SUPERIOR, WIS.—The Hamline University women's volleyball team dropped a 3-2 (25-14, 25-21, 23-25, 23-25, 15-10) decision to UW-Superior, followed by a 3-1 loss to Mary Hardin-Baylor (25-21, 25-21, 23-25, 25-22) on day two of the UW-Superior Subway Stinger Classic on Saturday.

The Pipers fall to 2-6 on the season.

UW-Superior 3, Hamline 2 (25-14, 25-21, 23-25, 23-25, 15-10)

A reverse sweep was within striking distance for the Pipers, who found themselves in a 2-0 hole after 25-14, 25-21 losses. 

The Pipers, who trailed for much of the third set, took their first lead of the frame at 14-13. Superior responded with seven kills, which resulted in a 23-20 cushion. They didn't score another point in the frame, as Hamline ended things with a 5-0 run behind stellar serving from Mandy Dierks. Her service ace, along with a kill a piece from Riley Melby and Lauren Wilborn engineered the run to secure a 25-23 victory, and narrow their match deficit to 2-1.

The fourth set resulted in four lead changes and kills from seven different Pipers. A kill from Riley Melby and Grace Bathurst, as well as a pair of Yellowjacket attack errors dug Hamline out of a 22-21 hole en route to a 25-23 win to knot the match 2-2.

Hamline couldn't carry that momentum into set five, where the Yellowjackets jumped to an 8-1 lead and mustered 11 kills. It was more than enough cushion in a 15-10 win.

Wilborn paced Hamline with 11 kills, followed by 10 from Bathurst. Six Pipers had double-digit digs, led by Jenna Rubbelke's 30. Rubbelke added eight assists, while Cameryn Sand had a team-leading 24 assists for Hamline. Dierks finished with three aces.

Ayla Oltmanns paced Superior with 17 kills, while Makenna Holbein had 15 kills and 27 digs.

Mary Hardin-Baylor 3, Hamline 1 (25-21, 25-21, 23-25, 25-22)

Both teams combined to hit just .096 in the match. 

The Pipers avoided the match sweep in set three, where they never trailed despite winning a close 25-23 battle. The reverse sweep was a possibility for Hamline, who held a pair of five-point leads at 20-15 and 22-17 behind three kills a piece from Eckelman and Wilborn.

This ignited a Crusaders squad that responded with six kills, which engineered their 8-0 run that sealed a come-from-behind 25-22 win and 3-1 match victory.

Melby paced Hamline with 13 kills, followed by 12 from Wilborn. Jenna Rubbelke had 34 digs and four assists. Cameryn Sand ran the Hamline offense with 36 assists. 

Baylee Mobley led Mary Hardin-Baylor with 12 kills.

The Pipers will return to action on Friday, September 13, day one of the Ripon Tournament. They'll face Alverno at 6 p.m., and Maranatha Baptist at 8 p.m.

UW-SUPERIOR SUBWAY STINGER ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

• Lindsey Baribeau (St. Scholastica)
• Kendall Harrington (Mary Hardin-Baylor)
• Natalie Hughes (Mary Hardin-Baylor)
• Grace Kieselhorst (Martin Luther)
• Ayla Oltmanns (UW-Superior)
• Olivia Buol (Marian)
• Jenna Rubbelke (Hamline)