Whitewater, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse volleyball team went 2-1 at the UW-Whitewater Classic Friday and Saturday.  The Eagles opened play with a pair of wins Friday, defeating Wheaton College (Ill.) by the score of 3-1 (22-25, 26-24, 25-19, 25-16) and Luther College (Iowa) by the score of 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-12). UWL fell 3-2 (25-19, 25-23, 13-25, 15-25, 8-15) to 10th-ranked Gustavus Adolphus College (Minn.) on Saturday.

In the win over Wheaton (Ill.), the first set was tied 12 times, including 18-18. The Thunder scored six of the next eight points to lead 24-20 and a Madeline Moore kill secured the opening set victory. The second set was tied, 17-17, when a UWL kill from Abbey Fox and a pair of kills from Emma Lawrence gave the Eagles a three-point lead. Wheaton (Ill.) came back to force a 24-24 tie, but a Marisa Johnson kill and ball handling error by Wheaton (Ill.), gave UWL the second set win.

UWL took a 15-12 lead in the third set, including a kill from Liz Lansink and Johnson, before Wheaton (Ill.) cut the deficit to 17-16 on an Moore kill. The Eagles then scored eight of the last 11 points to take a 2-1 lead. The fourth set was tied 12-12 when UWL scored seven straight points for a 19-12 advantage. Johnson had three kills in the run. 

Johnson led UWL with 13 kills while Lawrence and Lansink each recorded 11. Fox had 46 assists as the Eagles hit .152 (56-20-152). UWL hit .333 (14-3-33) in the final set. Julia Van Fleet led four players in double figures in digs with 21. Fox finished with 14 while Johnson and Sophie Quelle each had 12. The Eagles had 5.0 team blocks.

It marked UWL's second win over Wheaton (Ill.) this season after a 3-2 (19-25, 14-25, 25-21, 25-16, 15-6) victory September 22 at the UW-Stevens Point Invitational.

UWL trailed, 12-5, in the opening set versus Luther (Iowa). The Eagles used a 10-4 run to cut the lead to 16-15.  UWL trailed, 21-17, but kills from Kathryn Maas, Fox and Lansink and an ace from Van Fleet tied the first set. Rhiana Pochman's kill later tied the set at 23-23, followed by a Luther (Iowa) hitting error and Johnson kill gave UWL the win.

The second set was tied 7-7 when UWL went on a 12-2 run to lead 19-9. Johnson had three aces. Luther (Iowa) came back to for a 20-20 tie with an 11-1 run of its own, but UWL scored the final five points to take the second set. The Eagles used a 8-1 run to take a 13-6 lead in the third set as the Norse could get no closer than six points the rest of the way.

Johnson led UWL with 11 kills while Maas finished with eight. Fox finished with 32 assists as the team hit .154 (39-21-117). UWL hit .303 (15-5-33) in the third set. Van Fleet had 22 digs while Lansink finished with 13 and Johnson and Quelle each had 10. The Eagles had 2.0 team blocks.

It is UWL's second win over Luther (Iowa) this year after a 3-0 (25-21, 25-14, 26-24) victory September 5 in Decorah, Iowa.

UWL took the opening two sets against Gustavus Adolphus (Minn.), ranked 10th in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top-25 Poll. The first set was tied, 10-10, when UWL scored four straight points. Gustavus Adolphus (Minn.) could get no closer than two points the rest of the way as UWL scored the final three points of the set. The Eagles raced out to an 11-3 lead in the second set before the Gusties came back to cut it to 15-10. Gustavus Adolphus (Minn.) trailed 22-20 and later tied it at 23-23 on a Hanna Albers kill. UWL scored the final two points of the set after a Gustavus Adolphus (Minn.) service error and attack error.

The Gusties led 10-2 in the third set and the Eagles could get no closer than seven points the rest of the set. The fourth set was tied, 8-8, when Gustavus Adolphus (Minn.) scored eight consecutive points for a 16-8 lead. UWL cut the deficit to 18-12, but could get no closer. In the fifth and deciding set, the Gusties scored the first four points before the Eagles came back to cut it to 10-8. Gustavus Adolphus (Minn.) secured the win, scoring the final five points.

Johnson led UWL with 13 kills while Lansink finished with 10. Fox had 37 assists with the Eagles hitting .106 (51-32-180) overall. Van Fleet had a team-high 24 digs with Johnson finishing with 17, Quelle with 14 and Fox and Courtney Conway each recording 13. UWL had 7.0 team blocks.

One of seven players named to the all-tournament team, Johnson averaged 2.58 kills and 3.42 digs per set in the three matches while recording nine aces.

UWL returns to action Wednesday, October 10 at 15th-ranked UW-Eau Claire at 7 p.m.