ST. PAUL, Minn. - For the first time since 2007, the St. Catherine volleyball team took down the University of Northwestern-St. Paul and this time in straight sets. The last time the Wildcats were the victors in a match against the Eagles was on September 5, 2007, with St. Kate's taking the match 3-2. St. Catherine continues their successful start to the season with an overall record of 8-3 and will open the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play on Wednesday, September 18 at Concordia Moorhead.
St. Catherine dominated Northwestern with twelve blocks and five aces hitting .340 in the match. The Wildcats also registered seven more kills than the Eagles.
In the first set, St. Catherine tallied 12 kills hitting .344 to Northwestern's .205. Early on in the set, St. Kate's took a 5-point lead before Northwestern knotted the set up at 13-13. With sophomore defensive specialist at the service line last the in the set, St. Catherine took another 5-point lead with a score of 23-18. The Wildcats won the first set with a score of 25-20.
The second set was nearly identical to the first tallying 14 kills and hitting .333. St. Kate's carried the lead through the majority of the match and finishing the set 25-20 again. Sophomore
Lauren Isaacson and senior
Emma Nelson tallied three kills each with Nelson posting 4 digs. Junior
Erin Cutts who led the Wildcats tonight in kills with ten total, also had three kills in the set.
The Eagles were never able to take the lead again in the match but came close in the final set tying the set at 1-1, 2-2, and 3-3 before the Wildcats went on to take the match with a set score of 25-21. Rookie
Lauren Skar made an impact in each of the sets while she shined in the third set with a team-best four kills. Nelson led defensively for St. Kate's both in the third set as she tallied five to add to her match total of 15.
"I'm really proud of the entire team and how they brought their best energy and competitiveness tonight!" said head coach
Todd Nelson. "Tonight's result against a very good team was because we stayed focused, didn't allow doubt to creep in and gained confidence throughout the match. I'm really happy for our team...a great win for our program!"
St. Kate's plays again tomorrow as they travel to Concordia-Moorhead to open the conference season. The Wildcats and Cobbers are set to start at 7 p.m.
