MILWAUKEE, Wis. – The Alverno College volleyball team dropped their non-conference final on Tuesday evening, coming up short against Beloit College, as they fell 3-0 (25-20, 25-11, 25-21) inside Reiman Gymnasium.

The teams met earlier in the season, as the Inferno traveled to Beloit and took down the hosts in three sets, winning 25-22, 25-19, 25-23 back on Sept. 30.

Senior setter Sharisty Kooch (Terrebonne, Ore./Redmond) continued her steady play with her fifth double-double of the season, tallying 15 assists, 11 digs, and a service ace, as she also recorded her 500^th career assist. With her lone service ace, Kooch also moved to within five career service aces of the program record of 146, set by Cailey Jeske, who played for the team from 2015-2018.

Freshman Mary Needham (San Tan Valley, Ariz./Poston Butte) led the Inferno with a team-high eight kills, while also recording two block assists and a service ace. Freshman Brooklynne Hereford (Beloit, Wis./Beloit Memorial) led the team's defensive effort with 11 digs, and fellow freshman Breanna Rangel (Milwaukee, Wis./St. Anthony's) had a handful of strong serving runs as she tallied three service aces.

As a team, Alverno struggled to find an offensive rhythm, tallying just 21 kills on 110 attempts, but had a strong defensive showing with 48 digs and two blocks, forcing Beloit into 18 attacking errors and six reception errors over three sets. The Buccaneers were able to find more consistency hitting-wise, tallying 33 kills for a .142 hitting percentage, while recording 13 service aces as a team.

With the result, the Inferno moves to 3-19 overall while Beloit improves to 5-19. Alverno returns to conference play on Thursday, Oct. 30, when they travel to Edgewood to take on the defending Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) champion at 7 p.m.

The opening set saw the Inferno run off to a strong start as the Buccaneers had four service errors, and Kooch tallied a service ace to give Alverno an early 6-0 advantage. After the timeout, Beloit rallied to take three straight points and slowly worked its way back into the game. After a Holly King (Richland Center, Wis./Ithaca) knotted up the score at 19 late in the opening stanza, the Buccaneers rattled off a 6-1 run, winning the first set 25-20.

In the second, Alverno battled but could not overcome the momentum of Beloit after an 8-1 start that eventually saw them build a 13-2 lead. In the set, the Buccaneers committed the fewest attack errors of any set in the match, with just three. The efficient hitting allowed the visiting team to take the second seat with relative ease, winning 25-11.

Another strong start saw Beloit take an early 6-1 lead, as they carried the advantage throughout the set, eventually using a 7-0 run late to push their advantage to 20-9. Alverno did not go down without a fight, however, as the team would not allow Beloit to obtain the sweep easily. Trailing 24-13, the team forced an attack error, and Rangel led the charge with a fantastic serving run that saw one service ace from the freshman. The team was able to trim the lead to 24-21 before Beloit finally finished the match with a kill from Selin Tufte and the road victory, avenging their earlier season loss to the Inferno.

Tufte led all players with a match-high 11 kills, also adding 12 digs for a double-double. Maddisyn Adams had a match-best 13 digs while Emily Ortiz had 16 assists, another match-high. Ortiz also tallied three service aces, while Naomi Murphy had a team and match-best four. More Than a Game, 25 Years of Strength and Spirit: Alverno College is proud to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Alverno Athletics. Since 2000, our student-athletes have embodied the spirit of competition, teamwork, and excellence both on and off the courts and fields. Join us in honoring a quarter-century of Inferno pride on the following dates as we celebrate 25 years of strength and spirit -

• Volleyball vs. Rockford on November 1^st at noon
• Softball vs. Maranatha on March 31^st at 3 p.m.
• Softball vs. Concordia Wisconsin on April 25 at noon