The Baker University volleyball team ended the Lindenwood Quad with one win and two losses from matches Friday and Saturday.
The Wildcats lost to Lindenwood University in three games Friday night.
They played two matches Saturday, gaining a win over Missouri Baptist University that morning.
Despite the team’s efforts, the Wildcats were unable to defeat No. 8 Columbia College in the second match of the day and lost 3-0.
“Each person really stepped up and owned their own role,” senior Brooke Pryor said.
Baker defeated Central Methodist University 3-2 Tuesday, improving the team’s overall record to 15-10 and its conference record to 5-2.
Much of the team’s success comes from the connections the women have together as a team.
“We’ve always had team chemistry, that’s never been a problem on the court,” junior Kelsey Cobb said.
Sophomore Jana Boss, with 756 total assists for the season, Pryor, with 322 kills this season, and junior Brooke Allen, with 450 total digs for the season, help pull the team together as well.
“Brooke Pryor and Brooke Allen, they hold our team together,” Cobb said.
Pryor said Allen hardly lets the ball touch the court. Allen leads the conference in digs, averaging 5.2 a game.
“Brooke Allen always is a big threat to teams,” Pryor said. “She is frustrating to hitters.”
The team recently changed its offense to make sure there is always a big block in the front row.
“We do a really good job of blocking and that’s something I can’t say we’ve been able to do in the past,” head coach Kathy Allen said.
Senior Christina Delladio leads the HAAC in blocks with an average of 1.3 per game and a season total of 103.
For the rest of the season, the team faces a difficult schedule, playing two nationally ranked teams in the Lindenwood Invitational.
Baker has a tough conference game against Benedictine College, as well as a game against College of the Ozarks, which is also nationally ranked.
“We’re just trying to figure out where we fit and which direction we want to go for the last half of the season,” Kathy Allen said.
The Wildcats will play in the Lindenwood Invitational Oct. 15-16. The team will play Bryan College at 1 p.m. and Clark University at 5 p.m. Oct. 15, as well as Olivet Nazarene University and Robert Morris University Oct. 16 in St. Charles, Mo.
