MILWAUKEE, Wis. – The Alverno volleyball team needed five sets to do it, but the team won its first match of the season on Tuesday evening inside of Reiman Gymnasium as the Inferno downed the Lawrence University Vikings.
Alverno won the opening set in commanding fashion with a 25-20 score before falling in the second set 25-20. The Inferno fought back to take the third set, 25-15, but Lawrence matched the score in the fourth set to send the match into the fifth. During the final stanza, the Inferno put the match away with a 15-11 win to move to secure its first wins overall on the season.
"It's a great feeling to get my first win here at Alverno College," said Head Volleyball Coach Kevin Buettner. "I can't credit my leaders enough. Izzy did a great job of finding the right hitter in big moments and
Rolin West was an excellent finisher. We still have a few things to iron out but it is fun to see the match to match improvement of this team. I think we have a few surprises in store for anyone who under estimates us."
Junior
Rolin West had a career-night as she tallied a season-best 25 kills on the night, hitting .169 in the process and also added five of aces with one assist and added to 14 digs. Senior
Selena Upshur also wrote her name into the record book with 17 kills on the night.
Sharisty Kooch also had a career-high with 20 digs, added six aces on the night. Junior
Izzy Gianniou led the team with 42 assists.
As a team, the Inferno registered 66 digs, 46 kills and 44 assists.
The Inferno fell behind in the first stages of the opening set but were able to tie the score at six before scoring another six points to take a 12-6 lead as Alverno collected an ace along with kills. With Alverno ahead by a 17-13 score, the Inferno put together another five-point run with a kill and an ace that led to the 25-15 win.
Alverno led by three points at both 6-3 and 7-4 in the second set, and the lead swelled to 12-6 in favor of the home team. However, an 8-3 run by the Vikings pulled Lawrence ahead taking the lead and held on winning the set, 25-20.
The two sides were back-and-forth in the early-going of the third set before Alverno went on a five-point run and a kill apiece to give the Inferno a 10-6 lead. Lawrence wrestled back the lead at 18-15 but Alverno was able to secure the lead. The Inferno were able to close out the set on a 4-1 run to take a 2-1 lead following the 25-15 third set win.
A late rally in the fourth set was not enough for the Inferno, however, as Lawrence was able to cruise to take a 25-10 victory.
After an early exchange and split of the initial six points of the fifth stanza, Alverno rattled off six consecutive points on a trio of kills by West to put the Inferno ahead 9-3. Lawrence got within five at 11-6, but Inferno collected a kill followed by three Lawrence errors to give the Inferno their first five-set win of the season.
Alverno (1-6) will open league play on Thursday evening, when the Inferno play host to the Wisconsin Lutheran beginning at 6 p.m. inside Reiman Gymnasium.
