ST. PAUL, Minn. (Duhawks.com) - The Loras women's volleyball team suffered a pair of defeats on Saturday against Augsburg and Northwestern at the Northwestern Labor Day Tournament. The Duhawks went the distance with the Auggies, taking sets one and four before dropping the deciding fifth frame, 15–9. In a matchup with Loras' most formidable opponent of the weekend, No. 23 Northwestern bested the Duhawks in three sets. With today's two losses, Loras comes away with a 2–2 record after their opening weekend of competition.

• With senior Tara Blake at the service line, the Duhawks opened a comfortable 9–3 lead in the opening set.
• The Auggies showed resiliency and chipped into the Loras lead eventually gaining a 17–16 advantage.
• A kill from senior Danni Kennedy followed by an Augsburg ball handling error gave the Duhawks a 23–20 lead that they would not relinquish. Freshman Kelly Boge finished the frame with a kill to give Loras the 25–23 victory.
• With the score 8–6 in their favor, the Auggies delivered three straight kills to take a commanding 11–6 lead in the second set and forced a timeout from the Duhawks.
• Augsburg continued to stretch the advantage, scoring the last five points of the frame, and took the set by a final score of 25–15.
• Tied at 12 in the third set, the Auggies scored five consecutive points, which included three service aces. The Duhawks traded points with Augsburg for the remainder of the frame, but could not overcome this deficit, dropping set three 25–19.
• Loras used a seven-point run trailing 16–13 in the fourth set to take a 20–16 lead.  The Duhawks maintained the advantage to the end, winning by a final of 25–22, prompting a fifth and deciding set in the process.
• In the fifth, the Auggies scored five consecutive points to open a 5–2 advantage. A later run of four points at 9–6 all but sealed the Duhawks' fate, as Augsburg went on to claim victory with a 15–9 win in set five.

@claireeritchie is our Friedman Group Player of the Game in Loras' match versus Northwestern! #GoDuhawks pic.twitter.com/0MNHO7aWRD

— Loras Volleyball (@lorasvolleyball) September 3, 2016

• In their fourth and final match of the weekend, the Duhawks trailed 9–7 in the first set against No. 23 Northwestern when the Eagles went on a four point run to take a 13–7 lead.
• Northwestern was firing on all cylinders in the first frame, taking the set in convincing fashion, 25–13. As a team, the Eagles totaled 12 kills on 25 attacks with three errors, good for a .360 attack percentage.
• In a back-and-forth second set, Loras opened up a 19–15 advantage using a four-point run that was fueled by a pair of kills from sophomore Claire Ritchie.
• With the Duhawks seemingly in command up 21–16, the Eagles scored five straight to erase the deficit and prompt a timeout from head coach Jenna Ness.
• Northwestern scored four of the last six points after the break to take a closely-contested second set, 25–23.
• The Eagles, riding their momentum from a strong finish in set two, raced out to a 7–3 lead early in the third frame.
• The Duhawks remained resilient, trimming the margin to one at 16–15 after a kill from Boge.
• Northwestern's offense, which finished the day hitting .333, stifled the Loras comeback bid, scoring nine of the last 12 tallies to complete the sweep.

@dannikennedy9 is your Friedman Group Player of the Game from today's match against Augsburg. // #GoDuhawks pic.twitter.com/oA3qD45pZR

— Loras Volleyball (@lorasvolleyball) September 3, 2016