University of Minnesota Morris Athletics

NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris volleyball team dropped a pair of matches Saturday, falling 3-1 (21-25, 24-26, 25-18, 14-25) to Nebraska Wesleyan University and 3-0 (17-25, 21-25, 15-25) to Simpson College in Northfield, Minn.
 
Natalie Wahl started the match with a kill set up by Sella Fleming. Tori Scheler and Oliviah Lorber followed with a block. Nebraska Wesleyan scored five of the next six points to take a small lead. Ella Johnson and Lorber scored on attacks to keep pace with NWU. The Prairie Wolves continued to go on runs and soon led 15-8. Kills from Wahl and Johnson, along with a block from Johnson and Braxtyn Meyer, started to pull the Cougars closer. Fleming scored on an attack to spark a six-point rally and tie the set at 21-21. Nebraska Wesleyan scored the next four points to take set one, 25-21.
 
The Cougars scored first again in set two with a kill from Wahl after an assist from Rachel Bopp. Wahl added another kill, with Scheler following in the early scoring. NWU took the lead after scoring five straight points. Johnson scored a pair of kills to pull UMM within two. Another Johnson kill sparked a six-point Cougar rally to put Minnesota Morris up 15-13. Scheler added a kill and a pair of blocks with Lorber. The Prairie Wolves answered right back with a four-point run to retake the lead. The lead continued to trade hands after kills from Lorber and Johnson and an ace from Wahl. Wahl got the Cougars to set point at 24-22, but NWU scored four straight points to take set two, 26-24.
 
The Prairie Wolves scored the opening three points in set three. Wahl answered with a kill, then followed with back-to-back aces to level the set. Johnson gave the Cougars their first lead of the set, and Meyer continued to keep UMM on top. A block from Johnson started a five-point rally, with Meyer and Wahl getting in on the action. An 8-1 run by NWU gave the Prairie Wolves the lead at 15-14. Scheler ended the run by scoring off a Fleming set. Clara Holden scored off the serve to put UMM up 18-17. The Cougars scored the final six points of the set, with Johnson, Wahl and Meyer recording kills. Johnson added back-to-back aces to end the set, 25-18, in favor of UMM.
 
Nebraska Wesleyan got out to an early 6-1 lead in set four. Johnson scored on an attack, but NWU pushed its lead to 13-4. A block by Wahl and Meyer cut the lead to six, only for the Prairie Wolves to score the next three points. The lead was too much to overcome as the Cougars dropped the final set, 25-14.
 
As a team, the Cougars hit .220, with their best set coming in the third at .375. Wahl led the offense with 14 kills, while Johnson followed with 13. Meyer and Scheler added seven kills apiece, with Meyer hitting a team-high .636. Fleming tallied 40 assists in the match.
 
Defensively, Johnson totaled a team-leading 17 digs. Holden and Wahl each reached double digits with 14 and 10, respectively. The Cougars tallied eight blocks, with Scheler leading the team with five.
 
After dropping the first point to Simpson, the Cougars scored the next three with kills from Meyer and Fleming. Points were traded early, with Scheler and Wahl scoring for UMM. Johnson tallied a pair of kills to make the score 11-10 in favor of Minnesota Morris. The Storm pulled away after a seven-point rally. Simpson would hold the edge, winning set one, 25-17.
 
The Cougars scored five of the opening six points, with two kills from Johnson and a block from Fleming and Meyer. Meyer and Wahl scored down the stretch, but the Storm started to creep back in. Johanna Bartkey recorded her first kill of the set to push the lead back to three. Simpson took the lead at 13-12 after a three-point rally. Bartkey put an end to the run, and Meyer followed with another kill to give the lead back to UMM. The lead changed hands again as the Storm scored five straight points to go up 19-16. Scheler and Wahl tallied kills to cut the lead to one. Simpson scored four of the last five points to win 25-21.
 
Points were traded early in set three, with Meyer scoring on an attack and Scheler and Fleming combining on a block. Bartkey, Wahl and Scheler were all set up by Fleming to keep the Storm one point away. A three-point UMM run, with a kill from Fleming and an ace from Johnson, tied the set at 11-11. The Storm finished strong, taking the final set 25-15.
 
Minnesota Morris hit .120 in the match, with a match-high of .238 in the second set. Meyer and Wahl led the team with seven kills apiece, with Scheler rounding out the top three with five. Fleming totaled 21 assists. The Cougars scored twice off the serve, with aces from Meyer and Johnson.
 
Defensively, Johnson led the team with 11 digs, while Bopp followed with 10. UMM tallied three blocks, with Meyer and Fleming recording two apiece.
 
The Cougars are back in action on Friday, Oct. 2, as they host North Central University at 7 p.m.