MILWAUKEE -- The Alverno College women's volleyball team closed out its 2009 season schedule with a 3-0 loss to Mount Mary College in non-conference play on Thursday evening at Mount Mary.

The Inferno (0-28 overall) have continued to adjust to injuries on the team that have forced certain players into unfamiliar positions. Despite the changes that saw sophomore Ashley Graham (Cudahy, Wis.) moved to middle hitter, the squad kept close with the Blue Angels in the first set, falling five points short with a 25-20 result in favor of Mount Mary.

Unfortunately the Inferno couldn't come up with a way to narrow the gap any further, dropping the second two sets, 25-17 and 25-10, respectively.

"We played hard and got in some good serve receives," said Alverno head coach Crystal McClure. "Again, we had players out of positions and everyone adapted. Ashley played well in the middle even though she's not a middle hitter, Ann (Brown) got some good balls up on defense and it was good to see Sierra (Miller)and JoAnna (Sobolik) getting some touches on blocks."

Graham led the offensive drive with six kills and just one hitter error in addition to scoring a solo block. She also chipped in eight digs, while freshman outside hitter Roxanne Kresmer (South Milwaukee, Wis.) was the leader in the back row with nine digs. Sophomore libero Kia Yang (Milwaukee, Wis./Riverside) also tallied eight digs in the match.

Although the Inferno had a difficult season with players filling new roles and matches against tough competition, McClure is pleased with how far the team has come throughout the season and the skills her young players have picked up.

"We're a young team and we're still moving forward," she said. "The girls have really been good about soaking up everything we've taught them and applying the things that we're learning in practices and time-outs to matches. We've established a foundation this year and we're excited to move forward from here into off-season workouts to continue to improve and push for next year."