DUBUQUE, Iowa (Sept. 14, 2022) – Yet another exciting crosstown rivalry game took place on Wednesday night at the University of Dubuque as the Loras College women's volleyball team was outlasted by the Spartans in an electrifying five-set match.

The Duhawks (3-5, 0-1 A-R-C) won the opening set, but couldn't stave off the hosting Spartans (5-5, 1-0 A-R-C) in front of a packed house inside Dubuque's Stoltz Sports Center. The Spartans just barely squeaked out a 15-13 victory in the fifth and decisive set to take the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) opener for both squads.

Loras came out of the gates on fire and jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the first set. The Spartans would battle back and tied the match on two separate occasions, but the Duhawks claimed six of the final eight points to take the opening set 25-21.

The Spartans would win each of the next two sets by identical 25-18 scores to take a 2-1 lead. In the second set, it was Dubuque's turn to jump out to a big advantage as the Spartans took a 9-3 lead to kickstart their winning effort. Loras trailed big again in the third set but rallied late from a 17-9 deficit to cut the lead to 19-18.

That Loras threat was punctuated by a pair of service aces from senior Talia McAtee, but it wasn't enough as the Spartans claimed each of the final six points in the set to win 25-18.

The Duhawks trailed early in the fourth set but weren't going to go away quietly as a 7-0 run with McAtee on the serve put them ahead 10-5. Loras steadily built it's lead from there, taking the fourth set by a huge 25-13 margin thanks in part to a late flurry of kills from senior pin James Keefe.

The Duhawks again showed resiliency in a back-and-forth fifth set as they found themselves trailing 13-9. Four straight points, including two on kills from senior outside hitter Abbey Kwiatkoski, tied the set at 13-13 before the Spartans managed to nab the next two points and claim the first Key City rivalry game of the 2022-23 academic season.

Keefe led the way for Loras with 13 of the team's 51 kills. Keefe was looked to often in the match as she led the team with 39 total attempts. Sophomore middle blocker Cat Gleason joined Keefe in double-digit kills with 10, and paced the team with a .286 attacking percentage as she committed just two errors in her 28 chances on Wednesday.

Junior setter Sara Hoskins put her versatility on full display again as she tallied 38 assists while adding 13 digs, two block assists, and even a season-high five kills to her stat line. Hoskins was second on the team in digs behind sophomore Riley Deere, who paced the team with 32 digs to average 6.4 digs per set in the match.

Loras aims to get back in the win column this weekend as the Duhawks host the Loras Invitational inside the Lillis Athletic and Wellness Center. The Duhawks' first match of the weekend will be Friday, Sept. 16, versus the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point at 7 P.M.