Elmhurst, Ill. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse volleyball team went 0-2 on the first day of the Elmhurst University (Ill.) Invitational Friday evening. The Eagles fell to North Central College (Ill.) in the first match and Elmhurst University (Ill.) in the second match.

THE BASICS 
Final Score: North Central University (Ill.) defeated UW-La Crosse 25-17, 25-18, 23-25, 25-18, Elmhurst University (Ill.) defeated UW-La Crosse 25-20, 26-24, 25-17.  
Location: R.A. Faganel Hall, Elmhurst, Ill.
Records: UWL 15-13, North Central (Ill.) 17-8, Elmhurst (Ill.) 15-8

NORTH CENTRAL (ILL.) 3, UW-LA CROSSE 1

• With the first set tied at nine, Elmhurst went on a  6-0 run. UWL would not get any closer than four (16-12) as North Central took the first set 25-17. 
• UWL would fall behind 6-2 early in the second set before taking a 7-6 lead. UWL took a 12-11 lead but North Central out scored the Eagles 14-6 to take the second set 25-18.
• UWL scored four of the first five points in the third set to lead 4-1 early. North Central would battle back and take a 11-10 lead before UWL went on a 5-0 run to lead 15-11. UWL took its largest lead of the set at 20-15 but North Central would cut their deficit to 23-22. A block by Justine Bastyr and Anna Rossner followed by a kill from Rossner would seal the set win for the Eagles 25-23. 
• North Central scored the first seven points of the fourth set and never trailed. UWL would slowly chip away at the deficit pulled within 18-17; however North Central scored seven of the final eight points to win the set 25-18.

ELMHURST (ILL.) 3, UW-LA CROSSE 0

• Elmhurst came out swinging in the first set with UWL as they hit .438 and finished with 16 kills and two errors. Elmhurst built an early 7-2 lead and never let UWL get any closer than four (8-4) the rest of the set.
• The second set saw Elmnhurst score the first five points and extend their lead to 16-8. The Eagles would use a late 9-0 run to tie it up at 18 apiece. The two teams would trade points back and forth before UWL scored back-to-back points to tie the score at 23. An Elmhurst kill by Keely Larson made it 24-23 but UWL's Brianne Korducki recorded a kill of her own to make it 24-24. However Elmhurst would get back-to-back kills to win the second set 26-24.
• The Eagles started fast in the third set as they built a 9-3 lead. However, Elmhurst went on an 14-2 run to take a 17-11 lead. The Eagles would cut their deficit to 22-17 but that would be as close as they would get. 

FROM THE BOXSCORE

• Korducki recorded a double-double (13 kills, 12 digs) against North Central while she finished with 12 kills versus Elmhurst.  
• Rossner combined for 14 kills and 8 blocks in the two matches. 
• Grace Nommensen led the Eagles with 29 assists (19 against North Central, 10 against Elmhurst),
• Taylor Larson led the Eagles defense with 13 digs against Elmhurst and  12 digs against North Central. 
• Abbi Barickman led North Central (Ill.) with 13 kills. Maddi Barickman finished with 38 assists, 15 digs and 3 kills,
• Aly Reardon led Elmhurst with 12 kills and 12 digs.  

UP NEXT

• UWL returns tomorrow (Saturday) for day two of the Elmhurst University (Ill.) Invitational to play Wheaton College (Ill.) at 10 a.m.