DUBUQUE, Iowa. – No. 14 University of Northwestern (5-3 overall) closed out day two of tournament action at the Loras Invitational with a five-set loss to No. 9 ranked Gustavus Adolphus and a three-set win over Dominican. Gustavus holds a 6-1 record this season, their only loss coming to No. 5 Trinity. Dominican falls to 4-5 overall.
 
No. 9 Gustavus Adolphus 3, No. 14 Northwestern 2 (25-20, 23-25, 25-14, 23-25, 15-11)
 
Northwestern last matched up against Gustavus on Nov. 11, 2017 in Sweet Sixteen play, falling to the Gusties 3-1. After dropping set one 25-20, UNW trailed by two (23-21) before winning four straight points to take set two, 25-23. The Eagles dropped a quick set three, but took the lead and hung around in the fourth, winning the final two points on a Hope Kapelke (Ft. Atkinson, Wisc./Ft. Atkinson) kill followed by a block assisted by Jenay Fuglestad (Maple Grove, Minn./Heritage Christian) and Mariah Halvorsen (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata). The Gusties committed only two errors and hit .227 to take the fifth set and final 3-2 victory.
 
Halvorsen (who entered the weekend ranked fifth in NCAA kills/set) continued her dominance at the net, leading the Eagles with 21 kills. Kalley Schwitters (Clara City, Minn./Central Minnesota Christian) added 13 kills and Fuglestad finished with 11.
 
Sydney Schwitters (Clara City, Minn./MACCRAY) dished out her second-most assists this season, tallying 52. Freya Hanson (Otsego, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville) led with 19 digs, while Halvorsen added 16 – her fifth double-double this season.
 
UNW 3, Dominican 0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-22)
 
Coming off two tough losses to Loras and Gustavus, the Eagles responded with a 3-0 win over Dominican.
 
Northwestern hit .243 to Dominican's .112 and were led by Jenay Fuglestad (Maple Grove, Minn./Heritage Christian), with an impressive 18-kill (three-set) performance, hitting .485.
 
Kalley Schwitters (Clara City, Minn./Central Minnesota Christian) added eight kills and 10 digs for well-rounded play. Halvorsen connected on eight kills and assisted on three blocks, along with freshman Jackie Timm (Iowa Falls, Iowa/Iowa Falls).
 
The Eagles will return to action on Wednesday, September 12^th as they play host to UW-Eau Claire in a 7 p.m. match-up – their final contest before beginning Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) play next weekend.
 
Make sure to follow the Eagles online this season at www.unweagles.com or on Twitter and Instagram at @unwvb.