MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The Luther volleyball team swept host Mount Mary University 3-0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-7) and lost 3-0 to the Milwaukee School of Engineering (25-19, 25-18, 25-23) to begin the MMU Invite on Friday. The Norse found success through their middle hitters in Sarina Stortz and Zoe Verhey. Luther is now 8-19 overall and 1-6 in the American Rivers Conference. 

MATCH #1: Luther 3, Mount Mary University 0
Luther dominated their opening match of the MMU Invite. The Norse recorded the best hitting percentage as a team this season hitting .370 in the contest. The Blue Angels didn't stand a chance with the middle hitting duo of Sarina Stortz and Zoe Verhey. 

In the third set the Norse were lights out holding the Blue Angels to just seven points. It was the lowest point total that Luther has limited their opponent to in 2023. A kill by Julianne Lundvall started the Norse on the path to a sixth sweep of the season. The offense was balanced with many hitters finding the court including Emily Hagen, Stortz, Emma Kowalczyk, Haley Gossman, and Verhey. 

Verhey led the Norse with 14 kills while hitting .571. Stortz had 12 kills for a hitting .455. Leading the defense was Kyah Olson-Sola with 13 digs. Karoline Tiu set a season high of four service aces in the match and Kowalczyk tallied 32 assists. 

MATCH #2: Luther 0, Milwaukee School Engineering 3
After winning the first match of the evening, Luther was trying to make it two in a row. Both the Raiders and Norse clashed in a tight match. The two teams evenly matched statistically.

After going down by two sets the Norse rallied back in the third. Luther found their momentum midway through the set but the two teams were trading points once again. The Raiders had match point at 24-21. Luther would hold off MSOE on two match points after a Raider error and kill by Stortz. The Norse were just down by one at 23-24 but the Raiders would win the set 25-23 and the match 3-0. 

Stortz led the team with 15 kills. The Luther defense of Olson-Sola, Tiu and Gabbie Schei all recorded double-digit kills for the second straight match. 

QUOTE FROM COACH
"Although we would have loved to walk away with two W's tonight, we had our fight and our fire back! They fought hard to win! Looking forward to seeing that same determination to win tomorrow."

UP NEXT
The Norse warp up the MMU Invite with Maranatha Baptist University on Saturday, October 28 at 10:30 a.m. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.