No. 24 UChicago Moves to 9-0 with Gritty Win over Lawrence
The 24th-ranked University of Chicago volleyball team took down Lawrence University in a five-set thriller on Wednesday night in Appleton. After the Vikings forced the match to five sets, the Maroons stormed back to take the gritty win.
After dropping the first set 25-20, UChicago took care of business in sets two and three.
The Vikings opened set two with a 4-1 lead. Points were then traded back and forth until Lawrence held a five-point lead at 12-7. The Maroons quickly responded with kills from Jordan Jones
and
Ellie Maxwell to cut the deficit to three and spark a much-needed momentum shift. After the score was tied at 13, Lawrence took the lead with two back-to-back kills. UChicago answered with a kill from Olivia Zamis to tie it up again, and Thalita Marangon served an ace to give the Maroons their first lead at 16-15.
Once the score was tied again at 20, UChicago took a commanding four-point advantage off two consecutive kills from Jones and a well-placed attack from Marangon. With the Maroons reaching 24 points, the deciding point was sealed by a slam from Gabi Spellings.
UChicago was in full control in set three. Jumping out to an early 11-5 lead, the Maroons capitalized on Lawrence's attack errors while their outside hitters continued to deliver dominant kills. Though the Vikings tried to climb back, two consecutive aces from Marangon gave UChicago its largest lead of the set at 22-14. As the Maroons reached match point following a Lawrence service error, the Vikings scored six consecutive points to make it a three-point game. The lead proved to be too much to overcome, however, as another service error gave the Maroons the 25-22 win.
The Vikings didn't go away easily, forcing the match to five sets after winning a hard-fought battle in the fourth. Both teams traded points again, but Lawrence edged out the 25-22 win.
Marangon opened the fifth set with a kill off a deep ball, setting the tone for the Maroons. UChicago opened the set with a 6-2 lead as Julia Lewkowitz recorded two early putaways and Marangon served back-to-back aces. As the Vikings looked to close the gap, Zamis and Lewkowitz delivered a heavy block to silence the rowdy Viking crowd.
UChicago rode its early lead into the final points of the match as Lawrence tried to battle back, cutting the deficit to as little as four in the final five serves. The Maroons' momentum proved to be too much, as kills from Marangon and Spellings set up match point before a swing from Lewkowitz brought home the win.
Lewkowitz and Marangon recorded double-doubles for the Maroons, combining for 25 kills and 36 digs. Jones finished with 11 kills, while Zamis added nine kills and four blocks. Setter Ellie Maxwell was outstanding for the Maroons, setting a new career high with 47 assists in the match.
With the win, the Maroons improve to an impressive 9-0 record, the fourth-best start in UChicago history.