The volleyball team boosted its rankings over the weekend after finishing 2-2 in the Lindenwood Invitational.
As of Monday, the Wildcats had moved into fourth place in the Heart of America Athletic Conference, just behind Evangel University.
Head coach Kathy Allen said the team played tough competition all weekend, including Olivet Nazarene University and Missouri Baptist University, which both are ranked in the Top 30 in the nation.
The Wildcats were able to pull out a win against Missouri Baptist, even in the absence of senior Alexis Pryor, who had made previous commitments eight months ago, Allen said.
The Wildcats finished their weekend Saturday in St. Charles, Mo., with a matchup against the University of Saint Francis. The match went into five games, (19-25, 19-25, 25-21, 31-29, 5-15) but Allen said the team ran out of gas at the end.
“At the beginning of the fifth game, it was obvious we were mentally and physically exhausted,” she said.
That morning, the team took on nationally ranked Olivet Nazarene, but was unable to pull a single win, losing in three games.
“They capitalized on everything we were doing wrong,” junior Sarah Laha said. “They were just one of those teams who had good ball control, good skills and just good everything.”
Less than 24 hours before, the Wildcats captured what Allen said was their biggest win of the weekend. After five close games, the Wildcats pulled out a win against Missouri Baptist, a nationally ranked team.
“We were able to defeat them with a young team and without our best player,” Allen said. “It really shows us we can play with nationally ranked teams.”
Sophomore Brooke Pryor stepped into her sister’s position and recorded 20 kills for the match. Sophomore Nikki Anderson added 14 kills, while the back line of defense evenly distributed the work and recorded 67 digs altogether.
The Wildcats opened the weekend against the University of Illinois at Springfield, coming back in five games to take the match. Brooke Pryor and freshman Rachael Solis led all players with 20 kills apiece. Senior Jayde Allen protected the back line, coming up with 29 digs.
“Our defense has always been pretty good,” coach Allen said. “Between Jayde Allen, Sarah Laha and (freshman) Kelsey Cobb, those kids don’t let a lot of balls drop.”
Earlier in the week, the Wildcats matched up against Park University, beating the team in three games.
The Wildcats made tracks Thursday to St. Charles, Mo., to compete against Lindenwood University. Lindenwood currently holds the No. 1 place in the HAAC and is ranked No. 9 in the national rankings. Results were unavailable at presstime.