V-Hawks Fall in Hard Fought Battle

DUBUQUE, Iowa -- The V-Hawks headed south Tuesday night to face off against the Pride of Clarke University. The two teams competed in a closely contested battle, pushing the match to a full five sets. The V-Hawks eventually fell to the pride in a 3-2 hard-fought loss. The V-Hawks fall to 0-2 on the season and the Clarke Pride earn their first win to go 1-0. 

The V-Hawks were offensively led by Ethan Davis and Logan Amdur. Each of the two had 11 kills with Amdur hitting at a 0.308 clip and Davis swinging a 0.214. Additionally, Amdur led the team in assists with 18 while Roman Rzeszutko added 17 assists for the squad. Riley Connors put up nine kills for the V-Hawks as well, hitting a 0.231 percentage. Defensively, Max Dugan led the back court with 13 digs. In the front court, Styrk Myhre wasn't letting anything past him, going for eight blocks (1.6 blocks/set) with two of them being solo. Caleb Koza, Owen Collitt, and Logan Amdur each added four blocks as well. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Set one started off close, with the two teams tying up the game several times. The V-Hawks pulled slightly ahead at 14-12, but the Pride responded. Three straight for the V-Hawks with an ace from Logan Amdur gave the V-Hawks an 18-15 lead late in the set. The Pride responded with a 7-2 run to take a 22-20 lead. A kill by Styrk Myhre kept the game within one, but Clarke rallied off three straight points to win the first set 25-21. 
• The V-Hawks jumped out early in set two, taking an 8-4 lead on kills by Riley Connors and Owen Collitt. The V-Hawks extended their lead to 17-11 when Ethan Davis put in an ace. Two more points for the V-Hawks gave them a 19-12 lead, forcing the Clarke timeout. The V-Hawks held the 23-15 lead, but Clarke responded with six unanswered points. The V-Hawks scored to get it to 24-21, but Clarke was able to tieit at 24-24. Despite their fight, the V-Hawks were able to hold onto their lead, taking the 28-26 win on a Logan Amdur kill from Roman Rzeszutko. 
• The V-Hawks got an early 9-7 lead in the third set. The Pride tied the set up at 10, and took the lead at 13-12. The V-Hawks responded with a 5-0 run with back to back kills from Ethan Davis and back to back blocks from Caleb Koza and Styrk Myhre. The V-Hawks continued extending their lead, going up 22-17 and forcing a Clarke timeout. A block from Caleb Koza and Styrk Myhre gave the V-Hawks a 24-20 lead, and a kill from Ethan Davis gave the V-Hawks a 25-23 third set victory. 
• The V-Hawks struggled early in the fourth, going down 5-0 immediately. They fought back within two points at 6-4. Clarke went on another run of six points and took the 15-6 lead to force a V-Hawk timeout. A kill by Logan Amdur cut off the run, and the V-Hawks began their fight back. They continued to go point for point with the Pride, but their efforts weren't quite enough. The V-Hawks fell in set four 25-16. 
• In a decisive fifth set, the V-Hawks went down 3-0 early. A kill by Owen Collitt slowed the Clarke momentum, but the V-Hawks soon found themselves down 6-2. Two kills from Ethan Davis and a block from Styrk Myhre and Riley Connors put the V-Hawks down one at 7-6. The Pride responded going up 9-6, but three straight for the V-Hawks put the game at a 9-9 tie and force a Clarke timeout. Out of the timeout, the pride went on a 5-0 run, taking the 14-9 lead. A kill from Riley Connors fought to keep it alive, but the Pride would go on to win 15-10. 

UP NEXT

The V-Hawks will travel to Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin this weekend to play in a triangular against Edgewood and Marian. They will face off against Edgewood at 11am and Marian at 5pm.