La Crosse, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse volleyball team opened its 2022 home schedule with a pair of victories Friday in Mitchell Hall in the UWL Invitational. The Eagles defeated Ripon College (Wis.) 3-0 (25-12, 25-19 25-20) and Simpson College (Iowa) 3-1 (28-26, 25-17, 21-25, 25-12). UWL improves to 3-7 on the season.

The first set was tied, 3-3, with Ripon (Wis.) when UWL went on a 6-1 run to lead 9-4. The Red Hawks cut the lead to 12-7, but a 7-0 run gave the Eagles a 19-7 advantage. Ripon (Wis.) could get no closer than eight points the rest of the set.  

UWL led, 14-13, in the second set when it scored the next four points for a 18-13 lead. Anna Rossner had a pair of kills in the run while Brianne Korducki and Justine Bastyr each had one. The Red Hawks cut the lead to four, but could get no closer. 

Ripon (Wis.) raced out to a 4-2 lead in the third set, but a Madison Gully kills and Ripon (Wis.) hitting error tied the score at 4-4. After the Red Hawks scored the next two points to make it 6-4, Korducki's kills and a pair of aces from Summer Schwenn gave the Eagles a 7-6 lead. Ripon (Wis.) scored the next four points for a 10-7 lead and the Red Hawks later took a 15-9 lead on a Samantha Differt kill. UWL cut it to 15-13 and later trailing, 17-14, went on a 6-0 run to lead 20-17. Paige Geiser had a pair of kills and Sydney Fedderly two aces. After Ripon (Wis.) cut the lead to 21-19, UWL received kills from Korducki and Gabrialla Johnson and Jackie Oetterer ace for a 24-19 lead. The Eagles earned the three-set victory on a Red Hawks' hitting error. 

UWL hit .206 (40-20-97) in the match as Korducki led the Eagles with 12 kills. Madison Weisensel finished with nine and Johnson six. Megan Adams had 20 assists and Oetterer 12. Korducki had a team-high 12 digs. 

Ripon (Wis.) hit -.011 (19-20-94). Ellie Ove led the Red Hawks with five kills. Emily Braun finished with 15 assists while Sam Thrasher had 12 digs. 

Versus Simpson (Iowa), UWL led 10-9 when it scored five straight points for a 15-9 lead after Fedderly's kill. Simpson (Iowa) cut it to 21-20 with a 5-0 run. The Eagles later led, 24-21, but the Storm scored the next four points for a 25-24 advantage. Geiser's kill and a hitting error from Simpson (Iowa) gave UWL a 26-25 lead. After Jessica Jacobs' kill tied the set, Korducki gave UWL a one-point lead with a kill and Johnson's ace ended the set. 

UWL raced out to a 9-1 lead in the second set and Simpson (Iowa) could get no closer than five points the rest of the set. The Storm took a 13-7 lead in the third set on a 7-0 run before the Eagles came back for a 17-16 lead. Simpson (Iowa) rebounded, scoring six of the final eight points in the set. The fourth set was tied, 7-7, when UWL went on a 5-0 run to lead 12-7. Simpson (Iowa) would get no closer than four points the rest of the way. 
 

UWL hit .133 (57-32-188) with Johnson leading the Eagles with 13 kills. Adams finished with 12 kills and Korducki 11. Adams had 21 assists and Oetterer 14. Adams led four players in double figures in digs with 25. Summer Schwenn finished with 15 while Fedderly and Oetterer each had 11. The Eagles had 11.0 team blocks as Rossner recorded six block assists. 

Simpson (Iowa) hit .079 (31-23-101) with Jacobs finishing with 17. Marissa Salber recorded 32 assists and 10 digs. Iman Ghalibaf totaled a team-high 15 digs.

UWL returns to action Saturday, September 17 hosting Bethany Lutheran College (Minn.) at 1 p.m. and Hamline University (Minn.) at 5 p.m.