DUBUQUE, Iowa – The Loras College women's volleyball team put itself back in the win column with a 3-1 victory over Simpson College on Friday night.
Despite trailing 3-0 to begin the opening set, the Duhawks worked their way back to take a brief 5-4 lead. The Storm tied things up at 5-5 with a kill from Lauren Roman, before the Purple and Gold took control. Loras (10-10 overall, 1-1 A-R-C) maintained an advantage for the remainder of the set, leading by as many as nine (19-10). Simpson (6-10, 0-2) attempted a comeback posting a 12-5 run to put itself within two points (24-22). A kill from
Kyra Kuehn sealed the 25-22 set one victory for the Duhawks.
The Storm rattled off six consecutive points early in the second set to take a 7-4 lead that they would never relinquish. The visitors evened the match to one set apiece with a 25-20 set two win.
Loras persevered in the third set, fighting back from two four-point deficits (8-4 and 12-8) early on to take a 16-14 lead midway through the set. The Duhawks increased their lead to as many as four (19-15) and held strong when the Storm tied things up at 20-20. The Purple and Gold closed out the set on a 5-3 run to take a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-23 set three win.
Simpson held a 6-1 lead in the early points of set four, but Loras found a way to knot things up at 10-10. The Duhawks broke the final tie at 15-15 with kills from
Cat Meyer and
Elaina Schroeder to take the lead that would carry them through until the conclusion of the set. The Purple and Gold earned their first conference victory of the season with a 25-19 set four win.
Loras led a balanced offensive attack with
Autumn Finch and Meyer putting down 14 kills apiece.
Sophie Younkin followed closely behind with nine kills, while
Sara Hoskins dished out 47 assists on the night. Defensively,
Lucie Lambe and
Iva Senio totaled 23 digs apiece, while Finch and Hoskins added four and three blocks respectively to their stat lines. As a team, the Duhawks hit .170, finishing with 57 kills and 27 errors in 176 attempts.
Up Next: The Duhawks return to action in just 13 hours to take on the Central College Dutch in another conference matchup. First serve is scheduled for 11 a.m. inside the Lillis Athletic and Wellness Center.
