Wildcats Drop Road Swing at No. 21 Central Methodist, Missouri Valley

FAYETTE/MARSHALL, Mo. - Baker volleyball suffered back-to-back losses on its weekend road trip to No. 21 Central Methodist and Missouri Valley, falling in straight sets to the Eagles on Friday before dropping a four-set match against the Vikings on Saturday night.

The Wildcats couldn't match a high-flying CMU attack on Friday with the Eagles winning by double digits in the first two sets (25-11, 25-13) and completing the sweep on a comfortable 25-16 win in the third.

Aby Widhalm tallied three kills in both the first and second sets against CMU with her first couple of attacks sparking a short rally for BU in the opening set. Her kills plus attacks from Kaitlyn Stout and Olivia Deichmann kept the Wildcats within seven points before the Eagles closed out the opening frame on an 11-4 run to take a 1-0 lead in the match.

In the second set, kills by Deichmann, Meredith Brown and Kylie Murray helped Baker keep it close in the early going, but CMU built up another double-digit lead. Widhalm and Stout each had two more kills before the Eagles claimed the set on a score of 25-13.

Taryn Dial had BU's only ace of the match with one early in the third set as the Wildcats used a 5-1 run to tie the set at 9-9. CMU responded with a string of eight unanswered points and traded points with BU down the stretch to seal their fourth straight conference win.

After dropping the first set on Saturday to the Vikings, 25-18, Baker responded with a 25-21 win in the second before MVC won back-to-back close sets, including a 27-25 win in the fourth to knock off BU, 3-1 in the match.

Widhalm totaled 18 kills, while Dial (22) and Kierstyn Harmon (24) combined for nearly 45 assists in the four-set match. Widhalm added 24 digs to her day, while Emma Grossoehme finished with 20 digs.

Kills from Brown and Widhalm pushed BU out in front by one in a back-and-forth first set in Marshall, Mo. The two teams traded rallies with MVC going up by four at one point before BU scored four straight points to tie the set at 16-16 on an attack by Abby Elffner. The set's final rally came from the Vikings' side with their 6-0 run lifting the hosts to the biggest margin of victory on the night at 25-18.

Harmon kicked off the second with one of her two aces in the game as Baker jumped out to a quick 8-3 lead with Grossoehme chalking up another ace for BU and Widhalm connecting on three kills. After seeing MVC take a two-point lead late in the set, Dana Nichols tied the set on a kill and Widhalm followed it up with an ace to reclaim the lead. Trailing 21-20, the Wildcats rattled off five consecutive points to tie the match on a 25-21 win in set two.

In set three, Missouri Valley was the one to take control early on, leading 12-6 before BU scored six straight to the set at 12-all. The score remained tied until 17-17 when MVC finished off the set with an 8-4 run to go up 2-1 in the match.

Looking to send the game to a fifth set, Baker started off hot in the fourth with Widhalm fueling the rally with three kills and an ace that made it a 10-5 lead for BU. The Wildcats led by as much as seven points at 22-15 before the Vikings put up a devastating 7-0 run to tie things and send the match to extra points with MVC winning the final two points to hand BU its second setback of the weekend.

With five matches left in the regular season, Baker plays three of its next four games at home, beginning with a match against (RV) Park on Tuesday, Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. in the Collins Center.

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