After dropping a tough Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) match to No. 18 College of Saint Benedict Saturday, the going wasn't getting any easier for the St. Catherine University volleyball team. For the second-consecutive match, the Wildcats faced a nationally-ranked conference opponent  – this time taking on No. 13 University of St. Thomas on the road. Despite putting the Tommies on their toes in the second and third sets, the Wildcats dropped a 3-0 (25-9, 25-19, 25-23) decision Wednesday evening in St. Paul. 

"It's unfortunate that we didn't show up for the first set because we played some great volleyball after that," said Head Coach Corey Phelps. "We'll use the momentum from the last two sets to carry us into the weekend." 

Hoping to forget a less-than-ideal first set, the Wildcats jumped out to an early lead over the Tommies in the second before the teams traded leads until halfway through. Finally, down 13-11, the Tommies rattled off five straight points and never looked back to take a 2-0 set lead. The Wildcats weren't quite ready to give up, though, as they again went back and forth with the Tommies before eventually taking a 17-12 lead. The perennial powerhouse Tommies found a way to climb back into the set and pull off their ninth-consecutive win. 

As she has done all season, junior Alyssa Besch (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) came up big for the Wildcats in every category. She tallied a match-high 10 kills while hitting .318 on the night. Besch also chipped in four digs, a solo block and a block assist. This was also her eighth double-digit kill performance of the season and sixth match hitting over .300. 

Abigail Palmer (Pequot Lakes, Minn./Pequot Lakes) turned in one of her best recent performances with seven kills and just one hitting error. The sophomore also collected nine digs, while adding a service ace and block assist to her stat line. Shelby Rachel (Maple Lake, Minn./Maple Lake) also had a one of her best all-around performances this season with 11 digs, four kills, an assist and a block assist. 

Karsee Knutson (New London, Minn./New London-Spicer) led the Wildcats with 16 assists and also added five digs and a service ace. Fellow senior setter Ashley Kahlow (Le Sueur, Minn./LeSueur-Henderson) chipped in with eight assists, five digs and a kill. 

Defensviely, Shanee Herd (Alexandria, Minn./Jefferson) led the Wildcats with 12 digs, while Jana Christensen (Mankato, Minn./Mankato West), Tori Peterson (Preston, Minn./Fillmore Central) and Zoe Barr (River Falls, Wis./River Falls) each had a solo block. 

The Wildcats return to MIAC action at home against Bethel University Saturday with the match start slated for 3 p.m. 

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