NWU Athletics
Alex Linden, Sports Information Director
ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Nine straight victories to end the regular season gives the Nebraska Wesleyan University volleyball team loads of momentum heading into the postseason next week. NWU picked up two wins on Saturday (Nov. 2) at the Augustana Pumpkin Bash to extend their winning streak.
The Prairie Wolves swept the host school Augustana, 3-0, then had to rally back to defeat Monmouth College 3-2 in the second match of the day.
NWU is now 19-7 overall and will host the opening round of the American Rivers Conference Tournament on Tuesday night at Snyder Arena.
Against Augustana in the opener won in straight sets 25-17, 25-17, 26-24. The Prairie Wolves had 40 kills in the match with an impressive hitting percentage of .267, compared to only .046 by Augustana.
Hannah Bellinghausen led the Prairie Wolves with 13 kills, hitting .414 with just one error in 29 attempts. Nyah Chambers had seven kills in only ten swings to give her a hitting percentage of .700 for the match. Cora Svoboda also had seven kills against the Vikings.
Anna Gottsch dished out 17 assists and Cassidy Plooster 16 with Kelsie Stovall adding 18 digs.
NWU needed five sets to defeat Monmouth in the second match of the day. The Prairie Wolves had to rally back winning 16-25, 26-24, 19-25, 25-23, 15-12 in a five-set thriller.
After dropping the first set, the Scots looked like they would also take set two getting set point at 24-22. However, kills by Whitney Jensen and Bellinghausen tied the match at 24-24. A Monmouth error gave NWU set point and Chambers sealed the win with a kill.
A big run in set three allowed the Scots to pull away for the 25-19 win that set the stage for another close one in the fourth frame. NWU led 23-21, before the Scots scored two points to tie it up. Back-to-back kills by Nicole Gonzales gave the Prairie Wolves the win and sent the match to a fifth set.
In set five, the Prairie Wolves trailed 10-8 then again 12-11 before making their final push. An ace by Callie Kohl and kill by Bellinghausen sealed the victory giving NWU their 9th straight win.
Once again Bellinghausen led the way, this time with 17 kills. Gonzales had 14 kills hitting .235 and Chambers ended the match with a double-double of 12 kills and 11 digs. Plooster dished out a team-high 28 assists and Stovall recorded 36 digs.