ST. PETER, MINN. – The St. Catherine University volleyball program was looking to rebound after a disappointing 3-2 (25-16, 26-24, 16-25, 25-27, 10-15) loss to Martin Luther Friday night. The Wildcats were also looking for their first Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) win of the season and hoped to kill two birds with one stone Saturday afternoon when they Gustavus Adolphus College. St. Kate's was able to take one set away from the reigning MIAC regular and postseason champions but were unable to leave St. Peter with a victory, falling to the Gusties 3-1 (16-25, 19-25, 25-21, 15-25).

"Today's match was great," head coach Corey Phelps said after the match. Despite the result, Phelps was impressed by how his players battled through the four set match. "The fact that we took a set and battled with [Gustavus] without one of our top outside hitters, Payton Baker, is huge."

The Wildcats got off to a slow start in the first set as Gustavus jumped out to a 10-1 lead. St. Kate's was never able to fully overcome the nine point deficit and lost the first set 25-16.

"We didn't show up mentally for the first set," Phelps acknowledged, "but after that, we fought the rest of the time."

The second set went much better than the first, as the Wildcats never trailed the Gusties by more than three points. In fact, St. Kate's took a two point 11-9 lead on a block by Hannah Flatness (Elk Mound, Minn. / Elk Mound) and Libby Kreuser (White Bear Lake, Minn. / Tontino-Grace). However, Gustavus won seven of the next nine points, taking a 17-13 lead over the Wildcats. St. Kate's tried to cut into the lead by serving the Gusties out of system, but it wasn't enough.

The Wildcats found itself in the 2-0 hole after losing set two 19-25. However, St. Kate's resiliency showed itself in the third set. The Wildcats took a 5-3 lead in the set thanks to a three point serving run from libero Shanee Herd (Alexandria, Minn. / Jefferson) and strong offensive play from Abby Palmer (Pequot Lakes, Minn. / Pequot Lakes) and Sarah Mullen (Oakdale, Minn. / North). St. Kate's extended its lead to 8-4 off a strong serve from defensive specialist Bailey Auseth (Wanamingo, Minn. / Kenyon-Wanamingo) and eventually extended the lead to 9-5.

The Gusties went on a five point run of their own to take the lead 11-10 over the Wildcats. From that point on, the two teams traded the lead with each other. St. Kate's was the first team to break the trend by earning a three point 20-17 lead. First years Emma Nelson (Byron, Minn. / Byron), Kelly Breuer (St. Paul, Minn. / St. Croix Lutheran) and Flatness hit three straight kills to give the Wildcats a lead they would never relinquish, despite Gustavus' attempts to take it away. After the Gusties three point serving run cut St. Kate's lead to 24-21, Flatness cemented the Wildcats 25-21 victory with a huge clutch kill from the middle.

With momentum on its side, St. Kate's needed to win the fourth set in order to force a decisive fifth. However, Gustavus jumped out to a 15-8 lead and won the match with a 25-15 fourth set victory.

Despite the result, forcing the fourth set was a huge victory for the Wildcats in and of itself. At times, the team was forced to play five first years on the court at the same time, but Phelps was pleased with the way his young team played.

"We are still learning about ourselves and how to function in our system, but overall, today was a very good day."

St. Kate's was lead offensively by Flatness, who recorded 14 kills and five blocks in the four set loss. Mullen was also impressive with a .364 hitting percentage with nine kills and only one error in 22 attempts.

Herd led the team defensively with 27 digs, bring her season total to 380. That total leads the MIAC and is fourth in all Division III.

Now, the Wildcats will prepare for their upcoming week, which will include four matches, two of which will be against conference opponents. St. Kate's will return to the Butler
Center for two key MIAC matches this week, starting with Wednesday's 7 p.m. match against Carleton College. The Wildcats will take on Bethel University at 7 p.m. Friday as well before hosting a tri-tournament Saturday afternoon.