BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The St. Catherine University volleyball team opened the 2019 season with two matches in the McAttack Bash in Birmingham, Alabama at Bill Battle Coliseum. St. Kate's (1-1, 0-0 MIAC) won their first match on Friday vs. LaGrange College (0-2, 0-0 USA South) 3-0 before falling to tournament host Birmingham Southern College (1-0, 0-0 SAA).
MATCH 1 | St. Catherine 3, LaGrange 0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-15)
Senior outside hitter
Emma Nelson had a day in the first match of the season. Nelson amassed a career-best 18 kills hitting .484 against the Panthers. Additionally, Nelson tallied 10 digs, 3 service asses, and 2 block assists. Junior middle
Erin Cutts collected 7 kills in the match, 2 digs and 5 block assists in the win.
Sophomore defensive specialist
Grace Amacher tallied 19 digs for an average of 6.33 digs per set against the Panthers.
MATCH 2 | Birmingham Southern 3, St. Catherine 1 (23-25, 19-25, 25-19, 20-25)
Nelson, Cutts, and Amacher led again in the second match against tournament host Birmingham Southern Panthers. St. Catherine dropped the first two sets to the Panthers before winning the third set 25-19. The Wildcats rallied in the final set but fell 20-25.
Nelson had 19 digs in the second match, plus 7 kills and 1 service ace. Cutts led the team in kills tallying 13 plus 3 aces, and 5 block assists. Amacher topped her first match digs total with 21 for a two match total of 40 digs.
Nelson currently ranks No. 2 in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) in both kills per set and kills with 3.57 and 25, respectively. She also sits in the No. 5 spot for service aces per set averaging 0.57 and digs with 29 total. Amacher is in the No. 4 spot for digs per set averaging 5.71 and No. 3 for digs with 40 total Friday. Cutts sits in the No. 5 spot in the conference for kills with 20 and the No. 3 spot for blocks per set with 1.43.
St. Catherine returns to action in Birmingham on Saturday with a 9 a.m. match vs. Brevard College followed by a match at 11 a.m. vs. Covenant College.
