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kowalczykblock
Emma Kowalczyk tallied a double-double and also added three blocks to her stat line.
1
Luther LUT 5-16,0-4 American Rivers
3
Winner Central (IA) Cent 5-11,1-4 American Rivers
Luther LUT
5-16,0-4 American Rivers
1
Final
3
Central (IA) Cent
5-11,1-4 American Rivers
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Luther LUT 14 22 25 13 (1)
Central (IA) Cent 25 25 22 25 (3)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball |

Norse push Central four in A-R-C match

Brianna Highum leads with 11 kills in four-set loss

PELLA, Iowa  – The Luther College volleyball team played its final road match of the 2022 regular season Wednesday afternoon. Before ending the season with five consecutive home matches, the Norse had one last American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) road match on the schedule, and it was none other than Central College. Though Luther pushed the match to four sets Wednesday afternoon, the team was unable to leave Pella, Iowa with a win, as the Norse fell by a final score of 3-1 (14-25, 22-25, 25-22, 13-25). With the loss, Luther is now 5-17 overall and 0-4 in A-R-C play. 

BY THE NUMBERS 
The Norse were hungry for their first conference win of the season when they hit the road for Central and hoped to snap a three-match losing streak in the process. In the first set, Luther struggled to get anything going offensively, as the Dutch held the Norse to just seven kills and a .000 hitting percentage. While Luther's defense held Central to a sub-.200 hitting percentage, the Dutch came out on top in the opening set, as they took the first set 25-13 for a 1-0 lead in the match. 

The offense was much improved in the second set, as the Norse technically the better hitting team the second go-around. In fact, Luther hit .216 as a team, tallying 11 kills while committing just three total errors in the second set, while holding Central to a .152 hitting percentage. Brianna Highum (Waseca, Minn. / Waseca) played a big role in the Norse success, as she rallied off four of her team-leading 11 kills in the second alone, guiding Luther to a 17-17 draw in the latter stage of the set. From that point on, the Dutch never led by more than two points, as the Norse rallied to tie the set 20-20 before an ace by Hannah LaBonte (Lake City, Minn. / Lincoln) tied things up at 22-22. Sadly, that was the last time Luther would score, as an attack error and Central kill gave the Dutch a 2-0 lead thanks to a 25-22 second set win. 

Luther was not deterred, though, and carried the strong play in the second set over to the third. In fact, the Norse got off to a blistering hot start, as LaBonte went on a five-point serving run to give Luther the early 5-1 lead. Kills by Emily Hagen (Owatonna, Minn. / Owatonna) and Sarina Stortz (Mabel, Minn. / Mabel-Canton) extended the Norse lead to a seemingly comfortable 9-4. However, Central hung around, tying the set at 10-10 and then 11-11 before another serving run gave Luther a 16-13 advantage. That was the cushion the Norse needed to secure victory, pushing a fourth set with a 25-22 win in the third. 

After the third set win, Luther was looking confident taking the court for set four and hung with the Dutch through the first several points. However, a serving run gave Central an early 10-4 lead from which the Norse could never recover. Though Luther attempted to mount a comeback, the team could never overcome the six-point deficit, falling in the set 25-13 and the match 3-1 (14-25, 22-25, 25-22, 13-25). 

TOP NORSE

  • Brianna Highum (Waseca, Minn. / Waseca) led the team in kills Wednesday evening, hitting .212 from the outside pin with 11 kills on 33 attempts. 
  • The Norse defense put together one of its best performances of the season, as four different players tallied double-digit kills. Sophomore libero Kyah Olson-Sola (Northfield, Minn. / Northfield) led the team with 15, while Emma Kowalczyk (Colgate, Wis. / Catholic Memorial) tallied a season-high 13. Kaitlyn Dailey (Utica, Minn. / St. Charles) tallied 12 in the loss, while Gabbie Schei (Stewartville, Minn. / Stewartville) added 10. 
  • Luther's blockers also had a big night, talling 12 total blocks, two solo and 10 assists. 
  • Emma Kowalczyk (Colgate, Wis. / Catholic Memorial) recorded a double-double thanks to her 23 assists and 13 digs. 

UP NEXT
The Norse will enjoy a weekend off before returning for the longest home stand of the 2022 season. Luther will host five A-R-C opponents in the final two weeks of the regular season, starting with next Wednesday's matchup against Loras College. First serve is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. CT in Decorah, Iowa.

For all the latest on Luther Volleyball, stay tuned to luthernorse.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

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