Elgin, Ill. – The Mount Mary University (MMU) Blue Angels (1-2, 1-10) hit the road for their first away Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference matchup of the year. They travelled to Judson University (JU) (3-3, 1-2) to take on the Eagles. The Eagles flew away with the match despite a strong comeback effort by the Blue Angels. The Eagles won the match, 3-1. 

Inside The Box Score:  

• Abigail Manthey (Mukwonago, Wis.) had a tremendous night, picking up 23 kills.  
• Gabby Saucedo Salas (Flagstaff, Ariz.) added 11 kills 
• Ava Fincher (Owensboro, Ky.) led the offense, assisting 25 times. 
• Rosalinda Palacios (Chicago, Ill.) totaled three service aces and five solo blocks.  

Set One: 

Nevenah Dukic (Oak Creek, Wis.) started things off well for the Blue Angels as she threw the Eagles out of system with a service ace. The Eagles went on a three-point run before an attack error brought Mount Mary back, tying the score at 3-3. The Eagles continued to put strong offensive pressure on the Blue Angels until a big Lilly Severson (Cottage Grove, Wis.) kill started a Blue Angel streak. The Blue Angels secured the score 10-7 until the Eagles flew back in, tying things up at 10-10. The Blue Angels found themselves down 18-13, but thanks to an Andriana White (Erin, Tenn.) ace and a pair of Saucedo Salas kills, MMU climbed back within two points, 19-17. Although the Blue Angels were able to claw back, the Eagles secured set one after a string of aces and aggressive points, 25-18. 

Set Two: 

The start of set two demonstrated Manthey's strong presence. She kept numerous points up for the Blue Angels with her scrappy defense and excellent serve receive.  The Eagles continued feeding their outside attackers, which brought the score in favor of the Eagles, 6-3. Saucedo Salas and Severson bounced right back, bringing Mount Mary within one, 6-5. Judson swiped four straight kills, 10-5. Kills from Fincher and Delnora Darden (Henersonville, Tenn.) attempted to start a Blue Angel spark, 12-8. Unfortunately, what was hoped to be a streak for the Blue Angels, the Eagles capitalized. That was until Palacios grabbed a service ace, 17-13. Another Saucedo Salas kill began to close the gap, 20-16. The Blue Angels went on a late run after capitalizing on the Eagles' errors, which brought the gap to 24-21. However, the Eagles hit the magic number, 25. The Blue Angels dropped set two 25-21. 

Set Three: 

A dagger by Palacios put Mount Mary on the board first in set three. Back-to-back Eagle errors brought the scoreboard to a tie, 2-2. The Eagles scored five straight points, which brought the score to 12-6 before Mount Mary found their rhythm from Saucedo Salas and White, bringing the score tied at 13-13. Palacios put up a big presence at the net, getting two back-to-back blocks to put Mount Mary on top, 15-14. The momentum shifted in favor of the Blue Angels, especially after a White ace sent the ball deep behind the bench. Following the ace, the Eagles snatched two points, tying the game up once again, 17-17. Fincher continued to feed Saucedo Salas as she was on fire, taking the lead back, 19-17. Fincher got herself a kill followed by a service ace, which forced Judson to talk things over as Mount Mary led, 21-19. The momentum for the Blue Angels continued after the timeout. Manthey continued her stellar night in the backcourt, which resulted in Mount Mary winning set three, 25-19. 

Set Four: 

Mount Mary struck first from an Eagles error. Numerous Judson errors, along with a Palacios and Saucedo Salas kill, brought the Blue Angles a 6-1 lead starting set four. The Eagles did not get frazzled and fought back 7-4. Costly errors for MMU allowed Judson to bring the score back to 8-7. Severson, Darden, and White find themselves kills after being fed by Fincher to maintain the lead 11-10. The Eagles grabbed a handful of kills to switch possession into their hands, 15-12. Palacios let the Eagles know that she's a brick wall at the net once again by grabbing her fifth block of the matchup, 15-13. Manthey was demonstrating once again why she wears the libero jersey for the Blue Angels, as she is not letting any ball hit the ground. Saucedo Salas strung together back-to-back kills, and Judson was forced to take a timeout with a Blue Angel lead of 18-17. Coming out of the timeout, the Eagles scored the next two points before an error, bringing the score 19-19. Fincher found Severson in the middle for a huge kill, putting MMU on top, 21-20. Mount Mary took a timeout as they trailed 22-21 late in the fourth set. Kills for each team were scored, and an Eagle error brought the score 24-23 in favor of the Eagles. Ultimately, the Eagles were able to secure the final point and captured set four 25-23 and the match 3-1. 

The Blue Angels will take no break as they head to the Red Hawks Invitational at Ripon College tomorrow, September 12th, against Westminster and Central College at 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., respectively. Coverage for all things MMU volleyball can be found at mtmaryathletics.com. Additional coverage can be found on Instagram @mountmary.vb and Facebook @Mount Mary University Women's Volleyball.