EAU CLAIRE, Wis. - The Martin Luther College volleyball team opened the two-day Sandy Schumacher Tournament at UW-Eau Claire with a pair of defeats. The Knights lost to UW-River Falls 3-0 (25-13, 25-15, 25-18), and then lost to St. Thomas 3-1 (25-13, 23-25, 25-23, 25-14).

UWRF 3, MLC 0

The Knights opened the tournament with a 3-0 defeat to UW-River Falls.

MLC struggled on the attack in the match, hitting .010 compared to .231 for the Falcons.

Kira Grev and Jade St. Germaine led MLC with seven and six kills, respectively. Emily Neeb finished with a match-high 18 digs, while Ruth Buchholz recorded five blocks.

UST 3, MLC 1

The Knights took a set from traditional power St. Thomas, but were unable to extend the match further in a 3-1 defeat to finish the day.

MLC lost the first set, but came back to take the second set 25-23. The Knights battled all the way to the end of the third, but the Tommies were able to finish the set on the way to the 3-1 win.

St. Germaine (ten kills) and Grev (nine kills) were the top MLC hitters, while Rylee Weisensel added nine kills and a team-high four blocks. Neeb once again led MLC with ten digs.

The Knights fell to 9-17 on the season with the two defeats. They will return to action tomorrow (Saturday, October 15) at UW-Eau Claire for day two of the tournament. The action starts at 12 p.m., when MLC plays UW-Eau Claire.