The St. Catherine University volleyball had a strong first weekend of 2015 winning two of its three matches which included a thrilling 3-2 (25-15, 25-27, 21-25, 25-20, 15-13) win over Simpson College Saturday. The Wildcats were led all weekend by solid defense from Shanee Herd (Alexandria, Minn./Alexandria) who earned All-Tournament Team honors. For her efforts, she has been named the first Wildcat Athlete of the Week of 2015.Â
In the Wildcats narrow 3-0 (27-25, 25-18, 26-24) loss to tournament host University of Minnesota-Morris, Herd anchored the Wildcats in the back row with a match-high 21 digs. Saturday, she helped the Wildcats cruise to a 3-0 (25-19, 25-11, 25-11) win over Bethany Lutheran College chipping in 10 digs – another match-high total.Â
The Wildcats comeback win over Simpson was again led by Herd who tallied 29 digs to lead the team. She also added three assists and one service ace. The junior libero finished the weekend with 60 digs, four assists and two aces to clinch the Wildcats lone spot on the all-tournament ballot.Â
This season, in three matches played, Herd is averaging 5.45 digs per set which currently ranks second among all Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) players.Â
Herd and the Wildcats return to action Friday as they head to the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Tournament to face Maranatha Baptist University and Marian University on day one. Matches Friday are scheduled for 6 and 8 p.m., respectively, in Oshkosh, Wis.Â
