Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

OSHKOSH, Wis. (Duhawks.com) – The Loras College Women's Volleyball team opened up play at the Titan Classic on Friday with a pair of five-set matches. In their first match, the Duhawks handed No. 14 Carthage their third loss of the season, 3-2 (19-25, 14-25, 25-21, 26-24, 15-13). An early lead slipped away from the Duhawks in their second match as they fell to UW-River Falls 3-2 (20-25, 25-20, 17-25, 25-23, 15-10)

With hopes of avenging an early season loss at the Loras Invite, the Duhawks faced off against No. 14 Carthage. In the opening set, the Duhawks struggled to find an answer for the Lady Reds attack, allowing Carthage to take an early 6-0 lead. After a Carthage error, a pair of kills by junior Taylor Serrano cut the deficit in half. For the rest of the set, Carthage seemed to cancel out every Loras run, eventually taking the set 25-19.

The teams traded points in the early parts of the second set until a kill by junior Kara Kentner gave Loras the 5-4 lead. Unfortunately, Kentner's kill was followed by an 8-1 run by Carthage, putting them in front 12-6.  From then on, the Duhawks would pull within three before falling 25-14.

Loras returned to the court in set three with a new found energy, soaring out to a 5-0 lead. Moments later a kill by sophomore Danni Kennedy pushed Loras' lead to double digits, 18-8. The Duhawks continued to roll, holding off a late push by the Lady Reds, to take set three 25-20.

Paced by a balanced attack (.205) and a solid defensive effort, the Duhawks led the Lady Reds in the early goings of set four. Midway through the match, Carthage leveled the score at 12. The tie moved momentum in favor of the Lady Reds, or so it seemed, as they took a four point lead behind a 6-2 run.

Trailing 23-19, the Duhawks hopes of pulling the upset seemed to be slipping away. That was until junior Harris Hunter's kill sparked the Duhawks attack. Hunter's kill was followed by a pair of kills by Kentner, pulling the Duhawks within one and forcing Carthage to take a timeout. Out of the timeout, the Lady Reds earned the point to pull them within one point of taking the set and the match.

The ensuing Carthage serve was handled perfectly by the Duhawks back row, setting up a kill from Kennedy, moving the score to 24-23 in favor of Carthage. Kennedy's kill was followed by an attacking error by Carthage before sophomore Miriam McKee's back-to-back aces gave Loras the set, 26-24.

The Duhawks overcame an early deficit, to knot the score at 13 on a kill by Kennedy, before closing the set with a pair of kills from junior Liz Jendra. In the final set, it came down to hitting as Loras outhit Carthage .387-.250 in the final set. With the 15-13 set victory, the Duhawks completed the comeback at topped their first ranked opponent of the season.

With little rest, Loras returned to the court to take on UW-River Falls. The teams played through eight ties before the Duhawks pulled ahead 20-19. Hitting a match-best .317, Loras finished off the match with kills by Kennedy, Jendra, and Kentner to take the set, 25-20.

The attack of the Duhawks struggled in the second set, hitting just .111 while UW-River Falls hit .259 on their way to the 25-20 set win to even the match at one. Loras bounced back in the third set, turning a two point deficit into a 14-6 behind stifling serves by Kennedy and strong hitting by Serrano and McKee. A late charge by the Falcons fell short as Loras' defense held the UW-River Falls attack to a measly .081 hitting percentage, on their way to a 25-17 win.

Looking to put the match away, Loras tied the fourth set at 10. From there, Kentner fueled the Duhawks to an 18-13 lead. The Duhawks cushion was quickly erased as the

Falcons scored eight straight to take a 21-18 lead. Loras mounted a late comeback attempt but failed to overcome the Falcons, dropping the fourth set, 25-23.

Falling behind early, the Duhawks ran out of gas. Hitting just .059 in the set, Loras could not overcome the .194 hitting of the Falcons, falling 15-10.

Loras finishes day one of the Titans Classic 1-1, moving them to 12-17 on the season.

Match Changer
The Duhawks overall defensive effort (7 blocks, 71 digs) fueled their 3-2 win over Carthage.  
 
Key Stat
Loras outhit Carthage .238 to .190 for the match while also tallying five more digs than the Lady Reds (71-66).

Notables

• The Duhawks win over No. 14 Carthage marks their first win over a ranked opponent this year.
• Loras' upset of No. 14 Carthage is the first time the Duhawks have beat a ranked team since they beat No. 23 Coe College (3-0) on September 26, 2006.
• Eight different Duhawks recorded at least one kill in the five-set win over Carthage (Schultz, Kennedy, Blake, Serrano, Kentner, Jendra, Hunter, and McKee).
• Haley Bergan tallied a team-best 53 digs on the day.
• Kara Kentner recorded 20 kills and 20 assists in the loss to UW-River Falls. She led the team with 29 on the day.

 
Quotable

Head Coach Jenna Ness on the win over Carthage
"Carthage handled us in the first two games but the girls didn't give up. I'm really proud of how hard they worked. They fought and they fought hard. It's nice to see their hard work pay off and show them what they're capable of."

Head Coach Jenna Ness on the match against UW-River Falls
"UW-River Falls is one of the most hardworking teams we have faced this season. They are good, evenly balanced team that kept us on our toes throughout the match. The match was back and forth, with each team catching breaks, but ultimately fell in their favor."

Next Up

In day two of the Titan Classic, Loras takes on Webster University and tournament host UW-Oshkosh.