Ravens Volleyball hung on to defeat the Missouri Valley College Vikings Friday night in Atchison.
The Ravens won the first two sets, lost the third set and then made a comeback to win the fourth set and take the match.
The Vikings won the first 2 points of the opening set, but then it was all Ravens. The home side went on a 20-2 run and went on to close out the first set 25-13.
The Ravens had a .207 attack percentage in the opening set. Joslyn Lewis had 6 kills while Haylie Dickerson and Katrina Vojvodic each had two block assists.
The Ravens had the second set firmly in their grasp, leading 17-7, but the Vikings cut into the lead and got as close as 21-15. The Ravens forced momentum back to their side though, winning 4 of the next 5 points to take the set 25-16.
After two sets, the Ravens attack percentage was .200. Lewis had 4 kills in the set, while Haylie Dickerson had 6 and Caitlin Vancura had 5. Dickerson also added a solo block on the defensive side.
The third set didn't start out in the Ravens favor, nor did it end the way they hoped. The Vikings scored the first 6 points of the set, and forced a Ravens timeout after going up 10-3. The Ravens were forced to take another timeout after falling behind 19-7. The Ravens began to climb back into the set at that point, going on a 10-5 run, but the Vikings closed it out for a 25-17 set win to push the match to a fourth set.
The fourth set didn't start out the way the Ravens hoped either as the Vikings took a 14-9 lead. However, the Ravens slowly climbed back into the match and took a 17-16 lead thanks to a Dickerson block. The teams battled back-and-forth and were tied 22-22. That's when the Ravens defense stepped up. Blocks by Maggie Schoening and Lewis gave the Ravens a 24-22 lead, then Dickerson closed out the match with another block, giving the Ravens a 25-22 win.
Dickerson had 8 total kills to go along with a solo block and 6 block assists. Lewis led the team with 12 kills, and Vancura and Aretha Victalino each had 7 kills. Lewis and Vojvodic each added 2 block assists.
The win was the Ravens fifth-straight against the Vikings and completed the season sweep of Missouri Valley.
Next up for the Ravens (7-5 overall, 5-5 Heart South) will be a 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5 home tilt against the Central Methodist University Eagles. CMU topped the Ravens in their first match earlier this season.
