ELMHURST, Ill. – The UW-Stevens Point volleyball team (16-12) suffered a pair of five-set defeats at the Elmhurst College Invitational on Friday (Oct. 19).  The Pointers opened the day with a 3-2 loss to Carthage (17-8) before falling to host Elmhurst (10-16) in five sets.
 
April Gehl (Hilbert, Wis./Hilbert) continued to pile up double-doubles with two more on the day.  She had 16 kills and 12 digs against Carthage and added 19 kills and 20 digs versus the Bluejays.
 
Ellie Adams (Racine, Wis./William Horlick) also had a double-double with 34 assists and 16 digs against Elmhurst.  She had 42 assists in the opener versus Carthage.
 
Freshman Emma Peterson (Bloomington, Minn./Thomas Jefferson) led all players with 21 digs in the match against Carthage.  She added 13 more against Elmhurst.
 
UWSP 2, Carthage 3 (19-25, 25-20, 19-25, 25-11, 10-15)
A 5-1 run early in the first set gave Carthage a 5-3 lead and the Lady Reds didn't trail the remainder of the set.  Gehl and Rachel Hein (Muskego, Wis./Muskego) had three kills each to keep UWSP close.
 
Gehl had a air of kills and Peterson added an ace as the Pointers jumped ahead 7-3 in the second set.  The see-saw set saw CC up 20-18 late until Hein buried a kill for UWSP.  She sparked a 7-0 run that included two kills by Maddie Lawson (West Allis, Wis./Nathan Hale) and another by Gehl to even the match at 1-1.
 
The Pointers trailed from start to finish in the third set.  Gehl had five kills and Hailey Jarr (Bloomer, Wis./Bloomer) added three more, but UWSP found itself down 2-1.
 
Gehl served up an ace to put UWSP up 2-1 and the Pointers never looked back.  A pair of kills by Jarr extended the lead to 11-5.  Ahead 17-11, Lawson served up an ace and served out the set to send it to the decisive fifth set.
 
Kills by Gehl, Hein, Lawson and Emme kept the set tied until 5-5.  Four-straight by Carthage put the Lady Reds ahead and the Pointers were unable to complete the comeback.
 
UWSP 2, Elmhurst 3 (25-19, 21-25, 22-25, 25-23, 7-15)
A trio of kills by Gehl and Lawson helped the Pointers to a 10-7 lead in the first set.  Later, kills by Jarr, Adams and Lawson put UWSP ahead 22-17.  A kill by Emme set up set point and Gehl served an ace to seal the win.
 
Two kills by Jarr and another by Gehl put UWSP up 7-5 I the second set.  Elmhurst used a 9-2 run in the middle of the set to take a 17-12 lead.  A pair of kills by Gehl pulled UWSP within 21-18, but UWSP just couldn't catch the Bluejays in the set.
 
Gehl sparked a three-point run as UWSP tried to dig out of an early 5-0 hole.  Kills by Jarr and Gehl helped UWSP stay close at 18-16.  Another kill by Gehl and an attack error by EC tied the set a 22-22, but the Bluejays scored the final three points to take the set.
 
Megan Lau (Potter, Wis./Hilbert) sparked a 6-2 run as UWSP pulled ahead 9-7 in the fourth set.  A block by Gehl and Jarr initiated a 7-1 spurt as UWSP went up 20-15.  Elmhurst battled back to tie the set at 23-23, by a Jarr kill and block from Emme and Hein sent the match to the fifth set.
 
Kills by Jarr, Adams and Lawson put UWSP ahead 6-4 in the fifth.  The Bluejays followed with an 11-1 run to close out the set and the match.
 
UWSP wraps up the weekend with a 12:30 p.m. match against No. 13 Hope College on Saturday (Oct. 20).