ST. PAUL, MINN. – After a successful 2-0 weekend, the St. Catherine University volleyball team hoped to keep its winning streak alive Tuesday evening. The Wildcats traveled to Northwestern University-St. Paul to take on two nonconference opponents: Bethany Lutheran College and Northwestern. St. Kate's opened the evening with a thrilling come-from-behind 3-2 (19-25, 21-25, 28-26, 25-18. 20-18) win over Bethany Luther before falling 3-0 (19-25, 14-25, 15-25) to No. 24 Northwestern.

The Wildcats looked to carry the winning momentum from the weekend over to their first match against Bethany Lutheran. Unfortunately, first set woes continued to plague St. Kate's. The Vikings went on an eight point serving run in the first set to take a 15-8 lead. The Wildcats would never recover, losing the opening set 25-14.

St. Kate's was looking for redemption in the second set and hung with Bethany Lutheran through the first half of the set. With the score knotted at 13 all, Shanee Herd (Alexandria, Minn. / Jefferson) went on a four-point serving run to give the Wildcats their first lead of the match. Up 16-13, St. Kate's looked to close out the set, but the Vikings managed to chip away at the lead, eventually tying the set 20-20. From there, Bethany Lutheran went on to win five of the next six points, going on to win the set 25-21.

Down 2-0 after two sets, the Wildcats knew they would have to win the next three in order to win the match outright. However, the third set looked like it was in jeopardy as the Vikings jumped out to an 8-6 lead. It was Bailey Auseth (Wanamingo, Minn. / Kenyon-Wanamingo) that kept St. Kate's in the match by going on a four-point serving run to give the Wildcats a 10-8 lead. The lead, though, didn't last, as Bethany Lutheran went on a three-point run of its own to go up 11-10.

Libby Kreuser (White Bear Lake, Minn. / Totino-Grace) hit a crucial kill from the middle to tie the game at 11 and prevent the Vikings from extending their lead. After that, neither of the two teams was ever able to jump out to a substantial lead. Whenever St. Kate's threatened to extend its lead, Bethany Lutheran would do something to stop the run in its tracks.

The Wildcats did eventually manage to jump out to a 20-16 lead, thanks to kills from Mackenzie Peper (Osceola, Wis. / Osceola) and Abby Palmer (Pequot Lakes, Minn. / Pequot Lakes). Like in the second set, though, St. Kate's was unable to close the set and needed to go beyond 25 points to win the third. With the score tied at 26-26, Auseth and Kreuser blocked Bethany Lutheran's Haley Domonoske before Herd served the Wildcats to a 28-26 set three victory.

After an exhausting third set, St. Kate's got a quick 25-18 win in the fourth set to send the match to a decisive fifth. The Wildcats got off to a slow start in the final set and found themselves in a 5-0 deficit from the start. St. Kate's was eventually able to cut the Vikings lead to 8-4, but it looked like Bethany Lutheran would cruise to 15 points before the Wildcats had a chance to catch their breath.

Then, the resiliency of St. Kate's was put on full display. Head coach Corey Phelps subbed in Anna Schrupp (Eden Prairie, Minn. / Eden Prairie) in the back row, hoping for a serving run that would get the Wildcats back in the game. That is exactly what Schrupp did, only she didn't just get St. Kate's back in the set. She gave her team a 13-11 lead with an eight-point serving run and a chance to be the first of the two teams to reach 15 points.

Unfortunately, the Wildcats were unable to win the next two points, giving the Vikings a chance to win the set, and ultimately the match. However, with match point on the line, Emily Carmen (Maple Grove, Minn. / Osseo) tallied her sixth kill of the evening to even the score at 14-14.
Eventually, St. Kate's was able to win the set 20-18 as Johna Radke (Muskego, Wis. / Muskego) served an ace to clinch the victory. She led the team in hitting percentage with .714 despite only being able to attack from the back row.

Palmer led the team in kills with 13 and recorded her sixth double-double of the year with 17 digs. Herd led the team defensively, with 33 digs and two aces.

The Wildcats night wasn't over, though, after their five-set marathon against Bethany Lutheran. After the victory, St. Kate's had to face Northwestern, the No. 24 team in the country. While the team held their own for the majority of the first set, the Eagles power eventually was just too much for the exhausted Wildcats as they fell in straight sets 19-25, 14-25, 15-25.

With the split, St. Kate's record overall record improved to 11-11, but the team still holds a 0-5 mark in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play. The Wildcats look to win their first conference match of the year this Saturday when they return to the court to face the College of Saint Benedict at 3 p.m. in the Butler Center Gym.