SAINT PAUL, MINN.—The opening day of the St. Paul Tournament was upon the Hamline University women's volleyball team at Hutton Arena on Friday afternoon, when they squared off against Carthage and Concordia (Wis.). The Pipers fell to Carthage 3-0 (25-20, 25-15, 25-18), and dropped a 3-1 decision to Concordia (25-23, 25-22, 21-25, 25-20).

Senior libero Jenna Rubbelke, who entered the day with 153 career services aces, needed just one more to tie Tara Ristau's (1995-98) record of 154. She accomplished that feat, as Rubbelke's four aces throughout both matches puts her at 157.

Hamline falls to 0-2 on the season.

Carthage 3, Hamline 0 (25-20, 25-15, 25-18)

Four lead changes occurred throughout the opening stages of the first set, as back-to-back kills from Lauren Wilborn gave Hamline their latest advantage of the frame at 14-13. This ignited a Firebird squad as Katie Rohe's three kills engineered their 5-0 run that put them in the driver's seat for good at 18-14. The Pipers cut their deficit to one point at 20-19, but couldn't get in front in a 25-20 loss in set one.

Carthage hit .254 throughout the final two sets, where they trailed just once en route to 25-15 and 25-18 victories.

Lauren Wilborn had a game high 10 kills to go with eight digs for Hamline, while Jenna Rubbelke had 15 digs along with one ace. Mandy Dierks chipped in 12 digs and a team-leading two aces. The Piper offense, who hit .155, was set up by Kaitlyn Kotek's 20 assists. Britta Lund had four assisted blocks. 

The Firebirds hit .264 and got nine kills from Kristina Manjlovic. Jenna Damon paced Carthage with 22 digs.

Concordia (Wis.) 3, Hamline 1 (25-23, 25-22, 21-25, 25-20)

Both teams couldn't eclipse the .100 hitting mark, and combined for 60 errors. 

The first frame resulted in seven lead changes. Seven kills from Riley Melby in the opening frame helped propel Hamline to a 23-22 lead before a pair of kills and a service ace sealed a 25-23 win for the Falcons.

The Pipers didn't surrender the driver's seat in the second frame until a 4-0 Concordia run dug them from a 16-13 deficit into a 17-16 edge. The Falcons didn't trail again from that point in a 25-22 win in set two. 

Five service aces were produced by Hamline in set three. All three of Jenna Rubbelke's aces occurred in the frame, which powered the Pipers to a 25-21 win.

The fourth set, which saw four lead changes, saw Hamline in front 15-14. This ignited a Falcon squad that responded with six kills and two services aces from that point forward to lock a 25-20 win.

Riley Melby prevailed with a career-high 17 kills along with a .229 hitting mark for Hamline. Rubbelke had a game-high 24 digs to go with her three aces, while Britta Lund was in on six assisted blocks. Kaitlyn Kotek had 29 assists. 

Paige Stickney led Concordia with 14 kills, while Brianna Lundt and McKenna Otezman each had 14 digs. 

The Pipers will host day two of the St. Paul Tournament at Hutton Arena tomorrow, Saturday, August 31 against St. Norbert at 11 a.m., and Dubuque at 1 p.m.