The St. Catherine University volleyball team has been off to a hot start going 8-4 through three weeks of play in 2015. Opening up at home against perennial powerhouse University of St. Thomas, the Wildcats hoped to keep that momentum going into a tough Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) match. Despite taking a set from the Tommies in a competitive match, the Wildcats couldn't hold on before falling 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-19, 25-13) Wednesday evening in the Butler Center. 

"This was an awesome match for us," said Head Coach Corey Phelps. "At the beginning of the season, (St. Thomas) was ranked 20th in the country. So, this performance gives us the confidence that we can play with anyone. I loved that we were aggressive until the very end of the match, even being down in the fourth set.

"I told the team after the match that we're starting to realize our potential. We were much better tonight and looked like a team for three sets. I am really excited about the rest of the season."

In the opening set, the Wildcats stuck with the Tommies early, but allowed them to pull away after hitting .195 cmopared to the Tommies' .306. Down as many as six points early in the second set, the Wildcats roared back hitting .306 to take the game and even the score at 1-1. Unfortunately, the Wildcats couldn't closeout in the third or fourth in falling to the the Tommies. 

Solid defense kept the Wildcats competitive with junior libero Shanee Herd (Alexandria, Minn./Jefferson) compiling a match- and season-high 30 digs. She also had a two assists, a kill and a service ace to complete her stat line for the match. Megan Lindenfelser (Nowthen, Minn./Anoka) was also strong defensively with 12 digs. 

Amber Zeiher (Le Sueur, Minn./Le Sueur-Henderson) led the Wildcats offensively with nine kills on the night, while Alyssa Besch (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) and Payton Baker (Forest Lake, Minn./Forest lake) each had eight kills. Besch was impressive all around hitting .368 and contributing on all three of the four Wildcat blocks including one solo. Baker added six digs to her offensive effort. 

Mackenzie Peper (Osceola, Wis./Osceola) came in to hit .462 on the night after knocking down six kills with no errors. Zoe Barr (River Falls, Wis./River Falls) also added five kills and assisted on three blocks. Maria Davis (West St. Paul, Minn./St. Agnes) set up the offense with a team-high 22 assists, while Hayley Levenhagen (Pewaukee, Wis./Catholic Memorial) had 14. 

Whitney Lloyd led the Tommie attack with 18 kills hitting .395, while Taylor Lewis recorded a double-double with 12 kills and 19 digs. 

With the loss, the Wildcats fall to 8-5 on the season and 0-2 in the MIAC. They return to action at home Friday for a non-conference matchup with Martin Luther College at 7 p.m., before taking on Gustavus Adolphus College Saturday in the Butler Center at 3 p.m. 

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