MILWAUKEE – In their season and home opener, Mount Mary University volleyball lost 3-0 to Crown College. The Bloechl Center was filled with Blue Angels fans to begin the 2015 campaign, and the fans saw this young team make some big steps in game one.

A solid core of starters from 2014 returned to the Bloechl for the Blue Angels opener. One of which, Rachel Barker (So./Milwaukee, Wis.) never missed a match in 2014 and she started her 2015 season on the right foot offensively. Barker was all over the court, and the stat sheet showed just a bit of what she contributed to the match. A team leading six kills for her team while getting seven digs for her squad as Barker did her best to keep the game close.

Another sophomore had a gritty performance, Payton Hintz (Almond, Wis.) did all she could in this one as well. Hintz tallied a team leading 12 assists and 12 digs. Hintz is really taking the success from last season at the setter position into 2015 as she continues to be the maestro for the Blue Angels volleyball team.

Although there were many solid individual performances, the Storm seemed relentless in their attacks and just would not surrender the lead for long. The rotation for Crown went deep as they played 17 throughout the entire match. Kaitlin Ruiter led the way for the Storm with six kills of her own, while Brittany Gamer led Crown with nine assists.

The Blue Angels will enjoy their Labor Day and then host Rockford University Tues. Sept. 8 at the Bloechl with the match beginning at 7:00 pm.