By: Illinois College looked sharp in the first set, but couldn’t carry that through the rest of the match in a 3-1 loss to the Green Knights.
Box Score JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – With just one senior on the roster, this was always going to be a year of transition for Head Coach
Kristy Duncan and her team. In the final home match of the season on Saturday afternoon, that youth – for better and for worse – was on display. The Lady Blues jumped out to an early one-set lead on visiting St. Norbert but couldn't maintain their high level of play, eventually falling, 3-1 (25-19, 13-25, 15-25, 11-25).
At various points this season, the Lady Blues have displayed flashes that far exceed the team's 6-14 record. Such was the first set. Unfazed after falling behind, 9-5, Illinois College rebounded to tie the set up at 11-11, then took the lead for good at 14-13. On her Senior Day,
Maurissa Moulton had eight of her team-high 20 digs in the first set.
Erin Washington and
Mikayla Greenwood combined for a block to give the Lady Blues a 24-19 lead and Washington ended it on the next point with her fifth kill of the set.
After that, St. Norbert seemed to wake up and rise to the occasion. In each of the final three sets, the Green Knights scored at least the first three points, taking an early lead and never trailing again. It wasn't that the Lady Blues played poorly; St. Norbert simply found a gear that IC couldn't match. The offensive stats for the Green Knights are staggering. In the second, third and fourth sets combined, St. Norbert had 47 kills against only three attack errors.
Erin Satterlee and
Holly Crocher tied for a team high with 10 kills apiece. Satterlee added three aces from the service line.
Lisa Lowry and
Courtney Louveau each had 18 assists. Louveau reached a double-double in the match with 15 digs.
Illinois College will be on the road for its final seven matches this season, though the first one doesn't take the Lady Blues too far away from home. On Oct. 22, IC and MacMurray will meet across town in the third annual Set, Serve and Rally for a Cure. Admission for the match – which begins at 7 p.m. in MacMurray's Bill Wall Gymnasium – is free, with all proceeds going to Jacksonville's Mia Ware Foundation.
