NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The Carleton volleyball team capped off its weekend hosting the Carleton/St. Olaf Invitational on Saturday at West Gym, falling to a pair of top-tier opponents in straight sets. 
 
The Knights dropped their first match of the day to the University of Chicago, who received votes in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) NCAA Division III Top-25 Poll.  Carleton finished the afternoon with a straight-set loss to 19th-ranked University of Dubuque.
 
Match 1 – Carleton 0, UChicago 3
 
Carleton opened the day by scoring the first two points against the Maroons, who were coming off a 3-1 loss to Macalester in a match played previously on Saturday at West Gym.  Chicago then responded with an 8-1 run that gave the visitors an 8-3 lead to grab the momentum.  The Knights responded with a run of their own, scoring six straight points to take a 9-8 lead.  Back-and forth the teams went taking their respective turns with runs until a 6-1 spurt from Carleton tied the set 19-19.  But the Maroons ripped off six of the final eight points of the set to take the opener 25-21.
 
It was more of the same in the second set, as each team rattled off points in chunks to pull ahead or back within striking distance.  Eight times throughout the frame, one of the two teams scored three or more consecutive points.  The Knights used a 3-0 run to tie the score 18-18 late in the set, but Chicago used a spurt of five straight to grab a 23-18 cushion.  Though the Knights scored four of the next five to pull back within two points (24-22), the Maroons finished the set off with a kill from Caroline Sele to grab a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
The Maize and Blue came out to grab the momentum early in the third.  Three straight kills gave the Knights an early 3-0 lead.  They would relinquish that lead just once (9-8) before grabbing it right back with a quick 4-0 run.  The lead was back to three (20-17) on a kill from senior Sylvia Dixon as the home team looked to extend the match.  After the Maroons fought back to take the lead, the Knights scored consecutive points to take a 23-22 lead, but Chicago was too much coming down the stretch to finish off the set 27-25 and collect the sweep. 
 
First-year Sami Torresin led the way for the Knights offense with seven kills.  Fellow first-year Ella Goolsby followed with six.  Junior Megan Smith put up 19 assists to go along with nine digs, while Sylvia Dixon (15) and sophomore Madeleine Dimitre (11) were posted double-figure digs.
 
Match 2 – Carleton 0, Dubuque 3
 
Carleton went toe-to-toe with the 19th-ranked team in the country to start its second match of the day.  The Knights led 14-10 midway through on a service ace from Megan Smith.  But a 10-2 run by the Spartans flipped the momentum of the match, giving the visitors a 20-16 lead.  The difference remained four through the rest of the set as Dubuque closed it out with a 25-21 win.
 
Again, the Knights jumped out to an early lead in the second.  Carleton led 8-4 through the early going before another big run gave the Spartans the cushion they were looking for.  Dubuque outscored the Maize and Blue 9-1 over the next 10 points to gain control of the set 13-9.  The lead was down to two points (16-14), but another run for the Spartans, this time 7-1, stretched that lead to 23-15 on the way to a 25-17 win.
 
It was a different script in the third.  The visitors jumped out to an early lead and never looked back.  The Spartans scored the first four points of the frame, a lead that quickly doubled to eight (11-3).  Dubuque finished the set scoring four of the final five points to close out the match with its largest lead (25-15) and collect the straight-sets win.
 
Dixon was a steady contributor again for the Knights in their second match, posting seven kills and six digs.  Megan Smith put up 10 assists, followed closely by senior Isabel Macia with nine.  Madeleine Dimitre collected 12 digs as the libero.
 
Up Next for the Knights
The Knights will be back in action on Wednesday night when they travel across town to take on rival St. Olaf in the Battle 4 the Bell.  That match is set to begin at 7pm at the Skoglund Center.