Ripon, Wis – The Mount Mary University (MMU) Blue Angels (1-1, 1-11) hit the road to Ripon College for the Red Hawks Invitational. The first game was against the Westminster College Blue Jays (9-4, 0-0), where they dropped all three sets, 3-0, and finished the night against the Central College Dutch (7-5, 0-0), also losing all three sets, 3-0.   

Game One Summary:  

In set one, the Blue Jays scored five straight points to start things off. A kill from Abigail Manthey (Mukwonago, Wis.) in the back row got the Blue Angels going down 7-3. A service ace by Rosalinda Palacios (Chicago, Ill.) and a kill from Lilly Severson (Cottage Grove, Wis.) brought the Blue Angels back within two points at 8-6. Ava Fincher (Owensboro, Ky.) got herself a kill, which created the first tie of the set at 9-9. The Blue Angels were able to pull away slightly in the middle of the set, 13-11. But the Blue Jays did not let the Blue Angels sneak away, as they went on a huge run, scoring eight points straight, 18-13. Kills from Fincher and Gabby Saucedo Salas (Flagstaff, Ariz.) late in the set were not enough to push Mount Mary to the top, and the Blue Jays won set one, 25-16.  

Set two began with the Blue Angels down 3-1. However, Bluejay errors brought the Blue Angels back to a 3-3 game. Westminster then went on to score six in a row, 9-3. Nevenah Dukic (Oak Creek, Wis.) snagged a bump-kill trying to switch things around for the Blue Angels. Unfortunately, the Blue Jays went on yet another scoring run, this time five, 12-4.  Palacios and Saucedo Salas got kills from Fincher, which the Blue Angels were fighting down 14-7. Back-and-forth action from each side continued, but the Blue Angels could not catch the Blue Jays. Westminster captured set two, 25-16.  

Set three started off with the Blue Angels scoring the first four points from Saucedo Salas, Andriana White (Erin, Tenn.), and Fincher. The Blue Jays fought back to tie the score 4-4. The Blue Jays took the lead back at 8-7. White slashed down two balls from Fincher as the Blue Angels continued to fight down 12-10. The Blue Jays scored three straight, forcing an MMU timeout, 15-10. Following the timeout, White got herself another kill, but the Blue Jays went on a deep scoring run, 19-11. The rest of the way was in favor of the Blue Jays, who took set three, 25-15.   

Game Two Summary:  

White and Palacios grabbed the first kills of set one. The Dutch took off running after the Blue Angel kills, bringing the score 13-6. Dukic sniped a service ace, scoring for MMU, 14-8. The Dutch scored the next five points before a Saucedo Salas kill, 19-10. Severson joined in on the fun, getting herself a kill as MMU was fighting hard behind the Dutch, 20-11. The Dutch went on another kill streak, which ultimately brought Central College the win of set one, 25-13.   

Central College jumped ahead at the beginning of set two. They scored three points for White to get the Blue Angels a point, 3-1. Saucedo Salas read the defense and got a powerful kill, 6-3. The Dutch capitalized on Blue Angel errors as they scored three in a row, 11-6. Back-to-back MMU kills from White and Severson stopped the Dutch momentum, 15-10. Three consecutive kills stopped a four-point run for the Dutch from Fincher, Severson, and Delnora Darden (Henersonville, Tenn.). Continuing the run for the Blue Angels was a Saucedo Salas service ace, bringing the score 21-16. Darden showed up late in set two, adding three kills. Manthey aced the Dutch twice, 24-19. Fincher and White swung hard, forcing the Dutch to talk things over, 24-21. The Blue Angels fought back hard in set two, but the Dutch secured the set 25-22.  

Set three began with Mount Mary taking the lead after a Saucedo Salas electric kill, 4-3. The Dutch scored four straight points before having an error, 12-6. Darden contributed her kill effort, and Saucedo Salas scored an ace, 13-8. The Dutch grabbed another string of points as they started to pull away from the Blue Angels. The rest of the set fell in favor of the Dutch as they won set three, 25-11, and won the match 3-0.   

The Blue Angels look to fight back tomorrow, September 13th, in day two of the Red Hawks Invitational. They will play against Buena Vista University at 12:00 p.m. and finish off the invite against Maranatha Baptist University at 2:00 p.m. Coverage for all things MMU volleyball can be found at mtmaryathletics.com. Additional coverage can be found on Instagram @mountmary.vb and Facebook @Mount Mary University Women's Volleyball.