WAVERLY, Iowa-- The Wartburg volleyball team (14-4 overall) fell to UW-LaCrosse (13-5) 3-2 Friday at its own Wartburg Invite.

The Knights won the first two sets, 25-23 and 25-16 before the Eagles won the next three, 25-21, 25-17 and 15-9.



Three players from the Orange and Black finished in double digits kills. Junior Lizzy Blough (Dike) led the team with 14 on the night and had a double-double with 16 digs.

Seniors Aryn Jones (Marion) and Maddie Miller (Johnston) finished with 13 and 12, respectively.

Junior Mallary Erbes (Urbandale) had 28 assists and senior Maria Brown (Peosta) tallied 20. Brown finished with a double-double as she added 11 digs.

Freshman Katie Foster (Charles City) had a team-best 23 digs.

Wartburg held the team advantage in hitting percentage (.226 vs. .220). Each team had 71 digs and nine total blocks.

The score of the first set remained close and was tied for the final time at 21 all. The Knights pulled ahead on a Blough kill and a UWL hitting error, and earned their final two points on kills from Miller.

The Orange and Black led 13-9 in the second set and really built their margin with a five-point run late in the set to win comfortably.

The Eagles jumped to an early 5-1 lead in the third, but Wartburg hung close and tied it at 21-21. UWL won the next four straight points to win the frame. In the fourth set, UW-LaCrosse took the 9-5 lead and never looked back. The Eagles led 8-5 midway through the fifth and used three two-point runs to claim the match.

The Knights return to the court tomorrow at 10 a.m. against No. 11 Gustavus in a re-match of last season's NCAA First-round matchup.