JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – For the fourth weekend in a row to start the 2025 season, the Kenyon College volleyball team faced a trio of games in a weekend. First up for this set, the team took on Nebraska Wesleyan University (NWU) on Friday night in a neutral site contest.
Despite putting together solid stretches in sets two and three, the Owls couldn't keep up with the Prairie Wolves, falling 3-0 in the match to start the weekend.
Kenyon's best stretch of the night came in the third set, after trailing 2-0 in the match. The teams traded leads for most of the set, but it was the Owls who took a 13-12 lead at the midpoint of the set. Kendall Kirkbride and Olivia Gumz led the team with two kills apiece in the run.
Thanks to two kills from Sophia Menke, Kenyon amassed a 20-19 lead, but a 6-2 run from the Prairie Wolves took over the set 25-22 and the match 3-0. In the third, the Owls amassed a .049 hitting percentage with a game high 11 kills.
In the opener, Nebraska Wesleyan jumped out to a 10-4 lead, with Kirkbride and Gumz turning in the only kills for Kenyon to start the match. The Owls struggled to keep up in the first set, with the Prairie Wolves holding an edge in kills 15-7 and in hitting percentage .462 to .042. After an 11-7 run saw them take a 20-11 lead, Kenyon nearly matched NWU for a 5-4 stretch, but it was too much to overcome, dropping the first set 25-14. Mariyah Rumpca-Veronese led the team in the first with two kills.
The Owls improved in the second set, jumping out to a 10-9 lead after trailing 6-1 early. Gumz led the team in the run with two kills, while Rumpca-Veronese chipped in one. Kenyon led 14-13 a couple points later, but failed to gain an advantage for the rest of the set. As a team, the Owls hit .086 percent and had 10 kills as a team, but fell 25-17.
For the game, Kenyon totaled 28 kills and 22 attack errors for a .060 hitting percentage. Gumz led the team with nine kills on the night, while Rumpca-Veronese came in second with sixth. Hannah Schwemm dished out 20 assists, while Lauren Blakemore hauled in a team-high 12 digs.
The Owls will have a doubleheader tomorrow, with the first game tipping off at 11:00 a.m. EST against Monmouth College, with action against Central College taking place immediately after from Jacksonville, Illinois.
