Waldorf University – Waldorf volleyball turns in determined effort but ends season in loss at No 15 Bellevue

Waldorf

(15)Bellevue University

BELLEVUE, Neb. – The fight in the Warriors wasn’t enough to overcome the 15^th-ranked Bruins and extend Waldorf’s volleyball season.

Showing their determination, especially in the third set, Waldorf nearly stole that victory to battle back into the match but simply couldn’t get past host Bellevue, which notched a 25-17, 25-15, 25-20 win in the first round of the North Star Athletic Association playoffs to end the Warriors season.

“We saw great effort and flashes of being able to play with a nationally ranked team,” Waldorf coach Bri Ebenhoe said. “I’m very proud of our young team and excited to see what the future brings.”

The Warriors jumped in front in the opening set on an Alisha Schaefer (FR/Mount Calvary, Wis.) kill, and did their best to stay close as an Abygail Wood (SO/Ankeny, Iowa) kill made it 13-7, and a kill by Kenzie Kidd (FR/Roscoe, Ill.) cut the difference down to 23-14, but the host Bruins used a potent attack of 19 kills and just six miscues to score the opening win.

The second set proved to be more of the same as a tandem block by Charlotte Wright (FR/Porter, Minn.) and Kaitlyn Bakke (SO/Forest Lake, Minn.) had the Warriors (4-15 overall) down just 6-5 early, and a block by Bakke and Wood made it a 15-8 game, but the Bruins (15-4) kept the pressure on and took a two-set-to-none lead.

Down early in the third set, Waldorf’s fight shown through during a 9-1 run that saw Wright serve up two aces and Wood add a solo block.

Kills late in the charge by Kenzie Kidd and Kayla Petersen (FR/Omaha, Neb.) turned a 13-6 deficit into a 15-14 Warrior lead, and it looked like Waldorf was set to grab a win and get right back into the match.

But Bellevue proved equally determined and used a 6-1 late run to regain the match’s momentum and finish off the three-set sweep.

Kenzie Kidd led the way on the night for the Warriors with 12 kills, while Trinity Perez (FR/Worthing, S.D.) made nine digs, and Bakke added 25 assists for a youthful Waldorf team that loses just one senior in Ariel Pindegayosh (SR/Minneapolis, Minn.), who was injured and did not get to play in the Warriors final contest of the season.

“We will miss our senior, Ariel Pindegayosh,” Ebenhoe said.