Inferno Win Late

Inferno Win Late

MILWAUKEE – The visiting Alverno Inferno defeated the Mount Mary University volleyball team today at the Bloechl Center in a hard fought 3-2 match. AC's win moves them to 3-24 on the season while the Blue Angels are 2-16 with two matches left to go on the 2018 schedule.

In the long five-set match, the Blue Angels opened up with a quick 4-0 lead. Perhaps foreshadowing the match, the Inferno slowly came back to tie the set 8-8, then took a brief two-point lead.

The teams traded points until the Blue Angels grabbed a slim 15-14 lead that they would translate into the 25-23 set win. MMU smashed six team kills in their 41 total attacks and forced the opposition to commit over twice as many attack errors in the set with 13.

Alverno took the second set after they led off with a 6-0 run. The Blue Angels tried to nip away at the lead, but after the Inferno went up 16-2, Alverno closed the set out in a 9-3 run to tie the match 1-1.

The Inferno again grabbed the lead to open up the third set. Up 3-0, the Blue Angels continued to apply pressure and trailed 8-7. After a 9-1 run by Alverno, the Inferno settled into a 25-15 set victory. AC led that attack on the back of eight team kills on their 37 total attacks in the set.

In the fourth set, the Blue Angels pushed the frame into extra points. After falling behind 8-0, the match seemed over, but MMU was not done. The Blue Angels rallied and began to chip away. Working to 11-3, the Blue Angels then went on a 9-1 run to tie the game at 12.

After the teams settled at 24-24 in the fourth set, the Inferno grabbed the 25 th point of the set on a kill by Cailey Jeske. MMU then answered with a Lauren Harris-kill set from Alessa Nelson (Jr./Rockford, Ill.), a service ace from Nelson, then an attack error from Alverno to tie the match 2-2.

In classic rivalry fashion, the teams again traded runs early until tying things at 7-7 in the fifth and final set. AC went on a 3-0 run, but the Blue Angels rallied to make the score 13-11. The Inferno ended the game forcing a pair of ball handling errors on MMU to grab the slim 3-2 match victory.

In her final collegiate game at the Bloechl Center, Harris led MMU with 11 kills on 46 total attacks. Harris also help secure the backline with a team high 22 digs. Fellow senior Marissa Tun (Greenfield, Wis.) added 17 digs and a service ace. Teammate Alessa Nelson led with 13 assists on the day.

After this afternoon's match, the Blue Angels will head to Minnesota for a pair of matches to close out their 2018 campaign. First MMU will take on Crown in St. Bonifacius, Minn. on Fri. Oct. 26 at 7:00 pm, then the Blue Angels will head to Minneapolis Sat. Oct. 27 for the season's finale against North Central University for a 2:00 pm start. Live stats and video will vary for the matches, links can be found at MtMaryAthletics.com.