Volleyball

WEST BEND, Wis. – The Mount Mary College volleyball team overcame quite a scare Friday night as they traveled up Highway 45 to take on the University of Wisconsin-Washington County, surviving with an incredibly tight 27-25, 28-30, 25-15, 27-25 victory.

In order to pull off the win over the very game Wildcats, the Blue Angels had to overcome a bit of adversity with a reshuffled lineup that saw several players playing in new positions.

"Our team continued to gain confidence with this win against UW-WC," head coach Kelsey Peterson said. "This was much needed after we had an unforeseen change in our team and starting rotation, so this match was the first match with a new lineup. Everyone stepped up and adapted to the necessary changes, especially Steph Gratz and Alexis (Hafemeister).

"We had to iron out some kinks and make our adjustments to our defense. The ladies also had to work on communicating with different players by their sides. Overall, I was very happy with how flexible we were and stayed motivated when things were a little shaky."

The set scores were a definite indication of how back-and-forth the match was played as neither team owned a lead of more than a handful of points in the first two sets. Both teams were pushed to the limit, splitting the first games in extra points. Mount Mary responded with a thunderous start to the third set, racing out to a quick 7-0 lead with senior setter Chelsie Beeler (Jackson, Wis.) at the service line. Beeler recorded five aces in that third set alone and compiled what is likely a Mount Mary record nine service aces to her own accord in the match.

The Blue Angels continued to pour it on in the fourth set, but UW-Washington County crawled back to tie the set at 25 apiece. Finally a pair of Mount Mary points finished off the frantic Friday night match, earning Mount Mary its fifth win of the season.

Junior outside Steph Hardwick (West Allis, Wis.) tallied a team high 26 kills at a blistering .268 hitting clip while also adding 24 digs in the thrilling match. Sophomore outside Sarah Wishau (Racine, Wis.) added 13 kills for Mount Mary, while Beeler offered up 48 assists in the win.