ST. PAUL, MINN. – The St. Catherine University volleyball team entered its first Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) match against St. Mary's with momentum on its side. The Wildcats were riding a five-match win streak and held a perfect 4-0 record in the Butler Center. However, Saint Mary's handed St. Kate's its first home loss of the season, as the Wildcats fell to the Cardinals 3-0 (24-26, 17-25, 18-25) in their opening Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) match of the season.

At the beginning, St. Kate's looked poised to upset on the top teams in the MIAC. The Wildcats were the dominant team early in the set, as Johna Radke (Musekgo, Wis. / Muskego) and Bailey Auseth (Wanamingo, Minn. / Kenyon-Wanamingo) helped St. Kate's take a 10-4 lead over Saint Mary's with an 8-1 serving run.

The Cardinals tried to cut into the Wildcats lead, but each and every time they threatened, St. Kate's was able to pull away with a kill or an ace.  Libby Kreuser (White Bear Lake, Minn. / Totino-Grace) and Payton Baker (Forest Lake, Minn. / Forest Lake) silenced most of Saint Mary's rallies with kills from the middle and outside as Radke and Larissa Kisch (Oakdale, Minn. / Cretin-Derham Hall) conducted the offense as the setters.

With everything clicking both offensively and defensively, the Wildcats took a 24-17 lead and needed just one point to take the first set from the Cardinals. Unfortunately, Saint Mary's had a nine point rally of its own, coming back to win the first set 26-24.

Down one set to none, St. Kate's was determined to put the first set behind it and take the second. The Cardinals jumped out to an early 4-1 lead, but the Wildcat serving put St. Kate's right back in the set. Hannah Flatness (Elk Mound, Wis. / Elk Mound), Baker, and Abby Palmer (Pequot Lakes, Minn. / Pequot Lakes) all hit big time kills for the Wildcats to tie the set at 8-8. A strong serve from Shanee Herd (Alexandria, Minn. / Jefferson) and a kill from Emily Carman (Maple Grove, Minn. / Osseo) made it 9-7 St. Kate's at the halfway point, but the Wildcats were unable to come away with a set two victory. Saint Mary's won 11 of the last 13 points, taking the second set by a score of 25-17.

St. Kate's tried to force a fourth set by winning the third, but the Wildcat hitters were unable to sneak the ball past the Cardinal defenders. Saint Mary's ultimately won the third set 25-18, and St. Kate's fell to 0-1 in MIAC play and 6-3 overall.

Baker led the team with 11 kills in the match while Herd led the defensive effort with 29 digs. This is the sixth straight game where Herd has recorded at least 29 kills during a match. 

The Wildcats will return to the court on Friday, when the team travels to Ripon, Wisconsin for the Ripon College Tournament. St. Kate's will face four nonconference opponents over the weekend, Ripon, Lawrence University, the University of Dubuque, and Alverno College. First serve of the first match is at 3 p.m.