CHICAGO – With two highly-ranked opponents on the opposite side of the court, the University of Chicago volleyball team went the distance in both of its Saturday home matches. The Maroons lost 3-2 to No. 11-ranked University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire before bouncing back with a 3-2 win over No. 4-ranked Hope College.

The No. 19-ranked Maroons are now 11-6 on the season.

Wisconsin-Eau Claire 3, UChicago 2

The visiting Blugolds (19-2 record) closed out the first set with a 12-3 run to take the match lead, 25-15. UChicago returned the favor by pulling away late in the second set to win 25-23, capped by a kill from senior Temilade Adekoya.

The Maroons then hit .306 in the third set. A decisive 9-1 run midway through the set boosted the home team to a 25-19 win. However, the offense dried up in the fourth and fifth set as UChicago was limited to a combined .026 hitting percentage. UW-Eau Claire took advantage of its opportunities, winning the fourth set 25-14 and the fifth set 15-11.

First-year Emma Lotts put away 12 kills offensively while adding four blocks defensively. Junior Ellie Alden contributed 10 kills, five blocks and five digs. Adekoya posted a double-double of 11 kills and 13 digs. Senior Audra Berg swung at a .450 clip with nine kills, seven digs and five blocks. Sophomore setter Maya Patel put up 46 assists and 11 digs. Defensively, first-years Bettye Igbenebor and Julia Craig finished with 21 digs and 12 digs, respectively.

UChicago's defense finished with 11 blocks but struggled at the service line with 13 errors.

UChicago 3, Hope 2

Hope entered the evening match riding a 13-match winning streak with an overpowering offense that was swinging at a .257 clip. But the Maroon defense did not allow the visitors to get on track with their normal efficiency. The Flying Dutch were held to a season-low .118 hitting percentage in the match. UChicago finished with 10 blocks and 99 digs across five sets.

The first set went to extra points before Hope pulled out the win 28-26. The visiting side then charged to a 7-2 lead in set two before the Maroons strung together six-straight points in response. UChicago came up clutch at the end with a solo block by sophomore Ella Mao and a set-ending kill by Alden to make it 25-23.

UChicago never trailed in set three (25-17), but Hope extended the match by edging out a fourth-set win 25-23.

In the fifth set, the Flying Dutch went ahead 9-8. But the Maroons dug in and came through in the final points to finish off the victory 15-11.

Alden proved hard to stop with 18 kills and a .417 hitting percentage. She also served up three aces and made four blocks. Mao collected 12 kills, four digs and three blocks. Lotts put up 10 kills. Berg and sophomore Christine Jurgens combined for 17 kills and seven blocks. Patel set a new season high with 55 assists to go with 16 digs. The digs category featured 21 by Craig, 16 by Adekoya and 11 by Igbenebor.

NEXT MATCH:

• Tuesday, Oct. 12 @ 7:00 PM – UChicago at Carthage College