Ravens Volleyball grinded to a five-set win Friday night.
The Ravens defeated the Clarke University Pride, 3-2, coming back from a 2-1 deficit to win their eighth-straight match.
The Ravens dropped the opening set, 27-25. The Ravens held an 8-3 lead early in the set but the Pride slowly chipped away at that lead and eventually went on a 5-0 run to take a 24-1 lead. The Ravens battled back and managed to get to set point at 25-24, but Clarke scored 3-straight to win the first set.
Clarke nearly made it a 2-0 advantage in the second set, but the Ravens answered the call. Erasing a 7-point deficit, the Ravens clawed back from down 23-16 to level the score at 23-23.
The Pride got to set point but
Barbara Terra's explosive kill tied the score once more, and the Ravens battled for a 28-26 set win on a
Kelly DeMeulenaere ace. That leveled the match at 1-1.
Terra recorded 9 kills in the set.
The Pride picked up a 25-22 win in the third set to take a 2-1 lead in the match. The Ravens held a 17-14 lead but Clarke went on a 5-1 run to move in front.
The Ravens didn't have an answer as the Pride won the set by 3 points and moved to within one set of winning the match.
The fourth set has been a solid one for the Ravens in recent matches, and that was no different Friday night. The Ravens knotted the match at 2-2 with a 25-15 fourth-set win.
The Ravens had won by 17 and 18 points in fourth sets against MidAmerica Nazarene and Baker University in the past week before beating the Pride by 10 on Friday.
JoJo Vander Woude had 4 kills in the set to pace the Ravens, and Terra and
Stefania Scomazzon each added 3 kills to send the match to a decisive fifth set.
The two teams were tied at 5-5 in the final set before the Ravens took control. An 8-3 run put the home side up 13-8, then a kill by Scomazzon and an attack error by the Pride gave the Ravens a 15-9 win in the fifth, and a 3-2 match win.
Terra led the Ravens with 20 kills and Vander Woude tied a career-high with 17 kills. Scomazzon had 14 kills to round out the Ravens in double-digits.
Wren VanCleave had 50 assists in the match, adding 12 digs and 4 kills. Vander Woude and
Allison Kuebelbeck each recorded 3 block assists, and
Ava Penuel had 30 digs to lead the team.
The Ravens (12-2, 4-0 Heart) will get right back at it with a 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19 at home against Mount Mercy University.
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