DUBUQUE, Iowa – The Loras College women's volleyball team returned to the win column Thursday night, earning a 3-0 sweep over Beloit College inside the Lillis Athletic and Wellness Center.
Loras established control midway through the opening set. After holding an 8-6 advantage, kills from Cat Meyer, Cydney Tath and McKenna Carroll helped the Duhawks extend the lead to 11-6. Beloit worked its way back within four at 14-10 before Loras answered with another surge. Tath and Carroll combined for four kills as the Duhawks stretched the advantage to 19-11, before Tath followed with back-to-back service aces to make it 20-11. The Buccaneers cut the deficit to five late, but kills from Alyssa Purvis and Tath closed out a 25-18 opening-set victory.
The second set was much tighter early, with the teams battling through seven ties. Beloit scored the opening three points before Loras responded with kills from Kyra Kuehn and Purvis to quickly pull even. Neither side was able to create much separation until the Duhawks took over with the score tied at 9-9. Meyer started the run with a kill before Kuehn added three kills and Iva Senio contributed two as Loras rattled off eight consecutive points to build a 17-9 advantage.
Beloit made one final push in the frame, trimming the Loras lead to 20-16. Kuehn stopped the run with another kill before Emily Mohr delivered two late kills to help the Duhawks reach set point. Tath then finished the frame with a kill to give Loras a 25-17 victory and a 2-0 match lead. The Duhawks totaled 17 kills and hit .289 in the second set.
The Buccaneers again grabbed an early advantage in the third, taking a 3-1 lead, but Loras quickly flipped the momentum. Kills from Kuehn and Tath tied the set before Jaylyn Schwartz took over at the service line. Schwartz recorded two aces during a six-point Duhawk run that turned the early deficit into a 7-3 lead. Beloit pulled within two at 8-6, but Loras responded with kills from Carroll and Meyer before a Carroll service ace extended the margin to 14-7.
The Duhawks continued to pull away from there. Mohr's kill pushed the advantage to 15-8 before Kuehn helped produce a block that made it 16-8. Later, Tath and Carroll added kills as Loras reached 23 points. After Beloit scored twice to make it 23-16, Purvis delivered a kill to bring up match point before Leah McAndrews put away the final ball to complete the 25-16 set win and the sweep.
Tath led the Duhawk offense with 13 kills on a .400 hitting percentage while also recording a match-high three service aces and five digs. Kuehn added 11 kills while hitting .364 and contributed two total blocks. Meyer finished with seven kills, while Carroll chipped in five kills, four digs and an ace.
Isabel Hart directed the offense with 27 assists and nine digs, while Alyssa Daughenbaugh led the defensive effort with 11 digs and added eight assists. Schwartz contributed two of Loras' seven service aces, while Grace Cummins added seven digs.
Up Next: The Duhawks are back in action tomorrow, taking on Carroll Univeristy at 12 p.m. from Lillis Court.
