Box Score Competing in their final NCAA III competition of the regular season, the Nebraska Wesleyan volleyball team went 2-2 at the Spike It Up Classic in Colorado Springs, Colo., over the weekend including a 3-0 loss to 11th-ranked Colorado College in the tournament championship match Saturday night (Oct. 5).

The Prairie Wolves had lost to Colorado College in the opening match of the tournament on Friday, then defeated Hamline University, 3-1, on Friday. Saturday morning the Prairie Wolves rallied back after being down two sets to defeat University of La Verne, 3-2, sending them to the championship and a rematch with Colorado College.



In a very competitive match, the Prairie Wolves could not get over the top in the final points of each set. NWU trailed 21-20 in set one, but CC ran off three straight points to eventually earn the 25-21 win. Set two was just as close as the Prairie Wolves and Tigers were tied 21-21, but back-to-back errors by NWU put Colorado College up 23-21 and two kills gave them the set at 25-22.



NWU built up a 20-15 lead in the third set, but the Tigers scored six of the next seven points to tie it up at 21-21. With the set tied at 23-23, the Tigers recorded two straight kills to seal the victory. Malory Dahl led NWU with 12 kills, with Katelyn Walsh adding 10.



Nebraska Wesleyan concluded the NCAA III portion of the schedule with a 10-2 record and now will have to wait over a month to hear the fate of their postseason aspirations.



Both Alyssa Stanek and Katelyn Walsh were named to the Spike It Up Classic All-Tournament team. Stanek had a huge match in the win over La Verne with 18 kills, six blocks, six digs and three aces. She had 14 kills in the opening match against Colorado College and 12 against Hamline. Walsh had a team-high 17 kills in the win over Hamline.