ST. PAUL, Minn. – For the first time since 2015 the Luther volleyball team defeated Grinnell in a five-set thriller 3-2 (19-25, 32-30, 25-22, 24-26, 15-13). It was grit and teamwork that pulled the team through the lengthy match.
Sarina Stortz recorded a double-double with 23 kills and 12 digs in the victory. Luther is now 2-3 overall.
The first set the Pioneers and Norse battled for every point and neither team went took more than a two-point lead. All tied up at 19, Grinnell jumped on a six-point run to close out the set 25-19.
Set two was one of the longest this season in a grueling set that went into extra points as the Norse hitters looked strong from start to finish. At 22-20 it seemed like Luther had the set well in hand with a kill form
Zoe Verhey and an attack error by Grinnell to make it set point. The Pioneers rallied to tie the set at 24 but between the two teams there were seven set points. In other words it could have gone either way. It was the grit that power through for Luther with
Emma Kowalczyk getting the kill off an assist from
Teagan Hansen. Then Kowalczyk ended it with a service ace to take set two 32-30.
The Norse also took the third set by 25-22 taking a 2-1 match lead over the Pioneers. But this match was far from over.
Luther only needed one more set to take the match and they felt it within reach. In the fourth set alone there were 16 ties throughout the set and just six lead changes. The Norse were one point away from match point with a kill from
Zoe Verhey at 24-23. But you have to win by two in volleyball as Grinnell scooped up three points to force a winner take all fifth set by a score fo 26-24.
For Luther it was their first fifth set match of the season so this was an endurance test for them. Grinnell inched within on at 12-11 but the Norse stayed on the front foot and capitalized on the errors made by the Pioneers. The final play for match point consisted of Kowalczyk setting up
Emily Hagen for the kill and the 3-2 victory.
The Norse defeat Grinnell for the first time since 2015 and win their first five set match of the season.
QUOTE FROM COACH
"I could not be more proud of this team. They were disciplined, determined, and worked together the entire match. Every single person on our team contributed to the outcome of that match! I'm excited to see that same drive from here on out."
TOP NORSE
- Sarina Stortz had tallied her first double-double of the season with 23 kills and 12 digs. She also hit .417 over the course of the match and is a season-high.
- Zoe Verhey recorded 16 kills for a season high and hit .244.
- Emma Kowalczyk tallied 49 assists bringing her total to 942 in her career as she nears 1,000.
UP NEXT
Luther continues the Macalester Invitational with matches against Carleton College at 1:00 p.m. followed by a 3:00 p.m. meeting with the host on Saturday, Sept. 9 in St. Paul, Minn.
