JOPLIN, Mo. - The William Jewell volleyball team opened the 2022 season on the road on Friday at the Missouri Southern Invite. The Cardinals dropped a highly contested three set match to Northwestern Oklahoma before falling in five sets to Newman University.
JEWELL 0, NORTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA 3
- The Cardinals and Rangers went back-and-forth in the early going until two kills by Addison Wimmer gave Northwestern a three point lead. Jewell rallied with kills from Tatum Ernt and Katy Garrison to tie the set at 20 apiece but the Rangers scored five of the final eight to take the opener 25-23.
- Trailing 21-16 late in the second set, the Cardinals went on a run behind a balanced offense that got kills from four different players to pull hold off set point five times and pull within one. A kill by the Rangers' Ravyn Burns gave Northwestern Oklahoma the two set lead.
- Jewell fell in an early hole in set three, trailing by as many as 11. The Cardinals turned things around with a 9-1 run behind Haidan Baade's serve followed by back-to-back kills from Jorey Luebbert to make it a 22-21 game. NWOSU took advantage of a Cardinal error and two kills to take the match, 3-0.
KEY STATS
- Bella LaPorta led the Cardinals with a match-high 16 kills while Ernt added 10.
- Samantha Thompson posted 30 assists while Baade finished with a game-high 22 digs.
JEWELL 2, NEWMAN 3
- The opener went back-and-forth until back-to-back kills from Anna Godfredsen and Alex Dvorak game Jewell a four point lead. Newman pulled within one but a kill from Jorey Luebbert sealed the first set, 25-23.
- Jewell fell into a 5-0 hole to start set two and did not recover, falling 25-18 as the Jets tied the match at one set apiece.
- A 8-3 run midway through the third frame gave the Cardinals a 14-11 lead but Newman quickly rallied to tie things up at 15. Jewell finished the set outscoring the Jets 10-13, capped by an ace from Samantha Thompson, to win 25-18.
- Newman jumped out to a 12-3 on their way to tying the match at two sets and forcing the deciding fifth set.
- Tied at 10 in the finale, the Jets took advantage of four late Jewell errors to win the set 15-12.
KEY STATS
- LaPorta pounded out a career high 24 kills, the most by a Cardinal since 2014. The sophomore posted a double-double, adding 12 digs.
- Jewell posted 10 aces, led by three from Drew Baxter.
- Thompson had a team-high 35 assists while Baxter chipped in 16.
- Haidan Baade finished with 19 digs while Ernt added 12 kills and four blocks.
UP NEXT
The Cardinals wrap up the Missouri Southern Invite on Saturday, taking on Southwestern Oklahoma and followed by the host Lions.
