Warriors sweep Lancers
By Matt Oliver
YANTKON, S.D. – Avenging an early-season loss, the Waldorf College volleyball team took care of business against Mount Marty College in the second go-around.
The Warriors (8-23) swept the Lancers (7-19) by scores of 25-19, 25-18, 25-18 on Friday.
“It was a great match and win against a team that had beat us earlier in the year,” Waldorf coach Paul Meyer said. “Defensively, we played one of our better matches not only holding Mount Marty’s offense in check, but getting digs right back to our setters and back in our offense.”
Abby Buehler led the charge for the Warriors as she generated 15 kills behind a .357 hitting percentage. The 6-foot-2 junior middle hitter from Dodge Center, Minn. also added a pair of block assists.
Waldorf freshman Kayla Budgins connected for eight kills, turning in a .300 hitting night. Sophomore Isabelle Rothbauer provided six kills while junior Brianna Haugen added five kills with a .364 hitting clip.
Setting the offense for the Warriors, sophomore Kaitlyn Monck handed out 22 assists and junior Valerie Rivera turned in 11 assists.
Sophomore Briley Sullivan recorded a match-high 13 digs. Rivera collected 10 digs for Waldorf, which received 10 digs apiece from freshman Danica Cheney and Monck. Sophomore Erica Fee finished with five digs while junior Megan Perkins and Rothbauer contributed three digs each.
At the service line, Monck and Fee tallied two aces apiece for the Warriors. Budgins and Rivera also registered aces.
The Lancers closed out the night with five total blocks. Waldorf netted three blocks with block assists coming from Monck, Budgins, Haugen and Rothbauer.
The Warriors, who cranked out 38 kills and a .211 team hitting percentage, came out sharp from the opening serve. Mount Marty was limited to 25 kills and a .035 hitting effort. The Lancers were held to a -.116 hitting performance in the first set.
“We came out and did a very good job serving aggressive and getting Mount Marty out of system,” Meyer said. “Our defense controlled the set.”
In the second set, the Warriors always had an answer and maintained an edge to eye the sweep.
“Our offense really stepped up matching Mount Marty’s adjustments,” Meyer said. “The set was very back and forth and we did a great job of making some key plays at the end of the set.”
Waldorf boosted its hitting percentage to .317 in the second set and racked up 16 kills. The Warriors, who hit .300 and had 14 kills in the final set, pulled away after an early battle.
“The third set was again back and forth early,” Meyer said. “I was very happy with the way we gradually increased our lead and played great defense down the stretch, both blocking and behind the block.”
The win is a strong start to a three-match road trip for the Warriors, who play in the University of Minnesota-Morris Triangular on Saturday at Morris, Minn. Waldorf takes on North Central University (10-14) at 3 p.m. and faces NCAA Division III’s Minnesota-Morris (17-10) at 5 p.m.
“It was a great match to start the weekend,” Meyer said. “I’m very impressed with our energy and play right now.”