Contact: Emily Zadny, Director of Athletic Communications, 563-588-7970

Box Score

Oct. 19, 2019 – A match featuring the two undefeated teams in the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C), the Loras College women's volleyball team (17-6, 4-1 A-R-C) took the Wartburg College Knights (19-7, 7-0 A-R-C) down to the final point on Saturday, forcing a five-set match in the most anticipated conference contest of the weekend, but fell just short of victory.

Wartburg took control of the match early in the first set but faltered after two errors and a block from Jackie Alberto and Kendra Cave helped the Duhawks tie the score, 9-9. The Knights rebounded to take a 16-10 lead, forcing Loras to take a timeout. A kill from Kayla Kinney helped the Duhawks get back on track as Alberto and Cave teamed up again for a block to stop the Knights and Abby Allgeyer added two kills, but Wartburg held on for a 25-19 win.

Moira Mixan opened the second set in historic fashion, serving up her 45th ace of the season to tie the single-season record and help the Duhawks hold a 3-0 lead. Wartburg rattled off five-straight points to rival Loras but Kinney came up with a kill and then went up for a block alongside Alberto to tie the score, 7-7. The heart of the set continued to be back-and-forth until a kill from Allgeyer flipped the script to lead Cave, Kinney, Boge and Mixan to score kills and put Loras ahead 21-15. Alberto and Allgeyer closed the match with a kill each and a block to set up set point, handing the Duhawks the 25-17 win.

Loras took an 11-7 lead in the third set with more stellar defense from Alberto and Allgeyer at the net and Krystal Tranel on the dig. The Duhawks forced Wartburg to make mistakes on offense, leading to a six-point spur for Loras to pull ahead 17-9. Though the Knights tried to get back into the action, four kills from Alberto in the final points sealed the third-set in favor of Loras, 25-19.

Boge and Kinney helped Loras hold a 4-1 lead in the fourth set, but the Knights were able to pull ahead 5-4 just a few points later. Cave and Boge teamed up on both sides of the ball to help Loras hold a 14-12 advantage against Wartburg, but the Knights once again battled back to tie the score, 14-14. Wartburg took a brief lead but Mixan helped Loras tie it yet again 19-19. Loras was able to force two errors by the Knights too ward off set point, but Wartburg held on for the 25-22 win to force a fifth set.

The extra set marked familiar territory for the Duhawks as the past three matches have gone to five sets for Loras. Boge and Kinney helped Loras take the lead early and Alberto came up with a solo block to spark the energy for the Duhawks. An ace from Tranel and five kills gave Loras the 12-9 lead, but Wartburg was not done fighting, scoring five straight to take the Knights to match point at 14-12. Kinney hit a kill to keep the Duhawks alive for one more point, but Wartburg's defense forced a bad attempt for the Duhawks and claimed the fifth set, 15-13 to win the match.

Kinney posted a team-high 19 kills while Boge had 11 and Cave tallied eight. Kinney, Mixan and Tranel each had one service ace while Alberto had a season-best nine blocks, just one shy of tying the single-match record. Tranel ended the day with 23 digs, many of which helped the Duhawks hold lengthy rallies to exhaust the opponent.

Loras takes a break from A-R-C action on Wednesday, Oct. 23, traveling to Cornell College. Match time in Mount Vernon is set for 7:30 P.M.