The St. Catherine University volleyball team earned two impressive wins to open play Friday at the St. Kate's Invite and hoped to keep that momentum going into the next day. The Wildcats stumbled in the opener falling to a strong Wartburg College squad 3-0 (25-20, 25-13, 25-23) before rebounding with a 3-1 (25-23, 25-19, 22-25, 25-21) victory over the University of Wisconsin-Superior Saturday in the Butler Center. 

In the opener, the Knights – who entered the weekend receiving votes in the national poll – gave the Wildcats a tough test, and despite best efforts, the Wildcats couldn't slow down their hot-hitting opponent. The Knights hit .284 in the match compared to just .185 for the Wildcats. 

Sabrina Astar (Hastings, Minn./Hastings) led the Wildcats with 10 kills hitting .348 with two block assists and a solo block, while Amber Zeiher (Le Sueur, Minn./Le Sueur-Henderson) had five kills with no errors and a match-high four block assists. Mackenzie Peper (Osceola, Wis./Osceola) also added six kills. 

Shanee Herd (Alexandria, Minn./Jefferson) anchored the defense with a match-high 14 digs. Hayley Levenhagen (Pewaukee, Wis./Catholic Memorial) set up the offense with a team-high 14 assists. 

In the victory over the Yellow Jackets, the Wildcats improved offensively hitting .209 and opened with two set victories appearing as if they might take a quick 3-0 sweep. Unfortunately, the Wildcats stumbled in the third set despite mounting a late-game comeback. The Wildcats kept it together in the fourth, though, in order to record their 14th victory of the season. 

Astar and Alyssa Besch (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) led the Wildcats with 13 kills a piece with Astar adding to five of the Wildcats' nine blocks. Zeiher again dominated at the net with a match-high six blocks. 

Payton Baker (Forest Lake, Minn./Forest Lake) contributed to the Wildcats' success with nine kills, three blocks and seven assists, while Zoe Barr (River Falls, Wis./River Falls) had seven kills. 

Herd again led the Wildcats' defense with a match-high 20 digs. Johna Radke (Muskego, Wis./Muskego) had a team-high 26 assists and Levenhagen tallied 23. 

Wartburg won the tournament going 4-0, while the Wildcats and Luther College each finished with 3-1 records. Zeiher and Astar earned the Wildcats' spots on the All-Tournament Team. 

With the win, the Wildcats improve to 14-10 on the season.They are scheduled to return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) action Wednesday for a 7 p.m. match at Macalester College. 

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