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

Nov. 2, 2021 - After a three-match stretch in Wisconsin last weekend, the No. 3 seeded Loras College women's volleyball team (21-10, 6-3 A-R-C) opened up postseason action in the American Rivers Conference Tournament Quarterfinals against the No. 6 seeded Simpson College Storm (8-15, 4-5 A-R-C). The Duhawks bounced back from being down 2-1 to force the match into a fifth set to decide a winner, seeing the Duhawks complete a perfect season at the Patrick J. Lillis Athletic & Wellness Center, going 11-0 on their home court. 

The Duhawks got the ball rolling in the first set as they quickly went up 5-1 as Liz Fleckenstein and Cat Gleason posted kills early while Talia McAtee put down an ace to give the Duhawks a four point advantage. Simpson quickly came back to tie the score at 7-7 and take a three-point lead at 11-8. Soon thereafter, three Storm errors rounded out by a Gleason kill brought the score back to an even 12-12 in the middle of the set where the two teams proceeding to trade blows through the ending moments of the game before the Storm scored five in a row to take the set 25-20. 

Simpson struck first in set number two but the Duhawks took six straight back on kills from Lydnsi Wilgenbusch and Moira Mixan and another McAtee service ace to bring the score to 6-2 early in the game. The Storm kept the score close through the middle of the set, however, coming back within one at 9-8 before Loras pulled ahead by a comfortable six point margin at 15-9 as Wilgenbusch ignited the offense with a kill that was followed by a Sam Stoffregen ace, a pair of Fleckenstein kills and a duo of Storm errors. Loras widened their lead to eight points moments later as Fleckenstein and Mixan floored kills followed by a Storm attacking error to go on a three-point run and bring the score to 18-10. Simpson clawed back into the game, scoring five straight but the Duhawks proved to be too uch to handle as they scored a trio of points on an Olivia Smith kill, a Storm error and a Wilgenbusch kill to take set two by a final score of 25-19. 

The two teams score back and forth early in the third set of the match before the Duhawks went of a five-point tear as errors plagued the Storm, giving Loras three of the five straight points on errors with Stoffregen flooring two aces to bring the score to 10-5. Not long after, the Storm tied the score at 11-11 after putting four in a row on the board but the tie didn't last long as Loras pulled away by three at 14-11 on a Simpson error, a Gleason kill and a Sara Hoskins service ace. The Storm regained the lead at 17-15 after going on a five-point run but the score was brought back to a stalemate at 20-20 as Hoskins dumped a set for a kill, followed by a Storm error and another Stoffregen ace. Simpson again regained the lead in the closing moments of the set and held off the Duhawks' late-game pressure to take set number three 25-23. 

Looking to force the match into a fifth set, the Duhawks came out ahead early in the fourth set, coming back from being down 3-1 early to outscore the Storm 10-1 to go up 11-4. In that run, the Duhawks tallied two service aces from Mixan and Gleason while Gleason and Hoskins also notched a kill apiece while the Storm committed six errors. Simpson slowly worked their way back into the game, eating away at the lead as they pulled back within three of the Duhawks at 16-13 beforeLoras again pulled away by five on a Wilgenbusch kills and a Gleason service ace that took the score to 18-13. Loras continued to dominate through the end of the set, posting a pair of kills that were followed by two Storm errors to solidify the 25-19 set victory and force a fifth set to decide who advances in the tournament. 

In the winner-moves-on fifth set, the Storm got out to an early 3-0 lead on two straight kills and Loras error before the Duhawks quickly grabbed the set back at 5-4 by scoring three in a row on kills from Mixan and Smith and a Storm hitting error. After Simpson gained the lead back at 6-5, the Duhawks' offense sparked and took control of the set by going on a seven-point run with Mixan tallying two kills and an ace in the run while Wilgenbusch added two kills to bring the score to 12-6. In the dying moments of the set, the Storm scored three straight to come back within two at 13-11, but a pair of Simpson service errors gave the Duhawks the last two points they needed to secure the win and move on to the Tournament Semifinals. 

The two teams battled at the service line with the Storm flooring 11 aces in the match while the Duhawks had 12. Stoffregen led the attack at the service line with four aces in the match while Mixan posted three to become second all-time in program history with 149 in her four-year career. McAtee and Gleason added two aces each while Hoskins notched one. Wilgenbusch led the Duhawks' offense at the net will 11 kills in the match followed by Fleckenstein who had nine. Wilgenbusch and Smith were walls at the net defensively, each recording a total of five blocks in the match while back-to-back A-R-C Defensive Player of the Week Krystal Tranel put up 36 digs at the libero spot. 

The five set win sees the Duhawks advance to the A-R-C Tournament Semifinals to take on the No. 2 seeded Coe College Kohawks. The Semifinals matches and Finals match of the Tournament are hosted at Levick Arena on the campus of Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa. The Duhawks are slated to face the Kohawks at 4:00 PM on Friday, Nov. 5 in the first Semifinals match of the night.