Volleyball defeated the Baker University Wildcats in four sets on Tuesday.
The Ravens knocked off the Wildcats, 3-1, at home in Ralph Nolan Gym.
The Ravens took a tight opening set, 25-23. The Ravens seemed to grab control early in the set, taking a 15-11 lead, but the Wildcats answered with 5-straight points to take the lead. The Ravens had an answer as one of
Barbara Terra's 5 kills in the first set gave the team a 23-21 lead and the Ravens took a 1-0 advantage in the match.
Stefania Scomazzon joined Terra with 5 kills and
JoJo Vander Woude had 3 in the first set.
Wren VanCleave recorded 13 assists in the opening set, including her 1,500
th as a Raven.
The Ravens made it a 2-0 match lead with a 25-20 win in the second set. A 4-0 Ravens run put the home side in front 12-10 early in the set, forcing a Baker timeout. The Wildcats used their second timeout moments later as the Ravens increased their lead to 16-12.
It looked momentarily like the Ravens would really run away with it, going in front 19-13, but Baker battled back to get within 3 points. A
Bridget O'Sullivan kill and an ace from
Ava Penuel closed out the set, though.
Vander Woude had 5 kills in the set to lead the Ravens.
The visitors pulled one back with a 25-21 win in the third set. The Ravens fell behind 12-8 early on and could only pull as close as 1 point after that. The Wildcats win trimmed the Ravens advantage in the match to 2-1.
The Ravens closed things out with a dominant fourth set, winning 25-7 and taking the match, 3-1.
Any momentum the Wildcats had after winning the third set was quickly erased; the Ravens jumped out to a 9-3 lead and never let Baker get back in it. The Ravens put together a 12-0 run to turn a 12-6 lead into a 24-6 lead, with 11 of those points coming on VanCleave's serve.
VanCleave finished the match with 44 assists. Terra led the attack with 14 kills while Scomazzon and Vander Woude each added 13 kills. Scomazzon also had 3 aces and Penuel finished with 2 aces and 15 digs to lead the team.
Allison Kuebelbeck led the team with 3 block assists and Terra had 3 solo blocks.
The win improves the Ravens to 11-2 and 3-0 in Heart of America play. They'll remain home for a 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 18 match against Clarke University.
