MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. – There aren't many times where teams suffer "good losses". The St. Catherine University volleyball team found the exception to that rule.

After earning their first Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) win on Wednesday, the Wildcats faced their biggest challenge of the year in the Augsburg College Auggies. Augsburg entered the match unbeaten in MIAC play, thanks to huge upsets over conference title favorites. St. Kate's, though, was unfazed, pushing the league-leading Auggies to four, almost five sets, before falling 3-1 (20-25, 25-17, 19-25, 19-25) in the match.

"This was a great match tonight," volleyball head coach Corey Phelps said after the match. "We got off to a slow start in some sets but battled every time."

The Wildcat offense struggled early on in the first set, as Augsburg jumped out to a 7-0 lead to open the match. Though St. Kate's gritted out and closed the gap, it was never able to quite catch the Auggies. Still, the Wildcats slowly but surely cut into Augsburg's lead, eventually pulling within four at 22-17 thanks to tough serving from Anna Schrupp (Eden Prairie, Minn. / Eden Prairie). Unfortunately, it wasn't enough, as the Auggies took the first set 25-20.

St. Kate's came out in the second set like it ended the first, sticking point for point with Augsburg and even outplaying the home team through the first nine points of the game. Thanks to an early serving run from Libby Kreuser (White Bear Lake, Minn. / Totino-Grace), the Wildcats took their first lead of the night 5-4. Although the Auggies quickly tied the set, St. Kate's dominated the rest of the way thanks, in large part, to the team's strong serve. Bailey Auseth (Wanamingo, Minn. / Kenyon-Wanamingo), Shanee Herd (Alexandria, Minn. / Jefferson) each had multi-point service runs, propelling the Wildcats to a 25-17 second set victory.

St. Kate's offense also came to life in the second set, as the team improved from a .083 hitting percentage in set one to a .281 percentage in set two. Payton Baker (Forest Lake, Minn. / Forest Lake) exploded for five kills and only two errors on seven attempts, while Mackenzie Peper (Osceola, Wis. / Osceola) added four kills and no errors to lead the set.

The Wildcats continued to play well in the third set, again matching Augsburg point-for-point at the start of the set. Unfortunately, St. Kate's ran into trouble on serve receive, falling behind 17-10 after holding a 9-8 lead. Like in the first set, the Wildcats battled their way back, eventually closing the gap to 20-15, but it just wasn't enough to overcome the early deficit, as the Auggies took a 2-1 set lead with a 25-19 third set victory.

After getting off to a slow start again in the fourth set, St. Kate's looked like it was done for the night, as Augsburg took a 24-15 lead and needed just one point to win the match. However, Emily Neumann (Duluth, Minn. / Hermantown) went on the serving run of her life. The junior setter served five straight points, forcing the Auggies out of system, to help the Wildcats cut the lead to 24-19. But as in life, all good things must come to an end. After a long rally, Augsburg's Jaelyn Arndt eventually recorded her eleventh kill of the night to win the match for the Auggies with a 25-19 set four victory.

Despite the outcome, Phelps and the Wildcats were not discouraged.

"We played [Augsburg] as tough as anyone else in the conference," a confident and proud Phelps said after the match. "We showed great fight, hustle, and determination tonight."

Kreuser led the team in kills for the second consecutive game with 11, while Peper and Baker each added 10 from the outside and right side positions. Herd led the team defensively with 26 digs and an ace, while Neumann and Larissa Kisch (Oakdale, Minn. / Cretin-Derham Hall) contributed 21 and 16 assists respectively.

With two MIAC matches remaining on the schedule, St. Kate's overall record now stands at 13-15 overall with a 1-8 mark in conference play. The Wildcats will finish the season next week with two road games, the first at St. Olaf College on Wednesday and the second at Hamline University on Saturday.