Blue Devil volleyball splits at Concordia tourney

Concordia-Wisconsin 3, UW-Stout 2 | UW-Stout 3, Carroll University 1

MEQUON (October 26, 2019) - UW-Stout split two matches playing in their final tournament of the season, falling in the opener, 3-2, to host Concordia University Wisconsin, but bouncing back to beat Carroll University for the second time this season, 3-1, at the Concordia Invitational Saturday.

Lexie Nelson recorded a triple-double in both matches. Against Concordia, Nelson had 14 kills, 25 assists and 25 digs. In the second match against Carroll, Nelson had a match-high 17 kills, 19 assists and 14 digs.

Steph Cannon matched a season-high by popping up 39 digs in the opener to Concordia. The Blue Devil senior had 22 digs in the four-set win over Carroll University.

Against the host Falcons, the Blue Devils had four players in double-digit kills as Stout fell, 23-25, 26-25, 25-23, 17-25, 15-13. Nelson and Amber Ripley each had 14 kills, while Elise Banitt had a collegiate-high 11 kills, a number that was matched by Lydia Knuebuehl. Stout had 18 block assists, with Knuebuehl recording five and McKylie Hoff four. The Falcons had three solo blocks and 12 assisted blocks. 

The Falcons' Jenna Chaussee led all players with 19 kills. Gabby Pavlik added 13 kills.

Nelson led the way in the win over Carroll. Ripley added 10 kills against the Pioneers. Carroll got eight kills from Rachel Noonan and Kylie Mueller. 

Knuebuehl had two solo blocks and one assisted block over Carroll. The Pioneers had five solo blocks and 16 assisted blocks. 

Stout will close out the home portion of their schedule Friday, Nov. 1 when they host Minnesota-Morris at 7 p.m., then will close out the season by traveling to UW-La Crosse, Saturday, Nov. 2.