DUBUQUE, Iowa (Oct. 27, 2023) - The Buena Vista volleyball team returned to American Rivers Conference play on Friday night at Loras College, but it was the Duhawks bouncing back to win three straight and hold off the Beavers 3-1.

BVU started fast in the opening set with 13 kills and just three errors to roll past the Duhawks, 25-12. Loras responded back in a big way in set two with 14 kills and just one error to win the set 25-14.

Both teams went toe-to-toe over the final two sets with both teams hitting over .240 in each. The third set was tied at 19-19 before the Duhawks pulled away with a 6-1 run. In the fourth, it was tied at 12-12 after a kill from freshman Hope Vanderlinden before Loras rolled off three straight and never trailed the rest of the way. BVU tried to stay within striking distance at 18-16, but Loras pulled away and went up 24-16. The Beavers ran off four straight points to force a Loras timeout before the Duhawks closed it out with a kill coming out of the break.

Senior Molly McCauley registered a match-high 13 kills to lead the way for BVU while Vanderlinden went for 11 kills and nine digs. Seniors Rachel Brockney and Skylar chipped in with eight and seven kills, respectively, while freshmen Grace Coble and Jillian split the setting duties and tallied 20 and 18 assists, respectively.

As a team, the Beavers posted their highest attack percentage in any conference match this season at .250. Both teams had 14 attack errors in the match with the Duhawks (12-13, 3-3 A-R-C) holding the slight edge with eight more kills.

Buena Vista is now 6-16 on the year (0-6 A-R-C) and heads across the city to the University of Dubuque on Saturday for a 1 p.m. showdown with the Spartans.