No. 4 Viterbo completes sweep over Waldorf

By Matt Oliver

LA CROSSE, Wis. – Viterbo University completed the season sweep over the Waldorf College volleyball team to clinch at least a share of the North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) regular-season title on Wednesday.

The V-Hawks (32-4, 7-0) entered the night ranked No. 4 in the latest National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) poll and came out on top by scores of 25-15, 25-15, 25-21.

Junior Abby Buehler led the Warriors (9-25, 2-5) with eight kills and freshman Kayla Budgins added seven kills. Sophomore Kaitlyn Monck connected for six kills, junior Megan Perkins provided five kills while junior Brianna Haugen and sophomore Isabelle Rothbauer finished with four kills each.

Waldorf junior Valerie Rivera handed out 16 assists and Monck turned in 14 assists.

Sophomore Briley Sullivan collected 11 digs for the Warriors, Monck recorded 10 digs and Rivera closed out the night with five digs. Freshman Danica Cheney and sophomore Erica Fee contributed four digs apiece and Perkins had three digs.

Budgins tallied two ace serves for Waldorf, which also received aces from Rivera and Cheney.

Viterbo posted three total blocks in the win. The Warriors finished with one block with block assists coming from Buehler and Perkins.

Registering a .343 team hitting percentage, the V-Hawks cranked out 49 total kills and were led by a 22-kill performance from Sara Biermaier. Waldorf hit .196 while recording 34 kills.

The Warriors (9-25, 2-5) host Bellevue University (20-15, 2-2) in Friday’s 5 p.m. conference contest, which is also a Pink Out to support the American Cancer Society (ACS). Bellevue is currently receiving votes in the NAIA poll.

Waldorf closes out the regular season on Saturday against a pair of NCAA Division III opponents in the Wartburg Halloween Triangular at Waverly. The Warriors face Cornell College (11-13) at 12 p.m. and Wartburg College (26-5) at 2 p.m.