ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Luther College volleyball team closed its stay at the Macalester Invite in St. Paul, Minnesota with two hard fought matches against the host school and Minnesota-Morris. Despite career performances by multiple student-athletes, the Norse were unable to leave the north with a victory, as they fell to the Scots 3-1 (18-25, 25-14, 19-25, 16-25) and the Cougars by score of 3-1 (15-25, 25-21, 19-25, 21-25). With the losses, Luther's overall record now stands at 1-2 to open the season.
MATCH #1: Luther (1) vs. Macalester (3)
From the get go, it looked like it was going to be a tightly contested match between the Norse and Scots, as the two teams battled for supremacy. Any time either team went on a run, the other answered in equally dramatic fashion, resulting in a 12-12 tie midway through the first set. Even a four-point serving run by Macaelster wasn't enough to subdue Luther, as the Norse came roaring back to pull within one at 17-16. Unfortunately, Luther was unable to recover from a second scoring run, resulting in a 25-18 victory for the Scots.
The Norse rebounded by taking the second 25-14, absolutely dominating every facet of the game late in the set. After pulling ahead 15-14 midway through the set, Luther did not lose another point, as Kaitlyn Dailey (Utica, Minn. / St. Charles) confounded Macalester with a nine-point serving run to even the set at 1-1. Unfortunately, the Norse could not maintain the moment, dropping the third set 25-19 and fourth 25-16.
MATCH #2: Luther (1) vs. Minn.-Morris (3)
After a disappointing end to the opening match of the day, Luther looked to rebound with a win over Minnesota-Morris. However, serve receive struggles plagued the Norse early in set number one, as the Cougars jumped out to a 4-0 lead with two aces from Laura Wellbrock. That run set the tone for the opening set, as Luther fell 25-15.
Like in the first match, the Norse rebounded by winning the second set, as Luther rallied to earn a crucial 25-21 win. After falling behind 9-3, the Norse won four of five point, whittling Minnesota-Morris' lead to 12-8 and eventually pulling within two at 12-10. That set the tone for the remainder of the set. Revitalized, Luther won three consecutive points on back-to-back kills from Emily Hagen (Owatonna, Minn. / Owatonna), taking its first lead of the set at 15-14.
From that point on, the Norse hung with the Cougars, matching them point for point before taking a definitive 21-19 lead on hitting errors by Minnesota-Morris. Blocks by Hannah Labonte (Lake City, Minn. / Lincoln) , Aria Schleiker (Colorado Springs, Colo. / Arvada), Saraina Stortz (Mable, Minn. / Mable-Canton) and Hagen secured the 25-21 victory for Luther, evening the set at 1-1.
Sadly, like the first match of the day, the Norse were unable to come away with a victory, dropping the third set 25-19. Again, Luther tried to use another furious rally in the fourth to even the match at 2-2 but came up short, falling 25-21 in the set and 3-1 in the match.
TOP NORSE
- Emma Kowalczyk (Colgate, Wis. / Catholic Memorial) tallied 30+ assists in both matches Saturday afternoon, tallying 35 against Macalester and a career-high 38 against Minnesota-Morris.
- Brianna Highum (Waseca, Minn. / Waseca) and Hannah LaBonte (Lake City, Minn. / Lincoln) led the Norse in kills against Macalester, tallying nine a piece. Emily Hagen (Owatonna, Minn. / Owatonna) and Saraina Stortz (Mable, Minn. / Mable-Canton) led with 11 kills against Minnesota-Morris.
- Kaitlyn Dailey (Utica, Minn. / St. Charles) tallied a career-high 18 digs against the Scots, while Kyah Olson-Sola (Northfield, Minn. / Northfield) also put together a career-high day with 23 digs against the Cougars.
UP NEXT
Luther will hit the road again next weekend, as the Norse are set to participate in the Ripon College Triangular September 9-10. Luther will open the tournament with a 7:00 p.m. CT match against Ripon on Friday, September 9.
For all the latest on Luther Volleyball, stay tuned to luthernorse.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
