Coming off a solid four-set Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) victory over Carleton College Wednesday, the St. Catherine University volleyball team had a lot of momentum heading into its next conference matchup against a Bethel University squad that was picked to finish first in the MIAC Preseason Coaches' Poll. Despite taking the first set in commanding fashion and mounting a near-comeback in the fourth set, the Wildcats couldn't manage to pull off the win in falling 3-1 (18-25, 25-18, 25-19, 29-27) to the Royals Friday evening in Arden Hills, Minnesota. 

"We played very well tonight," said Head Coach Corey Phelps. "We competed with them every step of the way and took another step forward tongiht. We'll keep working to prepare for our next big match on Wednesday."

In the opening set, the Wildcats didn't waste much time in taking a big lead over the Royals. Up 15-12, the Wildcats rattled off four-straight points to advance their lead to seven before taking the first set. 

With a 1-0 lead, the Wildcats stormed out to a 5-1 lead in the second set and kept the Royals out of striking distance for awhile. Eventually, the Royals evened the score at 16-16 before going on a 10-2 run to even the match at 1-1. 

The Royals took an early lead to begin the third set and didn't allow the Wildcats to get too close before closing out the set. In the decisive fourth set, the Royals mounted a 14-7 lead and looked as if they might easily cruise to victory.

The Wildcats slowly dug their way back in the match, though. Down 21-17, the Wildcats took the next six points to take a 22-21 lead. Then, the Wildcats had a chance to win the set with a 24-22 advantage, but the Royals took the next two points for a chance at set point. The two teams fought back and forth with chances to win until the Royals finally won two-straight for the 29-27 set win and 3-1 match victory. 

The Royals' slight advantage in the match came with an impressive .238 hitting percentage as opposed to the Wildcats' .172. The Wildcats also found themselves on the opposing side of the Royals' 14 blocks on the night. 

As she has done all season, Alyssa Besch (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) led the Wildcats with a solid all-around performance. She recorded a team-high 14 kills and also contributed two block assists, two digs, two assists and two service aces. 

First-year Sabrina Astar (Hastings, Minn./Hastings) had another solid outing posting a career-high 13 kills with just two errors for a .423 hitting percentage. She also had a team-high four block assists and one solo block that came late in the fourth set to save a match point for the Royals. 

Megan Lindenfelser (Nowthen, Minn./Anoka) had another strong performance defensively with 18 digs and also contributed eight kills. Other offensive contirbutors included Amber Zeiher (Le Sueur, Minn./Le Sueur-Henderson) who recorded six kills, four block assists and three assists, as well as Mackenzie Peper (Osceola, Wis./Osceola) who had six kills. 

Shanee Herd (Alexandria, Minn./Jefferson) continued to prove why she is one of the top liberos in the MIAC this season. She tallied a match-high 29 digs to anchor the Wildcats' strong defensive effort. She also recorded an assist and one service ace. Abby Palmer (Pequot Lakes, Minn./Pequot Lakes) also made a strong contribution defensively with 13 digs while also adding five kills and one block. 

Hayley Levenhagen (Pewaukee, Wis./Catholic Memorial) and Maria Davis (West St. Paul, Minn./St. Agnes) had nearly identical performances setting up the offense with Levenhagen tallying 23 assists and Davis putting up 22. 

With the loss, the Wildcats fall to 10-7 on the season and 1-4 in the MIAC. The Wildcats return to action Wednesday as they take on defending MIAC champion Augsburg College at 7 p.m. in the Butler Center in St. Paul. 

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