DUBUQUE, Iowa – St. Norbert College opened play at the Duhawk Classic with a pair of losses to St. Olaf College and the University of Dubuque.
The Green Knights fell 3-1 to St. Olaf 26-24, 25-15, 22-25, 25-23 and then dropped a tough 3-2 decision to the Spartans 25-12, 23-25, 25-12, 23-25, 15-9.
Against St. Olaf, the Green Knights had a pair of leads late in each deuce set but couldn't close them out. St. Norbert led Set 1 by a 24-22 score before the Oles scored four-straight points. The Green Knights also held a 23-22 lead in Set 4 before St. Olaf finished with three unanswered points to salt away the win.
St. Norbert hit .181 for the match, with 52 kills and 23 errors in 160 attempts.
Lauren Borchardt had a match-high 13 kills, while
Maleigha Kovalaske added 11 kills.
Heidi Colburn finished with 32 assists. Kovalaske also had three service aces.
Colburn and
Claire Leynse had 13 digs apiece.
Mari Szews totaled four blocks, while
Alli Clark added two.
Against Dubuque, the Green Knights won Set 2 when they scored the final two points on a
Kyra Brown kill and a Spartans hitting error. St. Norbert trailed 13-6 and 18-12 in Set 4 before climbing back into a 21-21 tie. The Green Knights took a 24-22 lead on a
Paige Olson kill. Following a Dubuque point, Kovalaske's kill tied the match 2-2. Dubuque took a 5-1 lead in Set 5 before the Green Knights rattled off four straight points. The Spartans then led 8-5 before the Green Knights got to within one point twice and then 11-9, but Dubuque won the match with another 4-0 run.
The Green Knights hit .098, with 52 kills and 32 errors in 204 swings.
Alyssa Mills had 12 kills,
Anna Kudick 11 kills and Kovalaske nine kills. Colburn had 29 assists.
Kara Sowinski led the back row with 17 digs, while
Andrianna Volz added 16 digs, Mills 14 digs and Kovalaske 13 digs.
