UW-Stout 3, Yellowjackets 2

SUPERIOR, Wis.: Live by the sword, die by the sword. The street giveth and the street taketh away. What goes around, comes around. Any of these adages can describe the 2018 Yellowjacket volleyball season.

A team with a propensity to play five sets, the Yellowjackets rolled in matches that went the distance through the first half of the season. But when the calendar changed to October, so, too changed the fortunes of the Yellowjackets. Once 4-1 in matches that went five sets, the Yellowjackets now sit at 4-4 when going the distance after dropping a 3-2 decision to UW-Stout Tuesday night at Mertz Mortorelli Gym.

The Yellowjackets opened up a quick lead in the first set, moving ahead 7-2 before the Blue Devils went on a run and drew even at 8-8. Every time the Yellowjackets got some breathing room, the Blue Devils would battle back. They tied the set 22-22 before the Yellowjackets took a time out. They came out of the break and quickly closed out the set, taking the lead on a kill from Hannah Goggleye (Calumet, Minn./Greenway), moving to match point on an Emily VerWay (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley) service ace and getting the win on a Stout attack error.

In the second set the Yellowjackets again moved out to an early lead, winning eight of the first ten points. But as they did in the first set, the Blue Devils closed the gap, getting to within one at 17-16. From there the Yellowjackets got to the cusp of winning the set, getting a pair of Ashlee Bayer (Cameron, Wis./Cameron) kills sandwiched around three straight from Anna Ribich (Biwabik, Minn./Mesabi East), going on a 6-0 run. Stout got back to within three, but that's as close as it would be and the Yellowjackets took the second set 25-20.

Set three started off tighter than the first two with the teams tied 5-5 early. Stout grabbed the lead from there and later went on a 7-2 run to blow the set open. The Yellowjackets had a 4-0 run late, but it wasn't enough and the Blue Devils were on the board, taking the third set 25-21.

The fourth set was close early, with the teams trading points and leads. Stout moved ahead 14-11 but the Yellowjackets rallied, taking the next five points to put themselves up 16-14. Stout rallied and broke a 19-19 tie to move eahd for good. The Yellowjackets got it to 23-22, but the Blue Devils took the final two points to win the set and even the match at 2-2.

Stout took the early lead in the fifth set and was up 4-1, but the Yellowjackets took the next three points to draw even. Stout again went up by three, and again the Yellowjackets came back, eventually taking an 8-7 lead as the teams traded sides. The Blue Devils went on a 4-0 run after the switch and would hold the lead the rest of the way, holding the Yellowjackets off to win the set 15-11 and the match 3-2.

Taylor Howe (Webster, Wis./Webster) led the Yellowjackets with 13 kills while Cami Sletta (Willmar, Minn./Willmar) and Bayer had 12 and 11, respectively. VerWay had 44 of the 48 Yellowjacket assists. Defensively Karlie Leif (Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji) had a team-leading 27 digs, while VerWay added 19. Bayer and Goggleye each had three blocks.

Up Next: The Yellowjackets (15-9, 10-1 U.M.A.C.) will hit the road for a non-conference match at St. Kate's Friday. It's the second meeting of the year between the two, with the Wildcats winning at Mertz Mortorelli Gym last Wednesday in five sets. Game time from St. Paul, Minnesota is set for 1:00 p.m.