Sept. 16, 2022 – Loras College's women's volleyball team did all it could on Friday night, but the Duhawks couldn't keep pace with 21
st-ranked University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in the first home game of 2022.
The Duhawks (3-6) played one of the final games on day one of the Loras Invitational, falling in straight sets to a red-hot Pointers team that improved to 10-1 overall with their win. Stevens Point's victory over the Duhawks was their second of the day after the Pointers pulled off a 3-1 upset win over No. 8 Gustavus Adolphus College.
Loras entered the match cold whereas the Pointers were already firing on all cylinders from their previous match. The Duhawks kept pace for most of the first set, but five straight points catapulted UWSP to a 20-10 lead that it ultimately used to complete the set with a 25-16 victory.
The second set was a game of back-and-forth runs as the Pointers started on a 6-0 run before the Duhawks came back to make it a 6-5 game. Stevens Point jumped put to another sizable lead shortly thereafter, but again the Duhawks roared back and kept things close.
Loras staved off match point for four straight points late in the set thanks to a nice run with senior pin
James Keefe on the serve, but the comeback bid fell just short at 25-22.
The Pointers limited their mistakes in the third and final set and held the Duhawks to just 13 points to finished off the sweep. There were only two such instances in the final set in which the Duhawks scored on back-to-back points.
Keefe totaled 11 kills in the match to lead the team for the second straight match, while also adding 11 digs to tie for second on the team with senior defender
Sam Stoffregen. Sophomore middle blocker
Cat Gleason posted a .154 attacking percentage to lead the Duhawks, whose team total was a mere .018 on Friday due to strong defense from the Pointers. Â
The Loras Invitational continues tomorrow, Sept. 17 with six more games inside the Lillis Athletic and Wellness Center. The Duhawks will first take the court at 10 A.M. versus Webster University before a 2 P.M. meeting with No. 8 Gustavus Adolphus College.
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