SAINT PAUL, Minn. – The Yellowjacket volleyball team was back on the road Tuesday, headed to the Twin Cities for a date with Hamline.
 
The Yellowjackets were looking to get back on track Tuesday, after falling to Northwestern in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) play Saturday.
 
It wasn't meant to be on this night, as the Pipers won a pair of close sets on the way to a 3-0 win over the Yellowjackets at Hutton Fieldhouse.
 
With the loss, the Yellowjackets (15-9, 7-3 UMAC) have now dropped consecutive matches for the fourth time this season. The silver lining, however, is they have followed the first three instances with win streaks and will look to do the same down the stretch of the UMAC regular season.
 
Hamline came out firing on all cylinders in the opening set, jumping out to an early 7-2 lead. The lead reached as many as eight when the Pipers moved in front 17-9. That's when the Yellowjackets got going, however, and they began to chip into the Hamline lead. A pair of Hamline errors and kills by Sydney Bader and Kaylin Plautz (Elk River, Minn./Elk River) closed the gap, bringing the Yellowjackets to within three. Later in the set, back-to-back kills by Marena Saeger (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater Area) got the Yellowjackets to within a point, 18-19. The teams traded points, and another kill from Smith made it 23-24, but Hamline closed things out to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
 
The second set followed a bit of a different script than the first. Things started tight, with the teams going back-and-forth. A Hamline attack error got the 'Jackets within a point, but the Pipers countered with a 3-0 run to give themselves some breathing room to the tune of a 10-6 lead. A Saeger kill cut the Hamline lead to 12-9, but that's when the Pipers took off. Hamline rattled off seven straight points to start a 9-1 run to blow things open. Hamline would take the set 25-14.
 
In the third set the teams again swapped points early before Hamline went on a small run to open up a 7-3 lead. The teams again went back-and-forth before the Yellowjackets took four-of-five points to pull to within one. Hamline again would put distance between itself and UWS, but the 'Jackets again rallied. Late in the set, with Hamline holding match point, Plautz and Bader had kills to again pull the Yellowjackets to within one, but it wasn't enough and Hamline took the set 25-23 to sweep the match.
 
Saeger and Plautz each finished the match with eight kills to lead the Yellowjackets, who had an attack percentage of .079. Saeger led the Yellowjackets individually with a .318 attack percentage. Lizzy Schmidt (Twin Lakes, Wis./Wilmot Union) had 14 assists, while Colleen Claude (Centuria, Wis./Homeschool) added 10 for the Yellowjackets.
 
On defense, the Yellowjackets were led by Jenna Anderson (Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji), who finished with 26 digs. She and Lindsey Racine (Grand Rapids, Minn./Grand Rapids) (12 digs) were the only two Yellowjackets with double-digit digs.
 
The Yellowjackets return home Friday when they will host Minnesota Morris in a pivotal UMAC match with major tournament implications. The opening serve is set for 7 p.m. at Mertz Mortorelli Gym.