Picture credit: Dr. Jeff Nelson
ST. LOUIS, Mo.– After splitting a pair of matches yesterday afternoon, the North Park University women's volleyball team bounced back with a pair of wins. The Vikings swept Fontbonne before upsetting No. 14 WashU in five sets.
MATCH ONE: North Park 3, Fontbonne 0 (25-20, 25-14, 25-21)
Battling in the opening set of the match to start the day's events, the Griffins and Vikings were knotted up at eight apiece.
The Vikings pulled ahead with five-straight points, thanks to a kill by senior Reagan Clement, a pair of service aces from freshman Christina Gatta, a Griffin attacking error, and a kill by freshman Kate Widman.
However, Fontbonne weathered the storm, turning a 13-8 North Park lead into a knotted-up match at 14 all.
North Park went on to mark five-straight points once more after a Fontbonne service error, kills by freshman Kailyn Matthews, senior Kajsa Meyer, and senior Bethany Geidner, and a service ace by Widman.
North Park kept this lead and didn't look back, taking the first set 25-20.
The Vikings put on a clinic in the second set, posting a .417 hitting percentage with 11 kills and only one error to claim a dominant 25-14 second set victory.
Fontbonne put up a fight in the third and final set of the match, staying within one point of the Vikings through the beginning of the set.
Now tied at 10-10, Clement and Widman drove a pair of kills and an attacking error by the Griffins gave the Vikings a 13-10 lead.
Ultimately, Widman would send in the final kill of the match, off an assist from Gatta, as the Vikings earned their first straight-sets win of the season.
Quick Hits:
MATCH TWO: North Park 3, WashU 2 (17-25, 25-16, 16-25, 30-28, 15-12)
In the second match, North Park took down the nation's 14th-ranked team in Washington University – St. Louis, going the distance for a five-set victory.
The Bears got off to a strong start, pulling ahead 7-3 after a pair of kills and a service ace. However, the Vikings would close the gap and go on to mark five-straight points to capture an 11-8 lead. Matthews started the rally with a kill, followed by another from Meyer, consecutive service aces by Matthews, and a kill by Clement.
Unfortunately, the Bears would counter with a run of their own, taking the lead, and first set, 25-17.
Fortunately, the Vikings put the Bears on their heels in the second set.
Charging ahead to a 14-5 lead, the second set was all North Park as Matthews, Geidner, and Clement all marked consecutive kills before Matthews sent in another service ace.
Never giving up the lead, North Park took the set in commanding fashion – 25-16.
WashU flipped the script in set three, posting a .440 hitting percentage with 13 kills and only two errors to earn the set win 25-16.
In what looked to be the final set of the night, WashU held a 24-20 lead as they prepared to win the match with the next point. However, consecutive kills by Geidner, a pair of WashU attacking errors, and a Matthews service ace gave the Vikings a 25-24 advantage.
The Bears went on to threaten the match two more times at 26-25 and 27-26 before an attacking error and kill by Clement brought the advantage back to NPU at 28-27.
A kill from the Bears' Alaina Bohrer tied the set once more, but a WashU service error and kill by Widman gave the Vikings a 30-28 fourth-set victory, forcing the match to a fifth set.
The final set of the night started slow for the Vikings, as a pair of attacking errors and a kill by WashU's Hannah Turner gave the Bears a 3-0 lead. However, the Vikings responded with six-straight points to capture a 6-3 lead.
That seemed to take the wind out of WashU's sails, as the Vikings never gave up the lead en route to a 15-12 set win and upset of the 14th-ranked team from St. Louis.
"This is an unreal feeling, however, Coach Besancenez and I both know the talent this team has," said head coach Mike Sopocy. "To see them come together and perform the way they did this weekend is pretty special. The future is very bright for NPU volleyball!"
Quick Hits:
All-Tournament Team
For their four-match efforts this weekend, freshman Kailyn Matthews and junior Bianca Tomuta were named to the All-Tournament Team. Matthews marked an impressive 58 kills (3.62 per set), 13 service aces, and 43 digs while Tomuta had 87 digs (5.44 per set) and three service aces.
What's Next?
The Vikings (3-1) will cap their road stretch against Concordia University – Chicago on Wednesday, September 4 at 8 p.m.
