Contact: Brock Reisler, Assistant Executive Director, breisler@midwestconference.org
 
MOUNT VERNON, Iowa – After an action-packed semifinal Friday at the Small Athletic and Wellness Center, Cornell College and Lawrence University came away with victories as the Rams and Vikings will meet on Saturday for the Midwest Conference Tournament crown.
 
Lawrence commanded set one against Monmouth in the opener, rolling to a 25-12 set victory as the Vikings hit .333 in the frame, holding the Fighting Scots to a negative hitting percentage (-.091). Lawrence nearly hit .300 in set two, taking the stanza 25-18. Set three was back and forth – there were 11 ties and five lead changes – but the Vikings did just enough down the stretch, securing the 28-26 set win to take the match.
 
Audrey Weier and Hazel Cook had 16 kills apiece to lead Lawrence, while Ally Corrente notched 39 assists plus 17 digs while Aria Wessel also had 17 digs.
 
Cornell picked up a 25-19 set one victory in the nightcap, though neither the Rams nor Illinois College hit north of .200 in the frame. Cornell cruised in set two with a 25-10 win – leading for the entire set and hitting .400 – and posted a 25-16 win in the third and final frame to complete the sweep.
 
Ashlin Nottestad recorded a match-high 10 kills, while Grace Tverberg had 14 assists and Nia Howard chipped in 13. Defensively, both Ella Becker (15) and Sully Downey (11) tallied double-digit digs.
 
Cornell is seeking its fifth consecutive MWC Tournament title (and fifth straight NCAA Tournament berth), while Lawrence is looking to advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history with its first-ever MWC Tournament championship.
 
Saturday’s final is set for 1 p.m.