EUREKA, Ill. – The Martin Luther College football team fell behind early and never recovered in a 38-7 loss at Eureka on Saturday.

The Red Devils wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, scoring on a 60-yard run on the first play of the game.

The MLC offense was unable to get going throughout the first half, finishing with 32 total yards through two quarters as Eureka built a 31-0 lead going into the locker room.

The Knights were able to get on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter thanks to a T.J. Babinec 13-yard touchdown run, but that would be the only scoring the Knights could muster as the Red Devils closed out the win.

Eureka made life difficult for the Knights on the ground, holding MLC to 115 yards on 43 attemps. The passing game was unable to pick up the slack for MLC, as Babinec finished 4-for-15 through the air for 25 yards and a pair of interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown in the second quarter.

Nate Stein was the team’s leading rushing with 45 yards on 11 carries. Ian Paulsen led the team with 23 yards receiving on a pair of receptions.

Yaffet Gabayehu finished tied with Chris Dean for the team lead with eight tackles, and also recovered a fumble.

The Knights fell to 0-2 on the season and 0-1 in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference play in the defeat. Eureka improved to 2-0 overall and 1-0 in conference play with the win.

MLC will return home to host Crown College on Saturday. That game is scheduled to kick off at 1 p.m.

Volleyball splits at tournament

OSHKOSH, Wis. – The Martin Luther College volleyball team split the final day at the Pizza Hut Classic hosted by UW-Oshkosh on Saturday.

The Knights opened the match with a 3-2 (25-20, 21-25, 25-21, 24-26, 15-13) win over Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE), but lost their final match of the tournament 3-1 (25-14, 25-23, 18-25, 25-18) against St. Norbert.

MLC 3, MSOE 2

After a disappointing five-set loss to open the tournament on Friday, the Knights showed their ability to close by defeating MSOE in five sets to open play Saturday by the scores of 25-20, 21-25, 25-21, 24-26 and 15-13.

Jade St. Germaine had a big match for the Knights, finishing with 24 kills and hittnig .354 on the attack. MLC hit .172 for the match, led by Rylee Weisensel, who finished with eight kills and an attack percentage of .357 to go with her team-best four blocks.

Kira Grev added 14 kills and 11 digs, while Emily Byhardt led the team with 28 assists and three service aces. Emily Neeb led the team with 18 digs.

St. Norbert 3, MLC 1

MLC finished the tournament with a 3-1 defeat to St. Norbert by the scores of 25-14, 25-23, 18-25 and 25-18.

St. Germaine once again led the team with nine kills, while Grace Schultz added six of her own.

Jenna Miller led the defensive effort in the front row with six blocks, including two solo blocks. Neeb finished with nine digs and a pair of service aces.

MLC moved to 3-6 on the season following the two matches.

St. Germaine was rewarded for her efforts throughout the tournament when he was named to the All-Tournament Team following the competion of play from all nine teams in attendance.

The Knights will return to action when they host Buena Vista in the first home contest of the season. That match is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.