Naperville, Ill. - Dominican University Women's Volleyball traveled to Naperville for the North Central Triangular on Friday.

Match 1:
Dominican: 0
Rhodes: 3

How it Happened:
-The Stars and the Lynx battled at the start of the match, as the score was 8-8 in the first set.
-An 8-2 run by Rhodes pushed them ahead of DU 17-10. Despite kills from Junior Jaylynn Miller and Senior Veronica Henkel, the Stars dropped the first set 25-16.
-Set 2 saw Dominican on a 4-0 run from Freshman Taylor Lupton to cut the early deficit to 9-8.
-After trading off points, the Stars jumped out to a 17-12 lead after a 6-0 run at the line by Sophomore Fabiana Pizzo.
-Rhodes took back control of the set and took a 22-21 lead. DU would find themselves two sets down after losing the second, 25-21.
-Dominican tried to regroup in the third set, but the Lynx came out firing and took a 9-3 advantage.
-Despite back-to-back aces by Henkel in Set 3, the Stars would fall in the final frame 25-16.

Shining Stars:
-Senior Ellery Shea paced the Stars with 9 kills while adding an ace and a block assist.  
-Freshman Karolina Stonkus registered 21 assists. 
-Sophomore Fabiana Pizzo notched 7 digs for Dominican.

Leading the Way:
Kills: Shea (9) 
Aces: Henkel and Lupton (2)
Blocks: Ksiezak (2)
Assists: Stonkus (21)
Digs: Pizzo (7)

Match 2:
Dominican: 0
North Central: 3

How it Happened:
-After a quick turnaround into the second match of the day, the Stars found themselves down to start the first set against the Cardinals.
-Late kills by Junior Jaylynn Miller, Junior Kathryn Ksiezak, and Freshman Karolina Stonkus were not enough to get DU back into the set, dropping the opener 25-10.
-Dominican started the second set strong, closing an early deficit to 9-8 after a 3-0 run from Freshman Taylor Lupton, which included a kill by Senior Veronica Henkel and a block by Freshman Jillian Ross and Stonkus.
-North Central pulled away in the middle of the frame and took the second set 25-13.
-The third set opened with runs for both squads, highlighted by a 3-0 run by Miller, which included an ace and cut the Cardinal lead to 9-7.
-A 5-1 run by the Stars gave DU a 12-11 advantage in the 3^rd.
-DU was unable to close out the set, falling 25-23 in Set 3.

Shining Stars:
-Senior Veronica Henkel paced Dominican with 5 kills while adding 4 digs.
-Freshman Karolina Stonkus dished 11 assists in the defeat. 
-Junior Jillian Ross collected 3 blocks and a kill.

Leading the Way:
Kills: Henkel (5) 
Aces: Henkel, Miller, and Lupton (1)
Blocks: Ross (3)
Assists: Stonkus (11)
Digs: Pizzo (8)

What's Next:
Dominican University Women's Volleyball moves to 1-5 on the season. The Stars will be back at home on Friday, September 19^th for Homecoming against St. Mary's College of Indiana. The match is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m.

Stay up to date with all Dominican University athletics:
@DU_Stars on X and Instagram
Dominican University Stars on Facebook
Check out all our stories on dustars.com