Lisle, Ill. – The MSOE women's volleyball team closed out their weekend at the Benedictine Classic with matchups against Concordia University Texas and Wartburg College.  The Raiders were swept by the Tornadoes in three nail-biting nerve-wracking games, before falling to the always-dangerous Wartburg in another sweep.

RESULTS
MSOE RAIDERS – 0
Concordia Texas Tornados – 3

MSOE RAIDERS – 0
Wartburg Knights - 3

HOW IT HAPPENED

• vs. Concordia University Texas
  • All three games of the contest against the Tornados were decided by less than three points as MSOE and Concordia Texas traded rallies all morning.  Annabella Visak helped the Raiders take a 9-4 lead thanks to a couple of service aces, while Morgan Borchardt would assist on three straight Raider points to maintain the five point lead at 13-8.  The Raiders would extend their lead up to as much as seven points, before the Tornadoes were able to bring themselves within one thanks to a flurry of attack errors by MSOE.  With a 21-18 lead, the Raiders were unable to put away the Tornados, who seized the opportunity to take a 22-21 lead over the Red and White, who fought to take it back but would ultimately fall in Game 1 25-22. 
  • Concordia Texas jumped into the driver's seat early in Game 2, maintaining a multi-point lead the whole game, leading by as much as eight points late in the contest.  After a service ace from Madalynn Skwarek cut the Tornado lead to five, Olivia Bartels set-up Samantha Johnson for the kill and bring some momentum back to MSOE.  With the Tornadoes up 24-19, Borchardt would help the Raiders rip off three straight points, but the comeback would crumble as Concordia took Game 2 25-22.
  • The Raiders were slow to start in Game 3, trailing 9-4 before a nine-point Raider run, capped off by an Ava Larson kill, gave MSOE a 13-9 lead.  The Tornadoes would work their way back to knot the game up at 15 points apiece, before Concordia would begin to separate, taking a 20-16 lead on the way to another 25-22 win.  Ashley Murphy finished the morning contest with 10 kills, while Bartels registered 17 assists.
• vs. Wartburg College
  • The Raiders took a 5-2 lead in Game 1 off a run of attack errors by the Knights, trading blows back-and-forth before a kill from Larson put MSOE ahead 9-5.  The Knights would slowly work their way back into the mix, tying the game up at 12-12.  MSOE and Wartburg would go point-for-point until a pair of kills and a block gave the Knights an 18-16 advantage.  The Raiders would stay in it until the very end, as a kill from Visak made it 22-21 in favor of the Knights, who would go on to capture the last the points and take Game 1.
  • The Knights dominated the afternoon from there, winning Game 2 by a score of 25-16 before closing out the Raiders in Game 3 with a score of 25-11.  Emma Schattschneider led the way for MSOE with 11 kills, while Borchardt logged 14 assists. Both Visak and Skwarek tallied double-digit digs against Wartburg.

WHO'S ON DECK
The Raiders will head to scenic Winona, Minn. for the Saint Mary's Invite next weekend, where they will open their road trip with a matchup against Buena Vista University, on Friday, September 6^th.  The action is set to begin at 5:00PM.

For up-to-the-minute MSOE Raiders news, visit us at www.go-raiders.com. You can also follow the Red & White on Twitter @MSOE_Raiders and @msoe_raiders on Instagram.