RIPON, WIS. – After splitting its first two matches on Friday, the St. Catherine University volleyball team was hoping to leave Ripon, Wisconsin with two more wins to its name. With that goal in mind, St. Kate's opened the afternoon with a 3-1 (26-24, 21-25, 25-18, 25-17) win over Lawrence University but fell in its second match to the University of Dubuque 3-1 (12-25, 28-26, 25-21, 25-16).

"We played two long, exhausting matches today, and we fought well in both" volleyball head coach Corey Phelps commented Saturday night.

The Wildcats opened their second day of the tournament with a 12 p.m. match against Lawrence University. The Vikings entered the match with a 4-8 record but gave St. Kate's all it could handle in the first set. The Wildcats needed to go beyond 25 points to win the set, coming out on top 26-24 to open the first match of the afternoon.

Lawrence stole the second set 25-21, meaning St. Kate's would need to win sets three and four in order to avoid its second five set match in 24 hours. Fortunately, that's just what the Wildcats did, winning the third set 25-21 and dominating the fourth 25-16.

Hannah Flatness (Elk Mound, Minn. / Elk Mound) hit a career high 12 kills out of the middle in the four set effort just one day after setting career high numbers in blocks in St. Kate's five set loss to Ripon. Abby Palmer (Pequot Lakes, Minn. / Pequot Lakes) was not far behind with her third double-double of the 2016 season with 11 kills and 15 digs.

Shanee Herd (Alexandria, Minn. / Jefferson) continued to lead the way for the Wildcat defense against Lawrence. The senior racked up 28 digs in the match and an ace, but that wasn't even her best performance of the weekend. Herd, who was named to the All-Tournament team for the third consecutive weekend, saved her best play for the final match of the tournament, leading St. Kate's with 37 digs in the team's 3-1 (12-25, 28-26, 25-21, 25-16) loss to Dubuque.

"[Herd] was a rock for us all weekend," Phelps commented, "in serve receive, defensively, and at the service line."

Herd's outstanding defensive play, though, was not enough to help the Wildcats come away with a victory in their second match of the afternoon. Despite losing 25-12 in the opening set, St. Kate's battled back to take set two 28-26. The Wildcats also fought valiantly in both the third and fourth sets as well, but the Spartans eventually pulled away in the final points and won the sets by scores of 25-21 and 25-16 respectively.

Palmer and Mackenzie Peper (Osceola, Wis. / Osceola) led the team with 10 kills against Dubuque, with Palmer recording her second double-double of the day with 18 digs. Emily Neumann (Duluth, Minn. / Hermantown) also played the best match of her career as a Wildcat with a career high 28 assists in the four-set effort.

With the weekend in Ripon behind it, St. Kate's can now focus on its next opponent: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) rival the University of St. Thomas. The Wildcats and Tommies will square off next Wednesday at St. Thomas in a match that surely will not disappoint. Last season, St. Kate's nearly upset St. Thomas in four sets, and the Wildcats are hungry to face their rival. First serve of the match is scheduled for 7 p.m. at St. Thomas.