The University of Saint Mary Spires faced a tough match against the Viterbo V-Hawks on September 13^th at Lee Lohman Arena for day two of the St. Ambrose tournament. In a thrilling match, the Spires started strong but ultimately fell to the V-Hawks with a final score of 3-1 in favor of Viterbo.

The Spires secured victory in the first set with a 25-21 win. However, the subsequent sets saw Viterbo seizing control of the game, as they won three consecutive sets with scores of 25-22, 25-22, and 25-14. Notably, Chloe Byrd and MJ Stephens were significant contributors for the Spires, with Byrd scoring 12 kills followed closely by Stephens' 11 kills. Addison Baker showed her defensive strengths, managing to tally 2 blocks.

Offensively, the team also saw notable performances with serves; Saige Hadley and MJ Stephens both recorded 2 aces. On the defensive side, Gabby Kurle led with 14 digs against the V-Hawks.
The second match of the day landed in favor of the Spires, with a dominating performance over the Governors State Jaguars, with a clean 3-0 sweep to end their weekend.
From the outset of the match, the Spires took the lead, ending the first set with an impressive 25-13 score. The match witnessed standout performances from names you've likely heard before with MJ Stephens and Makenza Holly each securing 8 kills, closely followed by Saige Hadley who tallied 7 kills. The cohesion and aggressive gameplay were also evident through the tactical assists provided by Morgan Herrera and Addison Baker, who offered 18 and 13 assists respectively.

The team's strategic dominance continued into the second and third sets, both closing at 25-19. Defensively, Makenza Holly and Emma Murphy contributed significantly with blocks. Precision in service was marked by Gabby Kurle, who executed 5 successful aces, accompanied by MJ Stephens with 2 aces. In terms of defense, Ava Bojanski led the team with a total of 9 digs.

Looking ahead, the University of Saint Mary Spires are set to face Peru State College on Wednesday, September 17^th at home in the Ryan Sports Center in Leavenworth, Kansas. Your Spire volleyball team currently sits at 8-5 on the year.