ST. JOSEPH – Day 2 at the Saint Benedict Labor Day Weekend Tournament looked very similar to the first day of action for the University of Northwestern volleyball team as the Eagles were unable to come home with a victory in their opening weekend of competition. UNW dropped a four-set match to 25^th-ranked Wisconsin-Stevens Point before losing in three sets to Bethel University.

Northwestern posted a strong comeback in the first set against the pointers, rallying from an 18-13 deficit to win 25-23. That was the only set the Eagles would take all day though as Stevens Point posted 25-19, 25-21 and 25-17 set victories to come from behind and win the match.

UNW hit .164 throughout the four sets, but the Pointers nearly hit .300 as UWSP connected on 58 of 137 attempts at the net, adding 15 blocks compared to just five for the Eagles. Cari Miller (West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley) had a team-high 16 kills for Northwestern as the junior had a personal attacking rate of .462, but Northwestern's very early-season struggle with injuries mounted throughout the game, leaving the Eagles to fight two battles – one against the Pointers and one against the injury bug.

Kendra Korporal (Sumner, Iowa /Sumner-Fredericksburg) added 13 kills and Krista Stoltz (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) was good for 49 assists while Lexi Bertsch (Andover, Minn./Meadow Creek Christian) recorded 17 digs on defense for UNW. Allison Davis and Emma Brunkhorst each had 15 kills for Stevens Point, a team that Northwestern will see again next Saturday at the Augsburg Invitational.

Just nine points separated Bethel and Northwestern in both teams' last match of the tournament, but it was the Royals who came out on top. Carlee Hoppe had a 16-kill performance for Bethel as Ashlyn Hucky had 39 assists, moving the Royals to 2-2 on the weekend. For Northwestern, Lizzy Potratz (Oshkosh, Wis./Valley Christian ) had her best match of the young season with 12 kills and a .367 hitting percentage as Stoltz racked up 37 assists. Northwestern hit .224 as a team, but Bethel connected for 11 more kills throughout the match. UNW will also see the Royals again this season as the two teams are scheduled for a rematch on Sept. 14 at a tournament hosted by Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Following the Eagles' matches on Saturday, UNW libero Lexi Bertsch (Andover, Minn./Meadow Creek Christian) was one of nine players named to the all-tournament team.

Still in search of its first win of the 2013 season, Northwestern will gladly take a few days off to rest and recuperate before the two-day Augsburg tournament on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 6 and 7. The Eagles will open the event with a match against Gustavus Adolphus College on Friday at 2 p.m. in Si Melby Hall in Minneapolis.