LA CROSSE, Wis. – The Luther volleyball team picked up two wins and a loss while at the UW-La Crosse Invitational on Friday and Saturday. The Norse fell to the Blue Devils of Stout 3-0 (25-19, 25-15, 25-11) but rebounded with sweeps of Martin Luther College 3-0 (25-22, 26-24, 25-15) and Bethany Lutheran College 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-20). Luther is now 4-8 overall.
 
Match #1: Luther 0, UW-Stout 3
The Norse fell in their first match of the weekend to the Blue Devils of UW-Stout in straight sets. 3-0 (25-19, 25-15, 25-11). Luther played well in the opening set staying with UW-Stout but the tide changed at 19-17. The Blue Devils came back to go on a 7-0 run to close out the first set 25-19.
 
The Blue Devils took the second and third sets by 25-15 and 25-11 to earn the sweep. However, the two teams will meet again this season with Luther hosting UW-Stout on Saturday, September 30 at 5 pm.
 
Match #2: Luther 3, Martin Luther College 0
The second match on Friday Luther got back on the right foot with a 3-0 sweep of Martin Luther College. Luther came out strong to take an 8-4 lead early in set one. Though the Knights weren't going to be phased that easily. Then back-to-back kills from Emily Hagen and an error by Martin Luther helped the Luther tie it up at 15. The two teams battled with the match tied at 20 all. Then the Norse went on a 5-2 run to close out the set 25-22 with a Haley Gossman kill to finish it off.
 
The second set was a going to be tight one throughout as both teams exchanged points. Tied at 23 another and a kill from Hagen put the Norse at set point. But the Knights were able to block Hagen at the net forcing the set to go to extra points. Luther had help with a service error by Martin Luther College. Julianne Lundvall got the service ace to finish off the Knights 26-24 to take a 2-0 lead.
 
In set three the Norse had a commanding lead at 17-10. Luther maintained control throughout the set hitting .316. Three hitters contributed to the end of the set with Zoe Verhey, Lundvall and Hagen to earn the sweep at 25-15. Even the live stream caught the bench celebrating the win. It was a good way for Luther to start the weekend. Hagen led the team with 10 kills in the match while Kyah Olson-Sola had 11 digs.
 
Match #3: Luther 3, Bethany Lutheran College 0
In their final match of the UW-La Crosse Invitational Luther finished off Bethany Lutheran College closing the weekend with a 2-1 record. In the first set the Norse edged out the Vikings by 25-22.
 
In the second set Bethany Lutheran stayed within striking distance by one or two points but Luther was staying ahead. At 19-17, the Norse took a timeout to take a breather and reset. That brief moment to regroup was all Luther needed to close out set with back-to-back kills from Sarina Stortz for a 25-20 win.
 
In set three, Luther never relinquished the lead from the very first point to the winning match point at 25-20. The Norse had several hitters into the mix with Stortz leading with 8 kills, Verhey with 7 and Gossman with 6 in the match. Lundvall had 23 assists and Lindsay Hanson had 4 blocks in the match for a season high. Defensively, Olson-Sola had 10 digs, followed by Teagan Hansen with 9 and Karoline Tiu with 7.  The win marked their third sweep of the season. Olson-Sola was named to the All-Tournament team as voted on by the coaches. 
 
 QUOTE FROM COACH
"Our team came ready to compete Saturday, and because of that they were able to come out with a three-set win. Proud of the discipline they showed this weekend."
 
TOP NORSE

• Kyah Olson-Sola was named to the All-Tournament team with 27 digs over the weekend. She recorded 11 against Martin Luther and 10 versus Bethany Lutheran. 
• Emily Hagen hit .400 with 10 kills against Martin Luther College.

 
UP NEXT
Luther travels to the Augsburg for two matches with St. Scholastica at 5 pm followed by host Augsburg at 7 pm on Saturday, September 23.