Wrapping up play at the St. Ben's tournament on Saturday afternoon, the Wildcats lost to familiar foes St. Olaf and Hamline, both by scores of 2-3.  The #16 ranked Oles won by a score of 26-24, 19-25, 25-19, 25-27, 15-7.  Hamline defeated the Wildcats by a score of 17-25, 28-26, 25-19, 25-27, 15-11.  Nicole Neumann was named to the All-Tournament team for her outstanding play at libero. 

Facing the #16 ranked Oles, the Wildcats played what Coach Phelps called “our best match of the season.”  With setter Nina Lindquist once again on the sideline, multiple Wildcats stepped up their games to take St. Olaf to five sets.  As a team, the Wildcats compiled 62 kills and 83 digs.  Brittni Wangerin and Kayla Sis led the team with 19 kills each, and Stephanie Meschke added 15 kills.  Nuemann had 32 digs and Callie Teigen had 53 set assists. 

Heading into the second match of the day, the Wildcats looked to end up on the right side of a five-setter, but were edged by Hamline 2-3.  After playing 20 sets in two days, the only team in the tournament to play that many sets, the Wildcats had nothing left for the final set, allowing Hamline to steal a victory.  Wangerin topped her stellar effort from earlier in the day with an incredible 24 kills.  Neumann had a season high 48 digs to cap her fantastic weekend, and she was recognized with a berth on the All-Tournament team.  It is the second all-tournament nod for Neumann this year, as she continues to dominate the libero position, leading the MIAC in digs per set.  

The Wildcats are now 3-11 on the season.  They travel to Concordia on September 22 in their second conference matchup of the season. 

St. Olaf Box Score

Hamline Box Score