Ravens Volleyball showed a strong ability to finish in Tuesday's home match.
The Ravens defeated the MidAmerica Nazarene University Pioneers 3-1 with scores of 25-16, 25-16, 26-28, and 27-25, 11 days after dropping a match at MNU.
The Ravens held a 2-1 lead heading into the fourth set and jumped out to a 10-5 lead to take an early advantage. The Pioneers answered and went in front 15-13 as they attempted to extend the match to a fifth set. The Ravens refused to let that happen, though.
Trailing 24-22, the Ravens got a block from Joslyn Lewis and Emily Demos to pull within 1 point, then Lewis had a kill to even the set. Murphy O'Malley's ace gave the Ravens a 26-25 lead, and Lewis and Demos combined once again for a block, this time giving the Ravens the set and the match.
Lewis finished with 13 kills and four block assists. Caitlin Vancura also added 13 kills, Mary Pat Taylor had 16 digs and 5 aces, Haylie Dickerson had 8 kills, four block assists, and two solo blocks, and Marea Wortmann had 38 assists and 3 kills in the match.
The first set felt the momentum shift from one side to the other, with the Ravens ultimately winning 25-16. The Ravens stormed out to a 17-5 lead to seize control of the proceedings, but the Pioneers showed some grit. The visitors used an 11-6 run to close the gap on the Ravens, but Taylor's kill closed things for the home side.
The Ravens hit .206 in the first set with Lewis leading the way with 4 kills. Megan Luby had 11 digs and Taylor recorded 3 aces in the opening set.
The second set started neck-and-neck as the teams stayed within a couple of points of each other to open things up. Tied 14-14, the Ravens sparked a run that carried them to a 2-0 match lead. They finished the set on an 11-2 run to win 25-16 and come within one set of match victory.
Lewis tacked on 4 more kills and another ace, and Vancura added 3 kills.
The Pioneers came out on fire in the third set, taking a 9-2 lead. The Ravens slowly chipped away at MNU's lead, finally leveling the score at 18-18 thanks to Wortmann's tip kill. Vancura's kill gave the Ravens their first lead of the set, 21-20, sparking a short run that put the Ravens up 24-22. The Pioneers battled back from the brink, though, winning the set 28-26 and pushing the match to a fourth set.
Aretha Victalino and Dickerson each recorded 5 kills in the set.
The Ravens improve to 5-4 on the season and 3-4 in the Heart South Division. They'll play at Evangel University on Oct. 16.
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