DUBUQUE, Iowa (Duhawks.com) – After dropping their first two matches of their home invitational, the Loras Women's Volleyball team returned to the courts on Saturday looking to even the score. A 3-0 win over St. Ambrose started the day off on the right foot, but the weekend ended for the Duhawks with a  3-0 loss to Wheaton.
 
The Duhawks got started as quickly as they finished in the first set. A healthy combination allowed Loras to take complete control of the set. Junior Danni Kennedy closed off the Duhawk court with a commanding block at 12-3. With the first set in good hands, Head Coach Jenna Ness turned to her bench to finish the job. Freshman Maddy Hallahan entered and earned her first collegiate kill to make it 21-6 just before Loras took the set 25-6.
 
St. Ambrose made key adjustments in between sets, giving Loras more of a challenge and eventually tying the set at 15-all. St. Ambrose's Emily Hermiston tied the game at 15-15 and would lead the Bees to a three-point run. Junior Therese Schultz capitalized on a St. Ambrose missed serve at 22-21 and followed it up with a kill, before the Duhawks closed out set two, 25-22.
 
Trailing 2-0, the Bees continued to apply pressure and force Loras to play their best, resulting in a lead at 19-17. Back-to-back kills from senior Liz Jendra at put Loras in the driver's seat, leading 24-23. While St. Ambrose would not go quietly, Loras eventually finished off the Bees on an assisted block from Kennedy and Schultz to earn the Duhawks the 27-25 win.
 
The wear and tear of the tournament showed itself as the Duhawks struggled to find energy as they faced Wheaton in their final match. Ness called a timeout as The Thunder had finally taken the lead at 13-12 after closely following the Duhawks the first set.
 
Struggling putting the ball away, Jendra focused on getting Wheaton's offense out of system 15-15. After a series of miscommunications and failure to execute on plays, Wheaton's used an ace to end the first set 25-20.
 
Starting off the second set, Loras struggled to stay in system, resulting in many free-balls and predictable attacks. Wheaton capitalized on the opportunities they were given, putting away balls for easy kills. This trend carried over into set three for the Thunder but eventually had their lead cut to three at 22-19. An attack error from Loras brought the set and match to an end, with Loras falling 25-19.