Eureka, Ill.—The Dominican University Women's Volleyball team traveled to Eureka College to face off against the Red Devils for their season opener.
Results:
Dominican: 0
Eureka: 3
How it Happened:
-Dominican started the match off on the right foot, with Freshman
Mawedda Abu-Shukhaidem earning an ace in the first two points.
-Eureka opened up the set shortly after going on a 10-0 run, making the score 17-6.
-Junior
Ella Murray and Freshman
Kaitlyn Stanek each collected a kill before the Red Devils closed out set one on a 6-0 run.
-Murray and Sophomore
Olivia Pollak each grabbed a kill to start the second set, but then Eureka went on their second 6-0 run of the match to make the score 11-5.
-The Stars fought back with Sophomore
Karolina Stonkus, Senior
Jillian Ross, and Freshman
Valeria Garcia earning kills and making the score 12-9 in favor of the Red Devils.
-DU kept pushing in the second trading points with Eureka and Garcia was a big reason for this earning 2 kills in the middle portion of the set.
-The Red Devils closed the door of set two with back-to-back aces to win the set 25-18.
-Garcia picked up 4 of the 12 Dominican kills in the second set.
-The Stars once again started the set off running, with Abu-Shukhaidem earning a service ace and Pollak following it up with a kill. The Stars held a 4-1 lead until three straight aces by the Red Devils to tie the match up.
-After a 7-6 DU lead in the third set, Eureka went on a 6-0 run to gain a 12-7 lead. The Red Devils did not look back from here and won the third and final set 25-16.
Shining Stars:
-Sophomore
Olivia Pollak showed out in the first match of the season, earning 6 kills and 8 assists in the match.
-Freshman
Valeria Garcia collected 4 kills and led the team in digs with 7 in the match.
-Freshman
Mawedda Abu-Shukhaidem earned herself 9 assists and 2 aces in the match.
-Senior
Jillian Ross had 3 solo blocks in the match.
Leading the Way:
Kills: Pollak (6)
Aces: Abu-Shukhaidem (2)
Blocks: Ross (3)
Assists: Abu-Shukhaidem (9)
Digs: Garcia (7)
What's Next:
Dominican University Women's Volleyball falls to 0-1 on the season and will stay on the road for their next match at Alverno College. The Stars and Inferno will meet for the first time as non-conference opponents Tuesday, September 8
th, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The first serve is for 7:00p.m.
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