Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
 
After coming off a huge 3-0 victory  over Hamline in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play on Wednesday, the St. Catherine University volleyball team needed to carry that momentum over into tough tournament matches this weekend.
 
The Wildcats were able to do just that as they went 2-0 on the first day of the UW-Platteville Tournament, Friday, taking down the University of Dubuque in straight sets (25-16, 25-19, 25-17) before battling UW-La Crosse to a 3-1 win (30-32, 25-19, 25-22, 25-22).
 
“We had a solid first day,” said Head Coach Corey Phelps. “Defensively we picked things up. Our serving is very strong right now and helping the rest of our game greatly.”
 
The Wildcats had 19 service aces through two matches with seven different players recording at least two a piece. The Wildcats hit .239 against Dubuque and .278 against UW-La Crosse, two of the team's best outings this season.
 
To kick off the day, the Wildcats used nine service aces to take down Dubuque and had two players hit over .400 in the match. Marie O'Neil (St. Michael, Minn.) knocked down eight kills and hit .438, while Stephanie Meschke (Faribault, Minn.) recorded five kills and hit .429.
 
Brittni Wangerin (Prior Lake, Minn.) recorded a team-high eight kills, added nine digs and was one of three Wildcats with two service aces.
 
After rolling to a victory in the first match, the Wildcats had to work for their second win of the day against a tough UW-La Crosse squad. The Wildcats again relied on their strong service game to put away the Eagles, recording 10 aces in the second match of the day.  
 
Meschke led the Wildcat attack with a monster 17 kills and .317 hitting average. O'Neil and Wangerin both contributed 12 kills in the match. O'Neil again led the Wildcats with a huge hitting average of .391 against Dubuque, while Wangerin hit .294 and chipped in 13 digs.
 
On the day, Wangerin led the Wildcats with 20 kills, 22 digs and four service aces, while Meschke had 22 kills and six digs.  Nicole Pothen (Fairbault, Minn.) led the team with solid defense as she came up with 47 digs.
 
“Both opponents tomorrow are very good,” said Phelps. “We're hoping to keep playing at a high level going in to the matches.”
 
The Wildcats return to action against the host school at the UW-Platteville tournament, Saturday, at 10 a.m. They follow up that match against Coe College at 12 p.m.
 
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