Contact: Nathan Cameron, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications, 563-588-7243

SAINT PAUL, Minn. (Oct. 19, 2021) – The Loras College women's volleyball team (15-9, 3-3 A-R-C) was on the road again on Tuesday evening as they traveled to Saint Paul, Minn. to square off against two nationally ranked teams in No. 17 University of Northwestern (21-3, 9-0 UMAC) and No. 25 Gustavus Adolphus College (20-4, 6-1 MIAC). The matches marked the Duhawks' eighth straight road contest in the last 11 days, seeing four of their opponents recognized in the American Volleyball Coaches' Association (AVCA) National Rankings.

The first match of the day saw the Duhawks go toe-to-toe with the Eagles from Northwestern, where the Duhawks jumped out to an early lead as Northwestern tallied the first point of the set on a kill from Abby Glanzer. The Duhawks responded with three straight points of their own, taking advantage of a pair of Northwestern errors rounded out by a kill from the hand of Lyndsi Wilgenbusch. Loras continued to hold the lead until Northwestern scored two straight to pull them back within one but a kill from Liz Fleckenstein sparked a four-point run that saw Fleckenstein account for two while Moira Mixan added a kill to bring the score to 11-6 in favor of the Duhawks. The Eagles came back soon thereafter, tying the game back up at 11-11, leading to the two teams trading blows and tying the score three more times before Northwestern pulled away and held on to take the first set 25-17.

Set number two saw the Duhawks strike first on a Northwestern error followed by a Glanzer kill to tie the score back at one apiece. Mixan floored a kill that gave the Duhawks the lead again but moments later a Northwestern ace gave the Eagles a one-point advantage but the Duhawks took advantage of two straight Northwestern errors to go up by one at 5-4. The Eagles followed by scoring six in a row but the run was spoiled by Wilgenbusch who put down a kill to close the gap to four points at 10-6. Back-to-back kills from Amelia Gutierrez and Fleckenstein, followed by a Northwestern error again brought the Duhawks back within four at 14-10 but the Eagles continued to press forward and hold the lead. The end of the set saw the Duhawks outscore the Eagles 5-4 but Northwestern held off the Duhawks' pressure to take set two 25-19.

Northwestern jumped ahead early in the third set, taking a five-point advantage on the Duhawks before Mixan put an end to the scoring as she put down a kill for the Duhawks' first point of the set. The Eagles rode their early momentum through the remainder of the set, fighting off any Loras attack that was present to close out the match with a 25-10 third set victory.

Wilgenbusch led the Duhawks offensively against Northwestern, posting ten kills in the match while Fleckenstein added eight and Mixan with seven. At the service line, Mixan tallied the Duhawks' lone ace in the match while defensively, Krystal Tranel put up 14 digs while Fleckenstein and Gutierrez showed strength at the net with two total blocks each.

The second match of the night featured the Duhawks taking on the No. 25 nationally ranked Gustavus Adolphus College Gusties, where the Gusties took an early 4-1 lead but a pair of Gustavus errors and a Wilgenbusch kill and a Cat Gleason ace put the Duhawks up by one at 5-4. Gustavus soon took the lead again, but the Duhawks kept fighting back, putting up three straight on the Gusties on two Fleckenstein kills and a Tranel ace to tie the score back at 11-11. The Gusties fought back and gained the lead once more and pulled away with the win and hold off the Duhawks' late-set comeback.

Set two saw Gustavus strike first but the Duhawks punched back to take a two-point lead at 5-3, breaking the 3-3 tie on back-to-back errors by the Gusties. The Duhawks continued to hold the lead, gaining a three-point edge on Gustavus as the Gusties committed three straight errors to put the Duhawks up at 9-6. Gustavus responded by outscoring Loras 5-1 to take a one-point lead but Fleckenstein put down another kill to tie the score back at 11-11. The Gusties then went on to tally four in a row to gain the lead once more, seeing them take the set with a final score of 25-17.

Gustavus started the third set by scoring four straight but the Duhawks clawed their way back into the game, coming within one at 7-6 as Mixan, Wilgenbusch and Olivia Smith floored three straight kills. While the Gusties held the lead through the majority of the set, Loras kept them in check, holding them within no more than three points. Down by two at 22-20, Wilgenbusch kick started the Duhawks' offense seeing Gleason follow with another ace while a Gustavus error and another Wilgenbusch kill rounded out the four-point run to put the Duhawks up for the first time in the set at 23-22. The Duhawks held onto the lead through the end of the set, seeing Mixan and Wilgenbusch notch two straight kills to close out the game with a final score of 25-23 in favor of the Duhawks to force the match into a fourth set.

The Gusties put two on the board early in the fourth set on a pair of Loras errors but they gave the Duhawks three points back on errors of their own, rounded out by a Talia McAtee ace to put the Duhawks up by two at 4-2. The score tied three times soon after, with Gustavus coming out on top after posting four in a row to pull ahead by three at 9-6. The Gusties widened their lead in the middle of the set and held on to that lead through the end to take the final set of the match by a 25-14 margin.

Wilgenbusch again led the Loras offense with 18 kills in the match while Fleckenstein added 12 and Gleason joined with five. McAtee and Gleason each posted two aces apiece at the service line while Tranel notched one. Defensively, Tranel put up 14 digs while Sara Hoskins added 11 of her own and 33 assists at setter.

The Duhawks return home for the first time in over a week as they play host to the Nebraska Wesleyan University Prairie Wolves on Oct. 22. The match is slated to begin at 6:00 PM inside the Patrick J. Lillis Athletic & Wellness Center.