Lincoln, NE - Nebraska Wesleyan volleyball rallied back from a 2-1 deficit to defeat Wartburg on Senior Day. The Prairie Wolves have won back to back game and sit at 15-7 overall, and 3-3 in American Rivers Conference action.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set One: After yielding the first two points, NWU answered with four points of their own. From there, Wartburg took over, going on an 8-1 run and pulling ahead 10-5. While Nebraska Wesleyan continued to battle, Wartburg countered each NWU rally and won set one 25-22.
Set Two: In the second set, it was Nebraska Wesleyan that got out to a hot start, building an early 10-6 lead on the back of
Macy Plucker's two kills. A 4-0 run by the Knights tied the game at 10, but NWU claimed six of the next nine points to hold a 16-13 lead. After the teams traded points,the Black and Gold would extend their lead to six on a kill by
Molly Ramirez and seemed in total control of the set. However, Wartburg answered with a 7-1 run to tie the set at 22. Wartburg would go on to hold leads of 24-23, 25-24, 26-25, but NWU answered each time with kills from
Molly Ramirez,
Macy Plucker and
Jera Schuerman. NWU would take a 27-26 advantage on a Wartburg error. However, an error on NWU's ensuing serve tied the set at 27. NWU would go on to claim the set 29-27 after kills from
Ella Foote, and an attack error by Wartburg.
Set Three: While set three saw the two teams go back and forth early, Wartburg cruised from there, building a 21-13 lead, before winning the set 25-20.
Set Four: NWU jumped out to a 6-2 lead in set four as
Macy Plucker recorded four of the team's six kills.The Prairie Wolves would grow their lead to 14-9 before Wartburg came charging back with a 7-1 run to go ahead 16-15. Needing to flip the momentum to keep the match going, NWU dug deep and put up a 5-0 run of their own to pull ahead 20-16. After Wartburg countered to cut the lead to two. NWU rallied again and scored the sets final four points to secure a 25-19 win and force the match to a fifth set.
Set Five: In set five, NWU took control early, as
Macy Plucker recorded four kills, while
Ava Stone and
Kobie Patten each had one as the Prairie Wolves built a 10-1 lead. Following a Wartburg point,
Ava Stone and
Jera Schuerman each delivered kills, while a Wartburg attack error put NWU up 13-2. The Prairie Wolves would go on to win the set 15-7.
TEAM STATISTICS
Points: NWU 84 | WC 72
Kills: NWU 69 | WC 53
Aces: NWU 6 | WC 6
Blocks: NWU 9 | WC 13
Assists: NWU 65 | WC 50
Digs: NWU 65 | WC 65
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Macy Plucker: 20 kills, 4 digs
Molly Ramirez: 17 kills, 5 digs
Elecea Saathoff: 58 assists, 9 digs
Raegan Holle: 16 digs, 4 assists
Ella Foote: 7 blocks
UP NEXT
Nebraska Wesleyan will host Luther on Friday, October 31st at 6:00 p.m.
