Volleyball turned a tight contest into a rout Tuesday night, beating the Missouri Valley College Vikings 3-1 (26-24, 23-25, 25-10, 25-13) at home.
After the two teams battled through a tight first two sets, the match changed in a lopsided third set.
That third set was completely dominated by the Ravens as the home side won 25-10.
The serve proved to be a big weapon for the Ravens in the third set as Taea Kapels recorded three aces and Murphy O'Malley had two. The Ravens also came up big defensively, showing off great reflexes and scrambling ability to keep opportunities alive while taking the 2-1 advantage in the match.
The fourth set was more of the same as the Ravens rolled to a 25-13 win to secure the 3-1 match win.
It didn't seem like the match would be so lopsided after the first two sets.
The Ravens needed a late comeback to earn the 26-24, first-set win. Down 24-21 and their backs against the proverbial wall, the Ravens rattled off 5-straight points. The first came on an attack error by the Vikings, then a pair of kills by Kate Hanson evened the score at 24-24.
Another attack error by the Vikings put the Ravens at set point, then Donetta Cage ended the set with an authoritative kill. The Ravens had a .429 attack percentage in the opening set.
The Ravens nearly pulled off another come-from-behind winner in the second set. Down 23-18, the Ravens scored 4 points in a row thanks to a block by Sydney Wiedenmann, an error by the Vikings, a Fleur Wesselink kill and an ace by O'Malley. However, the Vikings held on for a 25-23 win to level the match 1-1, setting up the pivotal third set that witnessed the Ravens grab a stranglehold on the match.
The Ravens used a balanced attack on Tuesday. Leading the charge were Hanson and Wesselink with 8 kills, each, while Jade Rasmussen had 7, Cage had 5 and Wiedenmann had 4. Paxton Throne led the team with 24 assists while Kapels chipped in 8.
Hannah Thomazin picked out 13 digs to lead the team, and Kapels and Throne both recorded 8 digs. Rasmussen had 4 block assists and Wiedenmann had 3 as the Ravens put together 13 block assists as a team.
The Ravens recorded 16 aces – a new season-high – as O'Malley led the way with 6.
The Ravens (13-15, 8-4 Heart) hit the road for three-straight matches before returning home at 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 26 against (14) Central Methodist University.
