With the end of the season approaching and an opportunity for the St. Catherine University volleyball team to pick up its first Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) win of the season, senior Jana Christensen (Mankato, Minn./Mankato West) couldn't have picked a better time to have her best week of 2014. Thanks to her team-best performance, the Wildcats ended their eight-match losing streak and she earned Wildcat Athlete-of-the-Week honors.Â
Though the Wildcats couldn't find a way to close out a set against a solid Saint Mary's University squad Wednesday evening in Winona, Minnesota, they managed to put together their best hitting performance of the conference season hitting .243 as a team with a flawless third set at .394. Leading the way was Christensen who put together her best performance of the season with a match-high 11 kills and no errors for a remarkable .500 hitting percentage.Â
On senior day, the Wildcats had their seniors to step up in order to come away with a 3-1 victory over Macalester College. Christensen had one of the team's best hitting performances Saturday with a new season-best kill total of 13 and a .308 hitting day. She also chipped in three digs in a back-and-forth match and a block assist.Â
Christensen ended the week with a team-best 24 kills and .396 hitting percentage. She heads into the team's final week of competition fifth on the team in kills (97) and third in hitting percentage (.179).Â
The senior hitter and the rest of the Wildcats close out the 2014 season on the road with a 7 p.m. match up against league-leading Augsburg College Wednesday in Minneapolis, before heading across St. Paul to take on Hamline University Friday at 7 p.m.Â