WHEATON, Ill. (duhawks.com) - Stifling serves, consistent energy, and a balanced attack led the Duhawks to a 3-2 win over Wheaton College on Friday night. For the first time this season, Loras bounced back after an opening set loss to take down the Thunder on the road. 

Just after dropping the first set, 25-18, Loras returned to the floor looking to level the match. Sophomore Miriam McKee kicked the match off with a kill which was followed by a pair of kills by junior Kara Kentner. From then on, the Duhawks maintained their lead, eventually taking the set, 25-18.

A tip just inside the back line by sophomore Danni Kennedy put Loras ahead, 3-2, in the third set. Unfortunately for the Duhawks, that was their only lead of the match. Plagued by inconsistent hitting, Loras could not overcome the Thunder's attack (.000 - .229), falling 25-19.

Trailing in the match 2-1, the Duhawks came out with a sense of urgency in the fourth set. A strong start carried through to an ace by freshman Haley Bergan. The aggressive serve put Loras ahead, 17-10, and forced the Thunder to take a timeout. 

The timeout failed to faze the Duhawks as they returned to the court and closed the set on an 8-5 run, to knot the match at two. 

After trading points back and forth, the Duhawks were even with the Thunder at five. Wheaton capitalized on a few Loras miscues to take a 9-6 lead midway through the set. Sophomore Therese Schultz broke the Duhawk drought with a kill, sparking the Loras attack. Schultz's kill was followed by a block from McKee and junior Taylor Serrano, bringing Loras within one. 

Out of the timeout, junior Liz Jendra's ace tied the game at nine before a trio of kills from McKee put the Duhawks in front, 12-9. From there Jendra took care of business, rattling off three straight aces to take the set, 15-9, and the match 3-2. 

With the win, Loras improves to 10-12 on the year.

Match Changer

The Duhawks closed the fourth set on an 8-1 run. More importantly, Loras carried much of that momentum over to the fifth set which propelled them to the match win.

Key Stat

Loras completely reversed their serving stats from their last outing, holding an 11-4 edge in aces. 

Notables

• Friday's five-set match marks the first time such a match has ended in favor of the Duhawks this season.
• Therese Schultz turned in one of her best performances to date, tallying 8 kills on a season-high hitting percentage of .304 to lead Loras.
• Liz Jendra recorded a season-best four aces in the Duhawks win
• Sophomore setter Jenna Erickson posted a career-high 27 assists in the match.

Quotables

Head coach Jenna Ness

"We picked up our energy at the end of set one and carried the momentum over to the second set. We were able to serve aggressively and maintain a balanced attack, both of which have been key for us. Our defensive intensity picked up, keeping us in a lot of long rallies and forcing Wheaton into out of system plays. 

Up Next

The Duhawks return home on Wednesday to face Iowa Conference foe, Buena Vista, at 7:30 pm.