The Dominican University women's volleyball team traveled to De Pere, Wisconsin, on Tuesday evening, taking the St. Norbert College Green Knights to a deciding fifth set before falling 3-2 (25-22, 22-25, 15-25, 25-21, 15-12) to move to 3-2 on the season. Freshman Gabija Sinickaite continued her hot start to the season, pacing the Stars with a .409 hitting percentage and knocking down a match-high 20 kills on 44 attempts.
"Tonight was a tough match," said Cameron Andrew, the Stars' first-year head coach, following the loss. "We played some good volleyball but really just let it slip away from us in the end. Gabija did a great job—really a stellar performance from her. We have to continue to bring our offense along and find a way to generate more scoring opportunities."
As a team, Dominican out-hit the host Green Knights, .207 to .172, but could not get enough attacks to find the court, knocking down 50 kills to St. Norbert's 63. The Stars also were the aggressor at the serving line, racking up 11 aces to the host's six but committed seven errors to St. Norbert's three. Dominican doubled up the Green Knights in blocks, 6-3, but the difference in the match was St. Norbert's 98 digs to Dominican's 77.
Sophomore setter #Anastasia Labadessa# doled out 43 assists for the Stars and knocked down five kills and added five aces to go along with a block assist and six digs. Classmate #Gillian Jones# added 11 kills and 12 digs for her second double-double of the season.
In the back row, #Megan Parker# collected a match-high 32 digs for the Stars while #Lauren LaVigne# added 13 and #Mallory Jones# chipped in with seven.
For the Green Knights, Grace Baumann led three in double-digit kills with 18 while Jaisah Lee led a quartet of Green Knights in double-digit digs with 23. Baumann added 22 while Halie Ferry finished the night with an even twenty.
"The most important thing is that we learn from nights like tonight," continued Andrew. "There is nothing we can do to change it now…we have to learn from it and be ready to get better tomorrow."
The Stars continue their road show to open the 2018 season this weekend, traveling to Dubuque, Iowa, for the Loras Invitational on Friday and Saturday. Dominican will take on Gustavus Adolphus and Dubuque on Friday before battling Monmouth College and University of Northwestern on Saturday. Dominican then comes home for their conference opener next Wednesday, September 12, hosting the Concordia Chicago Cougars.
