The St. Catherine University volleyball had been competitive all season in matches against some of the top teams in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) this season, but hadn't found a way to close out a victory. That was until Saturday, though, when the unsuspecting Wildcats closed out its biggest five-set match of the season to take down No. 22 College of Saint Benedict 3-2 (25-19, 25-21, 14-25, 15-25, 15-13) in St. Joseph, Minnesota.
"This was a great win for us," said Head Coach
Corey Phelps. "We came out and played smart, disciplined volleyball for two-straight sets. Then, were stopped playing our game completely in sets three and four. We put in our youngest lineup to start the fifth and they stepped up to the challenge and played great."
The win over the Blazers was the first for the Wildcats since the 1986 MIAC tournament. In the opening set, the Wildcats jumped out to an early 4-1 lead and managed to keep the Blazers at a distance to close out the first set. Then, in the second, the Wildcats used an early 5-0 run to take a lead and hold off the Blazers to take a 2-0 lead.
Unfortunately, the Wildcats allowed the Blazers to cruise to 11- and 10-point victories in the third and fourth sets, respectively, to force a decisive fifth set. The Blazers used an early 3-0 run to take a 5-2 lead, but the Wildcats battled back to claim a 7-6 lead with five-straight points. The Blazers took three of the next four points to even the score at 9-9 before the two teams began matching each other point for point to 13-13. Finally, the Wildcats claimed two points in a row to pull off the upset and claim their second MIAC win of the season.
Megan Lindenfelser (Nowthen, Minn./Anoka) was spectacular for the Wildcats claiming her fourth double-double performance of the season with a team-best 14 kills and 22 digs, while Amber Zeiher (Le Sueur, Minn./Le Sueur-Henderson) had nine kills and a match-high five blocks. Alyssa Besch (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) hit .316 with eight kills and two block assists to add to the Wildcat offense.
Sabrina Astar (Hastings, Minn./Hastings) had seven kills and two blocks, while
Abby Palmer (Pequot Lakes, Minn./Pequot Lakes) had six kills and 16 digs to help the Wildcats on both sides.
Zoe Barr (River Falls, Wis./River Falls) also had five kills and no errors to hit .455.
Shanee Herd (Alexandria, Minn./Jefferson) continued to be a strong weapon for the Wildcats defensively with a match-high 30 digs that matches her second best performance of her career and her season-best.
Maria Davis (West St. Paul, Minn./St. Agnes) and
Hayley Levenhagen (Pewaukee, Wis./Catholic Memorial) had identical numbers setting up the offense with 24 assists each.
With the win, the Wildcats have now collected their most wins in a season and conference play since 2012 with an 11-8 overall record and 2-5 in the MIAC. The Wildcats return to action Thursday evening at home taking on Concordia College. Match time is slated for 7 p.m. in the
Butler Center.
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