RIPON, Wis. — The University of Wisconsin-Stout Polytechnic volleyball team went 2-0 at the Red Hawks Invitational Saturday, sweeping both Wisconsin Lutheran College and host Ripon College in straight sets.
The Blue Devils opened the day with a 25-14, 25-15, 25-14 victory over Wisconsin Lutheran before closing the day with a 25-17, 25-23, 25-7 win over Ripon. Stout hit .267 against Wisconsin Lutheran while holding the Warriors to a .000 attack percentage. Against Ripon, the Blue Devils hit .339 with 47 kills.
Against Wisconsin Lutheran, Stout jumped to an 8-3 lead in the opening set behind a Kailey Kline service ace and a block from Brooke McCune and Emma Barton. After the Warriors pulled within 12-9, the Blue Devils used a strong run to take a 19-10 advantage, including back-to-back aces from Kline. Barton and Sloan Horgan combined for a block to close out the 25-14 victory.
Wisconsin Lutheran took an early 7-4 lead in the second set, but Stout responded with six straight points to take an 8-7 advantage. The Blue Devils continued to build their lead and closed out the set 25-15, with Lainey Todd recording a service ace during the run.
The third set was tied at 10-10 before Stout pulled away. A kill from Brynn Hessel and a Wisconsin Lutheran error sparked the Blue Devils, who used a seven-point run featuring multiple blocks and kills from Barton and McCune to take control. Stout finished off the sweep, 25-14.
Barton led the Blue Devils against Wisconsin Lutheran with 13.5 points, eight kills on .400 hitting and a team-high nine total blocks. McCune added 10 kills and 12 digs, while Horgan recorded eight total blocks, including one solo. Todd finished with a team-high 16 assists, and Kline had three service aces and eight digs.
Stout carried the momentum into its second match against Ripon, overcoming an early 4-3 deficit to take a 7-4 lead behind kills from Barton, Horgan and McCune. After Ripon tied the set at 8-8, the Blue Devils used a six-point run featuring kills from Falon Hepola and Horgan and service aces from Barton to take control. Barton delivered the final kill in a 25-17 Stout win.
Ripon again held an early lead in the second set, going ahead 6-4, but Stout answered with five consecutive points, including a block from Horgan and Hessel. The set remained close late, with Ripon tying the score at 22-22, but Hessel responded with back-to-back kills to give the Blue Devils a 25-23 victory and a 2-0 match lead.
Stout dominated the third set, jumping ahead 6-1 behind Bushendorf and McCune. The Blue Devils then closed the match with a commanding nine-point run to complete the 25-7 sweep.
McCune led Stout with 16 kills on .484 hitting, 11 digs and 16 points. Barton added eight kills on .438 hitting, five service aces, three block assists and 14.5 points. Todd finished with 21 assists, two aces and five digs, while Taylor Mosher recorded a team-high 13 digs. Horgan added seven kills while hitting .583.
With the two victories, the Blue Devils improve to 9-3 on the season.
Stout will open Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play Thursday, Sept. 24, hosting UW-Whitewater at 7 p.m. at the Johnson Fieldhouse.
