RIPON, Wis. — The University of Wisconsin-Stout Polytechnic volleyball team secured two impressive victories, sweeping both Mount Mary University and Hamline University in straight sets to open the Red Hawks Invitational. Against Mount Mary, the Blue Devils took the sets 25-8, 25-16, 25-23, hitting .233 with six service aces and 10 total blocks while holding Mount Mary to a .043 hitting percentage. In the match against Hamline, Stout dominated with set scores of 25-17, 25-16, and 25-13, hitting .280 with 36 kills and seven aces, while Hamline finished at .083 with 20 attack errors.
 
GAME ONE
After Mount Mary scored the first two points and briefly led 3-2, Hope Bushendorf's kill from Lainey Todd tied the opening set at 3-3. Falon Hepola then served UW-Stout to a 9-3 lead, featuring a block by Addison Kessler and Brooke McCune, a kill by McCune, and another block by Sloan Horgan and Kessler. The Blue Devils continued to build their lead, reaching 20-6 with contributions from McCune, Horgan, and blocks from Lauren Duenkel, Kessler, Brynn Hessel, and Bushendorf. Stephanie Petrbok's service run propelled the score to 24-7, with McCune's kill from Todd sealing the set at 25-8.
In the second set, Stout jumped ahead 9-2, bolstered by early service aces from Petrbok, Elise Plaggemeyer, and Hepola, along with kills by McCune, Kessler, and Horgan. Although Mount Mary narrowed the margin to 12-9, the Blue Devils responded with six straight points to extend to 18-9, highlighted by Phoebe Kim's serve and two Bushendorf kills. McCune's kills helped finish the set 25-16.
 
The third set saw Mount Mary erase an early 3-0 deficit and take a 6-5 lead. Emma Barton's kill from Hepola tied the set at 6-6 before Stout forged a lead during Sam Siehr's service turn, with kills from Duenkel and Taylor Mosher. The Blue Devils maintained a lead, going up 19-14 after a Barton block, but Mount Mary fought back to a 23-22 lead. Gabby Ehlers tied it with a kill from Kim, and UW-Stout closed the set 25-23 on Molly Fell's serve. McCune's 11 kills surpassed the 1,000 career kill milestone.
 
GAME TWO
 Brooke McCune kickstarted the first set with consecutive kills from Lainey Todd, helping the Blue Devils to a quick 7-2 lead after capitalizing on two Hamline attack errors and a Falon Hepola ace. After Hamline closed the gap to 7-5, Stout pushed the lead to 12-6. Despite Hamline's efforts to pull within 14-12, UW-Stout scored four straight points to lead 20-14, finishing the set 25-17 with a Lauren Duenkel kill, a Kailey Kline ace, and McCune's closing kill.
 
In the second set, Devyn Masloski's serving propelled Stout from a 1-1 tie to a 5-1 lead, featuring a McCune kill and a service ace. Hamline responded but could not take the lead, as Bushendorf delivered consecutive kills for a 13-11 and 14-11 advantage. The Blue Devils held on to win the set 25-16, with Kline serving the final points.
 
The third set began with Stout breaking a 2-2 tie with four straight points, including two Bushendorf kills. Hamline narrowed the score to 6-5, but Stout countered with another four-point run, leading 16-10 on a Stephanie Petrbok ace. McCune's stellar performance helped extend the lead to 23-11, and she finished the set with two final kills for a score of 25-13.
 
TOP PERFORMERS
Against Mount Mary
- Brooke McCune
  - 11 kills with no errors on 20 attempts
  - .550 hitting percentage
  - 11.5 points
  - 4 digs

- Stephanie Petrbok
  - 12 digs
  - Three service aces

- Falon Hepola
  - 17 assists
  - Four digs

- Hope Bushendorf
  - 5 kills
  - 4 blocks, including 1 solo
  - 7.5 points
 
Against Hamline
- Brooke McCune
  - team-high 16 kills with 2 errors on 27 attempts
  - .519 hitting percentage
  - team-high 16.5 points
  - 5 digs

- Falon Hepola
  - team-high 7 digs
  - 11 assists
  - 2 service aces

- Lainey Todd
  - team-high 15 assists
  - 4 digs

- Kailey Kline
  - team-high 3 service aces
  - 6 digs
  - 3 assists

- Addison Kessler
  - team-high 3 blocks, including 2 solo
  - 2 kills
  - 4.5 points
 
The Blue Devils improve to 7-3 and will wrap up the Red Hawks Invite on Saturday, Sept. 19 with an 11 a.m. match against Wisconsin Lutheran and a 1 p.m. match against host Ripon College.