La Crosse, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse volleyball team opened its 2021 home schedule with a pair of wins Friday in the UWL Invitational in Mitchell Hall. The Eagles, playing their first home game in 685 days, earned a 3-0 (25-15, 25-22, 25-22) victory over Simpson College (Iowa) to open the invitational followed by a 3-0 (25-10, 25-14, 25-23) win over Elmhurst College (Ill.) in their second match. UWL improves to 10-1 on the season.
The 10-1 start for the Eagles is their best since starting 11-1 in 2014.
UWL, receiving votes on this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top-25 Poll, led Simpson (Iowa), 12-11, in the opening set when it went on a 9-1 run to lead 21-12.
Emma Lawrence had three kills and
Liz Lansink a pair of aces in the run. The Storm could get no closer than eight points the rest of the set.
Megan Adams had 45 assists Friday.
Simpson (Iowa) raced out to a 6-3 lead in the second set and later led, 13-10. After the Storm took a 17-16 lead on a service ace, the Eagles scored the next four points for a 20-17- lead. Simpson (Iowa) cut it to 20-19, but a kill from
Anna Rossner and Storm attack error gave UWL a three-point lead.
UWL never trailed in the third set, scoring the first three points, including kills from Rossner and
Brianne Korducki. Simpson (Iowa) cut it to 9-8, but four straight points gave UWL a 12-8 advantage after another Rossner kill. The set was later tied four times, including 22-22. UWL took a one-point lead on a Storm hitting error followed by kills from Rossner and Lawrence to win the set.
Rossner led UWL with 11 kills while hitting .647 with no errors in 17 attempts. Lawrence finished with nine kills, Korducki eight and Lansink seven.
Megan Adams finished with 19 assists as UWL hit .232 overall. Adams and
Sophie Quelle each had nine digs.
Sophie Quelle had 17 digs versus Elmhurst.
Jessica Jacobs led Simpson (Iowa) with nine kills while Courtney Paxton finished with eight. Marissa Salber recorded 19 assists as Simpson (Iowa) hit .152. Iman Ghalibaf finished with 15 digs.
UWL raced out to a 7-2 lead in the opening set in its win over Elmhurst (Ill.). The Bluejays cut it to 8-4, but a 7-1 run by the Eagles made it 15-5. Lawrence had three aces in the run. Elmhurst (Ill.) could get no closer than seven points the rest of the set.
The second set was tied, 5-5, but a Bluejays' service error gave the Eagles a one-point lead and UWL would lead the rest of the way. Elmhurst (Ill.) cut it to 9-7, but four straight points by UWL made it 13-7. Elmhurst (Ill.) could get no closer than six points as UWL took the second set, 25-14.
Elmhurst (Ill.) took a 7-4 lead in the third set, but a 3-0 run tied the set for UWL.
Sydney Fedderly and Lawrence each had a kill. The set was tied 12 times, including 21-21. The Eagles took a one-point lead on a Bluejays' hitting error and a pair of kills from Lawrence made it 24-21. Elmhurst (Ill.) scored the next two points, but a Korducki kill earned the win for UWL. The third set was tied 17 times.
Emma Lawrence finished with 17 kills against Elmhurst.
Lawrence led UWL with 15 kills, hitting .333 (15-4-33). Korducki registered eight kills, Lansink seven and
Gabrialla Johnson six. Adams finished with 22 assists as the Eagles hit .120. UWL hit .321 (13-4-28) in the opening set. Lawrence and Quelle led UWL with 17 digs. UWL had 9.0 team blocks.
Jada Wiley led Elmhurst (Ill.) with six kills while Emily Duis finished with five and Taylor Zurliene five. Erin Murray led the Bluejays with eight assists with Kellyn Kennedy adding seven. The Bluejays hit -.029 (18-21-104) for the match. Valerie Thomas had 17 digs and Zurliene five. Elmhurst (Ill.) finished with 4.0 team blocks.
UWL returns to action Saturday, September 18 hosting 16th-ranked Wartburg College (Iowa) at 11 a.m. and Hamline University (Minn.) at 3 p.m.
