Oct. 14, 2022 – Loras College's women's volleyball team never quit in an intense battle with the Wartburg College Knights, but fell short in a trio of close sets on Friday night.

The Duhawks (6-16, 0-5 A-R-C) held decently sizable leads in each of the first two sets, but the (RV) Knights (14-7, 6-1 A-R-C) rallied on both occasions on their way to a sweep.  

In the first set, the Duhawks tallied the first three points and eventually held a 12-8 lead approaching the midway point. A well-timed time out from Wartburg sparked a quick 6-1 scoring run that catapulted the Knights to a 14-13 lead to flip the momentum. In total, the timeout led to Wartburg finishing the set on a 17-6 run to claim it 25-18.

After the first set slipped away, the Duhawks came out and again built a solid led. With the score tied at 7-7, the Duhawks rattled off nine of the next 11 points to take a 16-9 lead. Senior middle blocker Olivia Smith was at the forefront of that run as she tallied three kills and one block assist.

Wartburg again rallied to erase the Loras lead, thanks largely to Allison Feigenbaum who accounted for six points (four total blocks, two kills) during a huge 13-1 run for the Knights. That run again led the Knights to a 25-22 come-from-behind win in the second set.

In the third set, it was Wartburg's turn to try and defend a big lead, and the Duhawks didn't quit despite trailing by as many as eight in the set. Loras had three instances late in the frame in which it rattled off three-straight points, but it just wasn't enough as the Knights claimed the final set 25-22.

Freshman pin Sophie Younkin led the Duhawks with eight kills in the match, marking the most for her in a three-set match this season. Smith and sophomore middle blocker Cat Gleason were close behind with six kills each while Smith paced the team with five total blocks, including one solo.

Loras is on the road next Wednesday, Oct. 19 as it travels to Decorah, Iowa to face the Luther College Norse at 6 P.M.