INDIANAPOLIS - The Marian volleyball jumped out to a 2-0 lead on No. 19 Indiana Wesleyan Friday night, but were unable to close out the victory as the Knights dropped the next three sets to lose in five. Marian's loss drops them to 21-4 overall and 13-4 in league play.
The Knights got out to a strong start in the opening set, growing a 7-5 lead with multiple kills and a powerful Jaymison Summers and Madison Brooks block. The set would move level at seven and nine, but a Skyler Van Note kill surged Marian back in front as she would land a solo block to complete a 3-0 spurt. The Wildcats continued to claw back and moved within one point on four different occasions, using a 3-0 run of their own to pull back in front. Jai-Lyn Norwood ended the run, and after seeing a 19-19 tie, the senior again landed the kill. Norwood's second spike ignited a 6-0, allowing Marian to win the set 25-19.
Marian fell behind early in the second set as IWU landed three straight points, but eventually were able to tie the score under Sydney Schaffer's serve. Schaffer landed an ace, while two attack errors would give Marian a brief lead. Averi Lanman and Van Note soon sprouted the lead to three points, and helped the Knights stay in front. Summers and Brooks again teamed up for a block that created a run, with Marian taking a 16-15 lead and turning it into a five point advantage. Indiana Wesleyan was unable to keep up after the run, as Lanman landed the winning kill in the 25-17 set.
Indiana Wesleyan responded well in the third set despite going down 0-2, using a 4-0 run in the first eight rallies to go in front 5-3. The Wildcats would never look back despite multiple efforts from the Marian hitters, as Victoria Johnson and Eva Joldersma kept the visitors in the lead. Marian was only able to get within one point of the Wildcats while trailing 12-11, as Indiana Wesleyan held their lead to win 25-21. A similar story was then written in the fourth set, as Indiana Wesleyan took off after obtaining a 7-5 lead. A Marian timeout would help the Knights inch within a point multiple times in the set, but they were never able to bring the score even, as they lost the fourth set 25-22.
With the match evened at two sets each, the Wildcats found room in the fifth as Joldersma scored the first two points of the game. An attack error would give Marian their first point, but the Knights allowed three straight Wildcat scores to force a timeout. Norwood got a kill to end the run out of the break, but the Knights still found themselves out of position as IWU pushed in front 8-4. Brooks and Norwood would help bring the game within two as the sides of the court were flipped, and trailing 10-7 a block from Avery Toole and Lanman brought life back into the team. Van Note and Lanman would team up for a block as the score soon showed a tie at 10-10, but Marian couldn't keep the run going as they hit into the IWU block.
Norwood scored two kills to help keep Marian alive and bring the score within one, but a Julia Price kill pushed the score to match point. A block from Summers and Brooks prolonged the match, but trailing 14-13, Marian was unable to get one additional point as Johnson scored the winning point for the Wildcats in the 15-13 set.
Suffering their first loss in five matches, the Knights recorded 60 total kills while hitting .194 as a team. Van Note dominated for Marian as she posted 23 kills, 21 digs, and five total blocks to notch her second straight double-double. Norwood finished with 11 kills and four total blocks, while Brooks had eight blocks to go with 10 kills. Ainsley Neighbors led Marian with 27 assists, adding 11 digs to record a double-double, while her setting mate Katie Hardegree had 21 assists and 14 digs. Lanman finished with nine blocks, and Gianna Feld had a match-high 29 digs to go with one service ace.
Marian's loss drops them to second in the conference standings, ending play tied with Indiana Wesleyan. Marian will play Taylor in their regular season finale, needing a win or IWU loss to clinch the No. 2 seed in the league tournament. First serve is slated for 3 p.m. on Saturday against the Trojans.
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