CHICAGO, Ill. – The Loras College women's volleyball team concluded its opening weekend at the Rosalie Resch Invitational hosted by the University of Chicago with a 2-1 record.
The Duhawks split their matches on Friday, beginning the day with a 3-0 sweep of Alma College, before falling to the host in straight sets in the nightcap. The Purple and Gold bounced back to grab a 3-1 win over Lawrence University in its final contest of the tournament on Saturday morning.
Loras 3, Alma 0
Loras (1-0) controlled set one from the get-go, benefiting from four Scots errors to take a 4-0 lead early on. The Duhawks led by as many as five (16-11) midway through the set, but Alma (0-1) responded with four unanswered points, cutting the Loras lead to just one. The Purple and Gold closed out the set with a 9-4 run to take the opening game by a score of 25-19.
Neither team led by more than two points in set two until Loras rattled off five points in a row to take a 15-10 lead. The Scots closed the gap to get within two (17-15), but the Duhawks responded once again with three consecutive points to bring their lead back to five. Loras took a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-16 set two victory.
The Scots led just once early on in the final set, but from that point on it was all Loras. The Duhawks raced out to a 9-1 lead and never looked back. The Purple and Gold led by as many as 10 multiple times throughout the set and weathered an attempted comeback, where Alma posted a 9-2 run to cut the Duhawk lead to just three. Loras closed out the set with four unanswered points to complete the sweep with a 25-18 set three win.
Autumn Finch led the Duhawks offensively with 20 kills, while
Kyra Kuehn and
Cat Meyer contributed six kills apiece.
Sara Hoskins dished out 32 assists, while
Lucie Lambe tallied 17 digs. As a team, Loras hit .234, finishing with 44 kills and 18 errors in 111 attempts.
UChicago 3, Loras 0
Loras (1-1) had a tough time getting its offense going against the Maroons. The University of Chicago (2-0) broke a 5-5 tie with a 6-0 run to take an 11-5 lead that it would never relinquish. The Duhawks fell in the opening set by a score of 25-14.
The Purple and Gold fought back from a 12-8 deficit to knot the score up at 12-12, but the Maroons responded back with three unanswered points to regain the lead. The Duhawks got within one point (15-14) in the middle of the set, but Chicago was able to extend the lead back to six (21-15) in the following points. The home team took set two 25-19.
The Duhawks did not have an answer to the Maroons offense in set three, trailing by as many as 13. The Maroons took the final set 25-13 to earn their second victory of the day.
Sophie Younkin led the way for Loras, finishing with eight kills, while Finch and Meyer added in six kills apiece. Hoskins handed out 18 assists to go along with a team-high 12 digs. The Duhawks hit .112, which featured 28 kills and 16 errors in 107 attempts.
Loras 3, Lawrence 1
Despite trailing by as many as seven (15-8), Loras (2-1) managed to come back and tie the score up at 24-24. The Duhawks forced the opening set into extra points, but were unable to complete the comeback, ultimately falling 27-25.
Once again, the Purple and Gold found themselves playing from behind (16-12) midway through the second set. Loras stayed within striking distance though, which allowed them to tie the score up at 20 and 21. The Duhawks closed out the set on a 4-1 run to earn the set two victory by a score of 25-22 and tie the match up at one set apiece.
The Duhawks broke a 4-4 tie early on, taking a 6-4 lead that they would hold onto and extend until the conclusion of the set. Loras took a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-16 set three victory.
The Purple and Gold used a pair of six-point runs over the course of the set to create an eight-point (19-11) separation between them and the Vikings. Loras grabbed its second win of the weekend with a 25-18 win in the fourth set.
Leading the Duhawk offense was Finch who put down 14 kills. Meyer totaled eight kills, while Hoskins posted a team-high 12 digs and dished out 39 assists. As a team, Loras hit .203, finishing with 46 kills and 22 errors in 118 attempts.
Up Next: The Duhawks welcome Knox College and Carroll University to Lillis Court for the Loras Triangular on Wednesday, Sept. 4. Matches are set for 3, 5 and 7 p.m.
