The Briar Cliff volleyball fell in what was a back-and-forth five set match to Mayville State Wednesday in the Newman Flanagan Center.
“A five-set match at this point in the season is great experience for our team,” said head coach Lindsey Weatherford. “We would have certainly liked to come out on the winning side of this one but the experience moving forward is invaluable.”
The Charger attack started red-hot with a .342 hitting percentage in set one. They totaled 17 kills to just four errors, as they won 25-21. The Chargers were led by Sami Wasmund’s four kills on six attempts (.667%) in the first set. Taryn Nothem and Reese Strouth also hit over .500 in the set and had two kills apiece.
The Charger attack stumbled in the second set, as they hit .023, but the BC block was strong in the set. Briar Cliff secured five points off blocks in the second set. The set went back-and-forth with each team recording runs of three or more points three times.
BC committed just two attacking errors to 15 kills (.361%) in the third set, as they retook the match lead 2-1 behind a 25-20 set win. The Comets jumped out to a 4-0 lead, but seven straight points from the Chargers forced a Mayville State timeout. BC began to pull away with a 8-2 run, and were able to hold off a Comet comeback effort.
The Chargers looked to close out the match, as they took a 24-23 lead following a Toria Andre and Emma Brenelli block. The Comets, however, scored three unanswered points to push it a fifth set. The Blue and Gold were poised to close out the fifth set, taking an 11-6 lead after a Kiersten Baker and Wasmund block, but the Comets would score nine of the next 10 points to close out a 3-2 win.
“Sami Wasmund and Toria Andre both had a great night offensively and defensively,” said Weatherford. “They have been able to use their experience to score points both by terminating the ball and blocking the ball and to do so at a high rate, that will continue to help us moving forward.”
Wasmund had a team high 13 kills with seven digs, six blocks, two aces and a .355 hitting percentage. Andre led BC with seven blocks to go with 11 kills at a .296 clip.
“Avery Beller continues to lead our defense and has been able to make really great reads in our defense which keeps us in system for our quick attack more often,” said Weatherford.
Avery Beller had 22 digs, while Olivia Corey and Yenne Schepers dished out 24 and 22 assists, respectively.
Next up for the Blue and Gold is Valley City State on Friday at 6:00 p.m. in Valley City, North Dakota.
Briar Cliff Volleyball falls to Mayville State
