MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The Luther volleyball team closed out the Mount Mary University (MMU) Invite with a 3-1 win over Maranatha Bapist (25-13, 28-30, 25-14, 25-12) on Saturday. A trio of Norse hitters had double-digit kills in the win including a season high 19 from Emily Hagen, 17 from Sarina Stortz and 15 from Zoe Verhey. Kyah Olson-Sola recorded 25 digs while Gabbie Schei tallied her 100th career service ace. Luther improves their record to 9-19 overall. 

Luther powered through the first set 25-13 in credit to a productive offense. Then in set two the Sabercats pounced on the Norse holding a six point lead at 11-5. However, Luther clawed back coming within two late in the set at 22-20. Both teams were scrappy as the set was pushed to extra points. A kill from Haley Gossman put the Norse at 28-27 for set point but Maranatha wasn't letting any ball hit the floor. The Sabercats won the second set 30-28 leveling the match at one set each.

In the final two sets the Norse dominated on offense and on defense winning the sets 25-14 and 25-12 to take the match. Luther limited the Sabercats to a negative .027 hitting percentage in the fourth set which was the lowest they've held an opponent to this season. 

Luther closed out their final tournament of the season going 2-1 at the MMU invite. The offense was led by Emily Hagen who tallied a season and career high 19 kills with zero kills and a hitting percentage of .613. Sarina Stortz and Zoe Verhey continued to be strong asset out of the middle with 17 and 15 kills a piece. Emma Kowalczyk had 47 assists in the contest two shy of her season high of 49. 

The Norse improve their record to 9-19 overall with just two matches left of the regular season. 

QUOTE FROM COACH
"We ended this week better than we started it! We were much more disciplined in areas where we needed to be on Tuesday. We made a quick fix with aggressive serves, led by Gabbie Schei who surpassed 100 career service aces today. We are excited to be at home for two matches next week." 

UP NEXT
Luther hosts Simpson College in an A-R-C match on Wednesday, November 1 at 6 p.m. in Decorah, Iowa.