After taking No. 22-ranked and Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) leader Augsburg College to five sets Wednesday evening, the St. Catherine University volleyball team hoped it could continue playing at its best and end the season on a high note against Hamline University. For the second match in a row, the Wildcats came from behind after being down 2-0 to force a fifth set but couldn't hold on in falling 3-2 (26-24, 27-25, 16-25, 23-25, 15-11) to the Pipers Friday in St. Paul. 

"Tonight was another incredible match for us," said Head Coach Corey Phelps. "We came up just short on the scoreboard, but I couldn't have asked for more out of this team in the last two weeks. We peaked when you're supposed to. We played with great heart and passion. We left it all out on the floor. I'm so proud of this entire group. Wish we could have finished with a win for our seniors, but it wasn't to be." 

The Wildcats opened the match with less-than-ideal hitting in the first set, but held a 23-20 advantage and looked as if they might pull off the first set win. However, the Pipers went on a 6-1 run to close out the set and take a 1-0 lead. Then, the Wildcats hit .297 in the second set, but the Pipers again managed to squaek out the win at 27-25 for a two set lead. 

In the third set, the Wildcats came out with total control opening up 9-0 before allowing the Pipers a point. Then, they cruised to a third-set win before fighting point-for-point with Pipers late in the fourth set to force a decisive fifth set. The two teams exchanged points until the Pipers held a 10-9 lead. Unfortunately, the Pipers managed to gain momentum and closed out the set on a 5-2 run to take the victory. 

First-year Megan Lindenfelser (Nowthen, Minn./Anoka) was the Wildcats' leading hitter with 17 kills. Not only was her 17 kills a match high, but she also hit .333 and collected 13 digs for her second double-double of the season. Lindenfelser ended her rookie season with a team-best 2.49 kills per set average and the second-most kills in a season with 224. 

Senior Jana Christensen (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato West) ended her career with another solid performance collecting nine kills for the second-best Wildcat total of the night. She was also critical to the team's 11 blocks as she matched her career-best six blocks for a single match. In just two seasons with the Wildcats, Christensen tallied 316 career kills which ranks No. 16 all-time at St. Kate's. 

Alyssa Besch (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) added six kills to finish the season as the team's leading hitter this season with 233 kills and an impressive .236 hitting percentage. Abigail Palmer (Pequot Lakes, Minn./Pequot Lakes) also had six kills and led the temam defensively with 16 digs.

Amber Zeiher (Le Sueur, Minn./Le Sueur-Henderson) had six kills and a career-high seven blocks. She led the Wildcats 66 blocks which ranks 12th most in a single season at St. Kate's. In her first three seasons, Zeiher now has 179 career blocks which already ranks fourth-most in program history. 

Shanee Herd (Alexandria, Minn./Jefferson) also had 16 digs, while Shelby Rachel (Maple Lake, Minn./Maple Lake) had 12 digs. 

Senior setter Karsee Knutson (New London, Minn./New London-Spicer) couldn't have ended her four-year career in a better way. Her complete stat line included a team-best 26 assists and four aces as well as two kills and nine digs. Knutson led the Wildcats this season with 500 assists which ranks No. 13 all-time for a single season and 37 aces which is 12th all-time. Her career 1,318 assists ranks No. 4 all-time at St. Kate's, while her 84 aces ranks ninth. 

Fellow senior Ashley Kahlow (Le Sueur, Minn./Le Sueur-Henderson) finished her career with 13 assists to bring her career total to to 1,597 which is the third-most in program history. She also ended her impressive serving career with 128 aces which is just two shy of the school record. 

The Pipers were led by Jena Meyer and Gabriela Feldt with 14 kills a piece, while one of the league's top liberos in Lynsey Reimer tallied a match-best 26 digs. 

The Wildcats end the season 10-17 and 1-10 in the MIAC. The remainder of the conference regular season wraps up Saturday. 

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