Davenport, IA.—
 
Game One:

The Spires swept St. Ambrose 3-0 this morning at Lee Lohman Arena, taking the match 25-23, 25-17, 25-18 behind an efficient performance from Emma Murphy and several timely runs from USM. The Spires finished with 37 kills, eight service aces and eight total blocks while limiting St. Ambrose to a .045 hitting percentage.

USM had to rally in a tight opening set after falling behind by three points. Addison Baker's ace cut the deficit to 9-8, and the Spires later used a three-point run, capped by a Maddison Kruse kill, to build a 17-14 advantage. St. Ambrose responded and erased a 21-18 Saint Mary lead before moving in front 23-22. A service error tied the set, Kaylee Kindall followed with a kill, and Kindall teamed with Murphy for a block that secured the final point.

The Spires again overcame an early deficit in the second set. The Bees led 11-7, but consecutive aces from Dakotah Garcia pulled Saint Mary even at 12. Murphy recorded two kills during a five-point run that turned a 12-10 deficit into a 15-12 lead. Kathryn VanSkiver added an ace, and Saige Hadley supplied a kill as the margin grew to six. Makenza Holly, Baker and Murphy then accounted for the final three points with two kills around Baker's ace.

Murphy led the Spire attack with 11 kills and just one error on 18 attempts for a .556 hitting percentage. Murphy also had five block assists and finished with a team-high 13.5 points. Kindall contributed seven kills and seven block assists, while Holly and Hadley each added seven kills.

Baker directed the offense with 27 assists and added three aces, seven digs and a block assist. Hadley anchored the back row with 17 digs, Garcia collected 12 digs and two aces, and VanSkiver served two aces. USM totaled 52 digs and held a 37-28 advantage in kills.

The third set was tied 8-8 before Baker's kill completed a three-point run for an 11-8 Saint Mary lead. Murphy opened another four-point surge on Baker's serve that stretched a 12-11 edge to 16-11. St. Ambrose later cut a 20-13 deficit to 20-16, but Murphy stopped the rally with a kill. The Spires closed out the sweep when Hadley delivered the match-ending ace for the 25-18 victory.
 
 
Game Two:

USM fell to the No. 24 ranked Viterbo V-Hawks in three sets, 25-8, 25-21, 25-19 to wrap up the final match of the SAU Invitational. The Spires mounted challenges in the final two sets, but Viterbo answered both rallies to complete the neutral-site match in 56 minutes.

Hannah Weisz served an ace as USM started hot scoring the first two points of the opening set. VU moved in front from there, then used an extended service run by Quist to turn a three-point advantage into a 21-6 lead. Ihle closed the 25-8 set with a kill.

The Spires responded with their strongest push of the match in the second set. A block followed by a Saige Hadley kill gave her squad an 8-5 lead before Viterbo recovered and went ahead 18-11. Saint Mary then reeled off six consecutive points, a surge that featured a Dakotah Garcia ace and two Kaylee Kindall kills. Consecutive Viterbo attack errors completed the comeback and tied the set at 19.

Viterbo edged back in front, but Kayla Adeoye delivered consecutive kills to pull the Spires within 22-21. VU scored the next three points to secure the set and take a 2-0 match lead. Adeoye finished with a team-high seven kills on 20 attempts.

USM faced another deficit in the third set after the V-Hawks opened a 5-1 lead. Kindall helped the Spires claw back with three straight points, including a kill, to make it 5-4. The V-Hawks later extended its advantage to 20-12, but Saint Mary again worked back into contention. Kindall contributed a kill and an ace during the late rally as the Spires closed within 22-19. Viterbo responded with three straight points, and Jahr's match-ending kill completed the sweep.

Kindall totaled five kills, five blocks and an ace while hitting .250, accounting for a team-high nine points. Addison Baker distributed 17 assists, Kathryn VanSkiver led the defense with 12 digs and Hadley added four kills and six digs. USM finished with 20 kills, 36 digs, four aces and 6.5 blocks.
 
Coming Up…

USM will commence yet another week on the road as they travel to Lamoni, Iowa to face off against Graceland University. The midweek match is slated to start at 7:30 p.m. at the Morden Center.