McMinnville, OR - (Sept. 4, 2026) - Behind 10 kills and four aces from outside hitter
Jera Schuerman, the Nebraska Wesleyan University women's volleyball team defeated Lewis & Clark College (Ore.), 3-0, in the first match of the season before falling to Linfield University in five sets on Saturday inside Ted Wilson gymnasium.
The River Otters, who entered the match 0-1, jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the opening set. A 6-1 run by the Prairie Wolves, highlighted by three aces from Schuerman, put Nebraska Wesleyan on top 7-4. Later in the set, Lewis & Clark put together a run of their own, winning five of six points to cut the lead to 23-22. The Prairie Wolves won the final two points to take set one, 25-22.
The teams traded points early on in the second set. A kill from
Macy Plucker sparked a 5-0 run by the Prairie Wolves, taking a 11-5 advantage. More back-and-forth action was followed by extra points, with the set going past 25. With the match knotted at 25, a kill from
Ella Foote and a River Otter attacking error sealed a 27-25 victory in set two.
Molly Ramirez's kill opened a 6-1 run for the Prairie Wolves to go up 6-4 in the third set. Lewis & Clark stormed back to tie the set seven times before a service error and a kill from Ramirez kept Nebraska Wesleyan in front, 18-15. Two more kills down the stretch from Ramirez clinched a 25-19 win for the Prairie Wolves.
Schuerman tallied a career-high four aces. Schuerman also posted 10 kills with Ramirez and Foote recording eight.
Elecea Saathoff sent out 26 assists with
Macy Plucker registering 10 digs.
The Prairie Wolves got off to a slow start, but Ramirez kicked off the attack with a kill, before the Wildcats took a 9-4 lead. After a 8-3 swing by the Prairie Wolves, Linfield scored the next five points to take a 19-13 advantage. Kills from Ramirez and Schuerman brought Nebraska Wesleyan within one, but Linfield took a 25-23 win in set one.
A kill from
Ava Stone gave the Prairie Wolves a 6-4 edge in the second set. An ace from
Molly Ramirez and kills from
Jera Schuerman kept the momentum on the visitors side. Linfield battled back into the set at 22-19. Another kill from Schuerman opened an 3-0 run that sealed set two, 25-19.
A kill from
Ella Foote gave the Prairie Wolves an early 2-1 advantage. From there, the set was controlled by the Wildcats. Two Prairie Wolf errors, clinched a 25-19 win for the Wildcats.
Staying alive, Nebraska Wesleyan took an 4-2 lead before the Wildcats came storming back into a comfortable 15-10 lead. A late rally from Nebraska Wesleyan brought them back into the drivers seat, 20-19. The Prairie Wolves earned a 25-23 win in set four. An ace from
Elecea Saathoff knotted the fifth set at 5-5. Manchester closed out the set on a 9-2 run to earn a 15-12 victory.
Ramirez led all players with 19 kills, followed closely by Schuerman with 14. Harvey dished out 40 assists. The Prairie Wolves hit .179 in the match.
The Prairie Wolves return to play tomorrow to finish their Oregon road trip facing Willamette on Sept. 5. The first serve in Salem is set for 1 p.m. PT / 3 p.m. CT.
