Volleyball

RIPON, Wis. – The Mount Mary College volleyball team faced two intrastate rivals at Ripon College Tuesday for the Red Hawks triangular, dropping a pair of 3-1 decisions to Marian University and host Ripon. The losses drop the Blue Angels season record to 2-4 overall.

"Our losses to Marian and Ripon were tough," head coach Kelsey Peterson said. "We gave up a lot of points on hitting errors and service errors. Playing basically eight sets in a row took a toll on all the players, especially since we have very few subs this season."

Mount Mary came out very sluggish in its first match of the triangular, dropping the first two sets to Marian 18-25, 13-25. A much better start to the third set and some renewed life on the floor was enough to hold off a furious Sabre rally to take the fourth set 25-23, but Marian had taken back much of the momentum and sealed the 3-1 match win with a 25-21 win in the fourth.

Junior outside Stephanie Hardwick (West Allis, Wis.) tallied team-highs in kills (16) and digs (13) while adding a pair of service aces against the Sabres. Senior setter Chelsie Beeler (Jackson, Wis.) recorded 31 assists while sophomores Sarah Wishau (Racine, Wis.) and Stephanie Gratz (Sussex, Wis.) also added 13 digs apiece.

The Blue Angels responded with a much better opening against the host Red Hawks in match two, as Mount Mary and Ripon traded 25-22 set victories.

"Our front row players came out much more aggressively when it came to battling at the net," Peterson said. "We got a lot more touches on blocks and our coverage was much better."

Yet midway through the third set, some untimely errors piled up as the Red Hawks cruised to the 3-1 victory, 25-22, 22-25, 25-16, 25-18. Hardwick was once again strong on both sides of the ball, registering a team-high 10 kills and season-high 27 digs against Ripon. Gratz added nine kills while sophomore middle Beth Baxter (Germantown, Wis.) hit a blistering .310 in Tuesdays matches combined.

The Blue Angels host Moody Bible Institute Thursday evening in their first dual match of the season. Game time at the Bloechl Center is scheduled for 6 p.m.