DUBUQUE, Iowa (Duhawks.com) - The Loras women's volleyball team opens up competition this weekend at the Northwestern (Minn.) Labor Day Tournament coming off a promising 2015 campaign. The Duhawks and reigning IIAC Coach of the Year Jenna Ness will take on UW-Stout at 1 p.m. and then Concordia at 5 p.m. on Sept. 2 to wrap up opening day. On day two of the tournament, Loras matches up with Augsburg at 1 p.m. and then concludes the back-to-back against host Northwestern at 3 p.m. before heading back to the Key City.

LAST TIME OUT AGAINST UW-STOUT
The Duhawks lost a tightly contested 3–2 match to the Blue Devils at the Loras Home Invitational in 2015.

BLUE DEVILS TO WATCH
Similar to the Duhawks, UW-Stout returns its top-two hitters in junior Ashley Pratt and sophomore Kennedy Strain. This duo combined for over 600 kills in 2015 and Pratt's 362 individually earned her honorable mention All-WIAC recognition.

LAST TIME OUT AGAINST CONCORDIA
Loras last faced the Cobbers in 2009 and suffered a 3–0 defeat at home.

COBBERS TO WATCH
A year after graduating four seniors, the Cobbers will have to rely on some new faces on the court in 2016. However, the tandem of seniors Mandy Mercil and Jena Klephake at setter will provide some experience to this young team. Sophomore Haley Cuppett returns as the leading attacker from last season when she registered 55 kills for Concordia. With eight freshman and three sophomores on the roster, look for major contributions from underclassmen this weekend.

LAST TIME OUT AGAINST AUGSBURG
After a statement win at Cornell last season, Loras was defeated 3–0 by the Auggies in their second match of a triangular in Mount Vernon.

AUGGIES TO WATCH
Sophomore Macey Terhell and senior Courtney Lemke return to lead Augsburg on both defense and offense. Terhell lead the Auggies in digs last season recording 528 in her freshman season. A native of Brownton, Minn., Lemke had 760 assists last season will be entering her second season as the full time starter in Maroon.

LAST TIME OUT AGAINST NORTHWESTERN
The Duhawks dropped a five-set thriller to the Eagles in 2015 at this same tournament.

SCOUTING THE EAGLES
As the unanimous favorites to win the UMAC after a 28–9 season and two wins in the NCAA Tournament, Northwestern opens the 2016 season with lofty expectations. The Eagles enter the season as the No. 23 team in the nation and return junior attacker Lindsey Peterson who earned UMAC Player of the Year and AVCA All-America Honors last season. Sophomore Kaelyn Kilbo and junior Leesa Hulstrand come back as the setting duo for Northwestern after combining for 1,196 assists in 2015, earning honorable mention All-UMAC nods for the both of them.

KEY PERFORMERS BACK IN KEY CITY
After ending last season with a 22–13 record and making a deep run in the conference tournament, the Duhawks head into 2016 full of optimism. Loras graduated one starter from 2015 and returns four All-IIAC performers from last season. Offensively, the Duhawks return their top two attackers in sophomore Claire Ritchie and senior Therese Schultz, who both finished in the top-10 in kills in the IIAC in 2015. The Duhawks also return junior libero Haley Bergan whose 661 digs and average of 5.37 digs per set ranked second in the conference.

RITCHIE RETURNS REARING TO GO
Sophomore Claire Ritchie looks to build on a stellar 2015 freshman campaign as Loras heads to their season opening tournament at Northwestern (Minn.) in Ritchie's home state of Minnesota. Listed as a setter and outside hitter, she led the Duhawks last season in both kills and assists with 321 and 707, respectively. Ritchie's high-octane season as a newcomer led to her receiving an All-Conference nod and the 2015 Freshman of the Year Award in the IIAC.

MASTERS OF THE MIDDLE
The strength of the Loras offense during the 2015 season can be attributed to the success of the Duhawks' middle attack. The combination of seniors Danni Kennedy and Therese Schultz totaled 571 kills and a .266 attack percentage to lead all Loras position groups. Individually, Kennedy ranked in the top-10 in the IIAC in both attack percentage and total blocks. Schultz was also in the top-10 in attack percentage and her 307 total kills ranked second among all Iowa Conference middle hitters.

FAMILIAR FACES
The Duhawks bring back more than just on-court talent as they approach the 2016 campaign. Head Coach Jenna Ness returns to the bench after earning IIAC Coach of the Year honors in 2015. Heading into her fourth season leading Loras, Coach Ness has compiled a 52–48 record and is coming off a 22–13 season which included an appearance in the conference tournament championship. Jeremy Thornburg will also be returning in an assistant coach role with the Duhawks for his second season. The coaching staff is joined by newcomer Jenna Sullivan, a 2015 graduate of St. Mary's University of Minnesota, who will serve as the top assistant for the women's program this fall.

SETTING THE TONE
For any volleyball team, one of the keys to a successful offense is consistency from the setting position. After a 2015 season in which the Duhawks two-setter offense ranked second in the Iowa Conference, totaling 1,516 assists, the return of both sophomore Claire Ritchie and senior Jenna Erickson has Loras poised for another high-powered year. The tandem of Ritchie and Erickson paced the Duhawks to a 22–13 record last year and Loras' 11.94 assists per set average ranked second in the IIAC.