BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The Nebraska Wesleyan volleyball team went 2-2 at the Illinois Wesleyan University Tournament that was held Oct. 28-29 in Bloomington, Ill. NWU went 1-1 on each day of the tournament to finish the regular season with a 15-13 overall record.
On Friday, NWU opened the day with a 3-0 loss to Cornell College, then bounced back with a 3-0 win over Anderson University. Saturday had a similar feel as the Prairie Wolves lost the first match 3-0 to the host school Illinois Wesleyan, then closed out the weekend with a 3-0 win over Mount St. Joseph.
Nebraska Wesleyan started off very slow in the match with Cornell losing set one 25-9. They lost the next two sets 25-23, 25-17 to the Rams.
Malory Dahl led NWU with eight kills as the Prairie Wolves had only 19 total kills in the match.
NWU bounced back with a strong victory over Anderson University sweeping their opponent 25-17, 25-17, 25-12. The Prairie Wolves hit .301 as a team with 45 total kills. Dahl had a team-high 15 kills with a .609 hitting percentage, with
Kierra Harder chipping in 10 kills.
Taylor Crandall dished out 38 assists, with
Kennedy Hegert notching 31 digs.
The most competitive match of the tournament was against the host school Illinois Wesleyan. The Titans won the three sets in scores of 25-23, 25-20, 27-25. Taylor Brown was dominant for IWU with 27 kills and 16 digs.
Callie Meyer had a strong match for the Prairie Wolves with 13 kills and four block assists. Dahl reached double figures with 12 kills and seven digs.
Against Mount St. Joseph to close the weekend, the Prairie Wolves rolled to a 3-0 win in scores of 25-16, 25-12, 25-15. Dahl paced the Prairie Wolves with 11 kills and 10 digs to record a double-double. Meyer had 10 kills and two total blocks. Crandall dished out 36 assists and Hegert had 29 digs.
Nebraska Wesleyan now prepares for the 2016 IIAC Volleyball Tournament that will be held Nov. 4-5 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The Prairie Wolves face Central College to open the tournament on Friday at 4:30 pm.
