Box Score 1 | Box Score 2  | Day 1 Recap | Tournament Site |
 
After a strong first day at the UW-Stout tournament, the St. Catherine University volleyball team dropped two tough matches to the host school and UW-River Falls, Saturday in Menomonie, Wis.
 
The first loss came at the hands of UW-Stout in a 3-1 decision (13-25, 26-24, 34-36, 28-30) that went over two hours, while the 3-0 loss (13-25, 23-25, 23-25) came to a tough Falcons team that is currently second in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) standings.
 
“We lost two tough matches today,” said Head Coach Corey Phelps. “Everyone got to play and our middles were phenomenal this weekend. It was the best they have looked all year.”
 
Despite the losses, the shining moment of the day came for two senior Wildcats who recorded 1,000 career digs. Needing just seven digs heading into the match against UW-Stout, libero Nicole Pothen (Faribault, Minn.) recorded 27 digs to reach the mark. After adding 13 more in the second match, she now has 1,033 digs as a Wildcat, a mark she reached in just three seasons.
 
Senior hitter Brittni Wangerin (Prior Lake, Minn.) joined Pothen in the elusive 1,000 dig club after picking up 14 digs between the day's two matches. She need just 10 digs heading into Saturday and now has 1,004 career digs as a Wildcat.
 
Wangerin also recorded 11 kills in both matches and is approaching the 1,000 career kills and needs just 27 to pass the impressive mark.
 
Senior Stephanie Meschke (Faribault, Minn.) had another solid day Saturday, finishing the day with 26 kills 11 digs and three block assists. She hit .333 in the four-set marathon against the Blue Devils and finished the weekend with an impressive 47 kills and 23 digs in four matches.
 
Phelps' impressive middle hitters had another solid day blocking with 20 total team blocks in both matches. Against UW-Stout, first-year Miranda Krenske (Faribault, Minn.) had 10 block assists and one solo block, while Zoe Barr (River Falls, Wis.) topped off an impressive week with seven block assists against the Blue Devils. She also recorded her season-high 12 kills in the first match, totalling 15 kills and 10 block assists on the day.

Senior Marie O'Neil (St. Michael, Minn.) was also impressive in the middle for the WIldcats, knocking down eight block assists and one solo block on the day. She also chipped in 14 kills and hit .400 in the second match against UW-River Falls.
 
As a team, the Wildcats had eight total blocks and six service aces against the Falcons in the day's second match.
 
With the losses, the Wildcats fall to 13-14 on the season. With just four conference matches remaining, the Wildcats will fight St. Olaf in hopes of inching closer to a playoff spot in an important Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) match  on Wenesday at 7 p.m., in Northfield, Minn.
 
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