Ravens Volleyball lost a tough battle in their final home contest of the season.
The Ravens lost 3-2 to the MidAmerica Nazarene University Pioneers, despite winning the first two sets of the match.
After MNU won the third and fourth sets, the teams went to a deciding fifth set. The Pioneers took an 8-5 lead, but the Ravens were able to go on a 4-1 run, powered by a pair of kills by Haylie Dickerson, to tie the set at 9-9. That would be the last point for the Ravens, though, as MNU rattled off 6-straight to win the set, 15-9, and take the match 3-2.
The beginning of the match saw the Ravens get rolling early in the opening set, surging to an 8-3 lead. They held a lead the entire set, pushing the advantage to 17-12 to force an MNU timeout. Still, the Ravens kept the pressure on and won the first set 25-19.
The Ravens attack was working in the opener as they had a .308 hit percentage with 16 kills. The Pioneers managed just a .163 hit percentage. The Ravens also had 4 blocks in the first set.
The Ravens kept the positive momentum rolling in the second set, jumping out to a 7-2 lead. That lead was extended to 20-12, forcing a Pioneers timeout. MNU came out of the timeout with some traction, going on a 7-4 run, but a Ravens block gave the home squad a 2-0 match lead, as the Ravens took the second set 25-19.
The Ravens strong attack continued in the second set as they had a .353 hit percentage. They also had 4 more blocks in the second set and held MNU to a .091 hit percentage.
The Pioneers bounced back to take the third set, but not without a great fight by the Ravens. MNU used a 9-0 run to take a 14-10 lead and also went up 20-14 before the Ravens made a furious comeback. The Ravens went on a 6-0 run to tie the set at 20-20 and had match point three separate times in the third set. However, the Pioneers staved off defeat in the third, taking the set 28-26.
The Pioneers took an early lead once again in the fourth set, going up 14-10. The Ravens battled back to get within 1 point, but MNU never let the home team even up the score. The Pioneers won the fourth set, 25-21, setting up a winner-take-all fifth set that the visitors were also able to win.
Dickerson and Regan Bruggeman led the way with 15 kills, each, with Mary Pat Taylor picking up 12 kills and Maggie Schoening recording 9 kills. Marea Wortmann notched 53 assists and 14 digs, and Kristijana Istuk had 19 digs. The Ravens combined for 16 blocks and Dickerson had 4 solo blocks.
The Ravens finished the night with a .211 hit percentage.
The Heart Championship Tournament field will be announced later tonight. Despite Tuesday's loss, the Ravens (15-14, 10-9 Heart) are projected to remain in the tournament field.
