The Dominican University women's volleyball team pushed their overall record to 12-8, splitting a pair of matches on the final day of the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletics Conference-Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Challenge.  Dominican topped the IIAC's Luther College Norse in three sets (25-15, 25-16, 25-19) but then fell to the host Loras College Duhawks in four sets (26-24, 25-17, 21-25, 25-23) to close out the day.
 
The Stars hit .241 as a team against the Norse, led by sophomore Tessa Griparis (Belleair, Fla.) who collected 11 kills on just 22 attacks while committing just three errors.  Griparis added five total blocks (two solo, three assisted) as she tallied 14.5 points in the winning effort. 
 
Eight Stars in total tallied at least one kill as Christina Wilson (Homer Glen, Ill.) again ran a well-balanced offense, dishing out 30 assists.
 
Defensively, Dominican logged 58 digs in the win, led by Cheyanne Kelly (Kalamazoo, Mich.) who had 21 while Caitlen Foote (Dexter, Mich.) collected 11 digs.  Griparis and Carri Chambers (Winnebago, Ill.) led the way at the net as Dominican posted a total of nine blocks while keeping the Norse to a .116 hitting percentage.
 
In the loss to Loras, the Stars managed to hit above .100 in just one set, posting a .255 hitting percentage in the set three win.  The Duhawks held the Stars to a .108 attack percentage in the match, forcing Dominican into 37 hitting errors by collecting 99 digs.  Conversely, Loras committed just 11 errors for the match while knocking down 54 kills.
 
Kendyl Todd (Crete, Ill.) led the way for Dominican's offense.  The freshman hit .333 in tallying 17 kills on 30 attempts.  Both Becca Fritz (Mt. Carroll, Ill.) and Griparis had ten kills while Wilson collected 54 assists in the four set loss.
 
Dominican did collect 106 digs, led by Kelly's 22, in the losing effort.
 
The Stars will enjoy some rest before returning to the court on Saturday, October 4, for Dominican's first home match of the season.  Dominican will host the Edgewood College Eagles in a rematch of the 2013 NACC Tournament Championship match.  The conference tilt is scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m. in the Igini Sports Forum, capping Dominican University's homecoming action.