DECORAH, Iowa  – Regents Center has always been kind to the Luther College volleyball team. In their second consecutive home match, the Norse looked to earn their second American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) win of the 2022 season, this time over Buena Vista University. While Luther played another highly competitive match, the Norse were unable to come away with a victory, as they fell to Buena Vista by a final score of 3-1 (21-25, 25-21, 18-25, 15-25). With the loss, Luther's overall record now stands at 6-18 and 1-5 in A-R-C play. 

BY THE NUMBERS
The first set was a battle from start to finish, as neither team led by more than two points in the early stages. The Beavers seemed to nab the first edge, as the Norse found themselves in a tough rotation on serve receive around the 10 point mark. Luther battled its way out, though, and managed to keep itself within two of the Buena Vista lead. A kill by Sarina Stortz (Mabel, Minn. / Mabel-Canton) pulled the Norse within one at 18-17, but one point later, Luther found itself in the same tough serve receive rotation, prompting head coach Brittany SIsk to call a time out. 

The Beavers won the first point out of the timeout, but the Norse won the next two, cutting the lead to 22-20 on another kill by Stortz. Luther was unable to close the gap entirely, however, as Buena Vista closed the set on a 3-0 run for a 25-21 first set win. The Norse looked to turn the tides in set two, as they jumped out to a 2-0 lead courtesy of a kill and ace from Hannah LaBonte (Lake City, Minn. / Lincoln). The Beavers, though, quickly regained the advantage, jumping ahead 8-5 and eventually 11-9 until Luther put together its most impressive rally of the match. Fueled by the serve of Gabbie Schei (Stewartville, Minn. / Stewartville), the Norse tied the set at 11-11 before taking a 13-11 lead on a kill by Brianna Highum (Waseca, Minn. / Waseca). That lead held until the very end, as Highum again delivered, this time to secure a 25-21 set two win for Luther. 

The Norse mounted a furious comeback in set three, but it wasn't enough to claim the set, as the Beavers took a 2-1 lead in the match thanks to a 25-18 win. Despite an early lead in the fourth, Luther was unable to keep pace with hard-hitting Buena Vista, as another late serving run by the Beavers propelled the visitors to a 17-14 lead. From there, Buena Vista controlled the pace of the match, claiming the fourth set 25-15 and the match 3-1 (21-25, 25-21, 18-25, 15-25).

TOP NORSE

• Emily Hagen (Owatonna, Minn. / Owatonna) and Sarina Stortz (Mabel, Minn. / Mabel-Canton) once again led Luther's offensive efforts. Stortz closed the match with a team-leading 14 kills and seven blocks, while Hagen tallied 12 kills and a .235 hitting percentage. 
• Junior defensive specialist Gabbie Schei (Stewartville, Minn. / Stewartville) led the team with 10 digs Friday evening, while Zoe Verhey (Dassel, Minn. / Dassel-Cokato) was credited with six blocks. 
• Emma Kowalczyk (Colgate, Wis. / Catholic Memorial) recorded 38 assists in the loss. 

UP NEXT
The Norse will host Nebraska-Wesleyan in their third consecutive home match on Saturday, October 22. First serve is scheduled for 1:00 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.