University of Wisconsin La Crosse Athletics

Waverly, Iowa - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse volleyball team started the day with a sweep of Alverno College (Wis.) before suffering a 3-2 loss to host Wartburg College (Iowa) on Saturday afternoon. 

THE BASICS 
Final Score:  UW-La Crosse (Wis.) 3, Alverno College (Wis.) 0,Wartburg College (Iowa) 3, UW-La Crosse 2
Location: Levick Arena, Waverly, Iowa
Records: UWL 8-9, Alverno College (Wis.) 2-14, Wartburg College (Iowa) 12-5

 
UW-La Crosse 3, Alverno College (Wis.) 0 (25-11, 25-17, 25-19)

• UWL got off to a fast start in the first set as they scored 13 of the first 17 points to lead 13-4. Sydney Marx and Maddy Wilson each had two kills to spark the early run. Alverno would not get closer than 15-8 as the Eagles took set one 25-11.
• With set two tied 5-5, UWL went on a 7-1 run to take a 12-6 lead. Bella Kottke had a kill and two solo blocks to help UWL separate from Alverno. After Alverno pulled with in 15-12, UWL scored five unanswered points to lead 20-12. UWL would go on to win set two 25-17. 
• Alverno would take an early 8-6 lead in set three on Carley Juneau's kill; however, UWL scored six of the next seven points to lead 12-9. Andrea Waldera helped UWL take the lead as she recorded two kills and two assisted blocks. After a UWL hitting error pulled Alverno to with in one (16-15), UWL got two more kills from Kottke plus a Laurel Erickson service ace to put UWL up 21-15. Leading 23-19, UWL's Charley Casey and Waldera would recorded back-to-back kills to seal the UWL win 25-19. 

FROM THE BOX SCORE

• Marx led the Eagles with 10 kills while Casey had eight.
• Megan Lund finished with 10 assists and Kennedy Myers had seven digs.
• Mary Needham led Alverno with eight kills and Olivia McCann added seven. 

UW-La Crosse 2, Wartburg College (Iowa) 3 (17-25, 14-25, 25-22, 25-23, 13-15)

• Leading 8-6 in set one, Wartburg scored six straight points to a 14-6 lead. Two Wilson kills and one each by Casey and Jaiden Lee pulled the Eagles to with in 14-11. But the Knights would score three straight points to extend their lead back to six (17-11) and UWL would not get closer than five (20-15) as Wartburg won set one 25-17. 
• Set two was all Wartburg as they scored the first six points and never trailed as they won 25-14. UWL was limited to a .056 hitting percentage while Wartburg hit .286 in set two. 
• The Knights would again take another early lead as they scored the first nine points to lead 9-0. Wartburg would extend their lead to 19-8 on a block by Lucy Maassen and Keely Kauten before UWL started to make a run to force a fourth set. The Eagles would go on a 15-2 run to take its first lead at 23-21. Anna Sash would make it a one point game (23-22) with a kill for the Knights but UWL's Casey recorded back-to-back kills for the 25-22 win. 
• UWL would use the set three energy to get off to a good start in set four as they took an early 7-3 lead. With UWL leading 12-9, Wartburg scored seven straight points to take a 17-12 lead. The Eagles would slowly chip away at their deficit and eventually take a 21-20 lead after two aces by Annie Werner and kills by Lee and Kottke. The Knights would tie the set at 23-23 on an Eagle hitting error but Casey's kill followed by a Knight hitting error gave UWL the 25-23 set four win. 
• Leading 3-2 in set five, Wartburg scored five straight points to take an 8-3 lead. A Eagle 6-1 run would cut the Knights lead to 9-8 before they scored four straight to lead 13-8. UWL would not go away quietly though as they cut their deficit to 14-13 on a Lee kill but an Eagle service error would give the Knights the 15-13 set five win. 

FROM THE BOX SCORE

• Casey led the Eagles offense as she finished with 12 kills and 2 errors on 34 attempts. 
• Next for the Eagles was Wilson with nine kills while Marx added eight.
• Megan Jasperson finished with a team high 26 digs while Braylin Siverling added 16 digs.
• Izzy Reichert recorded her first career double-double as she finished with 20 assists and 14 digs. 
• Ashlynn Hodges led the Knights with 18 kills while Alexa Buhman had a team high 49 assists and 13 digs. 

UP NEXT

• UWL will return to Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conferce (WIAC) play on Wednesday, October 7 when they travel to Oshkosh, Wis. to take on the defending NCAA III National Champions, UW-Oshkosh. First serve is schedule for 7 p.m.