GEORGETOWN, TEXAS -  The Southwestern Volleyball team concluded the Puget Sound Invitational by adding two wins to the column. The Pirates faced the tournament host University of Puget Sound for the first match of the day where they took down the Loggers 3-1. Following that match the Pirates competed against Gustavus Adolphus College in an exhilarating comeback match with a final set score of 3-2, in favor of the Pirates.

Don Flora, head coach of the Pirates shared his thoughts post Puget Sound game stating "Battling and grinding out a well fought for set versus the Loggers. Today was an important step in our development." Flora continued "Izzy Rodriguez had 27 digs to lead the match and we had four attackers with double digits, led by Chloe Blanchard with 12 kills against the Loggers. Those are the types of things that help a team trust one another."

GAME 1 HIGHLIGHTS

• Four different Pirates had double digit kills for the match, those were Chloe Blanchard (12), Emily Marks (12), Tatum Ahrens (11), and Kendall Jurgens (10)

• Senior Lily McWhorter added three block assists, and seven kills to her stat line

GAME 1 NOTES

• As a team the Pirates were hitting .188 for the match, K. Jurgens hit .400 against the Loggers on twenty attempts

• Pirates were led defensively by sophomore Izzy Rodriguez who set a career high in digs with twenty-seven while also tallying four assists

Following the conclusion of game two against Gustavus Adolphus College we asked Head Coach, Don Flora his thoughts on the game he shared "Our staff is incredibly stoked for the team sticking together and executing a reverse sweep over Gustavus Adolphus today. They are a physical team and we give them credit for exposing some things about us early in the match. Yet, we stayed the course and our rhythm in serve receive and our rhythm offensively and defensively connected well late in the match. We out dug them and we had 14 aces, which set the tone in the middle sets of the match. This is a high value win for this budding team. Now it's time to do our homework, watch film, and fine tune the areas where we can grow our level of execution."

GAME 2 HIGHLIGHTS

• Freshman Taylor Johnson made her season debut filling up her stat line with twenty assists, one kill, six digs, and three service aces

• Annika Flora assisted Pirate hitters twenty seven times and dug eleven balls defensively

• Lauren McIntyre posted three service aces and thirteen digs

GAME 2 NOTES

• Southwestern served fourteen aces against Gustavus Adolphus and went for seventy-seven points

• First-year outside hitter, Tatum Ahrens concluded the weekend with thirty-three kills, twelve digs, and two service aces

UP NEXT

• Southwestern Volleyball will be in Georgetown, Texas this weekend as they host the SU Invitational starting Thursday, September 4th where they will compete against Texas Lutheran University at 6:00 PM for their first home game of the season!