Ravens Volleyball bounced back from a loss at Evangel on Friday by taking care of business against the Baker University Wildcats Tuesday night at home.
The Ravens won the match 3-1 with scores of 25-18, 25-14, 20-25, and 25-19.
The Ravens used two significant runs to take control of the first set. The first was a 7-0 run that gave them an 11-5 lead. Later, after Baker had closed to within two points, the Ravens went on a 6-1 run to move ahead 20-13. They closed out the first set with a 25-18 win.
Haylie Dickerson led the way with 5 kills and Taea Kapels had 12 assists. Aretha Victalino and Joslyn Lewis each had two block assists as the Ravens had three blocks in the opener. Katelyn Malick was dangerous serving, recording three aces.
Mary Pat Taylor and the Ravens dominated the second set from the start. Taylor recorded three kills and an ace to help the home side jump out to an 8-3 lead. The Ravens continued to keep the Wildcats at arm's length, going in front 15-7 and then winning the set 25-14.
Caitlin Vancura recorded 5 kills in the set and Victalino had 3 kills. Murphy O'Malley had two aces and the Ravens added two more blocks as a team to move in front 2-0 in the match.
The momentum of the second set didn't carry over into the third as the Ravens fought from behind the entire time. After falling behind 17-11, the Ravens couldn't get closer than 2 points the remainder of the set, falling 25-20. It was only the Wildcats sixth set win since Sept. 19.
The Ravens answered by grabbing control early in the fourth set. They took leads of 11-8, 14-9, and 17-11 before going on to win 25-19. That closed out a 3-1 win.
Victalino, the only senior on the Ravens roster, fittingly put an end to the match. Her kill gave the Ravens their 25th point in the fourth set on Senior Night. It was also a great way to finish the Ravens best attacking set of the match – they had a .387 attack percentage in the fourth set while finishing at .228 for the match.
Dickerson's 15 kills led the way for the Ravens, followed by 12 each for Vancura and Victalino. Vancura and Malick each had four aces while O'Malley had three. Kapels had 34 assists to go along with 8 digs, and Victalino, Dickerson, and Joslyn Lewis each had three block assists as the Ravens notched 7 team blocks in the match.
The win completes a season sweep against Baker and improves the Ravens record to 6-5 overall and 4-5 in the Heart of America South Division.
Tuesday night was the first of four-straight home matches to close out the regular season for the Ravens. They'll take on Missouri Valley College a 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23 back in Ralph Nolan Gymnasium for their next match.
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