Wildcats Split Matches vs. Mount Mercy and Clarke Over the Weekend

BALDWIN CITY, Kan. – With the regular season nearing its end, the Baker volleyball team split a pair of matches over the weekend, falling to Mount Mercy, 3-0, before defeating Clarke on Saturday, 3-2.

Baker traveled to Mount Mercy on Friday and Adelyn Bybee led the Wildcats with eight kills, while Olivia Diechmann added seven. With Baker trailing 11-7 in set one, the Wildcats tied the game at 11, but could never grab the lead as the Mustangs took set one, 25-18.

Again in set two, the Wildcats kept it close and on a kill from Meredith Brown the Wildcats took their first lead of the match, 14-13. Late in the set, Baker held a 24-21 lead, but Mount Mercy got hot and eventually won set two as well, 27-25.

Baker fell behind early in set three and was never fully able to recover as they lost the third and final set, 25-15 and lost the match to Mount Mercy, 3-0.

Looking to bounce back after the loss, the Wildcats headed to Dubuque, Iowa to take on Clarke. Kierra Hipple was the only Wildcat to reach double figures in kills with 12, while Kierstyn Harmon and Emma Grossoehme had 18 and 17 assists respectively.

Baker got off to a slow start in set one and found themselves trailing, 15-6. Baker was able to cut the lead to four, but eventually lost the first set, 25-15.

Once again, the Wildcats fell behind early, but this time was able to fight their way back and took a 12-11 lead on a kill from Meredith Brown. With Clarke leading 18-14, Baker finished the set on an 11-4 run to win the second set, 25-22 and tie the match at one.

The Wildcats were able to battle early in set three, but after holding a 10-9 lead, Clarke scored nine unanswered points to take an 18-10 lead before winning the set, 25-18.

Showing grit throughout the fourth set, the Wildcats would not go away. Baker led early and while leading 16-11 the Wildcat put the set away, scoring nine of the final 12 points to win the fourth set, 25-14 and force a fifth set.

The fifth set was full of runs as Baker led 6-1, but Clarke quickly fought back to tie the set at six. Late in the set, Baker scored four unanswered points to lead 13-10, but once again, the Pride fought back and took 15-14 lead. Baker's Bybee and Hipple then got back-to-back kills then an error by Clarke finished it off as Baker won the fifth set, 17-15 and won the match, 3-2.

Baker is now 9-13 on the season and 4-8 in Heart of America play. They will be back in action on Tuesday, Oct. 17, when they host Park University at 7:00 p.m., inside the Collins Center.

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