JACKSONVILLE, Ill. - The Loras College women's volleyball team split a pair of matches Friday at Sherman Gymnasium, falling to Mount St. Joseph University in four sets before bouncing back with a five-set victory over Greenville University to earn its first win of the season.

Loras opened the day with a 3-1 loss to Mount St. Joseph by set scores of 25-15, 22-25, 26-24 and 25-3. The Duhawks then responded in their nightcap, defeating Greenville 20-25, 25-22, 25-18, 18-25 and 15-12 to improve to 1-2 on the season.

Mount St. Joseph 3, Loras 1

Mount St. Joseph took control of the opening set after the two teams battled through the early stages. Loras pulled within four at 19-15 behind a kill from Kyra Kuehn, but the Lions closed the frame with six straight points to earn the 25-15 win.

The Duhawks answered in the second. Loras stayed within striking distance throughout the set before taking control late. Kills from Cat Meyer and Kuehn helped build a 23-19 advantage, while McKenna Carroll put the Duhawks at set point before Kuehn finished off the 25-22 victory to even the match.

The third set proved to be the closest of the match. After falling behind 5-0, Loras battled back and eventually built a 19-15 advantage. Mount St. Joseph responded to tie the frame at 20, and the teams went point-for-point late. Loras fought off one set point to make it 24-24, but the Lions recorded consecutive kills to take the frame 26-24.

Mount St. Joseph carried the momentum into the fourth, scoring the first 11 points of the set before closing out the match with a 25-3 victory.

Kuehn led Loras offensively with 11 kills, while Meyer added seven kills, eight digs, three blocks and a service ace. Isabel Hart recorded a team-high 17 assists and 14 digs, while Carrah Bainbridge chipped in nine digs. The Duhawks finished the match with 33 kills, 32 assists, five aces, 57 digs and eight blocks.

Loras 3, Greenville 2

The Duhawks returned to the floor later Friday evening and responded with a strong performance against Greenville.

Greenville claimed the opening set 25-20, but Loras answered in the second. With the Duhawks leading 20-18 late in the frame, Carroll took over from the service line, recording three consecutive aces to extend the advantage to 23-18. Greenville trimmed the deficit to two, but Kuehn ended the set with a kill to give Loras the 25-22 win and tie the match at one set apiece.

Loras continued to build momentum in the third. The Duhawks established a comfortable advantage and led 22-12 late in the frame. Greenville attempted to close the gap, but kills from Kuehn and Cydney Tath helped Loras finish off a 25-18 victory and take a 2-1 match lead.

Greenville answered with a strong fourth set, hitting .359 in the frame and pulling away for a 25-18 win to force a decisive fifth set.

The Duhawks responded when it mattered most. Loras jumped ahead in the fifth and built a 13-8 advantage after kills from Meyer, Tath and Alyssa Purvis. Greenville made one final push, trimming the lead to 14-12, but Tath delivered the match-clinching kill to secure the 15-12 victory and Loras' first win of the season.

Tath turned in a dominant performance for the Duhawks, finishing with a match-high 27 kills on just 45 attacks while hitting .533. She also added a team-high 16 digs to record a double-double. Her 27 kills puts her in a tie for fifth in a single match totaling five sets.

Meyer added 16 kills and 10 digs for another double-double, while Kuehn finished with 13 kills. Hart directed the offense with 48 assists and added three kills while hitting .375. Carroll provided a spark from the service line with four aces, while Bainbridge contributed 14 digs.

As a team, Loras produced 66 kills while hitting .282 against Greenville. The Duhawks also finished with 61 assists, 11 service aces, 62 digs and five total blocks. Perhaps most impressively, Loras hit .524 in the decisive fifth set, recording 12 kills with just one attack error.

Up Next: Loras will return to the court tomorrow for two more games to close out their trip to Jacksonville. The Duhawks will take on Illinois College at 11  a.m., before finishing the day against Andercon University (Ind.) at 1 p.m.