LINCOLN, Neb. – NWU volleyball continues its winning streak, as the Prairie Wolves overcame a 2-0 deficit and dealt CSM its seventh loss of the season Wednesday night at Snyder Arena, 21-25, 20-25, 25-18, 27-25, 15-13.
With the win, NWU (9-5) extended its winning streak and it marked the third straight win over CSM (13-7).
In the third five-set match of the year, two Prairie Wolves reached double-digit kills, highlighted by a match-leading and career-high 23 from senior
Molly Ramirez. Junior
Ella Foote put down 16 kills.
Setter
Elecea Saathoff turned in her ninth double-double of the season with a match-high 18 digs and 51 assists. Ramirez added 15 digs for her seventh double-double of the year. Ramirez led all Prairie Wolves with three blocks, including her 17th career solo block.
The Flames started off the match with four straight points, after the Prairie Wolves scored the first of the match. Kills from
Jera Schuerman, Ramirez and Foote headlined a scoring run and trimmed the Flames' lead to two, 8-6. Behind strong from the Flames, CSM extended its lead to seven, 19-12. CSM hit at a .200 clip (9 kills, 1 error, 31 attempts), while the defense held NWU to 13 kills with ten errors for a .080 hitting percentage (37 swings). Foote totaled five of NWU's 13 kills in Set 1.
Down 24-16 in the second set, NWU scored four consecutive points to temporarily flip momentum. A kill Ramirez and an attack error brought the set within four, 24-20, before the Flames closed it out. NWU had 12 kills in Set 2 but recorded five attack errors for a .206 hitting percentage. Five different players contributed a kill for NWU in Set 2.
In set three, with the score tied 8-8,
Macy Plucker put down her sixth kill to push NWU ahead. The two squads went back-and-forth before the Flames knotted the score at 18-all. Leading 19-18,
Ava Schuchard went on a service run that included three aces and the Prairie Wolves were awarded the set on consecutive kills from Foote to stay alive. The Prairie Wolves hit at a .257 clip in Set 3 (14 kills, 5 errors, 35 swings), led by seven kills from Ramirez.
NWU opened Set 4 with a 9-6 advantage highlighted by a service ace from Schuerman and a kill from Ramirez. The Prairie Wolves capitalized on a 6-2 scoring run and stretched their lead to six, 22-16. The Flames would come back to force extra points, but a kill from
Mikyna Stoppkotte and an ace from
Grayson Piening forced a decisive fifth set. Both squads were evenly matched in total kills with 11, while CSM recorded 12 attack errors to hit -.022.
NWU jumped out the gate in set five with a 6-3 lead but was answered with a 4-1 scoring run to shift momentum in favor of the Flames and the score knotted at seven. Ramirez connected on a pass from Saathoff to hand the P-Wolves a three-point lead and force a timeout from CSM. With the Prairie Wolves leading 13-10, CSM battled with a 3-1 scoring run but was unable to overcome the deficit as NWU completed the reverse sweep with a block from Plucker and Foote. NWU recorded a .350 hitting percentage in Set 5, putting down nine kills with two errors on 20 attempts, led by five kills from Ramirez.
The Prairie Wolves return to action next Wednesday as they open up American Rivers Conference play at the undefeated Buena Vista Beavers (12-0). Wednesday's match is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. CT, and can be seen on American Rivers Sports Network.
