Superior, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse volleyball team dropped a pair of matches on day one of the Stinger Classic as they fell to Augsburg University (Minn.) and UW-Superior on Friday night.
THE BASICS
Final Score: UW-La Crosse 1
, Augsburg University (Minn.) 3, UW-La Crosse 2,
UW-Superior 3
Location: Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium, Superior Wis. (hosted by UW-Superior)
Records: UWL 3-5, Augsburg University (Minn.) 2-6, UW-Superior 7-1
UW-La Crosse 1, Augsburg University (Minn.) 3 (23-25, 25-20, 21-25, 21-25)
- The first set was a back and forth affair as neither team led by more than two points. UWL finished the first set with 13 total kills including four from Ali Dehnicke and Sydney Marx. UW-Superior finished with 16 kills but two more hitting errors, seven, than the Eagles (five). UWL did have two service aces while both teams each had two blocks.
- With the second set tied 3-3, UWL went on a 5-0 run to take an early 8-3 lead. UWL would extend their lead to 14-6 and Augsburg would not get an closer than five (22-17) the rest of the set as UWL won 25-20.
- The Eagles would start fast in the third set as they scored seven of the first nine points to lead 7-2. Augsburg would cut their deficit to 13-10 after an Eagle hitting error but two service errors for the Auggies to give the Eagles a 15-11 lead. A Aloaha Ricke kill would gve Augsburg its first lead of the set at 20-19. After UWL tied it 20-20, UW-Superior would score five of the final six points to win the third set 25-21.
- A 4-1 run early in the fourth set would give the Auggies a 9-6 lead. Back-to-back kills by Jaiden Lee and Grace Nommensen would pull the Eagles to with in 11-10; however Augsburg scored five of the next six points to 16-11. The Eagles slowly chipped away at their deficit as they cut it to two at 21-19 on a kill by Nommensen. Two straight Eagle kills (Nommensen and Maddy Wilson) made the score 23-21 but Augsburg would get a kill from Ameerah Rogers as well as an assisted block Ameerah Rogers and Aloaha Ricke to seal the 25-21 win.
FROM THE BOXSCORE
- Sydney Marx led the Eagles offensively with 11 kills and a .474 hitting percentage.
- Wilson added nine kills and four assisted blocks while Nommensen finished with seven kills and five digs.
- Lexi Champeau finished with a team 20 assists while Megan Lund added 17 assists.
- Megan Jasperson finished with a match high 27 digs.
UW-La Crosse 2, UW-Superior 3 (20-25, 21-25, 25-23, 25-19, 10-15)
- Leading 13-11 midway through the first set, UW-Superior used a 5-2 run to open up an 18-13 lead. A Wilson kill followed by an assisted block from Wilson and Jaiden Lee trimmed the Yellowjackets lead to 19-16. However that would be as close as the Eagle get as UW-Superior won the first set 25-20.
- The second set was back and forth to start with neither team led by more than two as the score was tied 16-16 midway through. A 4-1 Yellowjacket would give them a 20-16 lead. UWL was not able to recover as they fell 25-21 in the third set.
- UWL would get their offense going in the third set as they would get consecutive kills Dehnicke (2) and Nommensen followed by a Jasperson service ace to give UWL an early 6-3. After UW-Superior tied it at 12, the Eagles scored six of the next seven points to extend their lead to 18-13. Four straight errors by the Eagles would put the Yellowjackets up 19-18. Wilson would give UWL a 20-19 lead with a kill while an assisted block by Wilson and Charley Casey put UWL up 21-19 and the Eagles would not look back as they won the third set 25-23.
- The fourth set saw the Eagles use an 8-1 run to break a 4-4 tie and lead 12-5. Kate Jamtgaard's kill would pull UW-Superior with in 19-16 but a kill from Dehnicke followed by a Champeau service and a kill by Wilson gave the Eagles a little breathing room. UWL would win the fourth set 25-19 to force a fifth set.
- It was all UW-Superior in the fifth set as they jumped out to an 8-3 lead and would not trail. A Casey kill would cut the Yellowjackets lead to 9-6 but that would be as close as the Eagles would get as they fell 15-10.
FROM THE BOXSCORE
- Dehnicke finished with a match high 23 kills while recording 14 digs for a double-double. The 23 kills are the most in a match for an Eagle since Brianne Korducki had 23 kills against St. Catherine (Minn.) on September 9, 2023.
- Lee and Wilson joined Dehnicke in double figures as they finished with 11 and 10 kills, respectively.
- Lee also had a double-double as she added 17 digs while Wilson finished with 2 solo blocks and eight assisted blocks.
- Lund led the Eagles with 27 assists while Champeau finished with 22.
- Once again Jasperson finished with a team high 21 digs.
UP NEXT
- Day two of the Stinger Classic will see UWL play Marian University (Wis.) at 10 a.m. and College of St. Scholastica at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
