Lincoln, NE – Nebraska Wesleyan volleyball picked up its first American Rivers Conference victory of the season Saturday afternoon, sweeping Loras College 25-21, 25-18, 26-24 on Senior Day inside Snyder Arena.
The Prairie Wolves controlled much of the opening set, using an early 8-2 run to build an advantage. Nebraska Wesleyan extended its lead to 14-7 and later pushed the margin to 24-16 after a service ace from
Ella Foote and a kill by
Mikyna Stoppkotte. Loras mounted a late rally, scoring five straight points to cut the deficit to 24-21, but
Jera Schuerman ended the run with a kill to secure the 25-21 set victory.
The second set was tightly contested early, with the score tied at 9-9, 11-11 and 12-12. Nebraska Wesleyan gained separation with a 3-0 run to take a 15-12 lead and continued to build its advantage behind strong play from
Molly Ramirez,
Macy Plucker and Stoppkotte. The Prairie Wolves led by as many as seven points late in the set before Plucker recorded the set-clinching kill in a 25-18 victory.
The third set proved to be the most competitive of the afternoon. Loras built its largest lead of the match at 15-10, but the Prairie Wolves steadily worked their way back into the set. Nebraska Wesleyan used a 6-1 run to even the score at 16-16 and continued to battle point-for-point down the stretch. After Loras earned set point at 24-23, Plucker tied the score with a kill before Ramirez delivered back-to-back kills to secure a 26-24 victory and complete the sweep.
Plucker led the Prairie Wolves with 12 kills, while Ramirez added nine. Foote contributed four kills and two service aces, while Schuerman chipped in three kills.
Elecea Saathoff directed the offense with 28 assists and matched Foote for the team lead with two aces.
Defensively,
Grayson Piening recorded a match-high 15 digs, while Ramirez finished with 11 and Plucker added 10. At the net,
Ella Foote totaled three block assists as Nebraska Wesleyan finished with five team blocks.
As a team, the Prairie Wolves recorded 38 kills, seven service aces, 49 digs and five blocks while holding Loras to a .071 hitting percentage.
Nebraska Wesleyan returns to action Tuesday when it hosts Buena Vista at 7:00pm.
