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After gaining some confidence in their home opener against Carleton on Wednesday, the St. Catherine University volleyball team had an impressive showing as the Wildcats won both matches in straight sets on the first day of the St. Kate's Invite, Friday.
 
The Wildcats commandingly defeated Crown College before moving on to beat UW-Stout for the second time this season. Both wins took an all-around team effort with 11 Wildcats recording kills in the first match against Crown.
 
Senior Kelsey Wirtanen (Hibing, Minn.) continued to put up impressive numbers as she led the Wildcats offensively on the day with 18 kills, 21 digs, two block assists and two aces. Against Crown, she put up an impressive .538 attacking percentage and recorded just one error.
 
Brittni Wangerin (Prior Lake, Minn.) led the Wildcats in the second match with 12 kills, 12 digs and an assist. She finished the day tied for second on the team in kills (14). Fellow senior Stephanie Meschke (Faribault, Minn.) shared the second spot with 14 kills on the day.
 
Several first year players had the opportunity to show their potential on the first day of the Wildcats home tournament as several put up impressive numbers. Amber Zeiher (LeSueur, Minn.) finished the day with nine kills, four assists and two blocks. In the Crown match, Alyssa Besch (Apple Valley, Minn.) tied for the most kills (8) in the match. She also had three digs and two blocks.
 
The Wildcat trio of setters continued to split time for the Wildcats, while Jordyn Wentland (Blaine, Minn.) led the team with 48 assists in both matches. Ashley Kahlow (LeSueur, Minn.) recorded 15 assists against UW-Stout and Karsee Knutson (New London, Minn.) chipped in 14 against Crown.  
 
Overall, the Wildcats appeared much improved from last weekend's tournament, hitting .342 against Crown and .265 against UW-Stout.
 
The Wildcats return to action Saturday as they take on Bethany Lutheran (12 p.m.) and Luther (2 p.m.) to wrap up their home tournament at the Butler Center.
 
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