WHITEWATER, Wis. (Duhawks.com) - The Loras women's volleyball team opened the first day of the "Dig Panici Classic" on Friday, Oct. 23 with wins over St. Kate's and St. Norbert. Three Duhawks finished with a .300 attack percentage or better with junior Danni Kennedy leading the way with 17 kills and three errors for a .400 mark.

HOW IT HAPPENED - LORAS vs. ST. KATE'S
SET ONE •••
Loras' opening set of the weekend provided plenty of back and forth action, but it was the Duhawks (18-11) who took control early. Slowly but surely, St. Kate's (15-11) mounted their comeback, eventually taking their first lead of the set at 18-17. The momentum carried onward for a 6-3 run to put the Wildcats in position to win the opening frame. A timeout from Loras did just enough to break the rally and allowed for the Duhawks to score four unanswered points to level at 24-all. Junior Therese Schultz capped the set victory with a kill to lift the Duhawks to a 29-27 win.

SET TWO •••
Despite losing the opening set, St. Kate's refused to let the setback deter them, as they opened on a 5-1 run in set two. The Wildcats eventually opened a 16-11 lead on Loras, forcing a timeout from Head Coach Jenna Ness. The break in action gave the Duhawks enough of an intermission to halt the run of St. Kate's and start one of their own. Loras took a commanding 2-0 match lead thanks to a 5-0 run, highlighted by two kills from junior Danni Kennedy.

SET THREE •••
Trailing 2-0, St. Kate's did everything they could to remain in the match, holding a 10-9 lead midway through the third set. Loras put a halt to the Wildcats offense and turned theirs into overdrive, rattling off 16-3 rally to finish off the sweep, 25-13.

HOW IT HAPPENED - LORAS vs. ST. NORBERT
SET ONE •••
Loras' second opponent of the evening, St. Norbert (10-14), entered the 7 p.m. match looking for redemption after dropping a 3-0 match to Wartburg. The Green Knights came out in full force, jumping out to a 7-2 lead, putting the Duhawks on their heels. With each short rally Loras managed to create, St. Norbert responded with one of their own. Similarly to the first set against St. Kate's, the Duhawks found themselves battling in extras, but this time came up short, falling 27-25.

SET TWO •••
Set two opened with more even play from the two sides, with each team spending time with the lead. Leading 10-9, Loras opened a gap thanks to a 5-0 run, which was all the space they needed to operate. St. Norbert's attack went stale, committing five errors to help fuel the Duhawks' run. Schultz and freshman Akasia Brown put away kills to seal the win and level the match at one set a piece. A large part of Loras' success came through the play of their middles, who were seemingly operating with little resistance from St. Norbert, led by Schultz who finished with four kills.

SET THREE •••
The Duhawks picked up right where they left off in set two, targeting their middles with their attack. Loras led by as many as five at 17-12 before the Green Knights began to click on offense and march their way back into the set. A four-point run by St. Norbert evened the match at 21-all before the teams exchanged two-point runs of their own. All square at 23, freshman Claire Ritchie tallied one of her 14 kills on the night before an attacking error from St. Norbert earned Loras the win, 25-23 and a 2-1 lead in the match.

SET FOUR •••
After opening the fourth set on a 6-1 lead, the Duhawks saw their advantage disappear thanks to an identical run by St. Norbert. Neither side had much success with extended runs, resulting in a close match the entire way. With a 22-all scoreline, Loras secured the victory with two kills from Schultz and a Green Knight attacking error to improve to 19-11 in 2015.

FRIEDMAN GROUP PLAYER OF THE GAME
Danni Kennedy | "Ms. Consistent" herself continued with more of the same play that Loras fans have come to expect, finishing with 17 kills and a .400 attack percentage in two matches along with nine blocks.

SOUND BITES | Danni Kennedy & Claire Ritchie


UP NEXT
Loras returns to the court tomorrow for day two of the 'Dig Panici Classic' where they will face ninth-ranked UW-Whitewater and Webster. First serve against UW-Whitewater is set for 10 a.m. With a win on Saturday, Loras will reach the 20-win mark for the first time since 2010.