DUBUQUE, Iowa – The St. Olaf College volleyball team suffered a three-set loss to Coe College and a five-set loss to Central College on the opening day of the Loras Invitational on Friday evening at Lillis Court.

In its first match, St. Olaf (4-4) was swept by Coe (5-4), which received votes in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top 25, by scores of 25-15, 25-22, 25-19. Later, the Oles breezed through the third set to take a two-sets-to-one lead before Central (9-1) rallied for a 21-25, 25-21, 13-25, 25-22, 15-9 victory in the first meeting between the two programs since 2008.

St. Olaf looks to snap its three-match losing streak when it faces the University of Dubuque at 12 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 16 at Stoltz Sports Center.

Coe 3, St. Olaf 0 | Box Score

Fifth-year senior Selena Rodriguez had a match-high 17 digs to lead St. Olaf defensively, but Coe got a combined 30 kills from Kelsey Hansel, Maggie Furlong, and Grace Lueken to sweep the Oles to start the evening. Furlong and Hansel were both in doubles figures in kills with 13 and 10, respectively.

Senior Anysia Caille was the lone Ole to reach double figures in kills in the match, tallying 10 while hitting .318 in the loss. Classmate Catherine Moore added seven while also hitting over .300 at .313, but St. Olaf hit just .157 as a team – and just .078 outside of Caille and Moore – over the three sets.

Furlong had six kills on nine swings to lead Coe to a 25-15 win in the opening set, as the Kohawks started the match by winning the first four points and never trailed in the set. St. Olaf overcame the early 4-0 deficit to tie the set at 11-11, but Coe won four-straight points as part of a 7-1 run to open up an 18-12 lead and went on to win the final six points of the set.

Five Oles had multiple kills in the second set, which was a much tighter affair than the opener. After trailing 13-8 midway through the set, St. Olaf won five points in a row to tie the set at 20-20 before the teams traded points to leave the score tied for the seventh time at 22-22. Coe broke the deadlock on a kill by Hansel to spark a 3-0 finish to the set and take a two-sets-to-none lead.

Rodriguez had eight of her 17 digs in the third set to help the Oles limit the Kohawks to a .128 attack percentage, but Coe held St. Olaf to a .106 clip to finish off the sweep. An ace by Christophersen on the opening point gave the Oles just their second and final lead of the match. The Kohawks led by as many as eight at 22-14 before the Oles got within four with a 4-0 run, but it was too little too late, as Coe won three of the last four points.

Central 3, St. Olaf 2 | Box Score

After hitting just .127 over the first three sets, Central hit a combined .339 over the final two sets to claim the come-from-behind victory. Gracie Pierson had a match-high 14 kills to pace the Dutch.

Moore and Caille were both in double figures in kills for St. Olaf, as Moore registered a team-high 12 kills and Caille added 11. Rodriguez contributed 14 digs and five assists, while sophomore Morgan Ryan hit five aces in the loss.

St. Olaf overcame six service errors in the opening set by holding Central to a .036 attack percentage to take the set, 25-21. After trailing 5-1 early, the Oles took an 11-10 lead and did not trail the rest of the way. Leading 19-17, a kill by first year Lilah Van Scoyoc started a 3-0 run that gave St. Olaf its largest lead of the set at 22-17, and the Oles held on over the remainder of the set.

St. Olaf had 16 kills and hit .429 in the second set, but four aces by Central and four service errors by the Oles allowed the Dutch to take the set, 25-21, to even the match at a set apiece. Central held a 13-9 advantage midway through the set before St. Olaf got within a point at 17-16, but the Dutch held onto the lead to tie the match.

In the third, the Oles eased to a 25-13 set win by hitting .375 and limiting the Dutch to a .074 percentage, as St. Olaf did not commit a single attack error in the set. Ryan hit back-to-back aces as part of a 5-1 start to the set and, later, the Oles won eight-straight points to blow the set open at 15-3.

Central got its offense going in the third, recording 17 kills and hitting .324 to extend the match to a decider. St. Olaf again got out to a 5-1 lead early on, but Central won 11 of the next 15 points to open up a 12-9 lead that it would hold onto the rest of the way. The Dutch recorded kills on 10 of their 15 points in the decider and used a 7-2 run to turn a 6-4 edge into a 13-6 cushion.