ST. PAUL, MINN. – The St. Catherine University volleyball team has found a winning stride. The Wildcats went 2-0 over the weekend with a 3-0 (25-5, 25-23, 25-15) sweep of Crown College and a thrilling 3-1 (19-25, 26-24, 25-15, 28-26) win over UW-River Falls.
Tonight, St. Kate's looks to keep its winning streak alive at the Northwestern (St. Paul) tri-tournament, where it will face Bethany Lutheran at 5:30 p.m. and No. 22 Northwestern at 7 p.m.
Video will be available for both matches with score updates available on Twitter (@stkateswildcats).
As always, here are the five crucial things to know before first serve:
9 – For nine years, Nicole Neumann has held the St. Kate's record with 2007 career digs. As of Saturday, there's a new leader in the clubhouse.
Shanee Herd (Alexandria, Minn. / Jefferson) broke Neumann's record with her second dig of the fourth set against UW-River Falls and now has 2021 career digs in her Wildcat career.
18 – Herd recorded 18 digs in the fourth set 28-26 win over the Falcons, a season high for the libero for digs in a single set, and 34 total in the match. More impressively, Herd tallied 111 digs last week in St. Kate's matches against Carleton College, Bethel University, Crown, and UW-River Falls bringing her season total to 491. That number is second in the country and the best in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC). Her average of 4.64 digs per set is the fifth best average in the country and the best average in the conference as well.
27 – The Wildcats served 27 aces in four matches last week, highlighted by an eight ace performance against Bethel. Herd,
Abby Palmer (Pequot Lakes, Minn. / Pequot Lakes),
Larissa Kisch (Oakdale, Minn. / Cretin-Derham Hall),
Johna Radke (Muskego, Wis. / Muskego), and
Libby Kreuser (White Bear Lake, Minn. / Totino-Grace) all had multiple multi-ace performances over the week, with Herd and Kreuser tallying at least four aces in two matches.
9 – Nine miles separate St. Kate's and Northwestern, make it the closest school not in the MIAC. Northwestern is part of the neighboring Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC), as is Bethany Lutheran.
22 – In the most recent American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll, the Eagles were the No. 22 ranked team in the country. Last season, Northwestern advanced to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Volleyball Championships before falling to Bethel in five sets.
