Northfield, MN – Nebraska Wesleyan volleyball battled closely with Carleton College on Friday evening, but the Prairie Wolves were unable to break through in a tightly contested three-set match, falling 25-23, 26-24, 25-22.
The opening set was tightly contested throughout. Nebraska Wesleyan jumped out to an early 3-1 lead before Carleton answered with an 8-1 run to move ahead 9-4. The Prairie Wolves battled back and eventually tied the set at 13-13. Carleton regained control late and held a 24-20 advantage, but NWU fought off three set points to pull within one at 24-23. The Knights secured the set on the following point for a 25-23 victory.
Set two followed a similar script as neither team could create much separation. The score was knotted at 20-20 before Carleton used a 4-0 run to reach set point. Nebraska Wesleyan responded with four straight points of its own to even the score at 24-24, but the Knights scored the final two points to claim a 26-24 win and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Carleton built an early advantage in the third set and maintained its lead throughout. The Prairie Wolves continued to pressure the Knights and trimmed the deficit late but Carleton closed out the match with a 25-22 win.
Molly Ramirez paced the Prairie Wolves with 10 kills, while
Jera Schuerman added nine and
Ella Foote chipped in seven.
Elecea Saathoff directed the offense with 30 assists and added 10 digs.
Grayson Piening led the defensive effort with 14 digs, while Ramirez recorded 12. At the net,
Mikyna Stoppkotte contributed four block assists.
As a team, Nebraska Wesleyan totaled 35 kills while hitting .109. Five different Prairie Wolves recorded a service ace, and NWU finished the match with 54 digs and five total blocks.
Nebraska Wesleyan returns to action Saturday in Northfield with matches against the University of Minnesota Morris at 10 a.m. and Martin Luther College at 2 p.m.
