer than three points the rest of the way.

In the second set, Lawrence jumped out to a 6-1 lead and never looked back. It marked the second time this season Lawrence had held an opponent to single-digit points in a set.

The third set was tied 12-12 when Lawrence went on an 8-2 run to take command. The Bucs closed to within 22-20, but Lawrence got a pair of kills from Conley and a service ace from Sara Schliesman to close out the match.

Box score

JACKSONVILLE, Ill. — The Lawrence University volleyball team completed a huge comeback Friday night in a 3-2 Midwest Conference victory at Illinois College.

Lawrence (8-15, 4-3 MWC) won 13-25, 24-26, 25-19, 25-22, 15-6.

Terese Swords paced Lawrence with 18 kills, and Arianna Cohen and Kayla Storm added 12 and 11 kills, respectively. Lawrence’s two setters split the assists almost right down the middle. Lauren Ray had 26 assists and Sydney Nelson picked up 25.

Storm also had a team-high 33 digs and libero Cyra Bammer added 28.

Already trailing 1-0 in sets, Lawrence led the second set 24-20 but gave up six consecutive points to the Lady Blues (6-13, 3-4) to fall behind by two sets.

Lawrence finally got on the board in the third set by building a comfortable early lead and going on to a six-point win to trim the margin to 2-1. The Vikings then trailed 15-11 in the fourth set, but Lawrence won eight of the next 10 points to take a 19-17 lead. The teams then traded points, and Lawrence won the set on a kill by Storm to even the match at 2-2.

The final set was tied 3-3, but the Vikings went on a 9-2 run to take command with a 12-5 lead. Storm again got the final kill to close out the set and win the match.

Box scores

APPLETON, Wis. — The Ripon College volleyball team won three sets to take a 3-1 Midwest Conference victory over Lawrence University on Tuesday at Alexander Gymnasium.

Ripon (13-9, 3-2 MWC) won 25-27, 28-26, 25-23, 25-21.

Emily Gary pounded out 24 kills to pace Ripon, and Katie Berrell added 17. Abbi Williamson picked up 57 assists, and Brianne Milroy had 28 digs.

Terese Swords paced the Lawrence attack with 15 kills, and Betsy Sorensen added 10. Lauren Ray had 24 assists, and Sydney Nelson picked up 20 for the Vikings (7-15, 3-3). Kayla Storm added nine kills and a team-high 26 digs.

Lawrence rallied from a 21-16 deficit to take the win in the opening set, and the Vikings were down 20-16 in the second set. Lawrence rallied to take a 24-23 lead, but the teams then traded points before back-to-back kills by the Red Hawks gave them the set.

The Vikings were down 18-11 in the third set but rallied again. Lawrence cut the lead to 24-23 but a kill by Berrell closed out the set for a 2-1 Ripon edge. Lawrence trailed by as many as seven points in the fourth set at 20-13, but the Vikings rallied to cut the margin to 23-21. Ripon then got kills from Berrell and Gary to close out the match.

Box score

GRINNELL, Iowa — The Grinnell College volleyball team topped Lawrence University 3-1 in a Midwest Conference match on Saturday at Darby Gymnasium.

Grinnell won 25-20, 20-25, 25-21, 25-19.

Claire Weidman led Grinnell (6-15, 1-3 MWC) with 14 kills, and Margaret Giles picked up 35 assists.

Terese Swords led Lawrence (7-14, 3-2) with 19 kills. Kayla Storm added 12 kills, and Betsy Sorensen had 10. Lauren Ray had a team-high 16 assists, and Cyra Bammer picked up 20 digs.

Box score

MOUNT VERNON, Iowa — The Cornell College volleyball team topped Lawrence University 3-0 Friday night in a Midwest Conference match.

The Rams (13-6, 4-0 MWC) defeated Lawrence 25-12, 25-22, 25-18.

Diamond Boyd paced the Rams with 11 kills and Taylor Dicus added nine. Terese Swords led Lawrence (7-13, 3-1) with 11 kills. Lauren Ray had 13 assists for the Vikings, and Cyra Bammer picked up 16 digs.

Lawrence completes its swing through Iowa with a match on Saturday at Grinnell College.

Box score

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.”

APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence University volleyball standout Arianna Cohen has been named Midwest Conference Offensive Player of the Week.

Cohen (Glendale, Wis./Nicolet) turned in one of the best days for a hitter in Lawrence volleyball history and led the Vikings to a pair of Midwest Conference victories.

A freshman middle hitter, Cohen posted a .706 hitting percentage as she pounded out 12 kills with no errors on only 17 attempts in Lawrence’s 3-0 victory over Monmouth this past Saturday. The .706 hitting percentage is the third-best number in Lawrence history.

Cohen also picked up seven kills and a .333 hitting percentage in Lawrence’s 3-0 victory over Knox last Friday. For the week, Cohen had 19 kills and just two errors for a .531 hitting percentage. She also picked up three blocks.

On the season, Cohen has a team-high 159 kills, an average of 2.27 per set, and has a .207 hitting percentage. Cohen also has 39 blocks and 21 digs.

Lawrence returns to action on Friday when the Vikings travel to Cornell College. Lawrence then takes on Grinnell College on Saturday before returning home.

APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University rallied for a win in the first set and then rolled past Monmouth College in the final two sets for a 3-0 Midwest Conference win on Saturday at Alexander Gymnasium.

Lawrence (7-12, 3-0 MWC) won the match 26-24, 25-17, 25-16.

Monmouth (6-15, 0-2) led 24-21 in the opening set, but the Vikings got kills from Betsy Sorensen and Arianna Cohen sandwiched around a Monmouth attack error to tie the match at 24-24. Another kill from Sorensen and a Monmouth attack error gave Lawrence a run of five consecutive points and a win in the opening set.

Lawrence then controlled the final two sets, leading by as many as eight points in the second set and nine points in the third set.

Arianna Cohen paced Lawrence with 12 kills and zero attack errors on only 17 attacks. Andrea Wilkinson, Terese Swords and Megan Conley added five kills apiece for the Vikings.

Lauren Ray had a team-best 16 assists for the Vikings, and Cyra Bammer picked up 16 digs.

Quincy Merritt paced Monmouth with 12 kills, and Johnna Schultz had 35 assists.

Box score

APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University volleyball team used a balanced attack to blast past Knox College 3-0 in a Midwest Conference match Friday night at Alexander Gymnasium.

Lawrence defeated the Prairie Fire 25-14, 25-9, 25-19.

Kayla Storm paced Lawrence (6-12, 2-0 MWC) with nine kills. Arianna Cohen added seven kills, and Betsy Sorensen had five kills on only six attempts. Sorensen, Megan Conley and Terese Swords added four blocks apiece for the Vikings.

Setters Sydney Nelson and Lauren Ray split the assists as Nelson had 13 and Ray added 11 for Lawrence. Cyra Bammer paced the Vikings with 19 digs.

Rose Griffin led Knox with seven kills, and Casey Stachelski picked up 16 assists.

Box score

APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence University volleyball standout Cyra Bammer has been named the Midwest Conference Defensive Player of the Week.

Bammer (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville) won the award in the wake of Lawrence’s 3-2 come-from-behind victory over Carroll University in the conference opener on Sept. 24.

Bammer, a freshman libero, finished with a team-high 23 digs and picked up a big service ace in Lawrence’s third-set rally.

After dropping the first two sets 25-8 and 25-21, the Vikings were down 24-21 in the third set when Bammer stepped up to serve. She picked up an ace on the next point and then served the next two Lawrence points that tied the set at 24-24. Lawrence killed off five match points in the third set and went on to win 29-27. Lawrence then won the fourth set 25-23 and took the fifth set 15-7.

Bammer, who was named to the all-tournament team at the UW-Oshkosh Pizza Hut Classic earlier this season, leads the team with 290 digs, an average of 4.39 per set. Bammer, the only first-year player among the league leaders in digs, also has picked up 33 assists, five kills and four aces.

Lawrence returns to action this weekend when it hosts Knox College on Friday and Monmouth College on Saturday.