Graceland Women's Volleyball Battles in Three-Set Loss to Benedictine
ATCHISON, Kan. — Graceland University women's volleyball put forth a spirited performance despite falling in straight sets to Benedictine College (25-22, 25-12, 25-14) on Saturday afternoon at Ralph Nolan Gymnasium. The Yellowjackets showed consistency in transition and defensive coverage but were ultimately outpaced by a sharp Raven attack in the Heart of America Athletic Conference contest.
With the loss, Graceland drops to 5-18 overall and 1-11 in Heart play, while Benedictine improves to 11-9 overall and 7-4 in the conference.
Despite playing without two starters, the Yellowjackets started strong in the opening set, building an early lead and forcing a timeout after going up 14-11 behind kills from Ella Thomas, Kylee Dixon, and Kaci Young. The set remained tight until a 5-1 run by the Ravens late in the frame tipped the balance.
Graceland hit .175 in the first set, their best offensive efficiency of the match, before cooling off in subsequent sets. The team finished the match hitting .098 overall, with 28 total kills against 18 errors on 102 swings.
Leading the attack was Evie Caresia, who tallied 8 kills on 13 attempts for a .538 hitting percentage, and Kylee Dixon, who added 6 kills on a .353 clip while anchoring the front line with 3 total blocks. Young also contributed 7 kills and 1.5 blocks, and Thomas chipped in 4 kills and 2 block assists.
Setter Amelie Heinzmann distributed 7 assists, while Kariana Hernandez led all players with 11 assists off the bench. Defensively, Grace Jensen and Shaeniah La Fountain paced the backcourt with 11 digs each, but Benedictine's offensive rhythm, which resulted in a team hitting percentage of .333, kept the Yellowjackets under pressure throughout the match.
Benedictine's offense was led by Lucy Drexel and Barbara Terra, who each posted 11 kills, while JoJo Vander Woude added 9 kills on .500 hitting and a team-high 5 blocks.
Graceland competed effectively in serve-receive but struggled from the service line, committing 6 service errors to just 1 ace. On the block, Graceland posted 8 total team blocks, including 1 solo block from Dixon.
Despite the sweep, head coach Stew McDole praised his team's effort and energy.
"We played some of the best ball of our season — honestly. And get swept," said McDole. "We played with energy and good execution across all three sets minus two starters (you had to know to know). Chins are up, shoulders back — ask any of us — it's been a fun weekend."
The Yellowjackets showed composure and depth, with multiple bench players seeing action across the three sets. Sophomore Madi Bratlie recorded the team's lone service ace, while junior Shaeniah La Fountain helped facilitate the offense and was active in defensive rotations.
In Set 2, Benedictine separated early behind a series of kills from Terra and Gladden and never trailed. Graceland struggled to slow down the Ravens' side-out offense, who hit an efficient .448 in the second frame. The Ravens used a 6-0 run out of a timeout to extend their advantage to double digits.
Set 3 began with a block from Thomas and Dixon, but the Ravens quickly responded with a five-point run. Graceland rallied late with kills from Caresia and Thomas, but Benedictine closed the match on a 5-1 run, capped by a kill from Terra.
NEXT MATCH:
Graceland returns home for a conference match on Saturday, Oct. 18 at 1:00 PM CDT against Mount Mercy University. First serve is set for 1:00 PM at the Morden Center in Lamoni, Iowa.
For more information on Graceland women's volleyball and all of Graceland athletics, visit GUjackets.com