NORTHFIELD, Minn. — The University of Wisconsin-Stout Polytechnic volleyball team split two matches at the Carleton/St. Olaf Invitational on Saturday, falling to host No. 25 St. Olaf College, 3-1, before rebounding with a 3-0 sweep of Martin Luther College.

MATCH ONE — ST. OLAF
Stout opened the day with a 3-1 loss to No. 25 St. Olaf, 22-25, 25-18, 22-25, 14-25. The Blue Devils finished with 43 kills and hit .106, while the Oles recorded 53 kills and hit .191.

Stout jumped out to a 6-5 lead in the opening set following a service ace from Brooke McCune. The Blue Devils then used a five-point run, highlighted by two kills from Kyra Giffen and an ace from Emma Barton, to build an 11-6 advantage.

St. Olaf answered with a run of its own, eventually tying the set at 13-13 and taking a 23-18 lead. Stout rallied late behind kills from Gabby Ehlers and McCune to pull within 23-22, but the Oles scored the final two points to take the set, 25-22.

The Blue Devils responded in the second set, opening with a 5-0 run. Stout continued to build its advantage and used a serving run from Stephanie Petrbok to take a 19-11 lead. St. Olaf cut the deficit to four, but Giffen's kill and a pair of St. Olaf errors helped Stout close out the set, 25-18.

Stout carried the momentum into the third set, racing to an 8-0 lead behind Petrbok's serve, including four service aces. St. Olaf gradually trimmed the deficit and eventually took a 17-16 lead following a six-point run. The teams traded points before the Oles pulled away late to take the set, 25-22.

St. Olaf took control early in the fourth set, overcoming a 3-0 deficit with a five-point run. Stout tied the score at 8-8, but the Oles responded with another run to take a 15-9 advantage. St. Olaf maintained the lead the rest of the way and closed out the match with a 25-14 fourth-set victory.

McCune led the Blue Devils with 12 kills and 15 points while adding two solo blocks and six digs. Ehlers added 10 kills while hitting .276 and finished with 11 points and a solo block.

Petrbok recorded four service aces and 13 digs, while Lainey Todd contributed 20 assists, 15 digs and an ace. Brynn Hessel added five solo blocks, three kills and eight points.

MATCH TWO — MARTIN LUTHER
Stout bounced back in its second match of the day, sweeping Martin Luther, 25-19, 25-20, 25-18.

The Blue Devils established control early in the opening set, using a kill from McCune and a block from Hope Bushendorf and Addison Kessler to take a 3-1 lead. Phoebe Kim then served four straight points, including two aces, as Stout extended its advantage to 7-1.

Consecutive kills from Ehlers and an ace from McCune helped the Blue Devils build an 11-2 lead. Martin Luther responded with a series of kills and service aces to cut the deficit, but Stout maintained its lead throughout the remainder of the set. Devyn Masloski helped set up set point before McCune finished the set with a kill for the 25-19 victory.

The second set featured a back-and-forth battle. Stout opened with a 3-0 lead before Martin Luther rallied to take a 10-9 advantage. The teams exchanged points throughout the middle of the set, with the score tied six times before Martin Luther took an 19-18 lead.

McCune quickly answered with a kill to tie the set, and Stout then scored four consecutive points behind kills from Masloski and Ehlers and a block assist from Kessler to take a 23-19 lead. Kessler put Stout at set point, and a Martin Luther attack error gave the Blue Devils a 25-20 victory.

Stout again took control early in the third set. After Martin Luther pulled within 6-5 on a service ace, Hessel answered with a kill to regain the serve for the Blue Devils.

Kim then served six consecutive points as Stout received kills from Elise Plaggemeyer, Bushendorf and Hessel, with Bushendorf also adding a block, to push the lead to 13-5.

Martin Luther cut the deficit to 14-8, but Stout responded by scoring four of the next five points. Kills from McCune and Petrbok, along with a Todd service ace, helped the Blue Devils build an 18-9 advantage.

Martin Luther later trimmed the lead to 22-17 with four straight points, but McCune stopped the run with a kill. Hessel followed with a service ace to make it 24-17, and McCune closed out the match with her 15th kill for the 25-18 victory.

McCune led Stout with 15 kills, two aces and 17.5 points while adding four digs. Kim finished with 17 assists, three aces and four digs, while Todd recorded 16 assists, two aces and two digs.

Sam Siehr led the defensive effort with 15 digs. Kessler added five total blocks, including three solo blocks, along with two kills and six points.

The Blue Devils improve to 11-5 and will travel to UW-La Crosse on Wednesday, Sept. 30, for a 7 p.m. WIAC match with the Eagles at Mitchell Hall Gymnasium.