ST. PAUL, MINN. – For the St. Catherine University volleyball team, the adage "home is where the heart is" was certainly true Wednesday evening. The Wildcats followed an impressive trip out east with an equally impressive 3-0 sweep (25-12, 25-13, 25-14) in their home opener.

From the get go, it looked like things were going to go St. Kate's way, as sophomore setter Meagan Schwarzrock (Hutchinson, Minn. / Hutchinson) opened the match with a service ace. However, the Knights hung in there for the first 14 points, keeping within three of the Wildcats lead and eventually tying at 7-7. Martin Luther had no answer, though, for the serves of Kelly Breuer (St. Paul, Minn. / St. Croix Lutheran) and Johna Radke (Muskego, Wis. / Muskego). After the Knights whittled St. Kate's lead to 13-10, Breuer's serving run gave the Wildcat s 16-10 lead. However, it was Radke who put the set out of reach, as she served five straight points to push St. Kate's lead to 21-11.

A block from Emily Carman (Maple Grove, Minn. / Osseo) and Hannah Flatness (Elk Mound, Wis. / Elk Mound) sealed the Wildcats 25-12 first set victory and gave them a 1-0 lead in the match. Set two went just as well for St. Kate's as set one, as the Wildcats cruised to a 25-13 victory thanks to strong play on the offensive and defensive side of the ball. Carman and Libby Kreuser (White Bear Lake, Minn. / Totino-Grace) recorded four kills in the second set and Breuer added three to lead St. Kate's offensive charge.

Like in the first two sets, the Wildcats jumped out to a quick lead in the third and final set of the evening, as Emma Nelson (Byron, Minn. / Byron) recorded three consecutive kills to put St. Kate's ahead 3-0. From there, the Wildcats just kept pushing ahead and never looked back, leading by as many as 10 points during the set. St. Kate's eventually won by a final score of 25-14 thanks to a perfect set by Emily Neumann (Duluth, Minn. / Hermantown) and a kill from Carman.

The Wildcats dominated in all facets of the game in Wednesday night's victory, as they outhit Martin Luther 40-24 and out blocked the Knights by a 12-2 margin. St. Kate's also recorded 10 service aces, three of which were served by Breuer, and recorded 38 digs.

Kreuser was the leading hitter with seven kills and just one error in 14 attempts, while Carman, Breuer and Mackenzie Peper (Osceola, Wis. / Osceola) each added six. Schwarzrock recorded a season-high 18 assists in the match, while libero Larissa Kisch (Oakdale, Minn. / Cretin-Derham Hall) earned a team-high eight digs.

With the wins, the Wildcats improve to 3-2 overall and extend their win streak to three matches. St. Kate's will hit the road again this weekend, when it plays in the Macalester Tournament in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Wildcats are schedule to play UW-River Falls and Linfield College on Friday before taking on UW-Superior and Knox College on Saturday. The first match is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. Friday.