Box Score After a less than ideal start to the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) season, the St. Catherine University volleyball team hoped it could rebound with a win after falling 3-1 Wednesday evening to St. Olaf College.
 
But the Wildcats faced the challenging task of coming out victorious against an 11-1 College of Saint Benedict squad on the road. However, the Blazers – who entered the MIAC season ranked No. 10 in the nation – suffered a 3-0 setback Wednesday evening to a surprising Augsburg College squad.  

Unfortunately, the Blazers were able to recover as they handed the Wildcats a tough 3-0 (25-7, 25-14, 25-16) loss Saturday afternoon in St. Joseph, Minn.
 
The Wildcats couldn't find a way to come up with points when needed, despite an outstanding performance from first-year Abigail Palmer (Pequot Lakes, Minn.). Palmer led the Wildcats with an impressive .538 hitting percentage and led the team in both kills (7) and digs (10). 
 
As a team, the Wildcats struggled again with a less-than-ideal hitting performance. They also served up just one ace and failed to block the high-powered Saint Bendict offense. 

Libero Shanee Herd (Alexandria, Minn.) was just behind Palmer with nine digs, while setter Ashley Kahlow (LeSueur, Minn.) had 11 assists and a service ace. 

Leading the way for the Blazers was Lexi rinde with 11 kills and a .529 hitting percentage, while Taya Kockelman had 36 of the Blazers' 41 assists. 
 
With the loss, the Wildcats fall to 0-2 in MIAC play and 6-10 on the season. The next big test for the Wildcats comes against defending MIAC and Division III national champion University of St. Thomas Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. in the Butler Center.
 
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