ST. PAUL, Minn. (Duhawks.com) – In need of a win to snap a five game losing streak, the Duhawks head to the Twin Cities to take part in the St. Kate's Invitational. Loras opened up tournament play with an afternoon match against the host, Wildcats. Loras' balance gave them the edge, and the eventual 3-0 win (25-21, 25-22, 25-23). Immediately after earning the win, the Duhawks returned to the court to take on St. Olaf College, falling 3-2 (22-25, 25-21, 25-16, 15-25, 15-13).

Sophomores Danni Kennedy (12 kills – 6 digs – 2 blocks – 1 assist) and Jenna Erickson (14 assists – 12 digs) paced the Duhawks in their win over St. Kate's.

Trailing early, Loras fought back to take set one 25-21. The Duhawks followed it up with another early deficit in set two before taking their first lead late, 23-22. From there, a kill from Kennedy was followed with a block from the sophomore standout, giving Loras the 25-22 win. In set three, the Wildcats stayed close throughout. Loras had to work its way through nine ties before a kill by junior Kara Kentner gave them the set win, 25-23, and the match win 3-0.

The Duhawks win over the Wildcats was their first since September 6.

After a short break, Loras returned to the court to face off against the St. Olaf Oles looking to build on their tournament opening victory.

Different from the first match, the Duhawks put themselves in front early. Unfortunately, their early cushion was quickly erased as the Oles came roaring back to knot the set at 22. From that point on, Loras silenced the Oles attack and used kills by Kennedy and Kenter to close out the set, 25-22. St. Olaf bounced back from the set one defeat to take set two, 25-21, taking advantage of miscues on the part of the Duhawks. The Oles managed to force Loras to play out of system for much of the third set. Loras held a 14-12 lead midway through the set before St. Olaf closed it out on a 12-2 run for the set win, 25-16. The Duhawks turned things around in set four, as Kennedy and company took an early lead. Leading 3-0, Loras never looked back, cruising to a 25-15 win to force a match deciding fifth set. With the set tied at eight, the Oles took control. A few Duhawk errors paired with kills from the Oles attack put Loras down four, 14-10. A late push brought the Duhawks within one, 14-13, before a Loras attack error gave the Oles the set win, 15-13.
 
Match Changer
The Duhawks attack was held at bay in the fifth set of their match against St. Olaf. Loras tallied just four kills on 16 attempts, all of which were cancelled out with four errors. Their counterparts attempted nearly twice as many attacks (28) on their way to 11 kills on .214 hitting.
 
Key Stat
Sophomore middle block Danni Kennedy played out of her mind for the Duhawks on day one of the St. Kate's Invite, finishing with 24 kills, one assist, 14 digs, and nine blocks, while hitting .382.

Notables
Bergan continues to blossom in the back row, recording a career-high 31 digs in match two.

In match one, six different Duhawks recorded an assist. The most since eight players recorded assists on October14, 2011 against St. Thomas (Minn.). The unusual feat was highlighted by a career-high (9) from sophomore Therese Schultz.

Loras recorded a season-high 12 blocks in match two. Kennedy led the charge, tallying two block solos and six block assists.

Match two featured a balanced attack with three players tallying 12 kills (Jendra, Kentner, and Kennedy).

Sophomore Brittany Lijewski made the most of her time, recording a career-high 9 digs in the Duhawks match against St. Olaf. She tallied 8 digs in their first match, a short-lived career-high.

Quotable
Loras Head Coach Jenna Ness
"We played hard, we played together, and in the end we really played as one. We had different players step up and give us a lot on the court.  Our blocking was on point today, and that's a direct result of the strong play of Danni. When we can play in system and get her and our other hitters the ball, we make it extremely hard on other teams."