Waldorf falls to No. 21 Bellevue, No. 4 Viterbo in NSAA triangular

By Waldorf Sports Information Director

FOREST CITY – Facing a pair of nationally-ranked opponents, the Waldorf University volleyball team fell short in losses to Bellevue University and Viterbo University during Tuesday’s North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) triangular.

Bellevue (24-9, 10-3) entered the day ranked No. 21 in the latest National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) poll and held off the Warriors (15-19, 4-8), winning by scores of 23-25, 25-22, 25-17, 25-21 during the opening match.

In the final match, No. 4 Viterbo (32-2, 12-0) won 25-7, 25-17, 25-20 over Waldorf. The sweep marked the 29th straight victory for the V-Hawks.

Junior Rebecca Bartnicki paced the Warriors with 11 kills against the Bruins. Senior Brianna Haugen added nine kills and freshman Kyra Platzek connected for eight kills.

April Jones provided six kills, two solo blocks and five block assists. With seven total blocks, the 5-foot-9 junior middle hitter from Humboldt tied for the fourth-most blocks in Waldorf school history in a four-set match.

Waldorf senior Valerie Rivera handed out 19 assists and freshman Elisabeth Tramm turned in 17 assists.

Junior Briley Sullivan recorded 17 digs for the Warriors. Freshman Kelsey Sederquest collected 13 digs, Rivera finished with eight digs while junior Erica Fee and Tramm came away with seven digs each.

Waldorf racked up 12 total team blocks, matching the third-most blocks during a four-set match in the school record books. Haugen battled for four total blocks behind a solo block and three block assists. Platzek posted a solo block and two block assists. Redshirt freshman Angie Gore aided the effort with a solo block and a block assist. The Warriors also received a block assist from senior Megan Perkins.

Shayla Scanlan powered Bellevue’s attack with 19 kills and a .548 hitting percentage. Hope Lambrecht slammed 10 kills, Mikaylah Gillespie produced nine kills and Pakalana Helekahi registered eight kills. The Bruins recorded a .130 attack percentage and held Waldorf to a .085 hitting effort.

Helekahi notched five service aces. Maddie Squiers, who set Bellevue’s offense with a match-high 46 assists, also tallied two aces. Taylor Holz and Lauren Colpitts also had ace apiece for the Bruins.

Holz led Bellevue with 23 digs, Verenice Chaparro worked the court for 15 digs, Helekahi collected 12 digs, Colpitts finished with 10 digs and Squiers contributed eight digs.

The Bruins were also strong on the block with 12 total team blocks. Gillespie was fierce at the net, recording eight total blocks behind five solo blocks and three block assists. Lambrecht delivered four solo blocks, Helekahi turned in two block assists and Scanlan contributed a block assist.

Bartnicki produced a team-high nine kills against Viterbo. Junior Isabelle Rothbauer provided six kills and Jones ended the night with four kills. Waldorf finished with a .069 hitting percentage.

Fee tallied two aces and Tramm also had an ace for the Warriors.

Rivera led Waldorf with 13 assists. Tramm dished out nine assists and the White Bear Lake, Minn. native moved to ninth among Waldorf’s career leaders with 526 assists.

Sullivan recorded a team-high 19 digs and Sederquest closed out the match with five digs.

Bartnicki notched two total blocks with a solo block and a block assist. The 6-foot-1 junior middle hitter from Chicago moved into a fourth-place tie among Waldorf’s school-single season leaders with 98 blocks on the year.

Sara Biermaier smashed 12 kills and three aces to lead the charge for the V-Hawks, who sported a .336 hitting percentage. Siera Skow connected for 10 kills, Amelia Grahn set the table with 31 assists while adding 10 digs and seven kills. Danielle Green contributed six kills.

Viterbo tallied seven aces, receiving one ace apiece from Rachel Frankowski, Hannah Erickson, Chloe Jakscht and Grahn.

Baylee Gross led the V-Hawks with 15 digs. Jakscht ended the match with 10 digs, Frankowski came away with eight digs and Biermaier had seven digs.

Erickson posted two solo blocks, helping Viterbo to six total team blocks. Aubrey Aspen and Green finished with two total blocks each, adding one solo block and one block assist apiece. Biermaier and Skow contributed one block assist each.

The Warriors continue conference play with a pair of road matches this weekend. They take on Mayville State University (10-20, 2-8) in Friday’s 7 p.m. contest at Mayville, North Dakota and round out the weekend on Saturday against Valley City State University (7-19, 3-7) in a 3 p.m. match at Valley City, North Dakota.