WINONA, MINN. – After getting its first big win of the season, the St. Catherine University volleyball team looked to leave the Sugar Loaf Classic in Winona, Minnesota with a 3-1 record and two big wins against nonconference opponents. The young team suffered an early setback with a straight set lose to St. Norbert College (19-25, 13-25, 14-25) but bounced back to beat Carroll in their closing match of the tournament 3-1 (25-17, 25-16, 20-25, 25-21).

"Knowing we have a very young team and we are still working through numerous line ups, I'm pleased with the outcome of this weekend," head coach Corey Phelps commented after the match.

St. Kate's looked like it was on its way to victory in the team's opening match against St. Norbert. The Wildcats opened the game with a  7-0 run, thanks to strong serving from sophomore setter Johna Radke (Muskego, Wis. / Muskego), then jumped to an 11-1 lead by stiffing the Green Knights offense. Outside hitter Abby Palmer (Pequot Lakes, Minn. / Pequot Lakes) and middle blocker Sarah Mullen (Oakdale, Minn. / North) provided just enough pressure at the net to force six St. Norbert hitting errors through the first eleven points, combining for one block during Radke's scoring run.  

However, the Green Knights slowly started closing the gap, going on a 6-0 run of their own to pull within three of St. Kate's. Every time St. Norbert seemed to come close or tie the set, the Wildcats would rattle off three or four straight points to regain and extend the lead. After taking a 17-14 lead, St. Kate's looked to put the set away for good when it fell into rotation problems of its own. The Wildcats were unable to get a good first pass and committed three straight receiving errors, allowing the Green Knights to take their first lead of the set.

Down 21-17, St. Kate's tried to mount a comeback. Payton Baker (Forest Lake, Minn. / Forest Lake) recorded a kill from the outside to cut St. Norbert's lead to 21-18 but the deficit was too much to overcome.

After the 25-19 first set loss, the Wildcats were unable to regain any of the momentum they held at the beginning of the match. St. Kate's lost the second set 25-13 then dropped the third 25-14.

"We had a rough time keeping our composure and confidence against St. Norbert," Phelps admitted, "but we rebounded and played an outstanding match against Carroll to finish the tournament with a win."

Despite the tough loss to St. Norbert, the Wildcats showed resiliency in the 3-1 victory over Carroll. St. Kate's fought Carroll for the first eight points before taking an 8-4 lead in the first set. First year Libby Kreuser (White Bear Lake, Minn. / Totino-Grace) provided the offensive spark for the Wildcats in the first half of the first set with four kills and two blocks from the middle while Radke's serve kept the Pioneers off balance on serve receive.

Carroll tried to creep back into the match, but the Wildcats weren't going to let history repeat itself. The team took a commanding 21-12 lead and cemented the 25-17 win with a block from Palmer and Mullen. In total, St. Kate's had four blocks in the first set and hit .364, its highest hitting percentage of the tournament.

With a win in the first set, St. Kate's made quick work of the second set, beating the Pioneers 25-16 behind stellar serving. The Wildcats served multiple aces in the second set and forced Carroll to make a number of outstanding plays in order to keep the ball alive.

The Pioneers avoided the sweep by beating St. Kate's 25-20 in the third set, but the Wildcats were not about to let the match go five. St. Kate's offense and blocking game to life in the fourth set and the Wildcats walked away with the 25-21 victory.

Baker led the team with 12 kills against Carroll while Kreuser compiled the team's highest hitting percentage of the tournament. The first year hit .533 against the Pioneers with nine kills and just one error in 15 attempts. First year Larissa Kisch (Oakdale, Minn. / Cretin-Derham Hall) set a career-high 16 assists to lead the team and libero Shanee Herd (Alexandria, Minn. / Jefferson) led the team with 19 digs.

With the Sugar Loaf Classic behind them, the Wildcats get back to work to prepare for the St. Kate's Invite next weekend. The annual home tournament will take place September 9-10 at the Butler Center on St. Kate's campus in St. Paul, Minnesota, and will feature eight different teams across multiple conferences. Matches start at 2 p.m. with St. Kate's playing at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. respectively.