MILWAUKEE -- The Alverno College women's volleyball team played point for point with Benedictine University during certain stretches in its Northern Athletics Conference opener, but ultimately fell to the Eagles, 3-0 (25-16, 25-17, 25-12), at home on Thursday, Sept. 18, in Milwaukee, Wis.
The loss marks the third-straight defeat for the Inferno (2-7, 0-1 NAC). However, Alverno head coach Crystal McClure was encouraged by her team's efforts against the Eagles, who finished second in the NAC Tournament last season and are picked to finish in that same position this year according to the NAC preseason coaches' poll.
"Our blocking was the best we have blocked all year," McClure said. "Granted, some of those blocks didn't count as actual blocks because the ball remained in play but our defense was very, very strong today. Another thing I was very pleased with is that when we got a touch and the ball was flying out of bounds, we had people running after it and getting it back over the net. That teamwork really benefitted us today."
Sophomore middle blocker Robyn Rosenthal (Burlington, Wis.) led the way for the Inferno on offense with four kills while also chipping in eight digs and one block assist. Junior setter Kim Reuter (Franklin, Wis.) was a force for the squad in the back row, leading the way with 11 digs, one block assist and also putting up nine assists. Freshman outside hitter Ashley Graham (Cudahy, Wis.) also aided the Inferno's defensive efforts with eight digs.
Alverno now faces a busy weekend schedule, as the squad will travel to Clarke College (Dubuque, Iowa) for a two-day non-conference tournament on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 19-20.
"It's going to be nice to play consecutive matches this weekend," McClure said. "That way, we can identify problems right away and work on them during the next match. We brought a lot of energy tonight, but we still have to take our play a step further. We had some confusion on the court that we need to remedy by having better communication."
The Inferno are slated to face Coe College and host Clarke College on Friday at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., respectively. Saturday's matches will pit Alverno against Iowa Wesleyan at 12 p.m. and Ashford University at 2 p.m.
