DUBUQUE, Iowa – The Loras College women's volleyball team posted an unblemished record on day one of the Loras Invitational, taking down both Monmouth College and Saint Mary's University (Minn.), 3-1, inside the Lillis Athletic and Wellness Center.
Loras 3, Monmouth 1
In the first set, Monmouth held an early 4-1 lead over the Duhawks, but Loras was able to tie things up at six apiece and never look back. The purple and gold posted a 7-0 run to hold a 13-6 advantage over the Scots and never allowed Monmouth to close the gap.
The Duhawks took set one, 25-14.
Monmouth (1-7 overall) tied the match up at one set apiece with a 25-23 victory in set two. The Scots withstood a late run by the Duhawks who evened the score at 22 to come away with a win.
Loras (4-5 overall) closed out its first contest of the day with back-to-back wins in sets three and four by scores of 25-16 and 25-15.
The Duhawks were led by
Autumn Finch and
Sophie Younkin who each put down 13 kills. Finch added in four service aces, while Younkin tallied 10 digs for Loras.
Sara Hoskins dished out 41 assists and 13 digs, while
Jenna Bistline posted a team-high 20 digs in the win.
Layne Wright led the way for the Scots with 10 kills and 11 digs. Amanda Dybal chipped in eight kills and three blocks, while Alana Robertson tallied 16 assists and 12 digs in the loss.
Loras 3, Saint Mary's (Minn.) 1
In the opening set, it was a hard-fought battle by both squads for every point. The Cardinals went on a 5-0 run after being tied at nine to take a 14-9 lead and even extended the lead to 18-12 towards the end of the set. Loras responded with a 5-0 run of its own to trail by just one, 18-17, and eventually tied things up at 22.
The Duhawks rattled off the final three points to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
The Cardinals led by as many as nine in set two, but the Duhawks chipped away at their lead to put themselves within three points, 21-18.
Saint Mary's earned the set two victory by a score of 25-19.
It was a back-and-forth battle in set three with no team able to lead the other by more than four points throughout the entire set. The Duhawks prevailed in the end, taking the set 25-22.
Saint Mary's held an early 9-3 lead over Loras and furthered the gap to 14-6, but the Duhawks responded with six consecutive points to cut the deficit to just two.
Not long after, Loras went on another run, this time scoring five points in a row to take an 18-16 lead.
The Duhawks earned the 3-1 win with a 27-25 win in set four.
Saint Mary's (6-5 overall) was led by Jazzy Davis who finished with 15 kills. Ciarra McNally put down 14 kills and 15 digs, while Faith VanErp dished out 38 assists in the loss. As a team, the Cardinals hit .194, finishing with 49 kills and 19 errors in 155 attempts.
Finch led Loras (5-5 overall) with 14 kills and 6 blocks. Younkin and Meyer tallied 13 kills apiece, while Hoskins contributed 51 assists and 14 digs in the win. The Duhawks hit .255 and finished with 63 kills and 21 errors in 165 attempts.
Up next: Loras takes on the College of St. Scholastica at 10:00 a.m. and Gustavus Adolphus College at 2:00 p.m., tomorrow in day two of the Loras Invitational.
