The women’s volleyball team concluded a strong weekend as they won the Viking Classic and earned four wins to move to 9-3 for the season.
The Vikings defeated Illinois College and Wisconsin Lutheran College on Friday and then came back on Saturday to defeat Marian University and Grinnell College. The Vikings won each match 3-0.
During the Marian match, sophomore Taryn VanEarwage led the way for the Vikings with 13 kills on 23 attempts, 16 digs and  two assisted blocks.
During the Grinnell match, VanEarwage led the way for the Vikings again as she was had 15 kills and was the only Viking in double figures. She had two hitting errors in 28 attempts, eight digs and one blocking assist.
Captain and senior Hannah Lindaman said the wins came from their control of the ball.
“Keeping the ball controlled on our side of the net is something we are doing really well right now,” Lindaman said. “We know if we are successful in these areas we will get the wins like we did this weekend.
Lindaman helped contribute to the ball control with 21 assists in the Marian match and 19 setting assists and six digs in the Grinnell match.
Looking forward to the rest of the season, head coach Kelly Bethke said the team is looking strong after facing tough opponents.
“We loaded up the front end of the schedule with eight solid teams. We’ve never had an easy match,” Bethke said. “We’ve played ranked teams and, basically teams in the top 30 of the nation.”
Bethke also discussed how the team dynamic has helped their team grow closer.
“One thing we talk about a lot is team first,” said Bethke. “Whatever we do is in the best interest of the team. We are not individuals.”
This year, the team gained nine freshmen while losing four seniors. Bethke is optimistic about the new talent.
“The incoming freshman have blended with the team,” she said. “We did a lot of things to welcome them and make them feel involved. I think they felt very comfortable coming in.”
This week’s games for the team will be a CCIW game against Carthage College on Wednesday, two matches against Earlham College and Anderson University on Friday and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology on Saturday.