Ravens Volleyball opened up the 2025 season with a four-set win at home Friday night.
The (RV) Ravens defeated the Tabor College Bluejays, 3-1, after dropping the opening set.
The Ravens led for a large portion of the opening set, but a Tabor run put the Bluejays ahead 22-19. The Ravens fought back to tie the set at 22-22, including an ace by Wren VanCleave. However, the Bluejays closed out the first set with a 3-1 run to win 25-23.
The Ravens answered the bell in the second set. After a Tabor point cut the Ravens early lead to 10-8, the Ravens rattled off 15-straight points to win the set, 25-8.
Isabella Franco notched 3 aces in the set, while Jojo Vander Woude, Lucy Drexel and Rayleen Gladden also aided the Ravens attack.
Another great Ravens run set the home side up well in the third set. Trailing by 3, the Ravens went on an 8-0 run to move in front 16-11. After the Bluejays snapped that run, the Ravens scored 5 points in a row to really take control of the set. Tabor clawed back, though, getting within 3 points, but the Ravens won the set, 25-21, and took a 2-1 advantage in the match. Drexel put the finishing touches on the third set with a kill.
The Ravens needed a comeback to close out the season-opening win. The Bluejays took a 19-16 lead late in the fourth set, but the Ravens went on a 4-0 run to retake the lead. Drexel put the exclamation point on the set once again, as her kill closed out the fourth set and the match with the Ravens winning 25-21.
Drexel led the attack with 15 kills. She was joined in double-digits by three other Ravens as Audrey Franks had 11 kills, Lainee Mustain and Gladden each had 10, and Vander Woude chipped in 7 kills. VanCleave had 49 assists on the attack.
Mustain had a team-high 19 digs, Cibeles Bothwell had 16, VanCleave had 12, and Franco had 10 digs.Â
The Ravens had 10 serving aces as Franco had 4 and VanCleave had 3.
The Ravens will travel to Omaha, Nebraska, for four matches in the College of St. Mary Labor Day Classic. They'll take on No. 5 Eastern Oregon and No. 8 IU Kokomo on Friday, Aug. 29, and then No. 20 Midland and (RV) Dakota Wesleyan on Aug. 30.
