WINONA, MINN. – After two weeks of preseason, the St. Catherine University volleyball team was eager and ready to return to the court for its first match of 2016. With a strong, experienced defense and a young, talented offense, the Wildcats had a strong showing on day one of the Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic in Winona, Minnesota. St. Kate's fell in its opening match to Luther College 3-0 (14-25, 20-25, 22-25) but bounced back with an impressive win over Finlandia University 3-0 (25-17, 25-15, 25-16) to start the season 1-1.

"We had a solid first day," volleyball head coach Corey Phelps said after the second match. "We lost in three to Luther but came around to best Finlandia to finish the day."

The Wildcats faced a tough challenge in their opening match of 2016 in the Norse. Last season, St. Kate's upset Luther 3-2 in a thrilling match at the UW-Whitewater Tournament, but the Wildcats were unable to pull out a victory Friday afternoon.

After dropping the first set 25-14, St. Kate's hoped to even the match at two sets a piece with a second set victory. Despite finding themselves in an early 6-3 hole, the Wildcats climbed back to even the tie the set at 7-7 behind strong offensive play from first year Bailey Brownlee (Buffalo, Minn. / Buffalo) and senior Abby Palmer (Pequot Lakes, Minn. / Pequot Lakes). St. Kate's stayed with Luther for the remainder of the set, tying the game at 18 before the Norse went on a six point scoring run. The Wildcats pulled within four, but the deficit proved to be too much as they fell in the second set 25-20.

With the second set loss, St. Kate's had to win the third set in order to win the match. The Wildcats set out to do just that, jumping to a quick 3-0 lead, thanks to a kill and ace from Palmer. Unfortunately, the Norse took the lead and never looked back, defeating St. Kate's 25-22 in the third and final set.
Palmer led the team with nine kills and just four errors, while Johna Radke (Muskego, Wis. / Muskego) led the team with 16 assists. Shanee Herd (Alexandria, Minn. / Jefferson) was the top defensive player of the match with 28 digs.

The Wildcats bounced back in their second match of the day, handily beating Finalandia 3-0 in the final match of the evening.  St. Kate's strong serving helped the team jump out to a quick 3-1 lead in the first set, a lead which it would never relinquish. The Wildcats led throughout the entire first set and only allowed Finlandia to tie the score once at 11-11. After that, though, St. Kate's won ten of the next 13 points to win the first set 25-17.

The second match went just as well as the first. The Wildcats jumped out to a quick 3-1 lead, this time thanks to the serving of Radke and held the lead for the remainder of the set. St. Kate's went on a 7-0 run in the middle of the set, driving the team to a 25-15 set two victory.

The third set was a different tale. After dominating for the first two sets, the Wildcats struggled to start the third. Finlandia took a 3-0 lead thanks to two aces and an attack error. However, St. Kate's never lost focus, rattling off three straight points with kills from Radke and first year Sarah Mullen (Oakdale, Minn. / North). From there, the Wildcats and Finlandia traded the lead back and forth before St. Kate's finally took a 12-11 lead. The Wildcats held on to the lead after that, winning the decisive third set 25-16 to sweep Finlandia and earn the team's first win of 2016.

Payton Baker (Forest Lake, Minn. / Forest Lake) led the offensive attack for the Wildcats in the second set with a team-high nine kills. First year setter Larissa Kisch (Oakdale, Minn. / Cretin-Derham Hall) added three service aces while Herd continued to anchor the defense with 24 digs. 

With two matches behind them, St. Kate's will face two formidable opponents on Saturday. The Wildcats face St. Norbert College at 2 p.m. before taking on Carroll at 4 p.m. to close the tournament. Both matches will test the Wildcats, as both St. Norbert and Carroll were strong teams in 2015.