Pride suffer straight sets defeat to Culver-Stockton in Heart opener

DUBUQUE, Iowa - Following a pair of wins away from home, the Clarke University women's volleyball team opened up Heart of America Athletic Conference play on Saturday evening but were unable to open with a victory as Culver-Stockton College as the Wildcats earned a 3-0 victory.

On their way to the sweep CSC took each set by scores of 25-18, 25-22, and 25-18 as they used big runs in each set to pull away from the Pride and even erase some deficits as well, going from down 9-8 in the first to up 19-9, being down 15-12 in the second to lead 22-15, then extending a 12-8 lead in the third set to a 17-8 lead.

The duo of Madison McClain and Heleine Filipe had strong performances on the attack for the Wildcats as McClain led all attackers with 15 kills on 31 swings and Filipe supported with 11 kills on 23 swing as both only finished with three errors and hit over .300 in the match.

CU's leaders on the attack were Jessica Schaad and Maddy Melvin as they had nine and seven kills respectively but struggled from an efficiency standpoint. Brittney Mundell was was the most efficient for Clarke on the evening as she finished with five kills on 11 attacks with only one error for a .364 hitting percentrage.

Clarke women's volleyball will get back on the road for their next two matches as they'll face Benedictine College and Baker University on back-to-back days on Sept. 9-10 before returning home on Tuesday, Sept. 13.