Fighting Scots volleyball kicked off their Midwest Conference season two weeks ago with a two-day double header against Grinnell College and Cornell College. Before the game against the Pioneers, the team had a record of 7-8 moving into conference play. Although both games ended with a loss, the Scots put up a good fight in their first match, winning the second of four sets. The first two sets had two lead changes with the match being even halfway through game play, and the Scots improved their hitting to .220 compared to the .091 hit in the opener. The third set had seven ties and four lead changes before the Pioneers took the lead. Freshman Layne Wright led the team with thirteen kills followed by senior Loryn Beal with six. Senior Karlie Drish had sixteen assists, senior Kaylee Woolard had nineteen digs, and Beal led the team with two aces. The following day, the Scots also travelled to Cornell College for their second Conference game of the season. Once again, the Scots put up a tough fight but lost all three sets, bringing their Midwest Conference score to 0-2. Wright and junior Amanda Dybal both had seven kills while Drish led the teams in assists at fifteen. Woodard posted sixteen digs, and Beal once again led the team in aces with a total of four. However, Cornell still outhit the Scots .230 to .076. Continuing into the conference season, the Scots had their first one-match week against Lake Forest University this past weekend winning their first Midwest Conference match, taking three of four sets. Coming out strong in the first set, the Scots hit .314 and took the set by two points. They fell in the second set but came back strong in the third, and they saved their best set for last with sixteen kills and a hit score of .324. The team was led by Wright with fifteen kills, Drish with thirty-five assists, and Woodard with seventeen digs. The Scots will be back in action in the Glennie Gymnasium with a non-conference matchup against Webster University.
Brooke McCormick - Sports Editor