Pride, Yellowjackets Split Doubleheader

LAMONI, Iowa – The Clarke University men's volleyball team split its matches against the Graceland University Yellowjackets on Friday at the Morden Center.

Michael Jenkins paced the Pride with 25 kills, while Nick Palatine had a team-high 35 digs. Junior Erik Schmidt recorded 93 assists, while Stephen Lewandowski had 11 blocks.

In the first match, CU (6-18 overall, 2-13 Heart) won the first two sets 25-19 and 25-22, respectively. In the third set, the Pride and Yellowjackets (5-11, 3-10) battled back and forth en route to an 18-all tie. However, Graceland went on a seven to one run to close out the match to trim the set deficit 2-1.

In the fourth set, the Pride led by as much as six (15-9), but the Yellowjackets prevailed and ended up tying the match 2-2. In the fifth set, Clarke and Graceland went toe-to-toe with one another until the Pride led it by four at a score of 10-6. The lead proved to be too much to overcome for Graceland, as CU came away with a 15-10 win off of a kill by Timothy Meyer.

The second match of the doubleheader saw Graceland win the first set 25-22 before Clarke evened things up with a 25-18 second-set victory. The Yellowjackets took back the lead after winning the third set 25-14. In the fourth set, Clarke jumped out to a 3-0 lead after an ace from Erik Schmidt, an error by the Yellowjackets, and a kill by Meyer.

Graceland evened up things at 3-3, but that was as close as the Yellowjackets would get to the Pride as Clarke led the rest of the way en route to a 25-17 set win. Graceland led the fifth set by as much as four before closing it out with a 15-12 match-clinching win.  

The Pride will return to the hardwood tomorrow for a date with Park University. Match time is set for 2 p.m.