The St. Catherine University volleyball team had a solid start to the 2014 season going 3-1 at the Saint Mary's University Sugarloaf Classic in Winona, Minnesota, Friday and Saturday. The Wildcats found success thanks to an all-around solid effort, but also saw a standout performance from Abigail Palmer (Pequot Lakes, Minn./Pequot Lakes) who was named to the all-tournament team Monday. For her efforts, she has been named the first Wildcat Athlete of the Week this year.Â
On the opening day of competition for the Wildcats, Palmer showed her versatitlity as a player with her strong defensive contribution of 28 digs in wins over North Park University and the University of Dubuque. In the Wildcats' 3-1 (17-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-17) battle with Dubuque, Palmer was second on the team in kills (8) and digs (19) and hit .231 to help the Wildcats finish 2-0 to open the season.Â
Palmer was more impressive, though, on Saturday as they ramped up the competition against Illinois Wesleyan University and a Wartburg College squad that received votes in the national preseason poll. In the 3-0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-23) win over Illinois Wesleyan, Palmer led the Wildcats offensively with 10 kills and hit an impressive .304. She also chipped in seven digs and a block in the win. Against a tough Wartburg squad, Palmer recorded a double-double with 15 kills and 15 digs, as well as a solo block and a service ace.Â
The sophomore outside hitter finished the weekend tied for the team lead in kills with 34 and was second at 2.43 kills per set. She was second on the team in digs with 50 averaging 3.57 digs per set. She ranks in the top-10 in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) in kills and top-15 for digs and digs per set.Â
Palmer and the rest of the Wildcats return to action beginning Friday at the Loras College touranment in Dubuque, Iowa, with matches against Monmouth College at 1 p.m. and Lakeland College at 5 p.m.Â
