LIVONIA, Mich. - The Madonna University volleyball team opened the 2019 Julie Martin Memorial Classic with a split as they swept Indiana University - South Bend in the first match of the day before they fell to Doane (Neb.), 3-1.

The Crusaders improve to 7-3 on the season while Doane is 6-4 and IU-South Bend falls to 1-3. 

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
Match 1 vs. IU-South Bend

• The first two sets were almost identical as the Titans jumped out to early leads in both games, but the Blue and Gold closed strong for a 2-0 lead. 
• Set one saw MU score seven straight points to go from down 17-12 to up 19-17. IUSB won seven of the next nine points, but the Crusaders wrapped up the 26-24 win with five straight points behind the service of Jamie Ciacico.
• IU-South Bend jumped out to a 12-6 advantage in set two before Ciacico stepped to the line and led MU to a 14-12 lead which included a pair of kills by Jodie Kelly. The Crusaders scored seven of the final nine points for the 25-22 victory.
• In the third set, the Blue and Gold were able to play from ahead for the majority of the game which saw MU win nine of the final 11 points en route to the 25-20 win.

Match 2 vs. Doane

• The offense struggled in the second game of the day as the Tigers used an 11-0 run to build a 10-point lead and, although Madonna won 8-of-9 points to make the game close, they never led in the 25-19 loss.
• A trio of three-point and a pair of four-point runs in set two, which included an 8-3 rally over the final 11 points, gave the Nebraska program the 25-15 win.
• In game three, the Blue and Gold won eight of the first 10 points and answered every Tigers rally with one of their own for the 25-19 win. 
• Doane used a 4-0 run to push the lead to 15-10 and despite a 5-0 run which cut the deficit to three, the Tigers won two of the next three points for the 25-18 win.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• .229 - Madonna hit .229 in the win over IU-South Bend
• .474 - Erica LaBaere paced the offense with a .474 attack percentage and led the team with three block assists
• 11/11/10  - LaBaere and Kelly led the team with 11 kills and Tauri Hintz added 10 in the sweep of the Titans
• 14 - Kelly led the offense against Doane with 14 kills
• 36-35 - Betsy Cook continued to excel as the setter for the Blue and Gold with 71 assists in the two games

TOURNAMENT RESULTS

• The University of Saint Francis (Ind.) defeats Union College (Ky,), 3-0
• Doane defeats Union, 3-0
• Doane defeats Bethel University (Ind.), 3-0
• St. Francis def. IU-South Bend, 3-1
• Union defeats Bethel, 3-0

UP NEXT

• Madonna wraps up the Julie Martin Memorial Classic on Saturday against Saint Francis (Ind.) at 10 a.m. and Bethel at 2 p.m. Live coverage will be available via the Madonna Athletics Network at www.mucrusaders.com/live with complete tournament coverage here: https://mucrusaders.com/feature/2019JulieMartinClassic

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