NORTHFIELD, Minn. — Crown volleyball started out their season with a four-game tournament hosted by St. Olaf. Facing some tough teams from around the region, Crown struggled to find a win, falling to Macalester, Bethany Lutheran, UW-River Falls, and Hamline. However, there was hope in the matches, as Crown took Bethany Lutheran to five sets, a huge improvement over last year's performances against the UMAC squad. 

Game 1: Macalester vs. Crown
In the first game of the tourney, junior Christine Anderson led the Storm with ten kills. Junior Karissa Steinkamp led Crown with three aces; Fellow junior Sarah Reinke led Crown with eleven assists, and first-year Gracie Zieroth led Crown with 15 digs. 

Game 2: Bethany Lutheran vs. Crown
In the second game of the tourney, Steinkamp led the Storm with eleven kills. Reinke led Crown with four aces and Alina Rolfe led Crown with three blocks. First-year Elizabeth Clark led Crown with 20 assists, and junior Madeline Svoboda led the Storm with 24 digs. 

Crown held with the Vikings for five sets and had a dominating 25-14 fourth set to get to the winner-take-all set. Crown's positive hit percentage of .105 bested Bethany's .09. 

Game 3: UW-River Falls vs. Crown
In game three, Anderson led Crown with eight kills and three aces. Clark led the Storm with 16 assists and Svoboda led Crown with 23 digs. 

Game 4: Crown vs. Hamline
In the final game against the undefeated Hamline, Anderson led Crown with six kills. Clark led the team with 12 assists and Svoboda had 12 digs. 

Crown Volleyball continues their season on Wednesday as they head to Augsburg before going to the Grinell/Central tournmant next weekend. The volleyball program starts the year on a long road trip, with their first matchup in the Wild Athletic Center scheduled for September 18th in a UMAC triangle meet with North Central and Northwestern.